Without A Country (EP 2026)

Straggler

Hardcore 

1 minute. 1 minute can feel like an eternity. In 1 minute, a lot can happen. 1 minute can be enough to tell everything. 1 minute is long enough for a song. Punk bands like OFF! proved it, Napalm Death even went beyond with their 1 second one. So none of the tracks on the EP „Without A Country“ reaches the two minute mark. 

The same applies to the 2024 releases „Burdens“ and „Traumatic Ends“ by Straggler. The hardcore band from Oakland, CA rants through three tracks in not even five minutes in total, promoted by Brutal X Youth. On the cover of „Without A Country“, the one word bandname is written in a fraktur typeface. Maces are hanging below. On the left, roses are in the rain or printed on wood. The upper left looks like a fence, while the head of a queen statue got detached. 

It squeaks, then Straggler go full throttle right away with slowdowns. The powerful style and screams have got a lot Max Cavalera and Cavalera Conspiracy or Svalbard. From the title track, the record transitions directly to „Better To Be A Corpse Than A Coward“. Riffing, speed, doublebass, shouts. The musical chaos is perfect, there’s nothing to lose. 

As the third „Failed Drug Patent Two Formula“ arrives, the mind is already completely infected by Straggler’s Hardcore. In this final, one can also find notes of (Nu) Metal and Sludge like Crowbar, with drummer Andrew Black (Scream, Sunblind) hitting it low. 

Produced at Panda Studios Fremont, „Without A Country“ can be found on To Live A Lie Records, a Raleigh based DIY Grindcore, Fastcore and Powerviolence label (Agathocles, Get Destroyed, Thieves). For all lovers of high octane, direct smashing speed infused Hardcore, Straggler are not the straggler but the vanguard.