Stick To Your Guns make the kind of hardcore that stirs up thoughts as much it does mosh pits.
The Orange County, CA outfit—Jesse Barnett [vocals], Andrew Rose [bass], Chris Rawson [guitar], Josh James [guitar], and Adam Galindo [drums]—incite a palpable and powerful release through shuddering grooves, earthquaking breakdowns, laser-precise riffing, and arresting hooks.
Once again, they channel unbridled catharsis on their eighth full-length offering and Sharptone Records debut LP, Keep Planting Flowers.
“Over the last few years, we really stripped Stick To Your Guns down to the simplest and purest form of expression,” observes Josh. “With the band, we’re lucky to have an outlet for everything—whether it be our frustrations, anxieties, and problems or the things we love and care about. It’s a beautiful part of life.”
Emerging in 2003, the band have raised the bar with each successive release. Amassing over 100 million cumulative streams and counting, they’ve built a bulletproof catalog highlighted by Diamond [2012], Disobedient [2015], True View [2017], and Spectre [2022]. Of the latter, KERRANG! raved, “it’s both astute in its commentary and revitalizing in its mood, brimming with the energy that could lift even the most desperate soul off their knees,” and New Noise Magazine professed, “Stick To Your Guns gave a fantastic performance on this album.” In a “9-out-of-10” review, Outburn attested, “Stick To Your Guns has not only shown mature progression with Spectre, but they have also boldly voiced the concerns that change is inevitable in America.” Along the way, they shined as the rare live phenomenon equally suited to a tour with Knocked Loose, Parkway Drive, and Architects as they are to a bill with Rise Against and Pennywise. Truly breaking boundaries, they also touched down in Nairobi, Kenya for a gig, carving out a spot in history as “the first American hardcore band to play East Africa.”
Throughout 2023, the musicians carefully assembled what would become Keep Planting Flowers, recording with producer Beau Burchell.
“Everything was just pouring out of us,” recalls Josh. “The process was seamless, because Beau is a great communicator. He was always able to articulate how we could move forward, even if we got stuck. He made sure it went smoothly and had great input for the melodic elements. He was familiar with us, but he also came from a different world. His perspective was invaluable.”
The band initially teased this chapter with “Invisible Rain” and “Permanent Dark,” stoking anticipation amongst fans. However, Stick To Your Guns kick into high gear with the single “Severed Forever.” The drum gallop charges forward beneath Jesse’s guttural screams punctuated by gnashing guitar. The barrage breaks like a wave on a chantable chorus, “Are we ever catching up before it vanishes? Will it ever be enough? Are we ever waking up?”
“The opening is super fast, bordering on punk,” notes Josh. “With many of these songs, we were going to make it intense in whatever way it was written. So, if it was punky, it was going to be really driving. If it’s heavy, it’s going to make you bang your head through the windshield. The intention was, ‘How can we intensify the emotion we’re trying to invoke?’ Once Jesse put vocals to it, it became one of our favorites too.”
On “Who Needs Who,” piercing feedback signals an oncoming storm as Jesse and Scott Vogel of Terror lock into brain-rattling back-and-forth, “Never forget who needs who, you need us, we don’t need you.” Clocking in at under a minute, its intensity never relents.
“We sent Scott a couple of songs, and he was like, ‘I definitely want to do ‘Who Needs Who’,” Josh goes on. “We’ve known Terror for a very long time. They may be the band we’ve toured with the most. Scott’s an old friend, and he killed it.”
Then, there’s “H84U.” A shockwave of staccato riffing tosses and turns beneath one last blast of explosive energy catalyzed by Jesse and Connie Sgarbossa of SeeYouSpaceCowboy.
“I’d been listening to a lot of Cro-Mags,” he reveals. “You can hear it in the opening riff but then we took it in a totally different direction. Jesse started laying down his vocals and we instantly thought Connie would crush a guest vocal part. She was on tour at the time so she found a studio and through FaceTime she tried ideas over the phone. We ended up with a bunch of different versions, picked our favorite together and that’s what you hear. The ferociousness she brought to the song really took it to the next level. It ended up being one of our favorite tracks.”
A shovel breaks ground during the opener “We All Die Anyway.” It sets the tempo with a clarion call to live in the face of any and all adversity, “In spite of everything I won’t abandon myself for anything. There is no other way I might as well be brave. We all die anyway.”
“You could view it negatively, but it’s actually positive,” he elaborates. “We’re all going to die anyway, so we might as well be brave and try our best. It’s an idea we’re all drawn to and try to live our lives by. At the beginning of the record, you hear digging. Then throughout the record you hear rain, wind, the sea. All of nature’s elements to help produce growth.”
Ultimately, Stick To Your Guns share a worthy message via their music.
“In many ways, the album embodies this idea of making yourself and the world around you a better place by not letting the struggle break you. It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be beautiful.” he leaves off. “For those who’ve been truly devoured, keep planting flowers.”
