Anti-Flag - For Blood and Empire

Anti-Flag
For Blood and Empire
RCA Records
Grade: A-/A

There will likely be a number of fans and others who are super-bummed by uber-political punk heroes Anti-Flag moving to RCA, a subsidiary of Sony. But, a band that has been banging against the military-corporatist world for years isn’t about to just lay down for a corporation. With a large degree of control over the record and indie publicity handled by their label A-F Records things are how they should be. And, regardless, For Blood and Empire is one of the hardest hitting punk records of the year.

You have likely been hiding under a rock over the past few years if you never heard of Pittsburgh’s Anti-Flag; a four-piece filled out by Chris Head (guitar/vocals), Justin Sane (guitar/vocals), Chris #2 (bass/vocals), and Pat Thetic (drums/vocals). Gritty as their hometown, Anti-Flag have been releasing 7”s and full-lengths since the mid-90s, and playing an absurd number of shows to anyone anywhere. Their most recent material has gone through Fat Wreck Chords, including the excellent Terror State in 2003. Always a good combination of folk concepts milled through Clash-type punk, Anti-Flag get a good deal of attention through their political activism. This crested with the 2003-2004 Rock Against Bush campaign, fronted by Fat Mike, which helped heighten attention to the Bush administration’s actions and policies, but unfortunately didn’t succeed in their ultimate mission. Whether the campaign existed or not, Anti-Flag would still be doing their own leftist punk activism…assuring the tradition survived.

Within the first few songs of For Blood and Empire, the only recognizable change from previous material is that the production is amazingly tight and polished; but totally devoid of the dirty word ‘slickness’. This is no doubt helped by RCA’s backing and the co-production of Dave Schiffman. Whatever the reason, we are all the beneficiaries. You also benefit from the thick record booklet filled with not just lyrics, but also essays and facts provided by political authors, activists, and various groups, which serve as the lyrical foundations of the songs. Thus, the record is a bit more explicitly political thematic than past records, but still within the normal range.

For Blood and Empire kicks off on the speed guitar-soloing of “I’d Tell You But…,” which nails Anti-Flag’s message immediately to the wall. As one of the hardest numbers of the record, it’s a great way to start. Next comes the ska, up-picking of “The Press Corpse” and provides the first great chorus of “We don’t want to talk about” – a rip against the lazy, compiling White House press corps not going after the administration. If you missed the political-themes of the first two songs, the opening of “Émigré” will make things plain – “First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out….” As a song, “Émigré” is a mid-tempo, ho-hummer in the face of the other explosions. The rock comes kicking on the follower, “The Prophet for a New American Century” about the current conspiracy of Pax Americana. A quasi-military drum greets you on the opening of “Hymn for the Dead,” before the band blasts into their classic downstroking punk attacks, as well as a superb horn breakdown. “This Is the End (For You My Friend)” is an odd song that is both aggressive and poppy at the same time – maybe in reference to its criticism of the advertising industry. Echoes of hip folk protest is the theme on “1 Trillion Dollars” as acoustic guitars lead the march against the sales of military equipment by the U.S. “State Funeral” is a classic short burst of punk hardcore, before the more melodic “Confessions of an Economist Hit Man” slams into your brain. “Confessions of an Economist Hit Man” is an ode to John Perkins’ writings about how it is not the military creating an empire, but the economic policy of industrialized nations on the rest of the world. With nods to irony, “War Sucks, Let’s Party!” includes handclaps and an upbeat-sounding chorus. To make their message clearer, Anti-Flag named the next song “The W.T.O. Kills Farmers.” “The W.T.O. Kills Farmers” moves back-and-forth between up-picking ska/reggae and straight-ahead punk choruses, but is quite wordy and sometimes hard to grab onto. For Blood and Empire closes on “Cities Burn” and “Depleted Uranium Is a War Crime.” “Cities Burn” is one of the most melodic and appealing songs on the record, as Anti-Flag power through a more standard verse-chorus-verse and include a bunch of gang vocals and muting. “Cities Burn” should be serious college radio fodder. Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave) guests on “Depleted Uranium Is a War Crime,” a railing against the use of depleted uranium in munitions which intersperses quotes of Rep. Jim McDermott into the forceful punk.

There is likely no other band on the planet right now that has the ability of being super-political without coming off as lame and preachy like Anti-Flag does on For Blood and Empire. Even if you completely shun all the political messages and ignore the booklet, For Blood and Empire is simply great punk album that anyone should bounce along to.