Stray From The Path have given their world-exclusive final interview to Kerrang!. Back in May of this year, the politically outspoken rap metalcore band paired the reveal of their now final album “Clockworked” with the surprise announcement of their upcoming end. As of press time, that final tour is currently scheduled to end on November 28th in Bristol, UK, effectively capping off the band’s career.
In this new piece, the group reflect on the highs and lows they’ve experienced among their 24 year existence. They also weigh in on their decision to call it quits, their past regrets and the consequences they have faced for being unapologetic in their political beliefs. They also elaborated on what they hope will be their lasting legacy.
When it came to the decision to call it quits, vocalist Andrew “Drew York” Dijorio stated:
“We’ve been doing this for 20 years. Through this band, we’ve given the world everything we can give. I’d rather go out on a high with a victory lap and a new record than [slowly lose momentum]. Looking out the window on the bus some days, I’ll think to myself, ‘Damn, this is the last time we get to do this.’ Then you turn up to certain venues to find there’s no heating, the shower is freezing, there’s a hole in the ground to take a shit in and be like, ‘God, I can’t wait to not do this anymore.’
I’ll go to the merch table and meet fans who seem to want there to be some bitterness. I have to steer the conversation, like, ‘Nah, it’s alright. We’re not here to be sad, we’re here to celebrate!’ We just don’t want to be in this band anymore. But we do want to enjoy these last shows, to see them a positive way where the close of one chapter is the beginning of another.”
Drummer Craig Reynolds further spelled out the brutal reality of touring for a band like Stray From The Path, and the conflicts it presents with the growing responsibilities they have elsewhere:
“With a band this size you need to be putting your full momentum into it. It’s six months out of the year touring if you really want to make a go of it. We’re getting old. None of us really have that in us anymore. And you begin to think, ‘Is this a sustainable route for me to be able to retire?’ Like, people ask why we aren’t playing more shows in America. Selfishly, we play our best shows in Europe, and we wanted to go out on the best tour we’ve ever had!
But also, we sell half as many tickets in the U.S. as we do in Europe. And if we did a full tour, you’d have to tell Tom that he’s going to miss his kid’s birthday. Drew will miss recording an album. Neck’s gonna miss making a video. And I’ll miss a podcast guest. After all that, you’d come home from the three weeks of being gone with less money than you would’ve made if you’d stayed at home!”
Guitarist Tom Williams added:
“Also, there are just too many bands now. I like the idea of getting out of the way and passing the torch. Touring Australia, we brought out Orthodox and Diamond Construct. On this run, we’ve got Calva Louise, Graphic Nature and Alpha Wolf. It’s getting harder and harder nowadays, so let’s make room for bands like those. I like the thought of making way for the next generation!”
As for ending the band during such a politically divisive time where their activism could be seen as being even more impactful, Reynolds offered:
“…As much as I understand that the world needs music like this right now, it takes a lot to actually make it. It’s draining to write about [and endlessly revisit] all the things you hate. I thought people had a chance for a real revolution. We had Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.
Then the pandemic seemed to be the once-in-our-lifetime [event] where things could genuinely change for good. But now we’ve got Trump again and you get the feeling [they’re] keep winning and there’s nothing we can do. That is how fucked the world is at this point: even the artists who speak up against all this stuff are cooked.”
Dijorio added:
“No one band is ever going to change the world. I’m just happy to have spoken out on the things that are important to us: injustice, [corrupt] politicians, or singers signing bombs that are going to be dropped on people in ‘a war’. I don’t want to say that I’m checked out of it, but I’ve done enough. We’ve done enough.”
Bassist/vocalist Anthony “Dragon Neck” Altamura went on to say:
“Things happen sometimes and people will ask, ‘Where are Stray talking about this?!’ They forget that we’re busting our asses to write songs about these things – songs that might help people to think differently than they would reading a comment on some online argument. I think the songs we’ve written will live on – a lot longer than some Instagram story!”
Of course, Stray From The Path are forever creatively indebted to a certain pioneering rap metal outfit, the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame-inducted Rage Against The Machine. Ironically, much like Rage Against The Machine, Stray From The Path are coming to an end during a time of great political strife. Williams is aware of that unfortunate timing, offering:
“‘The Battle Of Los Angeles‘ is as relevant in 2025 as it was in 2000. [Refused‘s] ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come‘ is as applicable now as it was in 1997. Rage Against The Machine have been one of the most influential bands of my life. They made three albums. We did nine. In 1996, on ‘Bulls On Parade‘, Zack de la Rocha sang, ‘Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes / Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal.’ That’s still relevant today.”
Dijorio continued with that line of thinking, offering:
“Our music isn’t going anywhere. You’ll always have us. Maybe it’s greedy to hope that in 10 years people will still be listening to music we made. But we wrote our hearts out, we worked our asses off, we sacrificed a lot, and we believe that lyrics like ‘Desperate people never stay desperate forever’ from Guillotine will be relevant. In another decade, people will still be saying ‘Fuck the cops!’ like we did on III.”
You can read far more from the group as they face down their end over at Kerrang!.
