Regional Justice Center recently announced their return along with their third album, Freedom, Sweet Freedom, due out September 20th via Closed Casket Activities. Today the most compelling band in hardcore are sharing another ferocious new single, “Moral Death Sentence.”
Regional Justice Center has always been about two brothers. Ian Shelton started the project in 2016 shortly after the incarceration of his younger sibling Max, and each release has not only sought to explore the choices, cycles, experiences, and institutions surrounding that event, but also to keep the two tethered during Maxโs time in prison (learn more through our interview here).
In 2022 Max was released and now Freedom, Sweet Freedom, brings him directly into the fold, writing and performing on the album. And Max isn’t the only impactful lineup addition–the album was recorded by acclaimed engineer Taylor Young who has now also joined RJC as a member. The result is not only a record that’s packed with years-in-the-making emotional catharsis, it’s also the most sonically hard-hitting 13 minutes of aggressive music you’ll hear this year.
“Moral Death Sentence” follows earlier singles “Freedom” and “Take a Step Away” (which drew attention from the likes of Pitchfork, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Revolver Magazine, and more), a offers another taste Freedom Sweet Freedom’s truly crushing sound.
Freedom, Sweet Freedom follows 2021’s Crime and Punishment, an album that drew praise from the likes of The FADER, Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, Revolver Magazine, Decibel Magazine, Consequence, and many more, and very well may be the first proper powerviolence album to ever crack a Billboard chart. Shortly after its release, RJC went dormant while Ian focused on his quickly growing other band, Militarie Gun. Fast forward several years and the now reunited Shelton brothers have finally be able to come together to great what Ian calls “THE Regional Justice Center album.”
Freedom, Sweet Freedom is the kind of album that exemplifies everything that makes hardcore such a deeply intense and impactful genre: a lightning fast blast of extreme music thatโs loaded with raw emotion and thorny ideas. โThe album is saying that despite the trappings of freedom, you are not actually free,โ Ian explains. โWeโre all subject to a larger, broader system thatโs meant to keep us in specific cyclesโI think thatโs a lot of what RJC has always been talking about: cycles of abuse, addiction, making the same mistakes over and over. Thereโs no freedom from society, from the system, or even from yourself.โ
Regional Justice Center has never been just a band.
Itโs a lifeline, a vital means of expression and catharsis, a way to try and unpack profoundly life-altering circumstances, and most importantly, a very real connection between two brothers. Ian Shelton started the project in 2016 shortly after the incarceration of his younger sibling Max, and each release has not only sought to explore the choices, cycles, experiences, and institutions surrounding that event, but also to keep the two tethered during Maxโs time in prison. Regional Justice Centerโs third full-length, Freedom, Sweet Freedom, brings Max directly into the fold following his 2022 release, and finds the brothers trying to reckon with everything thatโs happened, and whether or not true closure is even possible.
Freedom, Sweet Freedom is the final chapter in a trilogy that started with RJCโs 2018 debut album, World of Inconvenience, which explored life interrupted by being held accountable for oneโs actions. Throughout the album Ian wove in phone conversations with Max recorded from the inmate calling serviceโa stark reminder to the listener that thereโs a very real person at the heart of the bigger ideas. 2021โs sophomore effort Crime and Punishment went back further, delving into the brothersโ upbringing and family life, and taking an unvarnished look at how difficult it can be to counteract cycles of hurt and addiction once theyโve started.
Throughout the bandโs catalog, Ianโs writing has been defined less by its unflinching look at challenging topics, and more by its nuance and empathy. The songs are uncompromising in their subject matter, but non-judgemental in their execution, with Maxโs presenceโor lack thereofโweighing heavily on Ianโs mind and lyrics. โIt always felt really special to have Ian make me a part of this thing,โ explains Max. โWeโd have phone calls and things I said would end up on a record, and weโd always talk about me being more involved when I got out. It felt like being a long distance member of the band. But also music wasnโt super accessible when I was inside, so it wasnโt until I got out that I really started to get a sense of everything RJC had done and how much it had grown and connected with people. Itโs kind of crazy to be part of the concept thatโs now built into such a cool thing.โ
With Freedom, Sweet Freedom, Max is much more than thatโheโs finally able to lend his own voice to the band he inspired. โHeโs always been part of it, but now heโs actually here and able to directly participate,โ says Ian. โWe knew that if we were going to make a record together it had to be a real statement, it had to be THE Regional Justice Center album.โ To do that, the band needed two elements, the first being time. โRJC is sort of like Godzilla,โ Ian laughs. โIt disappears until the moment is right to reemerge. It has to be completely intuitive, it canโt be forced, and I think that if Max had tried to make this record when he was fresh out, his perspective would have just been so different.โ
Max agrees, adding, โI was just extremely confused and overwhelmed most days when I first got out. Itโs been almost two years now and Iโve been able to reflect back on everything in more of a healthy way. I think making music has given me a sense of normalcy too, itโs helped me actually understand my emotions more.โ
The second essential element to making Freedom, Sweet Freedom was Taylor Young. The highly in-demand producer and engineer (and member of Twitching Tongues, Godโs Hate, and Dead Body) recorded Crime and Punishment and Ian recruited him once again for Freedom, Sweet Freedomโonly this time Young inadvertently became an official RJC member during the process.
