American Steel – Destroy Their Future

When American Steel announced their reunion after a six year hiatus that was toppled by a random house party performance, I couldn’t care less. It’s not that I didn’t like the band, it’s just that I had never heard of them before. However, I soon became excited to hear what they’d come out with. Why? Simply because of the pure excitement everyone else was feeling about the reunion. The internet was abuzz with anticipation which just ignited my hopes for the release; so much so that the instant I had Destroy Their Future in my hands I threw it into my CD player. From that moment on, I understood what all the excitement was about.

Opening up with the raucous Sons of Avarice, Destroy Their Future jumps right into the action with a folk punk tune reminiscent of Against Me! and a tinge of The Clash and they never let up until the end. The songs are energetic and compelling. The vocals are harsh and agitated, a echoey mixture of Tom Gable and Matt Skiba while the music pulsates with a rough pop-punk vibe that fits perfectly into the Fat Wreck roster. On top of that, Destroy Their Future features some of the best back-up vocals on a CD in a long time. Back-up vocals so enticing that songs like Dead and Gone and Razorblades jump at the listener and force them to sing along.

Some may worry that the album will become too complacent, that each song follows in the same vein as it’s predecessor, luckily for us, that is not the case. Instead, the songs are surprisingly varied while maintaining a constant flow throughout (the sole exception to this is Mean Streak which sticks out at first but soon falls into place with a enticing chant of “I like you because you’re like me: we both act miserably). Old Croy Road is a personal retelling of a father’s death in a way that sounds like The Briggs while To The Sea and Or Don’t You Remember? is a dark song that brings visions of olderAlkaline Trio material. Other songs keep that mid nineties vibe by following the Jawbreaker structure of punk and Hurtlin’ is a stripped down acoustic track that bears repeating.

The album merges all the best aspects of punk; whether it be an Alkaline Trio eerie pop-punk or the clap-along folk punk of Against Me!, American Steel carries on the tradition of punk that people like Joe Strummer started so many years ago.

Fans of the Chicago punk scene will dig the record and everyone, whether they know the band or not, should be excited about their reunion.