Having left a mark with their 2017 album Only Death Is Real, Stray From The Path are back with new music. “Fortune Teller” released last week, seeming to hint at more music to come from the Stray From The Path camp soon. We took some time with the newbie from Drew Dijorio (vocals), Tom Williams (guitar), Anthony Altamura (bass), and Craig Reynolds (drums).
Though “Fortune Teller” is as brash and bold as you’d expect from the creators of songs like “The House Always Wins” and “Loudest in the Room”, I’m thrown by the repeating lyric of “Firewalk with me”. Having watched Twin Peaks, the phrase (even with different spacing, as “Fire walk with me”) is immediately reminiscent of the show and it’s cross-dimensional experiences, and I can’t help wondering if there’s a connection.
It seems like too much of a coincidence when the lyrics refer to “my father’s shadow” given that Laura Palmer’s father Leland had been possessed by the murderous shadow of BOB. Even the talk of future seems to be something directly relevant to Twin Peaks, as well as the hero (Dale Cooper) of the show becoming trapped in the lodge being a fit for “My hero is my victim”.
I could be completely wrong, however, since the band themselves describe the song as being written as “an antidote to the boomer mentality” and “an anthem for building a better future – no matter how badly it’s been laid out by the past”.
Regardless of its inspiration, “Fortune Teller” blasts like a mammoth call of defiance coming at the listener in the form of a enormously full, three dimensional sound bath. Intense and urgent verses beckon with infectious rhythm and all instruments of the quartet come at the ears with angles and force.
Percussive fire sets a stage for change, where seeing a future foretold by older generations’ behaviours and beliefs inspires alarm and refusal to cooperate. Seeming like a call to action, “Fortune Teller” is a reminder of possibility for change, and fearlessly going through one’s own darkness to find freedom. It’s a reminder of there being power in the masses and in refusal to back down.
“Fortune Teller” is most gripping at its bridge, where buzzing and hovering riffs climb and then explode. Riff flares are set off and tight rhythms stand strong and defiant: “We don’t answer to anyone”. A broad and blunt breakdown follows, seeing “Fortune Teller” out to its end.
It’s a huge introduction to a new chapter for the band, and we’re keen to hear more when it comes! Watch “Fortune Teller” via YouTube below and find it at your favourite streaming places too.
[Photo credit: Gabe Becerra]