Dropkick Murphys Prep 'Signed and Sealed in Blood' for 2013 Release

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Sep 6, 2012

Late last year, Celtic punk crew Dropkick Murphys told their faithful that they would be recording a new LP in the spring, with the album likely hitting store shelves by September. Well, the Boston-based band may have been a bit too optimistic on that launch date, but they have, however, wrapped up the recording sessions and titled their next work Signed and Sealed in Blood.

A recent note from the band confirmed that the record is now complete, and will see release via their own Born & Bred Records  early next year.

Speaking with Billboard, bassist Ken Casey -- the long-running group's sole original member -- admitted that, get this, the roustabout band's latest collection has "an upbeat, party vibe to it." It also had the band relaxing from the conceptual hook of their last long-player, 2011's Going Out in Style.

"It's not that the last album wasn't fun. It was," Casey said, "Going Out in Style is one of the records I'm most proud of, of anything we've done. But it gave me a couple migraines along the way, getting through that because everything was so connected. This time we cut loose."

The set was tracked between May and July by Going Out of Style producer Ted Hutt (Gaslight Anthem, Old Crow Medicine Show) at Sommerville, MA's Q Division Studios. 

"A lot of these songs, we were having such a good time writing them and just enjoying the writing process," Casey said of the seemingly fast-paced follow-up. "It's the quickest we've released an album, ever, after another."

A full tracklisting has yet to appear, but new tunes include "The End of the Night," which Casey describes as "kind of loser's anthem, about people who don't want to go home," and an apparently un-cheesy Christmas cut called "'Tis the Season."

The Murphys are also currently holding a contest for fans to contribute to the album art by inking themselves with the newly released album art, which you can see above. Entries are being accepted until September 19, if you have some room on your sleeve to add the traditional, skull-adorned crest. Winners will be featured in album art, as well as in an upcoming video for new number "Rose Tattoo," whose lyrics yielded the album title.

Dropkick Murphys also have some tour dates coming up this fall, including stops in Hamilton and Montreal. You can check the details out down below.

Tour dates:

9/14 Buffalo, NY - Outer Harbor
9/15 Chicago, IL - Riot Fest
9/16 Dayton, OH - WXEG XFest 2012
9/18 Detroit, MI - Fillmore *
9/19 Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE *
9/20 Utica, NY - Saranac Brewery *
9/21 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion *
10/29 Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
10/31 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
11/1 Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium
11/2 Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
11/3 Fargo, ND - The Venue
11/5 Billings, MT - Shrine Auditorium
11/6 Missoula, MT - The Wilma
11/7 Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Concert House
11/9 Eugene, OR - McDonald Theatre
11/11 Chico, CA - Theater
11/12 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory
11/13 Flagstaff, AZ - The Orpheum Theater
11/15 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
11/16 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club
11/17 Hamilton, ON -Hamilton Convention Centre
11/18 Montreal, QC - Metropolis

* with Creepshow

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