by Jason D. Taylor3rd Strike offers up a tired form of hip-hop/metal on their debut, Lost Angel. Capitalizing on an industry explosion, 3rd Strike lays down track after track of heavy guitars, earth-shaking drumbeats, and rappy lyrical flow that is common to anyone who turns on their radio. A few songs are moderately decent musically, such as the album's first track, "Flow Heat." The song shows promise and could even propel them into the spotlight if given generous airtime. Unfortunately, these songs are few and far between, leaving the listener stuck hearing song after song of monotonous rap/metal that has been done thousands of times before by much more talented musicians. They even butcher a Black Sabbath classic, turning "Paranoid" into an obscenity that there should be a law against. 3rd Strike is the type of band who promises to be at a party and shows up the next day, as their debut album is ripe with the hip-hop/rock combinations that were all the rage in 1999. Lost Angel is a solid album otherwise, but just offers very little for the imagination, and even less for the ears.