Strongarm

Item: The Advent Of A Miracle
Author: sesspool

The Advent Of A Miracle

(1997)

Reviewed by sesspool

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Label Tooth & Nail RecordsDead Zine1997

hardcore metalcore punk

Every once in a while comes a group who deserves to define or help define an entire genre. Some examples for you:

Secular: Metallica, Megadeth
Secular: Sepultura, Pantera
Secular: Death, Cannibal Corpse
Christian: Tourniquet, Deliverance
Christian: Mortification

Strongarm, along with Overcome, deserves the title of defining Hardcore group. This album is so stinking good. The lyrics, along with the fantastically created music, the heartfelt vocals... this is almost by far and away the best hardcore album I have ever heard... it closely competes with the best of em.

lyrically, this album is massive and one of the best albums I've seen in the Christian industry. This album is truly a masterpiece. Take the heavy lyrics of songs such as "more bitter than death":

still more bitter than death,
is to walk in silence,
is to die discontent,
is to gaze in the eyes of your maker,
and to no love, only resentment,
this is more bitter than death itself.

and it moves beyond:

I've felt the hand of grace, mend my broken heart.

and the heart wrenching lyrics of "advent of a miracle":

You're my beloved and all together lovely,
as a gift that can't be bought, as if gold could favor outweigh.
Your meaning to me, the secrets of the heart made manifest.
even beauty's priced beside thee, proportioned by lot the less.
wishes fade, dreams break, promise made.
takes away your will, takes your whole heart captive.
just for one promise sell it all for one true word to hold on to.
face the shame of it all,
safer to neglect, than open your callused heart. piece by piece, you have lost a part of your self.
you share to gain but lose at love and learn to hate yourself.
more and more each day and all the days thereafter.
they labor to put back together and regain what is gone forever.
wishes fade, as dreams break, promise made tomorrow takes
the most costly mistake is to try to change the past today.
the filth and the shame, they all wash away, for you Christ will clean the slate.
only love can fill the void, when the world has taken its toll,
hand in hand, by your side, we'll walk down this path together.
I'll take you to the place where promises will never break.
to the advent
to the advent
to the advent of a miracle.
true love is to die for and is why I cry, for you.
and the pain you feel and feed can heal,
if you'd just walk with me toward the light.

Indeed, this is one of the best hardcore albums of all time, if not THE best. Music is masterfully created, emotional, art filled, dark, and full of love, anger, and passion. The drums move with the fast paced, ever changing music... this would have to be one of the more erratic albums I've heard to date... yet it is so good. I cannot stress enough... this band almost gets a 10 ... almost a perfect album... it is that good.