Strung Out has been together for almost 30 years –You would be forgiven for thinking they are a new band such is the energy of these songs. Produced by Cameron Webb, who was behind the helm of 2009’s Agents of the Underground, it’s a record that has the fire of a new band.

The band are older (obviously) and dare I say it wiser. Yet they play like young men musically and lyricly they view a “big Picture”  as they struggle to make sense of the chaos of the world we live in.

Much of frontman Cruz’s lyrics come from the death of someone he was incredibly close to. That’s something which has exaggerated and exacerbated Cruz’s emotional fragility and continues the spiritual and philosophical journey he says he’s found himself on in recent years. At the same time, though, these songs are also infused with a spirit of hope and defiance.

“I lost my best friend six or seven months ago,” explains Cruz. “It was right before we started writing this record, and that really put a shadow on things. Some of these songs – especially “Monuments” and “Bloody Knuckles” – reflect that loss. But that’s what’s always made our band work. The music is this metal machine and then you get these vocals that express this vulnerability in a melodic way – and there’s love and there’s searching in all that machine. This record starts out hopeful and then it kind of degrades. It sobers and ends with loss. But there are so many things on this record that I’m still figuring it out.”

The albums starts with ‘Rebels And Saints’ and don’t get lulled into a false start becasue its a woven dash and the sunny Californian feel hits you. Melodic and fast. whilst ‘Daggers’ might be darker its almost punk metal in the riffs and pace it tells a story of personal turmoil within the backdrop of an increasingly dystopian America.  Strung Out’s trademark melody and aggression is more metal than Bad Religion and its ebb and flow is maintained throughout the album. Its not really a scene that has taken off massivly in the UK and has a very American feel to it songs like ‘Dissapearing City’ cross over as does the pacey and layered harmonies of ‘Politics Of Sleep’.

Penultimate track ‘Strange Notes’ is bordering on Anthrax metal thrashing mad with a frantic drum roll on the intro like I say some might say it ebbs and flows through the gears throughout the album whilst the next man might say its that constant ebb and flow that pulverises that detracts from the songs as there doesn’t seem too much light and shade throughout the three quarters of an hours worth of music. They could totally land a slot at Download though which might well help US punk cross over to the UK.

The band head out in support of the album for the rest of the year throughout North America where I’m sure they’ll hoover up audiences with their energy alone.  To be fair they’ve always had a tonne of energy  but this is a little more metallic that say ‘Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues’ that was just the right side of this frantic paced style of music.

Buy Songs Of Armour And Devotion Here

Author: Dom Daley

Strung Out will be making the following appearances this fall. Dates below.

SEPTEMBER

18 – Ybor, FL – Crowbar

19 – Gainesville, FL – The Wooly

20 – West Palm Beach, FL – Respectable Street

21 – Jacksonville, FL – 1904 Music Hall

22 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl

24 – Wilmington, NC – Reggie’s 42nd St.Tavern

25 – Virginia Beach, VA – The Bunker

26 – Baltimore, MD – Otto Bar

27 – Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes

28 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge

29 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall

OCTOBER

01 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall

02 – Montreal, QC – Club Soda

03 – Quebec City, QC – La Source

04 – Ottawa, ON – The 27 Club

05 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House

06 – London, ON – London Music Hall – Rum Runners

08 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Crafthouse Stage & Grill

09 – Detroit, MI – Small’s

10 – Chicago, IL – Cobra Lounge

11 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club

12 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room

13 – Englewood, CO – Gothic Theatre

31 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre

NOVEMBER

01 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre

02 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon

03 – Boise, ID – The Olympic

04 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall

08 – Dallas, TX – Three Links

09 – Corpus Christi, TX – House of Rock

10 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live

12 – Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock

13 – Las Vegas, NV – Dive Bar

14 – San Diego, CA – Irenic

15 – Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones

16 – Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver

17 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s

19 – Fresno, CA – Strummer’s

20 – Morro Bay – The Siren

21 – Lancaster, CA – American Legion

22 – Garden Grove, CA – Garden Amp

23 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre

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