''This Machine Still Kills Fascists'' is the eleventh studio album by American band

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...

and was released on September 30, 2022, on Dummy Luck Music. It marks the band's first studio album since '' Do or Die'' to not feature vocalist

Al Barr Alexander Barr (born January 21, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known for his time as the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys, whom he joined in 1998 and as of 2025, is currently on hiatus from the band. He was also a founder and lea ...

, who was on hiatus from the band to take care of his ailing mother. It is the band's first acoustic and is composed of unused lyrics and words by

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

Background

The album was recorded in

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

in Woody Guthrie's home state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

The Church Studio The Church Studio is a recording studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma established in 1972 by musician, songwriter, and producer Leon Russell. Located in a converted church building, the studio has since been cited as being the heart of the Tulsa Sound. H ...

. With Al Barr on hiatus from the band, the band thought it was the ideal time to record an acoustic album. The band had previously put some of Guthrie's lyrics to music, most notably 2005's "

I'm Shipping Up to Boston "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" is a song by the Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys, with lyrics written by folk singer Woody Guthrie. The original version of the song was released in 2004 on ''Give 'Em the Boot IV'' and was re-recorded for their cer ...

" which became the band's biggest charting single. Guthrie's daughter, Nora, reached out to the band after she collected various lyrics composed by her father that she thought was fitting for the band to possibly record. According to guitarist James Lynch, the band was invited by Nora to go through her father's archives and select lyrics to use. The title of the album comes from "

This machine kills fascists "This machine kills fascists" is a message that American musician Woody Guthrie placed on his guitars in the mid-1940s, starting in 1943. The idea originated from a sticker that American machinists affixed to metalworking lathes and drill presses ...

", a slogan that Guthrie used to write on his guitars.

By using Guthrie's guitar phrase for their album title, enCasey said in an WBUR interview the band wanted to show that Guthrie's music remains relevant today. What confuses Casey, though, is how the word
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
still triggers some people.

In an interview, Casey said "...that movement didn't end with Trump. He set a model that others will now follow. It's authoritarianism and fascism 101; the press is the enemy of the people, turn people against each other."

Promotion

The album was preceded by the singles and music videos for "Two 6's Upside Down" on July 6, 2022, "Ten Times More" on August 22, 2022, and "All You Fonies" on September 14, 2022, "The Last One" (featuring Evan Felker) was released as the album's fourth single and music video on September 30, 2022. The album's fifth single and music video for "Cadillac, Cadillac" (featuring Sammy Amara of Broilers) was released on January 10, 2023. The song was featured as a bonus track on the expanded edition of the album. "Never Git Drunk Again" (featuring

Nikki Lane Nikki Lane (born October 17, 1983) is an American country music singer-songwriter and artist. She has released four albums: ''Walk of Shame'', '' All or Nothin, ''Highway Queen, and Denim & Diamonds''. Early life and education Lane was bo ...

) was released as the album's sixth and final single and music video on February 10, 2023. In February 2023, the band released a music video for the song "All You Tories" which was a re-working of "All You Fonies". "In support of all our Union friends in the UK fighting the good fight against the elitist

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

political party we made this music video in association with the RMT (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers). On our recent UK shows we changed the words to the song "All You Fonies (Bound To Lose)" to "All You Tories" in support of the striking railroad and transit workers, nurses, fire fighters, teachers, postal workers, ambulance staff and health workers. Yours in Solidarity, Dropkick Murphys" the band said in a statement that was released with the video. The band embarked on the This Machine...Tour in support of the album, which was the band's first acoustic theater tour. It began in late October 2022 and concluded in late November 2022.

''This Machine Rising'' documentary

On August 30, 2024, the band will release the short documentary, ''This Machine Rising'', on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. The film "tells the story of Dropkick Murphys' journey with Woody Guthrie's lyrics, focusing on the Tulsa sessions (the recording of ''This Machine Still Kills Fascists'' and '' Okemah Rising''), the theater tour, and the enduring power of music and words to unite the working class and promote equity.

Track listing

All lyrics by

; all music by The Dropkick Murphys except "Dig a Hole" music by Woody Guthrie

Personnel

Dropkick Murphys *

Tim Brennan Tim Brennan is an American musician who is a lead guitarist, vocalist and one of the primary songwriters of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Early life and career Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, Brennan played drums for n ...

– guitar, vocals *

Ken Casey Kenneth William Casey Jr. (born April 15, 1969) is an American musician who is the primary songwriter, one of the lead singers and bassist of the Boston Celtic punk group the Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, starting ...

– lead vocals *

Jeff DaRosa Jeffrey DaRosa (born July 31, 1982) is an American musician who is a multi-instrumentalist and a member of the Boston-based Dropkick Murphys. Early life and career Growing up in Watertown, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston) and Somerville, Ma ...

– banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitars, vocals *Matt Kelly – drums, percussion, vocals * James Lynch – guitars, vocals

Charts

References

{{Dropkick Murphys 2022 albums Dropkick Murphys albums