Salt Lake City’s xforever warx are back with a crushing new EP, Upon the Weak and Broken. No Echo covered the band just a short year ago as a new band to check out, and they’ve certainly kept busy since. Their new record came out just last week on the recently resurrected Life Sentence Records, and on Still Life Records in Europe. Produced and recorded by Taylor Young of Twitching Tongues and God's Hate fame, the band’s dynamic metallic hardcore sound absolutely pounds through the new songs while also showing their musical development.
Chris, the band’s drummer, sees Upon the Weak and Broken as a symbol for what the collective band holds dear, offering, “The EP is a reflection of some of our core values and personal experiences surrounding life and straight edge. We want to represent Salt Lake City straight edge authentically," he told me via email. While that sentiment may initially feel somewhat revivalist in terms of straight edge, make no mistake: xforever warx are here to bring their own brand of straight edge hardcore to the masses. They have cause and focus, and they’re honed in on seeing it through.
For the band’s vocalist, Chuck, the EP’s fourth track, “Apotheosis,” is the recording’s most powerful song. It takes the listener through some of Chuck’s darkest moments as a young person, but it’s very much about finding a way forward into positivity. “Lyrically, it’s the most personal of all the songs on the EP. I was down and out in life, and I had nothing going for me. I was homeless as a teenager, and a fucking bum in my young adulthood. I let the enemies that I created in my mind defeat me. But fuck that shit, I decided I was done being a loser, and I made my life dope through my own perseverance. If I can do it, so can you,” Chuck reflected to me in an email on the song’s backstory. It’s worth noting that he sees his journey as one of helping and inspiring others, which elevates “Apotheosis” to an absolute standout on the record.
xforever warx are also heading out on the road in support of the new EP. They’ll be on the East Coast in May with Liberate and Erode, before heading back to the Midwest with Combust for a short run. And that’s not quite all for the year. As Chris coyly offers, “We have a few tours toward the end of the year too that we can’t say much about but are stoked to be a part of.” They’re also playing in their home state of Utah on two separate shows supporting Ingrown and Terror.
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Upon the Weak and Broken is out now via Life Sentence Records (US) and Still Life Records (EU).
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