For The Unheard: The People Or The Gun

Anti-Flag has been a huge part in the punk community for some time now. Their meaningful and political lyrics is what makes them stand out compared to other bands. None of their songs are about money and bitches unlike all of the songs played on the radio today. To me, Anti-Flag is one of the greatest punk bands. I remember missing one of their shows because I was sick, and that is one of my biggest regrets ever. Around that time is when I really started getting into their music. I remember having the album “A New Kind Of Army” and I thought it was the coolest thing. Almost all of their albums are a great listen all the way through. Their most recent album is “The People or The Gun”. This came out last year. It is truly a fantastic album from start to finish.

The opening track on this album is “Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C. (Sheep In Shepherds Clothing)”. This is a fast, in your face, type of punk rock song. It is a great way to start the album. It really gives you the idea that this record is going to be an energetic half hour. This song really catches the vibe of the whole album. In my opinion, this was a brilliant way to start this album.

The next song is “The Economy is Suffering... Let it Die”. This song is definitely one of the high points for me. It is a bit less hardcore than the less song, but it keeps the same feeling and energy. I actually got chills at the breakdown (“when the cities burn down...”). At this point on my first listen, I realized I was going to enjoy this very much.

The song after that is “The Gre(A)t Depression”. This another highlight for me. The repeated line in the chorus is one of my favorite lyrics ever. “Greed, it's not going anywhere. They should put that on a billboard in Time Square. It could say 'the great depression is over my friends'”. Fantastic song.

After that comes the song “We Are the One”. This song continues what the first song started. This song is most certainly more hardcore than the past two songs. It is pretty fast and energetic. Another fun listen.

“You Are Fired (Take This Job, Ah, Fuck It)” is the next song. I know many people will probably disagree with me, but this is probably my favorite song on the album. It is hard to say that because the song just barely reaches the one minute mark. That is one of the greatest minutes ever put on CD. I believe this song is about illegally downloading music. This is probably why I like it so much. I strongly agree with that message. I think if you like a musician, pay for their albums, so they can make more in the future.

Up next is “This Is The First Night”. I am pretty sure this song is a break away from the usual. I do not think this song is in any way political (please, feel free to comment and correct me if I am wrong). I do find myself really liking these lyrics. They are for the most part very deep.

The song after that is “No War Without Warriors (How Do You Sleep?)”. This is an AWESOME song. It is another more hardcore song like a few of the earlier songs. I personally love songs like this. It is a (In my opinion) big “Fuck You!!!” song. Definitely a song that came out of anger. You can feel the anger in his voice throughout the whole entire song. This song is worth a listen if you are a fan of hardcore punk rock.

The first single off of this album is “When All The Lights Go Out”. This is pretty cool song. It is not one of my favorites. It doesn't exactly stand out compared to the rest of this album. I probably wouldn't have chosen this song to be the first single. It doesn't catch the emotion that the rest of the album does. Overall, this song is just an average song. Kind of lame I guess, but I guess it is OKAY.

“On Independence Day” is a really neat song. It opens up with an extremely catchy bass riff. From their the guitar and drums kick in. It really is a cool song. It sounds different from the rest of the album. It has a unique sound for Anti-Flag.

The end is here. The perfect closer for the album. “The Old Guard” is the albums closer. They were geniuses for picking this song as the song to wrap it all up. I guess the first line pretty much tells you that this album is over (“the time has come to say goodnight”). It is actually sad, because this is such a great album and in my eyes I view this as their goodbye to us until next time they record another brilliant album. It really is kind of an emotional way to end this album. It is spectacular.

This album is absolutely stunning. Especially considering their last album, “The Bright Lights Of America”, was such a disappointment. This is such a major step in the right direction. Another thing that probably contributed to the sound of this record is the fact that they left the major label they were on and moved to the amazing Indie label SideOneDummy. SideOneDummy has plenty of amazing bands on it. I think this album will always be a great listen. Personally, my favorite Anti-Flag record alongside “The Terror State”. You probably noticed that there is barely any criticism in this review. That is because this album is close to perfect. This could possibly be in my top 10 favorite albums of this decade.

Highlights : The Economy is Suffering...Let It Die, The Gre(A)T Depression, You Are Fired (Take This Job, Ah, Fuck It), No War Without Warriors (How Do You Sleep?)

Music : 9 (I can't see how they could have done it better)

Lyrics : 8 (Good, Just like always)

Artwork : 6 (really cool, doesn't stand out compared to the quality of the music though)

Overall : 8

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