The People or the Gun Review

Anti-Flag's new album, "The People or the Gun", recently went up on torrent sites, and I acquired it. I thought I'd put up a review of it for all you A-F fans. (Yes! All four of you!)


Sodom, Gomorrah, Washington D.C. (Sheep in Shepherd's Clothing)

This track went up on Anti-Flag's Myspace page prior to the album's leak, and it is a great song. It has an awesome chorus, great verses, and a kickass solo. The lyrics are just brilliant too, and these all add up to make a perfect album opener. Oh, and the outro is brilliant. Religion is the opium of the meek!

The Economy Is Suffering, Let it Die

Every time I listen to this song, it blows me away. The lyrics are just awesome, and the chorus is great. All round, it is just such an amazing song, and definitely one of the best on the album.

The Gre(a)t Depression

The intro to this song really sets it up as another great track, and once again, it delivers. It isn't as good as it's two precursors, but it is still a pretty good track to listen to. Lots of powerchords. Oh, and the typical punk drum beat that also makes up most of the drum line to Greenday's "Know Your Enemy" appears here briefly a couple of times too. Also, there is a nice calm outro to this, that really contradicts the intro which set up the song as a heavy track. It wasn't as heavy as the intro would've suggested, as the main focus appears to be on the lyrics, but that is no bad thing.

We Are the One

Great guitar line. Awesome drums. And the vocals are *censor* awesome. The chorus is insanely good, with a lead-up before the "Woah"s. And the solo is badass. To be honest, if I picked out every little thing that makes this song as good as it is, this post would go on for ages. The point is that before I heard this, I thought that "The Economy is Suffering..." would be the best song on the album. I was wrong. This is.

You Are Fired (Take this Job)

One minute of pure, angry, awesome, in-your mother-*censor*-face punk. Nothing more to say.

This Is the First Night

A calmer, slower track, which the album had been lacking up to this point. Once again, it's the lyrics make the song as good as it is. It is a great contrast from "You Are Fired", which is almost certainly why they chose to put it after it on the album. The last minute or so is great, with just Justin singing the chorus while the guitar plays, before dozens more voices back him up, and the song builds up to the exit.

No War Without Warriors (How Do You Sleep?)

Definitely the metalcore track of the album. The vocals are so fun to listen to, very angry and powerful. The instrument parts aren't as prolific as on some of the other tracks, and it is clear this song is all about the vocals, like The Gre(a)t Depression. The song starts off agressive enough, but the instruments do become more prominent throughout, and if I could class this into any particular genre, I'd go with Progressive Punkcore. Yeah.

When All the Lights Go Out

I love the intro to this, as it builds up into the pre-verse. It isn't the first song on the album to go back to A-F's early stuff, but it is definitely very noticeable here. Classic A-F, especially in the just vocals/drums part towards the end and all following it.

On Independence Day

Another brilliant intro, starting with just Chris #2's bassline, before the rest of the instruments and vocals come in. The chorus is great, and througout the song, each of the chords is thrown in with it's own heavy load of power and aggression. The lyric, "The water can't wash the blood off your hands" is one that really catches your attention when listening to it. Once again, there is a sort of 'powering-up' section after the second chorus which has become a very typical feature of Anti-Flag's songs. Not to say it makes it any less effective; it is definitely effective here, Another all-round great track.

The Old Guard

My favourite intro of the album, and this is an extremely solid song throughout. Like "When All the Lights Go Out", it is a very vocal-driven track, but the powerfulness of the instruments is extremely noticeable nevertheless. Monkey hat. This song is definitely one of the most enjoyable to listen to, and it has everything you could want from an Anti-Flag song. It is certainly a great 'take-us-out' track for the album, as the last track before the bonus.

Teenage Kennedy Lobotomy (Hidden Track)

"You criticize our armies, well we'll criticize you for being *censor* assholes!"
This track is extremely fun to listen to, especially the talking vocals. And Pat's little drum solo. "I get paid by the drum beat!" This song makes such a brilliant ending to a great album.


Overall

This album is so good, I feel guilty for not paying for it. I am almost tempted to even the score by buying the album on it's release, despite now having it anyway. It sounds like a modernization of Anti-Flag's roots, and there isn't a single bad song on the entire album. 10/10


*censor* buy it.

I Downloaded it a few days ago and it's a really gd album

Stevo...... wrote:

I Downloaded it a few days ago and it's a really gd album

Nice to know some of us can keep it simple

Does it sound like BLOA at all?

It seems almost like Anti-Flag's old stuff mixed in with their newer releases. There is definitely some BLOA elements in there, though.

Hm, i'll check it out

BLOA sucked ass though