Strung Out - SONGS OF ARMOR AND DEVOTION Vinyl LP

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 2015’s Transmission.Alpha.Delta, and 2018’s expansive acoustic EP Black Out the Sky; STRUNG OUT’s 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 wouldn’t 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 2009’s Agents of the Underground, it’s 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 song’s tune. “Disappearing City” blends a raucous energy with a sense of resignation but – importantly – not defeat. “Under the Western Sky” brims with STRUNG OUT’s 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 it’s much more than that. It’s a political record that addresses the state we’re in, but at its core is a heart and humanity – and a belief in that humanity – that overrides everything else. It’s pain and sadness and hope and rebellion all wrapped into one powerful statement that also serves as a culmination of the band’s three decades together. Songs of Armor and Devotion sees STRUNG OUT–completed 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 OUT’s emblematic nuance to please their legions of fans across the globe.