Entertainment

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Anti-Flag has been doing approximately the same thing for more than a decade. At the onset of that time, it toured consistently to build a fan base that appreciated the fast nineties styled punk pulling from an earlier time. The band’s been relatively consistent over time, and it’s a testament to their beliefs that the group still has something to say after the innumerable releases. Overt political messages don’t generally make for good pop music based upon the fact that some segment of the listening audience will be offended at some point. That’s why our Pittsburgh friends aren’t MTV stalwarts. For Blood and Empire actually seems to increase the political message as well as the inclusion of different styles of punk it trucks in. Pretty much each track bounces off of some branch of punk which easily makes this the band’s most radio friendly release to date - except of course for the lyrics, which are relentless critiques of the government, the press and American society in general. So, this record will not take AF to the general ear holes of Americans, but the band is now releasing records through RCA. Even with this, it maintains the group’s vision of what a band should be, which is admirable. Maybe the distribution will help. Maybe millions more will hear what they have to say. Or maybe they’ll just become lazy millionaires and start releasing dance punk records.