Ender release new single "The Straw"
If Ender has one fan, just know it’s me (Liv.) With heavy hitting vocals, drums, guitars, and an overall stunning sound, this band goes hard on every song from the first second. Such is the case with “The Straw.”
Starting out with unclean vocals and a growl like "Oh!," this song had me making the stank face from the beginning. I was quick to start headbanging and sent it to my friends within the first 30 seconds of this song starting. Ender kept up the energy throughout the entirety of this amazing single.
With a simple clever visualizer music video, you can see the lyrics for the song and realize how deep this cut actually is. While most of the video focuses on the lyrics as they’re sung. The beginning note is as follows:
“The Straw: A brutalizing crushing weight that an individual is forced to carry due to trauma that was experienced. Although this condition is treatable, the lasting effects are permanent. Pain levels will decrease over time, but the healing is what we must keep a close eye on.”
Later on in the song there’s a line that hit hard for me right now: “It wasn’t the pain that broke me, it was the healing that killed me.” While I hope this isn’t the case for you, dear reader, many people I know are struggling in various ways right now and this song is just such a perfect song to encapsulate that. At least for me, I was shook at how this song felt like it touched on incredibly relevant thoughts, emotions, and feelings that have been on my mind lately.
All while being just a damn good song. With pitch harmonics placed frequently throughout the song, it mimics the feeling of being on edge, at the end of your rope, and *frustrated* all in lovely 3 minutes and 20 whole seconds. Every second of this song goes hard and it takes every member of this band to do so. I mentioned the pitch harmonics, but the drums are immaculate and bass and vocals are top tier to match. While I would say that this is fully unclean vocals, you can still understand each word without the visualizer. The rough vocal reminds me so much of Britton from Wage War, but this sounds so much grittier- in the absolute best way.
If you’re a fan of Ten 56, Wage War, Architects, Fit For A King, Polaris, or Like Moths to Flame, you should definitely be putting Ender on repeat as well. Every time I hear them it’s a reminder that your favorite band started out as a local band. They’re one of two bands that I continually bring up in conversations of not well known bands that throw down so hard and sound unbelievably amazing. From what I’ve heard from Ender, I am constantly waiting for what they’ll release next, and I’ll be singing their praises at every single chance I get.
