Anti-Flag's recent release For Blood and Empire stays true to their history of politically charged lyrics and message-laden songs. Despite the group's recent payday, they manage to stay true to their roots for the most part, delivering an album heavy on shouting and short on chord variation.
In April 2005 Anti-Flag switched from Fat Wreck Chords to the major label RCA Records. Considering their vehemently independent label adherences, this move shocked many fans. RCA is home to such artists as Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson — not exactly the definition of underground phenomena. The band has previously stated on its website that the move was made in order to reach a broader audience.
Anti-Flag is known for its tendency to talk about hotly contested current political issues. In their latest release they deal with such issues as uranium tipped bullets, the press's coverage of politics, the war in Iraq and the problems with the W.T.O. They try to lend credence to and explain their arguments through a plethora of essays, website recommendations and quotes, ranging from citing BBC news reports to recounting the story of a W.T.O. protestor's suicide.
The album showcases lead singer Justin Sane's vocal stylings and sticks to Anti-Flag's punk sound. The band has matured somewhat from their early days and they are learning to mix up their previously one-trick style. They go from punk to pop-punk and back again, which helps to keep the whole album interesting. Anti-Flag presents an acoustic composition with "1 Trillion Dollar$" and flexes its ska muscles on "The Press Corpse." Apparently they didn't get the memo that ska has been dead since the late '90s.
While the instrumentation is better, the lyrics at times leave something to be desired. The writing could be improved in such songs as "1 Trillion Dollar$," just to name names. They also make use of "whoa" one too many times throughout the album's choruses, which begin to grate after a while. Nevertheless, their signature punk bass-driven sound soars on tracks such as "State Funeral" and "I'd Tell You But …" The album won't disappoint fans looking for addictive tunes with fist-pumping choruses that would be perfect to play at protest rallies.
Though their music is fun to listen to, Anti-Flag's music writing leaves a lot to be desired. There is nothing extraordinary here, which gives the music a bland feel. A high schooler playing around with his guitar at home could learn how to play all of these songs. Like many bands on the punk scene, they use basic chord progressions for every song, which gets boring after a while. It's like too much yellow cake and no cream cheese icing to make it spectacular.
There's nothing stunning at all, no Iron Butterfly drum solos or amazing Steve Vai guitar jamming. Switching electric guitar for acoustic is about as wild as these guys get. Seriously, there is nothing musically scintillating about this entire album. With a maturing and homogenization of a band should come more challenging and interesting music writing. Anti-Flag should not just rely on lyrics to appeal to listeners. They need to keep in mind the whole picture of what creates good music. Nuances are what make music interesting to listen to. Anti-Flag just end up sounding like so many other punk bands before them. There is nothing, musically speaking, that makes them stand out from the crowd.
Anti-Flag has now made it into a bigger music arena and will probably be able to reach more people because of there big label status, so they need to work on music writing more than ever now. Their messages, along with a unique lead singer's voice, are the biggest things that they have going for them — but Anti-Flag needs more than this to become a great band.
Anti-Flag's message does get a bit heavy at times. They lay it on rather thick and leave no room for debate. Many who have differing political views will probably get irritated with their uncompromising stance. They simplify politics into the views that they choose to highlight, never acknowledging another side of complex issues.
Their position may be a good thing, as the album will make people question about what is happening in the country right now. This one-sided political stance is also what makes them so endearing to many of their fans. Hopefully, for listeners' sakes, this will not change in future albums as a result of their label switch.
As political bands and albums go, For Blood and Empire does have a message that begs to be heard, and the driven sound of the album does make listening a somewhat pleasant experience. People in the punk scene who have never heard Anti-Flag before will be able to appreciate their unique punk sound. Fans will love this album and, for record collectors, Anti-Flag is releasing the album on vinyl on the Fat Wreck Chords label. In the end, people who have been annoyed with Anti-Flag's know-it-all political stances will find nothing here to make them change their minds.
Rating: 3 out of 5
