Freewill Drop New Single & Video “The Weight”

Originally formed in 1987, California band Freewill make melodic-punk with hardcore ethos. Today the band shares their new single, “The Weight”, addressing the struggles and emotions of anxiety and depression. The bouncy guitars and punchy drums meet with expressive vocals for an explosive punk track. The song stems from the band’s upcoming split with fellow California band Spark of Life, set to release on New Age Records this summer and available for vinyl preorder now. You can watch the music video for “The Weight” here and find the track on streaming services.

Speaking on the lyrics, vocalist Paul Cranston states: “The year is 2023. Anxiety, Depression, and substance abuse are at all time highs. This, along with our addiction to social media, has propelled communities to a boiling point. All of this being evident in the societal ills we are witnessing on a daily basis. Is this the new normal? ‘The Weight’ attempts to address this.”

Freewill is a southern California melodic punk band formed in 1987 when some friends came together to blend their love of DC hardcore (Dag Nasty/Embrace) and west coast punk (7 Seconds/Descendents). The band’s first show was opening for Agnostic Front and the Offspring in 1988. Around this time, the band was approached by Wishingwell Records and they started recording for their debut album. The record was engineered and produced by Bill Krodel (Dag Nasty, Inside Out, Chain of Strength). Soon after, Wishingwell Records dissolved without warning or much explanation and the record was never released. Shortly after that, the members were all involved in different music projects and going their own directions.

Fast forward to 2015, that record, titled Sun Return, was released on New Age Records 28 years after it was recorded. The original members reunited for a benefit show for their friend Jon Bunch (Sense Field) who had tragically passed. This reunion sparked a fire to write new music and they started playing shows again (w/ Dag Nasty, Samiam, Texas is the Reason). The output of those writing sessions was a brand new album, All This Time, which was recorded by producer/engineer Paul Miner and released on Unity Worldwide Records in 2021. Since then the band has been playing shows and working on new material, teaming up with Paul Miner again for their two new songs on their forthcoming split with Spark Of Life, “The Weight” and “As We Sleep.”