Strata 
By Chuck G. 

Strata 
Label: Wind-Up
Rating: 

Let me start off by saying that Strata will never break big.

Go ahead, bludgeon me with insults and epithets, but it's true. We may not be in agreement now, but we will be in roughly 5 years when this band burns out it's potential, the musical landscape changes and the various members that haven't gone on to real estate degrees or website start-ups will be in different bands. I will close by saying, there will never be a "Best of..." album in Strata's future.

They will run the usual course of non-stop small venue club tours with the hope of joining a mid-level headliner...ala Chevelle...to open 500 to 1,000 capacity halls. And maybe...JUST MAYBE... they might hook up to become the first band that plays before dusk on a Nickelback or Three Doors Down type concert. 

But that's it. Never, will you hear a radio advertisement offering "THIS Saturday at the Metro TriCity EnormoDome...STRATA with etc, etc, etc."  

Strata is destined to BE the etcetera. Their career will be the disclaimer at the end of an auto dealership commercial.

But before you scroll down to the feedback portion of this website and go off half-cocked with questions about my hearing or worse, stories about my mother, please know this: I LIKE Strata and I LIKE this album. 

Give this group of upstarts ALOT of credit...they recorded and produced everything you hear on their album on their own. I'm sure this self-sufficiency is but one of many reasons those crafty fellas over at Wind-Up Records snapped these guys up. Another would be the calculating businessmen in Wind-Up's marketing department decided they needed an emo-metal band in the market place to battle the likes of Trust Company, the aforementioned Chevelle and Finch. There are reasons why those businessmen make the big bucks.  Strata is a viable contender in that arena.

Hailing from the California music scene (and currently gigging with Metal Shop!?!), Strata put together an impressive package of tightly-written and performed songs that are at once haunting and fist-pumping. 

Their self-titled initial offering opens with the gritty guitar-riff of "Piece by Piece" before exploding into full band assault on the senses....mostly the ears, though. Their music has a sense of drama to it. Flaming out into a quieter moment before unleashing Eric Victorino's finely-tuned but loosely-harnessed vocals.

Strata's music is not for the casual music listener. It will challenge and drive away a lesser aficionado. The interplay in Adrian Robison's drums alone is enough to put someone on notice that this isn't music for the weak or faint of heart. But the emotion played out in songs like "I Will Breathe Fire" and "The Panic" shows just how much heart this band has.

"When It's All Burning," which is easily recognizable as reminiscent of Finch's "What It Is To Burn" is the showpiece. The production on this track might alone be worth the price of admission. This type of song is what makes emo-rock so special. It hits on all cylinders and doesn't let up. The juxtaposition between sweet melody and Ryan Hernandez's full-on guitar attack along with the vocal line makes this song a thing of beauty. Easily, one of the best and more forward-thinking efforts I've heard this year. Simply soaring.

But four songs in, Strata keeps up a game attempt to distinguish between the 12 tracks...but it's all for not. They reach pretty decent heights with songs like "We've Changed" and "Today." But rounding out the 2nd half of the disc themes start to get a little tribal, a little out there and a little played out.

The reasons to like Strata are simple. Their highs are very high and their lows aren't all that low...just sort of derivative. But the music is cerebral in a way that challenges the listener without it simply being a showcase of musical chops (see Atomship). Plus, give it up for the guys producing, tracking, dubbing and nuancing this project all on their own without those money-grubbers from Wind-Up breathing down their neck. 

Sticking it to the suits might be reason enough to check Strata out.
 

Track Listing:
1.) Piece By Piece
2.) I Will Breathe Fire
3.) The Panic
4.) When It's All Burning
5.) Just Like Silk
6.) We've Changed
7.) Never There
8.) Today
9.) Trustkilltrust
10.) Waiting
11.) You Are Eternal
12.) In A Sweet Dream
 

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