Within the ever-evolving panorama of recent hardcore, Stick To Your Weapons have lengthy reigned supreme as titans of the style, their music serving as a rallying cry for social justice and private development. Now, on their eighth full-length providing, “Maintain Planting Flowers,” the Orange County quintet returns with a searing, cathartic exploration of resilience that solidifies their standing because the style’s most impassioned standard-bearers.
Produced by the esteemed Beau Burchell, this album is a relentless excavation of life’s challenges, with Jesse Barnett‘s evocative vocals slicing by way of the band’s trademark mix of uncompromising heaviness and melodic energy. The opening salvo of “We All Die Anyway” units the tone, because the sound of a shovel breaking floor alerts the beginning of a journey by way of battle and self-discovery. Barnett‘s lyrics urge listeners to embrace braveness within the face of mortality, establishing the report’s overarching theme of discovering magnificence and objective amidst adversity.
Tracks like “Severed Endlessly” and “Extra Than A Witness” showcase Stick To Your Weapons at their most intense and lyrically introspective. “Severed Endlessly” is a standout second, its punk-infused tempo and crushing breakdowns amplifying the music’s existential questions on time, loss, and religious awakening. Barnett‘s vocals soar over a number of the finest riffs the band has ever crafted, making this a real spotlight of the album.
In distinction, the brooding “Everlasting Darkish” gives a somber counterpoint, exploring a world consumed by concern and despair. This monitor supplies a poignant distinction to the report’s total message of resilience and collective motion, showcasing the band’s versatility and depth.
However Stick To Your Weapons‘ dedication to utilizing their platform to uplift and empower their group is rarely removed from the floor. Visitor appearances from hardcore luminaries like Terror‘s Scott Vogel (“Who Wants Who”) and SeeYouSpaceCowboy‘s Connie Sgarbossa (“H84U”) elevate “Maintain Planting Flowers” right into a communal celebration of the style’s unifying energy.
The album’s emotional core arrives with the title monitor, “Maintain Planting Flowers.” Equal elements uplifting and reflective, the music weaves collectively intricate guitar work and anthemic choruses, urging listeners to keep up hope and perseverance within the face of adversity. This sentiment carries by way of to the contemplative nearer, “Eats Me Up,” tying the themes of non-public accountability and development right into a poignant finale.
All through “Maintain Planting Flowers,” Stick To Your Weapons‘ sonic palette is enriched by refined atmospheric particulars. The inclusion of pure components like rain, wind, and ocean sounds threads the tracks collectively, reinforcing the album’s central metaphor of nurturing magnificence and that means amidst life’s challenges. These touches present moments of respite between the report’s relentless bursts of power, just like the blistering “Spineless.”
In an period marked by division and despair, Stick To Your Weapons have crafted an album that serves as each a rallying cry and a balm for the weary. “Maintain Planting Flowers” would not simply increase the band’s sound; it solidifies their place as a cornerstone of recent hardcore, a gaggle unafraid to confront societal ills whereas championing the facility of non-public development and communal motion.
Whether or not you are navigating your personal battles or preventing for one thing bigger than your self, Stick To Your Weapons‘ newest providing is a reminder to remain the course and maybe plant one thing lovely alongside the way in which. In a world that always feels consumed by darkness, this album shines a light-weight, urging listeners to seek out the braveness to bloom anew.
