Review Summary: Are You In Or In The Way?
It’s hard to believe that a band can be ten records into their career and somehow create some of the most fueled, fiery and inspired music that they’ve ever conjured. Stray From the Path is the band and “Euthanasia” is the record, their tenth to be exact. Stray’s sealed and branded form of political, groovy metalcore hits harder than ever considering the news headlines and turmoil of the world in these most recent couple of years. Each track hones in on a controversial topic, takes a stance and doubles down aggressively and passionately. They sound invigorated musically with some of their most vicious riffs and breakdowns to date; lyrically each line stings and punches and vocally Mr. Drew York sounds as ready to take my lunch money as ever.
The album takes no time to explode with the opener “Needful Things” which examines the state of the country through the lens of the older generation holding back the progress of the younger generation with the tagline “Are you in or in the way?” A common occurrence is the ferocious drumming of Craig Reynolds who is now a big part of the songwriting process with Stray with both guitarist Tom and he livestreaming on twitch the writing process of some of the tracks for this record. Many of Craig’s intense rhythm patterns border on progressive or mathy but they meld perfectly with the straightforward and groovy nature of Tom’s riffage.
The album continues with “May You Live Forever” which smashes you over the head with its off-time rhythms and powerful open chord strums. The following track “III” is the third installment in the bands “Badge & A Bullet” series of songs and this one is even less forgiving to the men and women in blue. Given the uptick in police brutality, unregulated police activity and the nature in which officers act when in uniform, there is an abundance of material in which to base these lyrics off. A couple particularly biting quips include “Kill/Kill because you can/But now you better ***ing pray you got a body cam” and the aggressive callout “Part 3 cause *** 1,2/And if you fly that blue flag, then *** you too.” The little audio clip of the New York City police officer right before the immensely potent blast beat section is a clever inclusion and adds to the stinging quality of the lyricism for the track.
The first single “Guillotine” follows suit with themes of greed, gluttony and financial impropriety. The breakdown callout “Off with their ***ing heads!” is absolute savage and Drew’s snarl when shouting these lyrics is passionate and charged. The track “Chest Candy” comments on the military complex of America in a very direct manner shouting “Tell me the ***ing truth/Who do you recruit?/Drifters and disposable youth.” Tom’s guitar work on this track is a true standout with the riffs coming off extremely brutal especially coupled with the thick basslines and powerful drum work. The line “Send ‘em to the furnace/ “Thank you for your service”/ is particularly haunting essentially indicating the governments willingness to file the young people who enlist into these harsh conditions leaving them scarred mentally and physically with just a thank you letter. In a short commentary on the subject, the way this country treats these individuals who ‘serve the country’ is horrendous and the fact that we have homeless veterans is a travesty even if I might disagree enlisting in the first place. To each their own of course, but the reality is that the government does not care if your arm gets blown off, they care about control, oil and money. I’m glad to see bands take bold stands in regard to some of these sensitive topics even if it angers those who might support certain views, ideations or lifestyles.
This tangent leads us to one of my favorite tracks on the record “Bread & Roses” featuring the vocal stylings of Stick to Your Guns vocalist Jesse Barnett where he’s utilized as a melodic source for the chorus. This bit of the song is extremely ethereal vocally with hard riffing guitars in the background and lovely ambient work saturating the mix of the track. The lyrics on this one are also particularly impressive with themes involving hunger, homelessness and inequality. During the bridge of the song, Drew shouts “Lend out a hand that you can’t retract (Can’t retract)/Worked to bone, yeah, it breaks your back (Breaks you back)/It boils up until your skin cracks/No man is my master/Fall back/So give me bread and give me roses” which comments on the exhaustion of working class America and the expectations of giving everything you have to earn a starvation wage.
“Law Abiding Citizen” is an extremely vicious track lyrically essentially calling out divisive individuals and the extremely wealthy for the poor treatment of workers and their lack of communal contributions and how people are just expected to fall in line and accept these realities as ‘law abiding citizens.’ The calmer whispered chorus where Drew spouts “Listen/I’m just a law abiding citizen/And if I’m not being detained/Let me go about my business” eventually erupts in the finality of the last chorus with “I was a law abiding citizen/(Now I don’t mind making the headlines)” essentially signaling that in order to get anything accomplished or get your voice heard, you need to rebel and cause ‘trouble.’ This is another track where the thick basslines really add to the depth and power of the instrumentals.
The album lulls for a couple tracks with the standard sounding “The Salt in Your Spit” and the solid yet not as memorable banger “Neighborhood Watch.” However, the album ends on a very robust note with the nearly seven minute closer “Ladder Work.” Much of the commentary on the track is the inability to dig ourselves out of our current state or the uselessness of trying because the higher your climb, the longer the slope becomes before it’s completely insurmountable. The instrumental work on this track is progressive, aggressive and full of twists and turns. There’s tons of dynamics and variety in the runtime and the track features an extremely compelling phone recording that says “Hello, to me the criteria required for ‘euthanasia,’ you must have an incurable, constant state, of unbearable suffering/If you think you qualify, please press ‘1’” which repeats numerous times. I’m not sure if the repetition is meant to comment on the amount of people looking for relief from the realities of life or it it’s commentary on the systematic disqualification of peoples struggles with easy fixes like pills or in this case, death.
This album is thought-provoking, insanely aggressive and emotionally compelling considering all the controversial topics discussed. Instrumentally, this probably is the most technical the drum work has been in their entire discography yet the most bouncy and groovy. The production and mix work of master Will Putney is crisp, dense and punchy. Every breakdown hits especially hard, each bassline blends perfectly and effectively with the guitars and the drum sounds clap smoothly and with vigor. If you’re already a fan of this band, this record with satisfy in every way. The songwriting is as solid as ever, the lyrics are well thought out and masterfully penned and ‘punned.’ I’m not sure I would call this an magnum opus considering how consistent their records have been over the years, but this contends as one of their best.
Highlights:
“Bread & Roses”
“Ladder Work”
“Needful Things”
“III”
“Chest Candy”
