Any good? Hell yes!!
Released from their odds and sods album 'Remains', 'Hell Yes' is a song that has always been a favourite when played live for fans, and one of the most requested at the band's shows. Bassist Dan Andriano says, "...still one of my favourite songs to play...To me, it's the perfect Punk Rock song about what makes you happy. Plain and simple..." Indeed it is just that. It's a mid-tempo song with the chugging guitars and simple drums, and plodding bass line whilst Matt Skiba sings over the top. Without being blatant the song, albeit dark, does not have the obvious lyrics of murder, suicide or the usual macabre that we come to know and love with the band.
Matt wrote this song not long after moving to the Bay Area as a tribute to the late, Anton LaVey, who was the founder of the Church of Satan, and it's perhaps this simple but bold statement that gives an air of the infamous about the song.
The second song, (or B-Side as they used to say before CD's!) is a remix from the street-punk-king, Tim Armstrong, of the song 'Burn' from Alkaline Trio's great 2005 album, 'Crimson'. Tim has always loved a reggae beat, and his ability to take a non-reggae song and give it this twist has worked many times with Rancid, and his solo stuff, and although it shouldn't work here, you know what? It does!
Here's looking forward to the new album which is rumoured to be arriving in the Spring. So is this worth getting? Hell yes!