American Steel: Destroy Their Future

American Steel: Destroy Their Future

2007

Fat Wreck Chords

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Sons of Avarice  2. Dead and Gone  3. Meanstreak  4. Love and Logic  5. Smile On Me  6. Razorblades  7. Old Croy Road  8. To the Sea  9. Or Don't You Remember  10. Speak, Oh my Heart  11. Hurtlin'  12. More Like a Dream

This is American Steel's fourth album and their first on Fat Mike's popular punk label Fat Wreck Chords. Prior to this record. the band  had briefly taken a detour into synth-based dance-rock and renamed themselves Communique. I've only heard one Communique song, which I thought was alright, but it's definitely good to hear them back doing what they do best! "Destroy Their Future"  polishes their approach  (the softening of their sound actually started on the previous album "Jagged Thoughts, which I don't currently own, but have heard many times.) When I say this is polished, you don't have to worry about it sounding like Maroon 5 or something, I mean that it's now more Clash than Crimpshrine...

In fact, the album opener "Sons of Avarice" owes a huge debt to the Clash's "Know Your Rights." It's a highly charged political punker that sounds like a million fire alarms going off at once. Exciting! The band does a good job keeping the political/personal ratio just right. They attack religious hypocrisy and war mongering politicians on "Sons of Avarice" and "Razorblades," but also keeps the emotional quotient high with love songs like the acoustic "Hurtlin'." It never feels like you're getting brow-beaten by politics, but important issues aren't ignored either.

One great song in particular is "Old Croy Road" in which Ryan Massey goes through his deceased Father's records, hoping to catch a glimpse of the type of man his Father was. This is the kind of stuff that drew me to punk rock in the first place. Everybody should check this out... and for your convenience I've posted a video below.

It's great to hear these guys again, they reliably put out tough and tuneful street-level punk...

Here's "Old Croy Road" by American Steel...