Pittsburgh punks Anti-Flag have been going strong and hard since 1992, but they haven't really been on the radar of the average metalhead, operating instead in punk rock circles over the years. And while they're still in those circles, the band has made the surprising hop over to Spinefarm Records for their new album, the excellent American Spring (their tenth studio album).

"We were looking around for new labels," begins drummer Pat Thetic. "We were like, well, we’ve done Fat Wreck Chords, we’ve done SideOneDummy, we’ve done Go-Kart, we’ve done the major label (RCA), so where do we want to go that makes sense to us? So we were like, let’s branch out and try something we hadn’t done before. Spinefarm reached out to us and they really want to really get behind this record and really do great things with it."
"Record labels are sort of like landlords," he continues, with a chuckle. "You sort of have to have them, but you don’t really like them. They’re part of the process. But having said that, Spinefarm has been really great and done lots of great things, but they’re a necessary evil in the process to release a new record and getting it out to people to hear it. Jonas [Nachsin], the guy who runs it, is amazing, he’s done really great things. I’ve really enjoyed our time with them and he’s got a similar view to the world as we do and that goes a long way with me."

Fans of the band can rest assured that even though they're now labelmates with Electric Wizard and Venom, Anti-Flag are not going to suddenly sound different, or even be more immersed in the metal world, for that matter. Thetic offers up a quick "no" and a laugh when I ask if the band will become more entrenched in the metal community now (this is an album that features a guest spot from Tim Armstrong of Operation Ivy and Rancid, as well as a huge amount of essays and liner notes to read in the booklet while you're listening to the tunes, as well as links to check out further information... so, yeah, this is punk rock).

"I completely respect my metal friends, but Anti-Flag, we are who we are, you can’t change us. We do what we do, and if you don’t like it, fuck off. I think we may be exposed to some people who wouldn’t have access to our ideas because of Spinefarm being traditionally a metal label, but I think that’s as far as it goes. Although DragonForce is on fucking Spinefarm, and that’d be awesome to tour with them (laughs). I’d be like, 'That’s amazing!' (laughs) We’re not going to become a metal band because of this, but it’s an interesting home and a different point of view in releasing a record being on a traditionally metal label than on a traditional punk rock label."

So onwards the band goes, still resolutely doing their own thing, although it's worth noting that working within the strict confines of punk rock, American Spring is a very diverse album; to me, it's a special album in that it's the first disc of theirs that I've really connected with, and Thetic says that he feels there's something special happening on the album as well.

"Absolutely," he says. "We go through different phases. When you’re in a punk rock band, there are a lot of expectations as to what you’re supposed to sound like. The last two records, we were in a position where we wanted to just come back to our roots, it sounds cliché, but we wanted to get back to just four of us in a room and not deal with all the other bullshit that came along with it. So we did that for the last two records, and I really loved that process, because I don’t like all the extraneous bullshit that goes on, I’m much more, let’s just hit it hard and fast and make it happen. So my end of the band was satisfied in the last two records. So [this time] the other guys said, let’s take some risks and let’s try some new stuff. So we were willing to take some more risks on this record, whereas the last two records we were trying to be who I really wanted to be, and then I let up my thing a little bit on this record, and I think that’s why a lot of people are connecting with it a bit more."