The inevitable has happened. Veteran Boston punk crowd-pleasers Dropkick Murphys have forged an alliance with insurgent Boston hardcore crowd-pleasers Haywire. Those two bands make absolute perfect sense together; their conscientious hooligan anthems complement each other nicely. Last year, the two bands toured Europe together. Next week, they'll hit the road together in the US for Dropkick Murphys' annual St. Patrick's Day tour, which ends with multiple shows in their shared hometown. They'll also release a new split LP that'll be available exclusively at those shows.
The forthcoming split New England Forever features a whole lot of crossover between Dropkick Murphys and Haywire. Both bands cover each other, with DKM doing "Always By My Side" and Haywire taking on "The Boys Are Back." They've also got a couple of collaborations, and one of them is a reimagined version of an old Dropkick Murphys banger that speaks to this particular fucked-up historical moment.
The hardest song on Dropkick Murphys' classic 2006 album The Warrior's Code might be "Citizen CIA," their sarcastic call for spook recruitment. Now, they've gotten together with Haywire to redo that song as "Citizen ICE," switching the lyrics to describe the murderous cowards currently running rampant in American cities: "You've joined the traitor's ranks to play the hand of God/ In a scumbag grifters kidnapping squad!" DKM and Haywire were playing that song on tour in Europe last year. A few weeks ago, they posted a teaser that set it to footage of Renee Good's murder. Now, the full studio version is out. Below, you'll find that song, the New England Forever tracklist, and the dates for Dropkick Murphys' St. Patrick's Day tour.
TRACKLIST:
01 Dropkick Murphys - "Citizen I.C.E." (feat. Haywire)
02 Dropkick Murphys - "Only The Strong"
03 Dropkick Murphys - "Solidarity"
04 Dropkick Murphys - "Always By My Side" (Haywire cover)
05 Haywire - "New England Forever" (feat. Dropkick Murphys)
06 Haywire - "Hang Up The Telephone"
07 Haywire - "The Henchmen"
08 Haywire - "The Boys Are Back" (Dropkick Murphys cover)
TOUR DATES:
2/09 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre *
2/10 - Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater *
2/12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
2/13 - Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre *
2/14 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz *
2/15 - North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues *
2/17 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues *
2/18 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues *
2/19 - Austin, TX @ ACL Live at The Moody Theater *
2/21 - Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal *
2/22 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore *
2/24 - Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory *
2/25 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom *
2/26 - Omaha, NE@ The Admiral *
2/27 - West Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom *
3/01 - Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom *
3/03 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed *
3/05 - East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt *
3/06 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
3/07 - Milwaukee, WI @ Panther Arena (hockey game performance)
3/08 - Louisville, KY @ Old Forester's Paristown Hall *
3/10 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa *
3/11 - Springfield, MA @ MassMutual Center (hockey game performance)
3/13 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway ^
3/14 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway (Claddagh Fund matinee mini-show)
3/14 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway ^
3/15 - Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway ^
3/17 - Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues
* with the Aggrolites & Haywire
^ with Haywire
The New England Forever split arrives on streaming 3/17 via Dummy Luck Music/Play It Again Sam. Check out our We've Got A File On You interview with Dropkick Muprhys frontman Ken Casey here.
