Written by Brandon George
From the first drop of “Stray Bullet,” California progressive metalcore band Aspen Way makes it clear that they’re a band to look out for going forward. After a brief hiatus following a self-titled EP in 2017 and a string of single releases in the years in between, the band has returned with a new lineup and a ferocious new sound.
This new single has an enormous amount of momentum. Lead lines forge forward backed by distorted tremolo and thumping bass while the consistently ferocious drumming ensures that the track never loses speed.
In the verses, enraged, layered screaming vocals top rhythmic chugs and an immensely memorable diving guitar melody. In the chorus, they briefly give way to soaring chords and desperate clean vocals before joining back together with the warpath screams in a dynamic that highlights not only the vocalists’ individual voices, but the way they intertwine with the composition.
The song’s breakdown is a raving exercise in the distance between noise and silence, taking advantage of the moments between echoing unison hits between the guitar, bass, and drums to highlight the heaviness. The offset triplet rhythm further serves to set up the teetering lead-in to each cymbal crash.
If the vehement instrumentation wasn’t enough, the lyricism, presenting a sincere resentment of humanity’s irresponsible destruction of the Earth, add a beautiful acridness to the song. The rage presented in these screams, invokes a betrayal of Biblical creation and description of the Earth’s demise is so vivid, so violent, it’s impossible to ignore the emotion behind the words.
“Stray Bullet” is available wherver you listen to music, and you can follow Aspen Way on Twitter @AspenWayCA. Let us know what you thought of the track by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
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