Charge of the dark brigade

Pittsburgh quartet Anti-Flag's messages may be blatant but the music is inviting.

To get you warmed up for the Taste of Chaos Tour at the St James this weekend Scott Kara checks out the latest punk and hardcore releases

Alexisonfire: Crisis
Herald rating: * * * *
Third album from Canadian post-hardcore band is a reckless scorcher
Label: Distort/Shock

Cobra Khan: Sleepless Lions
Herald rating: * * * *
There's bite and bark on debut release from Auckland five-piece
Label: Elevenfiftyseven/Shock

Anti-flag: For Blood and Empire
Herald rating: * * *
It's your choice whether you want to party with these political punks
Label: Sony/BMG

Suicide Dogs: Breakin Away
Herald rating: * * *
Local short-haired party punk goes on too long. Otherwise, it rocks
Label: Puppy Killer/Rhythmethod

The Bronx: The Bronx II
Herald rating: * * * *
No sophomore slump for fresh and fiery LA act
Label: Island

Tomorrow Comes In Silence: The Calm That Lies Beneath
Herald rating: * * *
Debut from local seven-piece is promising but labours
Label: Border

"This is from our hearts" is the war cry that opens Crisis, the third album from Canada's Alexisonfire.

Musically and vocally Crisis is gutsy and grunty, while remaining melodic and catchy. There's an unhinged and demented approach to songs like Boiled Frogs and We Are the Sound when it sounds like they're about to fall apart. But they don't. It's a great effect.

It's as if the mic has been stuffed down George Pettit's throat and is being pulled out, creating a suction effect, as he sings. This is offset by the clean and yearning voice of Dallas Green. But in a world where the pairing of roared and clean vocals either doesn't work, or gets tedious, Alexisonfire is the exception. Songs like Mailbox Arson and Boiled Frogs are proof that punk rock is still for the kids and those who refuse to grow up.

You can hear the metal kicking and screaming in Cobra Khan's sound. There's also a vicious rock assault on tracks like Dementia and Runaway that's more Killjoy-era Shihad than punk rock. Another welcome addition to the Auckland five-piece - that arose out of the ashes of Sommerset, Day One and Cold By Winter - is the smoky Hammond organ of Sarah Fox which balances out the boys' bolshie antics. With angular and neck-cracking riffs on The Lancer and the churning Wrapped In Plastic, Sleepless Lions announces the deadly arrival of Cobra Khan.

Pittsburgh-based quartet Anti-Flag are political to the core. Fighter planes, machine guns and the White House decorate the cover of new album For Blood and Empire. The messages recall the uncompromising politicking of Rage Against the Machine, but like that band, Anti-Flag don't compromise the music.

They are anti-Bush (surprise, surprise) but also speak out against genocide, the evils of advertising, and eating disorders. While they might sound like earnest do-gooders, tracks such as War Sucks, Let's Party prove Anti-Flag know how to have fun. Considering the blatant messages, the music is inviting. It gets heavier, on tracks like the excellent Hymn For the Dead but is generally somewhere between jumped-up Green Day (with whom they toured) and the Clash.

Rather than straight politics, the debut album, Breakin' Away, from Hamilton punks Suicide Dogs, has tunes about debt, dead-end jobs, skating on the dole, and places like Willoughby St where "the beers are all on ice coz we ain't got no refrigerator". The song, Willoughby St, has a surf guitar flavour, and, like many of these tracks, the all-in singing chorus ensures there would be few walls left standing after a party at the Dogs' place.

There's also a recurring theme of 50s rock'n'roll meets punk rock running through these 16 ranting and raving anthems. But it's too long. Ten songs would be perfect.

Earlier this year a great album released by the Drips went virtually unnoticed. It was a mini-supergroup featuring members of Suicidal Tendencies, the Distillers, Los Lobos, and Los Angeles quartet the Bronx. That side project had a freshness and diversity that also comes through on the Bronx second album, Bronx II. There's the rampant stomp of Shitty Future, arse-shaking swamp rock on History's Stranglers, the anthemic and gravely Ocean of Class, and the bluesy Dirty Leaves.

Similar to Alexisonfire, the Bronx have that deranged attack going on (check out Rape Zombie). Couple that with the barking and phlegmy serenade of Matt Caughthran, and you've got a riotous and grubby little album. Get your hands dirty.

On a more polished note there's the debut five-track EP from Auckland's Tomorrow Comes In Silence. The seven-piece, including two guitars and two singers, loiter in the realm of bludgeoning beauty. However, there's a fine line between emotive hooks, and laborious brooding, which is what TCIS lapse into at times - Ivy Stealing Fire (with devilishly cool widdly, widdly riffs and a swooning outro) is one of the victims.

The weakest moments are the clean vocals - they're too whiny and self piteous. But in saying that, TCIS have an icy atmosphere and steely moodiness - it's just that no one likes a whiner.

* Anti-Flag, Cobra Khan, and Tomorrow Comes In Silence play the Taste of Chaos Tour on Sunday at the St James with Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Underoath, Saosin, and many more.