For a band to sing about the government, war, politics and all that ho-ha, you would think it would be hard to capture the ears of most people. Anti-Flag have been making anti-goverment music for years and are now finally releasing their first major label record. So how has this changed there sound if at all? Well for one thing you can tell this is a major label release with its somewhat cleaned up polished sound. However this is still Anti-Flag and they are still singing about the topics they care about, and it’s not like they don’t have anything to sing about with all of the events that have happened in the past few years with the war in Iraq and George W. Bush.

Opening the album is “I’d Tell You But…” where we hear that nice punk rock beat filled with shout along lyrics like “Your bullets cut into my flesh. Your cluster bombs ripped me to shreds.” As far as the bands sound goes, they stick to their punk rock roots but they covered some of these songs with a sugar coating (possibly to help them go mainstream?). Something like this I don’t think would ever really fly for being played on the radio or MTV. I do agree that there message is intended to only inform people of their thoughts on the government, war, and other political thoughts. On “This Is The End (For You My Friend)” the band moves more towards a song about American life. I particularly like the line “On and on – we sing our sons – On and on – your wars wage on and On and on – we’ll sing our songs for more.” Its statement is along the lines of that no matter what is happening at any given time the voice of one person could make a world of difference. “One Trillion Dollars” starts out with a nice soft acoustic guitar part before going into the line “Whoa… Fuck the world, a lot of people gotta die tonight. Woah… Fuck the world, fuck ’em all!!!” Money won’t get you everything I believe is the main point of this song. Its beat is catchy and is a nice slow down for being half way through the album. As far as the wrest of the album goes “Cities Burn” has a great up-beat sound and with “Depleted Uranium Is A War Crime”, you can about guess what that song is about.

Anti-Flag have made another album thats incased in that punk-rock beat that is know for its influence on being a message carrier. I know I may have covered their message a little more then their music on this review but this is one of the main reasons this band stands out especially in todays crowded market. If your a previous Anti-Flag fan your thoughts may be mixed on this album, however their message is still for the better and their sound helps bring that message to people who will hopefully listen and make a difference.

Track Listing
1. I’d Tell You But…
2. The Press Corpse
3. Emigre
4. The Project For A New American Century
5. Hymn For The Dead
6. This Is The End (For You My Friend)
7. 1 Trillion Dollars
8. State Funeral
9. Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man
10. War Sucks, Let’s Party!
11. The W.T.O. Kills Farmers
12. Cities Burn
13. Depleted Uranium Is A War Crime

Standout Tracks
“The Press Corpse”, “One Trillion Dollars”, “Cities Burn”