Regional Justice Center announce new album & lineup, share 2 new songs

Ian Shelton’s powerviolence band Regional Justice Center took a bit of a backseat after Militarie Gun started really taking off, but RJC played their first show since 2022 on Sunday (8/4) and now they’ve announced their first album since 2021’s Crime and Punishment.

Ian was inspired to start Regional Justice Center back in 2016 when his younger brother Max (who’s also a rapper by the name of Vatican Voss) was incarcerated, and speaking to Max about his experiences over the years informed RFC’s lyrics, some of which were co-written with Max during his time in prison. Max was released in in 2022, and now he’s a full-fledged member of RJC, having written and performed on the new album, which is titled Freedom, Sweet Freedom.

Max says:

Eight years ago to the day, I woke up in county jail. I was confused, I had zero recollection of what events took place to land me there, and I didn’t know how long I’d be gone or when I’d be able to see and hug my family again. To be able to reclaim these dates and put something positive and hopeful in place of the trauma and anxiety that had always been wrapped around it all—that is the most beautiful full circle moment to me. Even a lotus can grow in mud. Freedom, sweet freedom.

Ian adds:

When Max went away, I started RJC as a way of unpacking everything that was happening, so he’s been a defining part of the band from the start—but the plan was always for him to be even more involved when he got out. I never knew exactly what that would mean until we started making this album and it became clear: he’s the singer of the band. RJC has always been about Max’s story and I’m happy for him to finally be able to tell it with his own voice.

“The album is saying that despite the trappings of freedom, you are not actually free,” Ian continues. “We’re all subject to a larger, broader system that’s meant to keep us in specific cycles–I think that’s a lot of what RJC has always been talking about: cycles of abuse, addiction, making the same mistakes over and over. There’s no freedom from society, from the system, or even from yourself.”

Max agrees, adding, “Just because I’m out, it doesn’t feel like some big cycle is broken, it’s just about learning how to live with it. But at the end of the day, I know I’m doing better. I don’t think I’m a massive success story, but I know I can’t afford to go back to the same lifestyle I was choosing before, and I know I’ve made a lot of changes to prevent that.”

“For me, a lot of this record is just about love,” Ian adds.” It’s about me and my brother, and making a new life for ourselves. I think that’s why we make records, to try and turn all this pain into something else, something that’s better for us.”

The band’s frequent producer Taylor Young is now an official member too, and the first taste of the new album and new lineup comes in the form of two one-minute songs, “Freedom” and “Take A Step Away,” the former written and fronted by Ian and the latter by Max. Both are ragers, and you can hear both below. The album comes out September 20 via Closed Casket Activities (pre-order).

Watch a couple videos of the new lineup’s first show too:

Tracklist
1. Freedom
2. Diplomatic Solution
3. Moral Death Sentence
4. Weight
5. Rewired
6. Comfort of Addiction
7. Take a Step Away
8. Pariah
9. Prying Eyes
10. Curse
11. Unnerving
12. Sweet Freedom