More about: Anti-Flag

One of the most prominent and paramount voices to come out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the early '90s, Anti-Flag have delivered some of the most important messages to come out of political punk rock music for over a quarter-of-a-decade.

As the band's eleventh studio album American Fall turns four, and as they kick off part two of their North American Tour, we ask the question: among ‘This is The End (For You My Friend), ‘The Press Corpse’ and ‘American Attraction’, which Anti-Flag cuts have gone overlooked? 

‘Throw It Away’ 

Single ‘American Attraction’ is an aggressive anthem that addresses society's habit for consumerism and the capitalism attraction that draws humans into making ill-rationalised decisions rather than progressive change. Corporate greed is front and centre of this song. 

‘To Hell With Boredom’

Forty-eight seconds of fiery punk rock full of vocal hooks, ‘To Hell With Boredom’ from album American Spring marked a fresh start for Anti-Flag, their first full length release on new label Spinefarm Records. Whilst the fourteen track record features guest spots with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong on ‘Brandenburg Gate’ and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello on track ‘Without End’, past the features and favourites of ‘Fabled World’, ‘The Sky Is Falling’ and ‘The Great Divide’, songs like ‘To Hell With Boredom’ lie beneath the album's surface waiting to be uncovered. Rallying behind comrades in the face of poor renting systems and police brutality, ‘To Hell With Boredom’ speaks up on these issues in quick time: “​​Freedom is the crime that contains all crime/Liberty is living without dead time”.

‘You Are Fired (Take This Job, Ah, Fuck It)'

“I've seen a lot of rip-offs in my life/Seen a lot of scams/A lot of crooks and crooked schemes, crooked sharks'' starts vocalist Justin Sane on Anti-Flag’s ‘The Economy Is Suffering, Let It Die’ a song all about the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Detailing how free market capitalists are running the economy into the ground, it's also one of the biggest tracks to be taken from the band's album The People Or The Gun. A remarkable and underrated album born out of a DIY ethos and recorded in the band's own home studio, underrated tracks like ‘You Are Fired (Take This Job, Ah, Fuck It)' are easy to disregard given its easily passable short run time, but cannot and should not be ignored. 

‘You Make Me Sick’ 

An album that focuses on themes of anti-facism, anti-racism and anti-governmental policies in the wake of Donald Trump's poisonous reign as President, Anti-Flag’s most recent record 20/20 Vision is in opposition to the policies of said President and deep cut ‘You Make Me Sick’ feels like a ferocious call to arms to those who stand against his awful actions. In a more general context, it's a rage-filled attacker of an anthem for those who have treated you wrongly.

‘Shadow Of The Dead’ 

Much like The People Or The Gun, Anti-Flag’s 2008 release The Bright Lights Of America could be said to be an album that flies under the radar up against the repertoire of records like Die For The Government, For Blood And Empire or American Fall. Serving as the band's seventh studio album, The Bright Lights Of America, song ‘Shadow Of The Dead’ is bursting full of brass sections, marching drums, a guitar solo and a grandiose mixture of gang vocals on the songs chorus and a chilling vocal solo from Chris No. 2 on the bridge. 

‘One People, One Struggle’ 

Hiding towards the end of the tracklist for Anti-Flag’s fifth full-length The Terror State—an important album then and now—the anti-war and anti-establishment message reigning strong, ‘One People, One Struggle’ is a song that aims to unite and rally strength in numbers in the face of the Bush administration's handling of the War on Terrorism, particulaly The Iraq War. “One people, one struggle/Stand United, Stand Peaceful!” 

‘N.B.C (No Blood-Thirsty Corporations)’

In February 2002, Anti-Flag dropped their fourth studio album Moblize, self-released on their very own record label A-F Records. Arguably one of the most important tracks to come out of punk-rock music in 2002, track ‘9/11 For Peace’ came just mere months after the devastating terror attacks that took place. Wanting to speak out against the push for war with album Mobilize’ Anti-Flag’s material, merch and music got pulled in the wake of the attacks, despite the bands ethos being rooted in the desire to unite the masses for the greater good. Alongside ‘9/11 For Peace’, tracks taken from Mobilize including ‘N.B.C. (No Blood-Thirsty Corporations)’, which tackles the economical hell caused by the power of right-wing politicians in power at the hands of George Bush from income tax cuts to increased military spending on wars. ‘N.B.C’ demands resistance towards these unjust policies by a “facist corporation” or “a right wing politician”. 

‘Until It Happens To You’

After persuading NOFX’s Fat Mike to sign them to his record label Fat Wreck Chords during a stint on Vans Warped Tour in the year 2000 after the two punk rock icons crossed paths, Anti-Flag’s third LP Underground Network was the first of two albums to be put out on the label. A serendipitous mixture of signing to Fat and putting out one of the best Anti-Flag albums in the band's discography, Underground Network witnessed the breakthrough of the band in the U.S. punk-rock scene, popularised by tracks from Bring Out Your Dead and Stars And Stripes. Deeper down the album track-list, one of the most prominent and instantly recognisable basslines alongside ‘Bring Out Your Dead’ can be found on closer ‘Until It Happens To You’. 

‘Punk By The Book’ 

Bringing it all the way back to the band's debut album with a trio Anti-Flag line-up that looks largely different to what it does today, Die For The Government, was the first full-length follow-up to the band's previously release 7” EP Kill Kill Kill all the way back in '96. Born out of a makeshift DIY recording studio, 17 songs feature on Anti-Flag’s first, and whilst ‘Fuck Police Brutality’ remains a staple on the band's set-list decades down the line and ‘You’ve Gotta Die For The Government’ and ‘Drink Drank Punk’ a personal favourite amongst the band, songs such as ‘Confused Youth’, ‘No More Dead’ and particulaly ‘Punk By The Book’ fly under the first album's radar. Discussing exactly what it says on the tin, ‘Punk By The Book’ details the bands disdain for the punk pack mentality carried out by some in the scene of the time, but truly all that matters is the community, connectivity and respect  punk people should have for one another. 

‘Cities Burn’ 

Making the transition from independent record label Fat Wreck Chords to major RCA for a two album deal starting with sixth studio album For Blood And Empire came with an unnecessary retaliation and backlash of controversy for Anti-Flag. But For Blood And Empire proved to be one of the band's best: just look at the staggering success of songs ‘This Is The End (For You My Friend)' and ‘The Press Corpse’, now two of the biggest songs Anti-Flag have ever released. Big songs aside, ‘Cities Burn' is just one of the many standout songs from the album, a guitar driven, vocal hook laden punk song through and through. 

‘Bullshit Opportunist’ 

Marking another album release with SideOneDummy, The General Strike was recorded and produced by the band themselves at their very home studio. A record with some classic Anti-Flag songs on there, namely ‘The Neoliberal Anthem’ and ‘This Is The New Sound’, this album centres around the passing of the NDAA and this album was Anti-Flag’s fight against it, working alongside Amnesty International surrounding the album's campaign and release. Track number five ‘Bullshit Opportunist’ is relentless from the start ("This separation/This disconnect/This is more than ignorance/This is more than disrespect”) serving on the surface an anthemic chant, but one that shouts about a paramount subject matter. 

More about: Anti-Flag