Music: The Alements: "Rite to Hate"

Today, we are pleased to present to you a Punknews exclusive track from Annapolis, MD based skatepunk band The Alements, The track, "Rite to Hate", is the first taste of the upcoming album. The track features catchy hooks and the band's signature 1990's Socal punk sound that reminds you of early Fat Wreck and Epitaph. The band is currently working on their third studio album at the Blasting room and engineered by the legendary Bill Stevenson and Chris Beeble. The album will be released through Snubbed Records at a later date. See below to listen to the new track.

I started writing Rite to Hate the day after the 9/11 terrorist attack. I was 20-years-old, angry, and confused at what had just happened. A few days later, I traveled to Manhattan to check on family. We went to a street festival; thousands of people walking around…Two women wearing burqas were walking the opposite way when a group of men started shouting racial slurs and throwing rocks at them. More people joined in, and the two women ran for it as fast as they could, perhaps for their lives. It really got me thinking about bigotry, xenophobia, mob-mentality and religious-fanaticism; sentiments that I saw becoming more prevalent in our society essentially overnight. I was able to finish writing the song that evening. Hate only leads to more hate, and I hope the song, despite its snideness, conveys the feelings of acceptance and peace I was able to arrive at after these incidents. The song name and lyrics are spelled r-i-t-e because I wanted to portray hatred as sort of a religious ceremony or tradition that we should break away from. -Alex Lakis (Singer/Guitarist of The Alements)