For over three decades, 16 have made themselves an institution for the disillusioned. Like dog food and gravy, they’ve made their own freedom. Concrete-slamming tonality, clenched of teeth and gut, nasty punker hardcore sludge metal has been the order since the start, and for a band who cut their teeth in such volatile fashion across the 1990s, the then-L.A./now-San Diego outfit have been remarkably consistent in their crush since their debut LP, Curves That Kick, puked on listeners’ doorsteps in ‘93.

Guides for the Misguided is 16’s tenth album. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but the recording helmed by Alex Jacobelli (Negative Blast) continues a trajectory of creative growth and sonic expansion for founding guitarist/vocalist Bobby Ferry, guitarist/producer Alex Shuster (who joined in 2017) and the decade-plus-tenured rhythm section of bassist Barney Firks and drummer Dion Thurman. While nodding knowingly at the characteristic megachug of “After All” or “Resurrection Day,” longtime followers might be surprised to hear Ferry – who took over lead-vocal duties for 2022’s Into Dust – broadening his approach to include more melodic singing as well.

This is neither haphazard, tentative, nor half-assed, so it works to serve songs like “Blood Atonement Blues” or “Fortress of Hate,” “Fire and Brimstone, Inc,” “Desperation Angel” and the closer “Kick Out the Chair,” and as much as it’s easy to mark out as a novelty, something new, that 16 are doing on Guides for the Misguided, it’s even more an example of the progression the band has been on since they got back together and began their Relapse era with Bridges to Burn in 2009.

“Age has given us a fresh perspective,” says Ferry. “In the nine years since Lifespan of a Moth, our lineup has shifted. We lost a singer, gained Alex Shuster on lead guitar/producer, and I slid into the lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist spot. Lyrically, we've moved beyond the personal and inward grievances of our earlier work and embraced broader themes of conflict, like the hypocrisy of religion and its negative effects on the psyche.

“There's a song called ‘Blood Atonement Blues’ that delves into the story of Ervil LeBaron, often referred to as the ‘Mormon Manson,’ while ‘Proudly Damned’ explores addiction and how it turns into a pagan ritual with a witch-like character posing as the opiate — both in substance abuse and the spiritual realm — in parallel. In many ways, this album might be the closest we've come to creating a concept record. When inspiration is there, the rest seems to fall into place effortlessly.”

Just as Into Dust stepped forward from 2020’s Dream Squasher, Guides for the Misguided builds inexorably and demonstrably in its songwriting from Into Dust. While still rooted in sludge and hardcore, neither can account for the deeper collaboration in construction and arrangement between Ferry and Shuster that’s audible throughout, be it in the rush of “Desperation Angel” and the duly assaulting “Give Thanks and Praises” or the slow-nod churn bludgeon-of-riff that “Hat on a Bed” quickly becomes.

“We're not afraid to lean into the stuff we love: noise, classic rock, hardcore, doom metal and thrash,” says Ferry. “We are well aware we are not reinventing the wheel, but lovingly fashioning something from us and basically for us, first and foremost. Thankfully, we're still driven to write and perform even after all these years. It’s simply following that primal urge to create — put your head down and just make something.”

16 haven’t just made something, however. They’ve made some of the most memorable songs of their career with a clear vision born of sans-ego maturity and actually having something to say about the world around them. To call it the album of their career so far is to takes into account the longer-term arc of their tenure as it brings them to thusly-flattened new places in sound, lyrics with an external rather than internal focus, and a surety of focus that can only come from knowing who you are in sound and craft. All of this is a weapon in 16’s collective hand.

With international and domestic tours planned for 2025 and momentum that has them already working on the follow-up to Guides for the Misguided, 16 highlight how special a band they are and have always been. Instead of resting on laurels in output or style or influence, they’ve become almost daringly reliable for quantity and quality. Circa right now, 16 are a name you can trust to hold your already-broken hand through the ensuing treatise on the late-capitalist, class-repressive christofascist hellscape of our times, addiction, the climate and other general fuckyouable topics – or as Ferry puts it:

“It's just what we do. After all these years, I live for it. That's why we're unshakable when it comes to suffering. Nobody’s doing us any favors, and that is fine. We do this because it’s an adventure-machine, and we’re making each other happy with what’s coming out of the speakers. It keeps getting better. Horrible gig? Horrible tour? I can survive any shit thrown at me. There’s nothing that would shake us or scare us. And there’s freedom in that.”