Stray From The Path have made a career through gut punching instrumentation and unapologetic lyrics that go places a lot of other bands in the industry wouldn't touch. And with their final album Clockworked surprise dropping today, the band has continued to show that they refuse to pull punches.
Track eight from the record, titled, "Can I Have Your Autograph?" takes direct shots at Disturbed's lead singer David Draiman for signing bombs in late 2023 that were to be dropped onto Palestinians in Gaza following the October 7th attacks. "You put your name on that bomb/I put a target on your fucking back," is screamed in vocalist Drew Dijorio's signature angst filled rage. The track goes on crushing riffs and vitriol to discuss how reprehensible it is that musicians such as Draiman and others who have done heinous actions get excused in the music industry due to their popularity, platform, and revenue.
The Nu Metal Agenda reported on Draiman's viral bomb signing moment in January of 2024. At that time, Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds had shared, “...whatever energy a person puts out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to that person three times.” Following this post, the thick-skinned Draiman immediately blocked Reynolds on social media. Evidently, that sentiment stuck for obvious reasons for Stray From The Path, and they decided to state their piece more thoroughly on "Can I Have Your Autograph?"
FFO: writing your name on the side of a bomb pic.twitter.com/AWkNsCTfiZ
— craig reynolds (@reynlord) June 18, 2024
On the surprise album drop, Stray From The Path's Tom Williams stated to Rocksound, "It’s really just about the stuff that is affecting us and the stuff that we see is happening." “It’s getting hard to live, and it’s hard to survive, and that’s what we want to speak up on. It’s typical of Stray, but that’s just the way we are. We have had the privilege of touring the world and meeting people from diverse cultures. From Japan and Africa to England, Europe, America, and Canada. And everywhere we go, there’s a lot that’s fucking with everyone, so that means it’s fucking with us. And the thing is, we will never hide that.”
Stray From The Path are no strangers to making statements, and this one track alone certainly accomplished that.
Clockwork is out now on all streaming platforms. Merchandise including vinyl can be purchased at their official website.
