Stray From The Path - Only Death Is Real album review

Everything’s shit and Stray From The Path know it. Since 2001, the NY metalcore good-for-nuffins have actively spoken out against the world’s ills, and their seventh record is no different. This time, though, 2017’s bizarre political landscape leaves vocalist Andrew Dijorio basically sloganeering, cries of ‘Don’t hate the player, hate the game!’ coming off as Zack de la Rocha’s sloppy sevenths. His piercing, Architects-meet-Rage Against The Machine approach offers swagger and severity; he does genuinely believe these lines he’s spitting, but with a few exceptions, it’s mostly top-line stuff. Metalcorebeatdownsmeet bouncy nu metal riffs, ham-fistedly allowing room for Donald Trump samples – of course. SOFTWAREmark” gingersoftwareuiphraseguid=“44a21b80-3c4c-447d-a929-e1a9e64d01e1” id=“f18bb7d2-5127-474a-ac50-8e6599cac99d”>GoodnightSOFTWAREmark” gingersoftwareuiphraseguid=“44a21b80-3c4c-447d-a929-e1a9e64d01e1” id=“b44c5a57-02af-453f-b719-54fe97791874”>Alt-Right is the album’s biggest middle finger, a highlight even given its potentially divisive, ‘meet-violence-with-violence’ message. This album is mosh-a-minute fun, but it’s essentially the Sausage Party of metal: conceptual promise over-laboured to predictable climax.