Stretch Arm Strong 'Rituals of Life'

Originally released in 1999 on Solid State Records, Rituals of Life is the landmark second full-length from Stretch Arm Strong, the Columbia, South Carolina band whose combination of melodic hardcore, punk, breakdowns, and massive sing-alongs helped define a generation of hardcore.

Across songs like “When Sorrow Falls,” “Outside Looking In,” “Second Chances,” “All We’ve Lost,” “Pursuit of Happiness,” “Set Free,” and “To a Friend,” Stretch Arm Strong balance speed and aggression with melody, positive conviction, and the kind of communal choruses that made their live shows legendary. The album closes with their take on “Melt With You,” reinforcing just how naturally the band could pull melody into hardcore without softening its impact.

Coming up alongside bands like Bane, Boysetsfire, and Shai Hulud, Stretch Arm Strong helped push melodic hardcore beyond traditional scene boundaries. Their influence would later be cited by bands including Rise Against, Thursday, New Found Glory, Comeback Kid, and others who followed in their wake.

After more than two decades out of print, Rituals of Life returned to vinyl through Iodine Recordings, completely remastered by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden and repackaged by Unoriginal Vinyl using elements of the original artwork.

More than 25 years after its original release, Rituals of Life remains one of the essential records of late-’90s melodic hardcore and a cornerstone of the Stretch Arm Strong catalog.