From the second I had this cd in my hands, I knew I was in for a treat. I could write a whole review on the cd sleeve itself, but I won't. The first track on the disc is the anthematic For Boston, which sent a rush of American patriotism surging through me, until I realized that I'm Canadian. As I listened to every song from start to finish (which is a rare event at best for me), I soon realized why the Murphys have been tearing up the rock charts lately (with their hit single, Good Rats). The boys from Boston have successfully blended Celtic music and Punk Rock into an amazing style that will be sure to spawn many wannabe-bands in the future.

Musically, it is hard to compare the Dropkick Murphys or lump them into any particular style. Their blend of traditional punk instruments with bagpipes, accordion, bodhran, mandolin, tin whistle, and dulcimer results in a fresh sound that keeps your interest through the entire cd (unlike all the Backstreet Boy one-hit-wonder clones that have saturated the air waves and found their way onto the walls of pre-pubescent girls' bedrooms). The raspy vocals of Al Barr and Ken Casey, along with some of the sweetest gang vocals ever known to man, compliment the music and will make your tympanic membrane shudder in sheer ecstasy.

The Dropkick Murphys keep the energy high through almost the entire album, and actually manage to pull off an incredible ballad in The Torch. It is almost impossible to listen to The Wild Rover without wanting to ingest copious amounts of alcohol in a crowded pub, and other standout tracks include The Gauntlet, Good Rats (featuring Shane MacGowan on vocals), and Heroes From Our Past.

The only weak point of this album is that... ummm... it's not a double cd. If gold could travel through the medium of sound waves, this is what it would sound like. Go buy it now.