£14.99
For anyone who has listened to punk rock over the past couple decades, STRUNG OUT needs no introduction. Their signature brand of intense, frenetic, metal-influenced punk has elevated them to elite status and played a significant role in redefining the genre. From their FAT debut Another Day in Paradise to 2015s Transmission.Alpha.Delta, and 2018s expansive acoustic EP Black Out the Sky; STRUNG OUTs consistency in pushing the envelope is unmatched. If you listened to their new album Songs of Armor and Devotion with no prior knowledge of STRUNG OUT, you probably wouldnt guess that the California band has been together for almost 30 years such is the intensity and fresh energy of these 13 songs. Produced by Cameron Webb, who was behind the helm of 2009s Agents of the Underground, its a record that brims with the same ferocious fire the band had at the very start of its career, but which also demonstrates how far the California five-piece have evolved as songwriters, musicians and people. The moody Daggers tells a story of personal turmoil within the backdrop of an increasingly dystopian America, while the grief and sadness contained in Monuments is offset by the pulsating, defiant frenzy of the songs tune. Disappearing City blends a raucous energy with a sense of resignation but importantly not defeat. Under the Western Sky brims with STRUNG OUTs trademark sense of melody and coruscating aggression, and the insistent ebb and flow of album closer Bloody Knuckles is ravaged with both a despair and a kind of beauty at the same time. Songs of Armor and Devotion is a punk record through and through, but its much more than that. Its a political record that addresses the state were in, but at its core is a heart and humanity and a belief in that humanity that overrides everything else. Its pain and sadness and hope and rebellion all wrapped into one powerful statement that also serves as a culmination of the bands three decades together. Songs of Armor and Devotion sees STRUNG OUTcompleted by guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Chris Aiken and new drummer (since 2018) RJ Shankle writing at the height of their abilities, infused with an abundance of STRUNG OUTs emblematic nuance to please their legions of fans across the globe.