Rise Against and Dropkick Murphys

The band should stand as living proof to punk rock purists that commercial success is not, and has never been, the same thing as selling out. Yes, the band’s sound is far more accessible today than the visceral hardcore of their early years.

However, if they were to take a cursory listen to the lyrics of any random song of theirs, they would be shocked to find that they are still as intelligent, profound and straight up angry as they ever were and this even stretches to the bands biggest hits.

Take songs like “Help Is on the Way", “Savior”, "Make It Stop (September's Children)" and “Prayer Of The Refugee” for example. These are polarising songs about difficult, yet very topical subjects that don’t shy away from taking a defined stance.

However the combined Youtube hits for those videos are, astonishingly enough, around 86 Million. This is a band that manages to plug the It Gets Better project, PETA and Amnesty International while filling arenas in their home country and large theaters and concert halls around the world.

To have a fully-fledged rock band with a message as vital as theirs playing on such a large scale the world over is a blessing that we haven’t had since the days of The Clash. With a tour schedule like theirs, it’s only a matter of time before they play wherever you are, and there are few bands out their more likely to change your life than the one and only Rise Against.

The current line up of the Dropkicks Murphys as of 2014 consists of: Ken Casey - bass guitar, lead vocals, Matt Kelly - drums, bodhran and vocals, Al Barr - lead vocals, James Lynch - guitar and vocals, Tim Brennan - tin whistle, accordion, mandolin, bouzouki, keyboard, piano, vocals, and lead guitar, Jeff DaRosa - banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, guitar, keyboard, piano, harmonica, tin whistle and vocals.

The band went platinum with their song "I'm shipping up to Boston". This is one of the bands trademark song and has seen them reach great success.

In 2007 the band signed with Warner Bros. Records. After previously being signed to Hellcat Records while they were constantly touring.

The band has many influences such as: AC/DC, Stiff Little Fingers, Swinging Utters, The Ramones, The Clash and Sex Pistols, The Pogues and The Dubliners.

As of 2014 the Dropkick Murphys have released 8 albums, their most recent album "Signed and Sealed in Blood" gained positive reviews, Allmusic gave it 4 out of 5 stars. This album matched the score of their earlier album "The Meanest of Times" which contained "The State of Massachusetts" which has been named one of the 100 most played songs on U.S. modern rock radio in October 2007.