STRIFE: Andrew Kline on In This Defiance, Edge Breaks & Breaking the Rules of Hardcore

This week we’re joined by Andrew Kline, co-founder and guitarist of one of California hardcore’s most important bands: STRIFE.

We dive into the many fateful encounters that had to happen for the band to start in the beginning of the 90s to usher in a new era and new generation of straight edge hardcore. Strife, along with Earth Crisis and Snapcase were eventually considered the original “Victory Records Trinity” and set the standard for what a hardcore band could do worldwide in the mid to late 90s.

We break down their entire discography, including their breakout debut One Truth and their decade-defining masterpiece In This Defiance — all the way up until their breakup and eventual return (and misunderstood statement about no longer being straight edge) in the 2000s.

An incredibly insightful and fascinating window into what is now an underrated band, but one that has seen what the top of the mountain of hardcore music has to offer.

Check out HardLore's very own ⁠PLAN X RECORDS!⁠ A brand new home for straight edge hardcore. Debut release announced on Edge Day.

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HardLore: A Knotfest Series, fueled by Monster Energy.

Shot, Mixed & Edited by ⁠⁠Steven Grise⁠⁠

Title sequence by ⁠⁠Nicholas Marzluf⁠⁠

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00:00:00 - Start

00:01:49 - Andrew Kline

00:09:34 - Finding Hardcore

00:19:57 - The Long, Beautiful Story of How Strife Begins

00:32:13 - xStand As Onex

00:42:20 - The Early Days of Strife

00:53:51 - Plan X Records & Guilty Party

00:56:25 - Victory Records & The Only The Strong Compilation

01:03:22 - ONE TRUTH

01:09:46 - Touring Relentlessly & Sick of it All

01:31:01 - Strife As A Career & The Birth of Today's Hardcore Economy

01:45:19 - Gearing Up for In This Defiance & Meeting Sepultura

01:56:41 - IN THIS DEFIANCE

02:01:09 - Blistered

02:15:09 - Strife Breaking Edge and Breaking Hearts

02:25:27 - In This Defiance & It's Impact on Victory

02:33:34 - Touring Killed Strife

02:40:02 - Bringing Back Strife (Angermeans)

03:03:11 - Rapid Fire: Strife Edition

03:08:17 - Top 4 Hardcore Records