Review Summary: May the Lord be with you
Sovereign Strength were a Christian hardcore band from Lancaster California, who were active from 2005 to 2012. After releasing two EPs independently, the band signed to Mediaskare Records, through which they released their first full-length album, Reflections, in 2010. It was around this time when I first discovered the band on Myspace, upon which after listening to their posted songs, I came to the conclusion that they sounded like “Christian
Emmure”. I remember having
Reflections on my iPod Nano, most likely downloaded from a blogspot, and listening to it occasionally when I wanted a break from my usual deathcore and just wanted to hear breakdowns. My iPod, as well as my collection of downloaded music, would eventually fade to obscurity in place of iPhones and streaming services, but I had probably forgotten about
Reflections long before that had taken place.
A few years ago, I attended a Saturday night church service, as I sometimes do when I feel like entertaining the possibility of attempting to become a Christian again (I never fully commit). At the end of service, the pastor dismissed us with something to the effect of, “You may go, and let the Lord be with you”. On the drive home, I mentally shouted, “GO! AND MAY THE LORD BE WITH YOU!”, knowing that the phrase had occurred in a -core song of the past. After sifting through some pre-AI Google search results which contained a lot of For Today and Impending Doom lyrics, I finally found my answer: The lyrics were from Sovereign Strength’s song
Half and Half. I put on
Reflections for the first time in probably over twelve years.
In some respects, it was the same as I remembered – an onslaught of one note breakdowns – but with age I was able to appreciate a little bit more of the nuance. The riffs, which I viewed in my younger age as the intermissions between breakdowns, were actually quite impactful, occasionally melodic, and made up more of the track times than I had recalled. The production was surprisingly dynamic and full, especially for a Myspace-era hardcore release. The lyrics were faith-driven, but not so much that it came off as corny or distracting. The vocals themselves were simultaneously strained and controlled, but definitely unique.
Reflections has since become a part of my album rotation again, but with more frequency and appreciation than it had attained in my youth. As someone who grew up with mainly deathcore and metalcore, this was, and still is, one of the only hardcore releases that ever gripped me. I can’t vouch for how well it compares to many modern hardcore albums, but it was fun and memorable enough to find its way back to me after a long, undeserved absence.
