Over their tenure as the progenitors of the metal-infused punk sound, Strung Out have yet to get complacent. Instead, like a championship fighter that gets stronger with every round, they continually unleash a battering assault of technical guitar work and gripping melodies. The band’s latest full-length (7th overall), Agents of the Underground, is a triumphant defense of the title they’ve held for years. With blisteringly fast riffs, crushing rhythms, and powerful vocals, Agents of the Underground is quintessential Strung Out, yet, as with each succeeding release, the band manage to evolve their sound. This time around the band enlisted the producing talents of Cameron Webb (Motorhead, Social Distortion, Danzig, Pennywise) and from the very first moments of the album the success of the collaboration is overtly apparent. With passionate melodies that recall Strung Out’s earlier albums and the ruthless aggressive music that has progressed over their recent releases, Agents of the Underground can be hailed as the perfect culmination of all their past efforts. As Strung Out fans have come to expect, the hybrid of raw pulsing emotion, scientific precision, and years of experience yields a product that far surpasses all imitators. Agents of the Underground is no exception to this, rather an escalation. One listen and you’ll know exactly how the band maintains relevance and continues to garner new fans with each release.

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