Within the ever-evolving panorama of contemporary 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, “Hold 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 chopping via 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 via battle and self-discovery. Barnett‘s lyrics urge listeners to embrace braveness within the face of mortality, establishing the file’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 tune’s existential questions on time, loss, and religious awakening. Barnett‘s vocals soar over among the finest riffs the band has ever crafted, making this a real spotlight of the album.
In distinction, the brooding “Everlasting Darkish” presents a somber counterpoint, exploring a world consumed by concern and despair. This monitor offers a poignant distinction to the file’s general 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 neighborhood 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 “Hold Planting Flowers” right into a communal celebration of the style’s unifying energy.
The album’s emotional core arrives with the title monitor, “Hold Planting Flowers.” Equal components uplifting and reflective, the tune weaves collectively intricate guitar work and anthemic choruses, urging listeners to take care of hope and perseverance within the face of adversity. This sentiment carries via to the contemplative nearer, “Eats Me Up,” tying the themes of private accountability and development right into a poignant finale.
All through “Hold Planting Flowers,” Stick To Your Weapons‘ sonic palette is enriched by delicate atmospheric particulars. The inclusion of pure parts like rain, wind, and ocean sounds threads the tracks collectively, reinforcing the album’s central metaphor of nurturing magnificence and which means amidst life’s challenges. These touches present moments of respite between the file’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. “Hold Planting Flowers” would not simply increase the band’s sound; it solidifies their place as a cornerstone of contemporary hardcore, a bunch unafraid to confront societal ills whereas championing the ability of private 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 stunning alongside the best way. In a world that always feels consumed by darkness, this album shines a lightweight, urging listeners to seek out the braveness to bloom anew.
