‎The Warrior's Code by Dropkick Murphys on iTunes

14 Songs, 40 Minutes

EDITORS’ NOTES

Dropkick Murphy’s fifth studio album comes out swinging and punching right from the opening notes of “Your Spirit’s Alive,” a tune the band penned for their friend Greg “Chickenman” Riley, who was killed in a 2004 motorcycle accident. The song is a ferocious number that’s as spirited as the title suggests, pulling influences from old-school English punk, some workingman’s steel-toed Oi! and a hint of Celtic folk. Aside from Big Country’s 1983 namesake hit, the title-track here makes the best use of a bagpipe in a non-Scottish folk song. “The Warrior’s Code” rocks and rolls under reedy drones as Al Barr’s graveled voice sings and howls praise for “Irish” Micky Ward, a retired junior welterweight professional boxer whom the album is dedicated to. Another standout is “Captain Kelly’s Kitchen,” an anthemic fist-pumper that makes Dropkick Murphys sound like the bastard punk sons of the Pogues with hyper tempos rolling and pounding under accordion, fiddle, bagpipes and mandolin as Barr injects lyrics from the 1914 classic Irish canticle "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby)." A raunchy reworking of Boston Red Sox rally song “Tessie” closes with drunken aplomb.

EDITORS’ NOTES

	TITLE		TIME
	Your Spirit's Alive		2:20
	The Warrior's Code		2:29
	Captain Kelly's Kitchen		2:48
	The Walking Dead		2:07
	Sunshine Highway		3:22
	Wicked Sensitive Crew		2:59
	The Burden		2:55
	Citizen C.I.A.		1:28
	The Green Fields of France (No Man's Land)		4:45
	Take It and Run		2:44
	I'm Shipping Up to Boston		2:33
	The Auld Triangle		2:41
	Last Letter Home		3:27
	Tessie (Bonus Track)		4:15

4.6 out of 5

257 Ratings

High Energy Bar Rock

This is an album meant for guys who want to get hyped up about something and probably have had a good deal of alcohol. While the music itself is somewhat innovative with bagpipe background, the songs get to be somewhat repetitive. You might find yourself not knowing which song you are listening to, but you probably won't care. If you are looking for a high enery, alcohol driven, psyche-up rock with an Irish twist you've come to the right place. It may not be exactly memorable, but that's not always what makes a good album. I like it, and that is what matters to me. Solid 4 out of 5.

Where do I begin?

This CD is almost TOO good for me to handle. If you just bought Shipping out to boston and then left your missing out on great songs like take it and run, the walking dead, wicked sensitive crew, and sunshine highway. And of course there is the excellent cover of Green Fields of France. But my favorite by FAR would have to be their version of the Auld Triangle, that song is AMAZING! Overall this album is too good to be true all the songs are worth 5 stars. Trust me I've listened through the whole thing too many times to count, the murphys provide hours of enjoyment.