Strung Out – Exile in Oblivion / 2004 Fat Wreck Chords / 14 Tracks / http://www.strungout.com / http://www.fatwreck.com / Reviewed 25 January 2005

To me, Strung Out are the older and harder cousins of Rise Against. The smooth yet scratchy vocals of Jason are similar to Tim’s, but the guitars and drums are just leagues more intense than Rise Against could even hope for. Strung Out is a conundrum to me though, because there are moments during “Exile in Oblivion” that I feel as if the band is so tight, so cohesive that some of the spontaneity that they could have otherwise is pissed away in the interest of fairness. Such is the example created by the similarities between the opening track and its neighbor, “Blueprint of the Fall”. Another exciting thing to notice about Strung Out is the ease that they have moving between emo-rock and the most dark and hard metal, sometime in the space of one song (Her Name In Blood). “Exile in Oblivion” is a complete album, one that is solid from state to end, and in punk is a fairly rare thing to find. The guitar lines are closely grouped the entire disc, giving “Exile in Oblivion” a sound that is truly unique. The mastering done by Matt Hyde (Slayer’s masterer, of all people!) makes this disc the perfect blend of metal and punk, essentially what Sum 41 tries unsuccessfully to do with each and every album that they’ve released.

By far, one of the most memorable tracks of the disc, if not the year in terms of punk music, has to be “No Voice of Mine”. Using the slightly snotty tenor of eir voice, Jason recalls the best of Milo from the Descendents, with the rest of the band continuing the refining of their sound to nigh-perfection. Allowing their more emotional side to come through later on in the disc (in tracks like “Never Speak Again”), Strung Out continues their domination with the next destined-for-eternity track, “Skeletondanse”.

Strung Out has been going at this for over a decade, and it really shows. Bands like Legbone and Strung Out take the errors and fuck-ups from their previous albums and condense and coalesce any laxities into one solid and near-perfect album. Only problem I can foresee is exactly where Strung Out can go from here. I mean, if the album is great, the mastering great, the songs and band great, what can be proven with a next album? If you honestly like punk, Strung Out “Exile in Oblivion” is the best album that 2004 has to offer.

Top Tracks: Skeletondanse, No Voice of Mine

Rating: 9.1/10