About Stray From the Path
Stray from the Path is an American hardcore punk band formed in 2001 in Long Island, New York. They have released ten full-length albums. Their first three records were independently released – People Over Profit in 2002, Audio Prozac in 2003, and Our Oceania in 2004. Stray From The Path then signed with Sumerian Records and released six records with them; Villains in 2008, Make Your Own History in 2009, Rising Sun in 2011, Anonymous in 2013, Subliminal Criminals in 2015, and Only Death Is Real in 2017. They are currently signed to UNFD and released Internal Atomics in 2019, and Euthanasia in 2022. They have been seen on tour with bands such as: Architects, Northlane, Every Time I Die, The Acacia Strain, Terror, Norma Jean, Underoath, The Ghost Inside, For Today, Stick to Your Guns, Bleeding Through, Comeback Kid, and Counterparts.
The band was formed on Long Island, New York, in 2001. Its original members were Thomas Williams, John Kane, Justin Manas, Ed Edge and Frank Correira. In October 2003, they went into the studio with Joe Cincotta and Terrance Hobbs of Suffocation to record their debut full length, Audio Prozac. In July 2005, after playing extensively over the following eight months to support their record, they released Our Oceania on August 2, 2005. In November 2005 original singer Ed Edge left the band and was replaced by Andrew Dijorio . After touring the country DIY, SFTP entered God City Studios and recorded Villains with Converge Guitarist, Kurt Ballou. Upon completion of the record, the songs spread to California, which led to a contract with Sumerian Records. After being recorded independently at God City, Villains was properly released on May 13, 2008. After touring North America, the band saw some lineup changes. Ryan Thompson replaced Frank Correira on bass guitar, Justin Manas moved from drums to guitar replacing John Kane, and drummer Dan Bourke, formerly of This Is Hell, took over the role on drums. SFTP entered the studio with producer Misha Mansoor and recorded 2009's Make Your Own History. After touring North America, and Europe vigorously, the band hit Machine Shop Recordings with producer Will Putney to record their latest record Rising Sun. This record featured guest appearances by Andrew Neufeld of Comeback Kid, Cory Brandan Putman of Norma Jean and Jonathan Vigil of The Ghost Inside. In 2012 they released a download only single "Landmines". They later released Anonymous in September 2013 which featured Jesse Barnett from Stick to Your Guns and Jason Butler from Letlive.
In 2015 they released Subliminal Criminals, continuing the rapcore sound of their previous effort while delving into more social and political themes . This was to be the final album with Dan Bourke on drums, as he would leave the group in 2016 to be replaced by former Brutality Will Prevail and Dead Swans drummer Craig Reynolds. On the day of the 2016 United States presidential election, they released a single entitled "The House Always Wins". On July 12, 2017, they announced details of their new album Only Death Is Real along with single "Goodnight Alt-Right", which attracted criticism from right wing groups upon release due to its lyrics.
In 2018, the ensemble toured with Anti-Flag, the White Noise and Sharptooth.
In September of 2022, SFTP released their album Euthanasia. The making of the album was fraught with strife due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The band would send each other ideas but would find that they would go long periods of time without playing their instruments. Craig would drum on Twitch during this time and was later joined by Tom Williams on guitar. This avenue helped re-fire their passion for performance. Nick Ruskell writes: "From empty tank to firing on all cylinders, it's been a journey of reconnection to make Euthanasia. But, having done so with such impressive force, it's put Stray From The Path firmly back on track."
Their music has been categorized as metalcore, hardcore punk, rapcore, rap metal and nu metal Their earliest material was metalcore containing elements of math rock, however over the years have developed a larger emphasis on groove and technicality. Metal Sucks attributed this development as being due to the band's growing influence from Rage Against the Machine. In an article for Exclaim!, writer Joe Smith-Engelhardt described the band's style as a "Rage Against the Machine-worshipping take on hardcore". Jeannie Blue for Cryptic Rock described it as "behemoth Rapcore meets Rage Against the Machine".
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