This is a weekly blog to let you in on what song and/or band that i've been feeling for that particular week. Music will always be a very important part of my life. I see it as the soundtrack for memories that bring you back to a certain place and time and new songs help to create new memories. Hope you enjoy!! :)
According to The Roughneck Riot's lead vocalist Matty Humphries, "Need I Remind You" is a song about going down a bad path and not being able to get off of it.
THE ROUGHNECK RIOT DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
2010 - Night Train With The Reaper (self-released)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2012 - This Is Our Day (Bomber Music)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2014 - Out Of Anger (TNS Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2022 - Burn It To The Ground (SBAM Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON THE ROUGHNECK RIOT:
The Roughneck Riot are a U.K. band that formed back in 2006. Though they were kicking around in 2006, it wasn't until 2010 that they released their first album, "Night Train With The Reaper". In 2012, the band signed with Bomber Music to release "This Is Our Day". 2014 saw the release of "Out Of Anger". Their most recent release, 2022's "Burn It To The Ground", proved to be the longest gap between albums for the band. The Roughneck Riot is a celtic punk/folk punk/street punk type band. They cut their teeth by opening for bands like The Real McKenzies, Street Dogs and Swingin' Utters. In fact, Street Dogs lead vocalist Mike McColgan called The Roughneck Riot the best punk band in the U.K.! Pretty big props from a punk rock legend right there. I'm positive I first heard about The Roughneck Riot through dyingscene.com. The first album I had by the band was their 2014 album "This Is Our Day". Being from Boston, I was born to have love for celtic punk being that the Dropkick Murphys are Gods here! The Roughneck Riot bring the goods and they're still roaring along, supporting their most recent album "Burn It To The Ground".
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
The Bollox
Bastards On Parade
The Go Set
Lexington Field
Hoist The Colors
TEN THE ROUGHNECK RIOT SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
"Broken Home" appears to be a song about how divorce can have a negative impact on families. Obviously, this creates a broken home. The vocalist speaks of how the now single mother struggles to work to provide for her kids, who now don't have a father. Of course, the kids now have to deal with the emotional pain and the mom just can't seem to get the help she needs, even from her own parents. Sadly, this happens to way too many families all across the country.
STRIKE TWELVE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
2009 - Killing California (Felony Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2012 - Moonshine (Felony Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2015 - Huminsanity (Felony Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2017 - Down With The Ship (Felony Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2018 - Does It Live (Felony Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON STRIKE TWELVE:
Strike Twelve formed as a band back in 2003. This Temecula, California band started when the members were still just sophomores in high school. The band's first release was an EP titled "Born Naked Die Naked" in 2006. From there the band inked a long term deal with Felony Records. They dropped their first full length studio debut album in 2009 called "Killing California". Strike Twelve started gaining some buzz in the California punk scene with their energetic songs and raucous live performances. In 2012, Strike Twelve dropped their sophomore effort, "Moonshine". 2015 saw the release of "Huminsanity" while 2017 saw the release of their most recent studio album, "Down With The Ship". In 2018, the band released their very first live album, "Does It Live" through their bandcamp page. As I said earlier, Strike Twelve is a very energetic band. You could really hear a band maturing from album to album without losing any of their youthful spunk! I first heard of Strike Twelve when "Killing California" came out in 2009 and to this day, the title track is still my favorite song by them. Overall they are a very good punk band, maybe a little lite lyrically. Definitely worth a listen for sure.
"I Hold Myself In Contempt" appears to be a song about being done with someone dragging you down with their personality and their excess baggage. You could say the vocalist has finally seen the light that this person has been holding him back and totally messing with his head. To keep his sanity, he needs to move on and leave that person far behind.
FOUR YEAR STRONG DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
2005 - It's Our Time (Open Your Eyes Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2007 - Rise Or Die Trying (I Surrender Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2009 - Explains It All (I Surrender/Decaydance Records)
* peaked at #115 on the Billboard 200 on 10-10-09
2010 - Enemy Of The World (I Surrender/Decaydance Records)
* peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 on 2-15-2012
2011 - In Some Way, Shape, Or Form (Universal Republic Records)
* peaked at #88 on the Billboard 200 on 11-20-11
2015 - Four Year Stong (Pure Noise Records)
* peaked at #77 on the Billboard 200 on 6-9-15
2017 - Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won't (Pure Noise Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2020 - Brain Pain (Pure Noise Records)
* peaked at #175 on the Billboard 200 on 3-10-20
MY THOUGHTS ON FOUR YEAR STONG:
Four Year Strong formed as a band back in 2001, when all the members were still attending high school in Worcester, Massachusetts. After releasing a few EP's, the band dropped their debut album in 2005 called "It's Our Time". This debut was hastily recorded and the band's next release, 2007's "Rise Or Die Trying", was a much more polished effort. In 2009, the band paid tribute to some of the artists they grew up on with the release of the covers album, "Explains It All". In 2010, the band definitely shifted a corner with the album "Enemy Of The World". You could really sense that Four Year Strong was getting tighter in their playing and songwriting skills. In 2011, the band released their only album to be distributed by a major label when they put out "In Some Way, Shape, Or Form" through Universal Republic. That proved to be a one off deal as the band would form a relationship with Pure Noise Records for the last three releases, starting with 2015's self-titled "Four Year Strong". Then they put out the compilation album "Some Of You Will Like This, Some Of You Won't" which featured re-worked recordings of some of their hit songs. Their most recent full length release would be 2020's "Brain Pain". Most recently, Four Year Strong released a cover of Green Day's "Brain Stew/Jaded" in May of 2020. Four Year Strong is definitely a pop punk band. I find them to have a little grit to them though. I first started getting into these guys in 2010 with their "Enemy Of The World" album. I was instantly hooked from hearing the song "Wasting Time (Eternal Sunshine)". Album wise, it was their next album, "In Some Way, Shape, Or Form" that was, and still is my favorite album from the band. Four Year Strong is a pretty consistent band, putting out new music fairly on the regular. These guys are one of many that proves that punk rock music is alive and well in my home state of Massachusetts!