โWhen we started the record, we didnโt know Taylor was joining the band,โ Ian explains. โIt was just our usual way of working, but then he started bringing song ideas and they began to feel really RJC. He also just has a very big role in Max and Iโs lives, so it felt like a natural thing for him to be in the band.โ
The result is the most collaborative and crushing RJC record to date, with music split between Ian, Young, and guitarist Alex Haller, and lyrics split between the Shelton brothers. Itโs the kind of album that exemplifies everything that makes hardcore such a deeply intense and impactful genre: a pummeling, 13-minute blast of extreme music thatโs loaded with raw emotion and thorny ideas.
โThe album is saying that despite the trappings of freedom, you are not actually free,โ says Ian. โWeโre all subject to a larger, broader system thatโs meant to keep us in specific cyclesโI think thatโs a lot of what RJC has always been talking about: cycles of abuse, addiction, making the same mistakes over and over. Thereโs no freedom from society, from the system, or even from yourself.โ
RJC has always been about more than music, but the project wouldnโt be so effective and affecting if the songs werenโt worthy of their subject matter.
Opening track โFreedomโ proves that the band are more than up to that challenge, with Maxโs throat-shredding bellow of the song title giving way to a minute of blistering riffs and disorientingly heavy rhythms. Ianโs lyrics set up many of the albumโs themes before Max takes over with โDiplomatic Solution,โ a visceral portrait of his firsthand experience. โItโs about the confusion and anger of making a mistake,โ he explains. โWaking up and not truly understanding what happened when I first got arrestedโI think itโs a real reflection of how I went about handling situations, just being really confrontational.โ
Album standout โMoral Death Sentenceโ directly addresses a dark cultural phenomenon with the kind of off-kilter breakdown at which RJC excels. โI think a lot of the record is about the arc of making a mistake,โ explains Ian. โCulturally weโre in this place where weโre praying for peoplesโ downfalls, weโre enjoying it. This stuff has just become entertainmentโweโre getting off on peopleโs punishment. This record is about what if you give someone thatโs made a mistake support instead of just throwing them away or rejecting them.โ Elsewhere tracks like โRewired,โ โUnnerved,โ and โTake A Step Awayโ follow Maxโs attempts to find his footing after leaving prison. โBeing in there just changes your brain,โ he says. โYou come out and it doesn’t just turn off. I was so anxious when I got out. I thought it would be the opposite but I was just so caught off guard. I was so ready for something to go wrong. It probably wasn’t until like two months out that I felt like I just had a normal day.โ
Maxโs point of view feels like an essential addition; like a voice you can finally hear at full volume. On โPrying Eyes,โ Ian explores his conflicted feelings around the band itself and how RJCโs raised profile has impacted Max. โItโs about the guilt of exposing this whole thing to the world. I think a lot of good has come from it, but Iโve also invited onlookers into Maxโs life,โ he says. Max adds, โIโve had people come up to me and know about RJC, and it definitely fasttracks the conversation to about how Iโve been in prison. But even though I know the majority of people listening to the band wonโt be able to relate directly to my experience, I think the music gives us all some common groundโitโs something I can talk about with anyone, and itโs something I’m really grateful for.โ
The album ends with โSweet Freedom,โ the only song that Ian and Max both wrote lyrics for. It may seem strange to call a vicious minute and 42-second powerviolence song โmoving,โ but there’s a heartrendingly full-circle element to hearing these two brothers roaring together, still bonded and still defiant against a torrent of difficult circumstances. โJust because Iโm out, it doesnโt feel like some big cycle is broken, itโs just about learning how to live with it,โ Max says. โBut at the end of the day, I know Iโm doing better. I donโt think Iโm a massive success story, but I know I canโt afford to go back to the same lifestyle I was choosing before, and I know Iโve made a lot of changes to prevent that.โ Ian adds, โFor me, a lot of this record is just about loveโitโs about me and my brother, and making a new life for ourselves. I think thatโs why we make records, to try and turn all this pain into something else, something thatโs better for us.โ
