Album Review: Stray from the Path – Euthanasia (UNFD)

Stray from the Path have been unleashing their furious blend of hardcore aggression and outspoken socio-political lyricism for over a decade, striving to be the kind of band that can offer an entry point to both heavy music and radical ideas, and achieving an impressive level of longevity in the process. Now their latest album, Euthanasia, finds the NY/UK-based group in significantly darker territory. Fractured by unprecedented circumstances, physical distance and even a literal broken back, Stray from the Path have produced their most personal record yet. It will be released on September 9th, 2022 via UNFD.

Dark times and dark situations breed dark thoughts and with Euthanasia, Stray from the Path look to exorcise some of those demons. Coming up with one of their most intense and personal records to date. One that also happens to be rawer and more abrasive, while still delivering on the modern hardcore explosivity that has made this band so beloved.

It’s that exciting explosivity that greets on the massive hardcore pit opener that is Needful Things. Stray from the Path unleashing instrumental bedlam alongside a chorus that will get the fatigued and stricken masses up and moving.

The speed and energy continue into May You Live Forever, building up the tension until Stray from the Path unleash a cacophony of heavy noise. Then dropping the tempo for III but remaining undeniably intense as the guitars saw with serrated power and the vocals spit and snarl with believable passion. Each track showing just how focused on this darker path Stray from the Path are.

Though, any chance to open a hardcore pit is well and truly taken and with Guillotine, they craft one of their most memorable. A track that is going to be utter carnage in the live environment.

If you can believe it, things just get even more chaotic and intense from this point onwards. First, with the scornful, honest, and severe sound of Chest Candy. Then with Bread & Roses, where Stick to Your Guns’ Jesse Barnett adds his immense vocal talents to proceedings, giving it a more melodramatic flavour.

Followed by Law Abiding Citizen, a track with a bit more groove to the rhythm but with a sharpness to the lyrics that cut through. A smart and welcome change of pace, even if it’s temporary as Stray from the Path come back with furious aplomb on The Salt in Your Spit. The tempo shifted again, the rhythm a lot more disjointed, but the fire still ever present.

It’s not been a straight-forward experience, but it has been a joy to wallow with Stray from the Path in the mire that resulted in the creation of Euthanasia. Even at their darkest, they still manage to deliver massive hardcore anthems and nowhere is that better shown than with the brazen ferocity of Neighbourhood Watch. A penultimate track that re-energises the mind, body and spirt in anticipation for what comes next.

Which is the six-plus minute blend of electrifying hardcore heaviness, eccentric effects, and subtle touches of cinematic flamboyance. It’s incredibly anthemic, but it’s also deceptively detailed. A track the warrants a more studious listen but one more than deserving.

What a fantastic release this is. Stray from the Path exorcise the demons of the past few years in spectacular style. Delivering something that is authentically them but with an intensity that may never be experienced again.

Stray from the Path – Euthanasia Full Track Listing:

1. Needful Things
2. May You Live Forever
3. III
4. Guillotine
5. Chest Candy
6. Bread & Roses (feat. Jesse Barnett)
7. Law Abiding Citizen
8. The Salt in Your Spit
9. Neighbourhood Watch
10. Ladder Work

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