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
A Day To Remember
Bayside
Transit
The Swellers
The Starting Line
TEN FOUR YEAR STRONG SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Stuck In The Middle
2. Wasting Time (Eternal Sunshine)
3. Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die
4. Talking Myself In Circles
5. We All Float Down Here
6. Bada Bing! Wit' A Pipe
7. Semi-Charmed Life (Third Eye Blind cover)
8. It Must Really Suck To Be Four Year Strong Right Now
"Break Something" appears to be a song about how the corporate world uses up it's workforce so that the CEO's and bankers become wealthy 10 time over while the people on the bottom grind for the crumbs. It's frustrating when you work your ass off to make a company achieve success, but none of those profits seem to trickle down. Once they use you up, they'll seek your replacement. The cycle continues.
ANTI-FLAG DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1996 - Die For The Government (New Red Achives)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
1998 - Their System Doesn't Work For You (A-F Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
1999 - A New Kind Of Army (Go-Kart Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2001 - Underground Network (Fat Wreck Chords)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2002 - Mobilize (A-F Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2003 - The Terror State (Fat Wreck Chords)
* peaked at #91 on the Billboard 200 on 11-8-03
2006 - For Blood And Empire (RCA Records)
* peaked at #100 on the Billboard 200 on 4-8-06
2008 - The Bright Lights Of America (RCA Records)
* peaked at #118 on the Billboard 200 on 4-19-08
2009 - The People Or The Gun (SideOneDummy Records)
* peaked at #122 on the Billboard 200 on 6-27-09
2012 - The General Strike (SideOneDummy Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2015 - American Spring (Spinefarm Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2015 - Cease Fires (A-F Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2016 - Live Acoustic At 11th Street Records (Spinefarm Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2017 - Live Vol. 1 (A-F Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2017 - American Fall (Spinefarm Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2018 - American Reckoning (Spinefarm Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2019 - Live Vol. 2 (A-F Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
2020 - 20/20 Vision (Spinefarm Records)
* did not chart on the Billboard 200
MY THOUGHTS ON ANTI-FLAG:
Anti-Flag formed as a band back in 1988 by members Justin Sane and Pat Thetic. This Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania product would last only one show together before disbanding! Luckily however, the boys decided to give it another go in 1992, this time with much more staying power! After releasing a 17 song demo and various splits, Anti-Flag released their debut album in 1996 called "Die For The Government". In 1999, bassist/vocalist Chris No. 2 joined the band and basically solidified the line-up of Anti-Flag which exists to this day, Justin Sane (vocals/guitar), Chris No. 2 (vocals/bass), Chris Head (guitar) and Pat Thetic (drums). In 2001, the band signed a two record deal with Fat Wreck Chords. Their first release with Fat, "Underground Network", proved to be the album where Anti-Flag was beginning to make a name for itself on the punk rock scene. The second release through Fat, "The Terror State", turned out to be Anti-Flag's highest charting album to date. The band had been receiving offers to sign with major labels but it wasn't till 2006 that they decided to ink a deal with RCA Records, the stipulation being that they retained full control of the recording process and promotion. Both RCA releases, 2006's "For Blood And Empire" and 2008's "The Bright Lights Of America", charted on the Billboard 200. The band continued it's success with SideOneDummy Records for the releases "The People Or The Gun" and "The General Strike". From here, the band would form an alliance with Spinefarm Records. Anti-Flag released a string of great albums with Spinefarm, beginning with 2015's "American Spring" and ending with 2020's "20/20 Vision". The band is set to release their brand new full length studio album in January of 2023, called "Lies They Tell Our Children". Anti-Flag is a very active punk rock band. They seem to release something every year to two years! In between their studio albums, they may drop some compilation albums or live albums or maybe some EP's or split releases. On top of that, they seem like they are constantly touring and performing live. These guys just don't seem to stop. Their style is very political punk. They wear their ideals on their sleeves and are not afraid to shine a light on hot topic issues and express their views without apologies. There's a price to be paid for expressing some of their opinions because it could alienate some of their fans but Anti-Flag will always be unapologetic. I knew of Anti-Flag since the mid-90's but the first album that really made me take notice was 2003's "The Terror State". The first song on the album, "Turncoat", got me hook, line and sinker! I've been a super fan ever since. I would say pretty much every album they put out from "The Terror State" on has been top notch. Hard to pick an outright favorite of mine, cuz they're all great. But, "American Spring" has always stood out as an awesome record front to back for me.
