The Dropkick Murphys are one of my favorite bands and DO OR DIE is one of my favorite CDs. The band is in top form here, delivering song after song of pounding punk energy in the oi / streetpunk vein. They also have a great Irish feel, which makes them really stand out.

The CD is filled with classic songs - "Get Up" is a punk anthem with sing-along vocals ("why don't you get up and get out! "), as are all of DKM's songs, it seems. "Never Alone" is easily one of the album's best songs, a proud anthem to the misunderstood skinhead filled with great lyrics that may open some people's eyes ("You're a hard-workin' man who's payed his dues / but they still call you racist on the evenin' news").

"Road of the Righteous" is my favorite song on the CD and one of my favorite songs. Everything comes together on it and Mike McColgan is in top form. "Far Away Coast" is beautiful, and "Fightstarter Karaoke" and "Barroom Hero" are classics. The album closes with several less-punk, more sing-along anthems like the old "Finnegan's Wake", "Boys on the Docks", and the cover (sort of) "Skinhead of the MTBA."

DO OR DIE is a great album and the title says it all - you have to get it. Also, people criticize Al Barr a lot because he's not Mike, but he is great and The Gang's All Here is a great album. He is amazing live as well. If you get a chance to see a DKM show, don't miss it because they are one of the best live punk bands there is. If you want more songs from the McColgan era, be sure to check out THE EARLY YEARS.

I just listened to this album for the first time today, and I was blown away. The Dropkick Murphys bring an energy and passion that is just amazingly infectious. Head-bobbing, anthemic songs predominate on this album; highlights include "Never Alone" and "Barroom Hero." The speed of the music and Mike McColgan's leather-lunged vocals give this music a pace and power that is hard to equal. A must-have for punk fans and probably even for metalheads. If you like your music fast and furious, this album is definitely for you.

This should be an "essential recording." The Dropkick Murphys are one of the most ambitious and talented musical groups still releasing albums. The fact that most radio stations (Or at least the ones in my area) don't play them is a testament to the shear ignorance of the mass of listeners (I nver listen to the radio.) Whatever is popular plays, even if the bands have little talent or integrity.
The Dropkick murphys, with their seamless infusion of aggressive rock and tradtional irish music, are one of the premier rock bacnd out there today. Their music and their lyrics are both entertaing and insightful. The unbelievable talent they exude is absolutely unparalleled. They take rock from the music videos and arena to the level of the working man, where the real music fans are.
Highly recommend! Top Ten band.

This album was my first taste of this delicious Boston treat, and from the first strains of "Cadence to Arms" I was hooked. By the time "Barroom Hero" came marching in, I was ready to down my Guinness, throw the glass at my buddy, and charge though the pub smashing stuff and raising hell! And the best track, for those with Irish tastes, has got to be the long overdue punk treatment of "Finnegan's Wake". As a fan of true, old school punk, and an eternal slave to the Irish drinking song, I have found Heaven! Be they led by Mike McColgan or by Al Barr, I say "Long live the Dropckick Murphys!"

This is, without a doubt, the better of the two Dropkick Murphys cds. The lead vocals are better, and the songs have more heart behind them. Not to badmouth The Gang's All Here (I love that one too), but Do or Die is better. For anyone who is reading this, and thinks that Al Barr has a better voice on The Gang's All Here, I have to disagree. Mike McColgin was the original, and is still the best.