Anybody gonna get the new Anti-Flag record?

[Colin Ex]

Comes out the 21st of this month, called "The Terror State."

They have a teaser MP3 on their website, and it doesn't sound half-bad, although kind of different. I can cope with that, though.

I gather that Fat Wreck Chords is distributing it, and they're taking pre-orders on the 17th.

-C

[vi5]

1. Never really got into that band....

I guess after realizing so many of the late 70's/early 80's ararcho/poltical punk bands I was into were full of sh*t, I steered away from such overtly political punk bands no matter how much I may agree with their message.

I'd rather go with personal/political and direct action type punk bands like Fugazi. They may not rail against the system in their lyrics but they actually put words into action in the things that they do. A lot more powerful than just imploring people to smash the system from the stage of the warped tour.

I have to admit Fat Wreck's political activism has surprised me. I'm a huge NOFX fan and this latest wave of involvement and activism is encouraging.

[Colin Ex]

2. Anti-Flag has a special place

in my heart because they're the first politik punk band I really, really got into. From there, it was Minor Threat and Fugazi and Bad Religion.

Regarding Warped Tour, I think it's a lot harder to yell "smash tha systum!" when the system is what's got you up on stage in the first place -- I cite bands like Simple Plan as an example. Whomever's idea it was to get them playing, they deserve a swift kick. There's a lot less in the way of indie acts there, now.

Either way, the message is more important than the method of distributing it, I think.

And Fat Mike's launching of Punkvoter and the activism does kick ass.

-C

[Melinda]

3. The new CD is very controversial in the US... Censors are full throttle

"The Terror State" has apparently been banned from many "conservative" and possibly other music stores in the US because of its cover art. I received an email from someone tonight saying:

"I dont know if you heard but this CD is banned from being sold in the USA which is why the band is given them out for free at theer shows* i know this b/c i had to give out the CDs at tonights show*. the release for it WAS 10/21 and alot of people dont know yet that it wont be out so im sure ALOT of people will be looking for it."

I work in the promotional end of the industry so I hear this stuff.
Anyway, the cover causing the stink:


Front


Insert cover

Here is what the band had to say as of 10/06:

Choices have been made by persons other than Anti-Flag and Fat Wreck Chords regarding the artwork of this release, reads the blacked out censored version of The Terror State.

There is some confusion about the censorship of the artwork on our new CD, "The Terror State". We want to clear up the confusion. Most stores that care about artistic freedom will be carrying the original artwork (the girl on the cover). However, there are some larger chain stores that simply do not like the original cover and who do not care about artistic freedom. They censored our artwork and as a result will be carrying a censored version of the CD. If you can't find any stores in your area carrying the original artwork, you can print it out here. We strongly urge you to buy the record from your local indie record stores or directly from Fat Wreck Chords, who both support artistic freedom and freedom of speech.

Exceptionally late in the production process of THE TERROR STATE, some of the biggest national music stores in the US informed Fat Wreck Chords that they would not carry our CD because of its artwork. We find this frustrating in that the image of the little girl whose childhood falls casualty to the current state of militarism in the US and much of the world, isn’t any more violent or disturbing than the world-wide epidemic of militarism which kills and oppresses countless human beings everyday – and yet we do not see these chains censoring media that promote militaristic ideas. That said, we made a calculated decision to forgo the artwork to get the more important, subversive message in our music to the ears of people who have not yet discovered that there is an alternative to purchasing music in a chain store, or do not have access to an indie store in their area.

The radical transformation of our artwork was made to draw attention to the fact that SOME huge chains use their massive distribution power to intimidate artists into “dumbing down” their content. If you don’t like a group of corporate store executives deciding what you should or should not see go to: Underground Action Alliance.org to read more about corporate censorship…

http://www.anti-flag.com/terror/censorship/#