AGNOSTIC FRONT Has Written Eight Songs For Next Studio Album

In a new interview with Prescription Punk Rock, vocalist Roger Miret of New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT confirmed that he and his bandmates are working on material for the follow-up to 2019's "Get Loud!" album. "We're currently writing right now," he said. "We've got about eight songs."

Asked if it gets harder for AGNOSTIC FRONT to write new music after having done it for so long, Roger said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "First of all, we have to — we like the songs, we have to like the songs a lot, we have to love the songs, and we have to believe in them. And if we believe in them, we have to then trust that the people will love them and enjoy them too. But there's always the critics, there's always somebody waiting for you to mess up or do something or wanna just bring you down. But they have no one idea how hard it is to write songs when you're under that microscope. Unfortunately, when you get to a certain level of a band — we're going on our 14th album, whatever, spanning a career of 42 years— it's a long career. And most people love it, but there's always that critic, and you can never change their mind, whatever. But I'm here for the people that wanna accept and enjoy our show. We just wanna come to your place, have a great time. We wanna play, make new friends, meet new people and do what we love. And that's who I'm there for, playing for, that's who I write songs for."

Regarding the lyrical themes he covers in AGNOSTIC FRONT's songs, Roger said: "We've always been socially political. We don't really talk about world politics. We'll touch on it here and there, but that's a touchy subject. Everybody's got a really strong opinion about stuff. And some of it's valid, some of it's not what you think… I try to work on day-to-day stuff that happens around me, socially stuff. And I write about real stuff — my experience; it doesn't mean [it will be the same as] your experience."

He continued: "It was interesting. When I was writing my book, I was telling these stories, and I had Amy from NAUSEA, who is the mother of my child. And I respect the mother of my child — I have a lot of respect — I said, 'Hey. I'm writing this book. These are these stories. I want you to read them because it's about you too. So I don't wanna say anything that would upset you.' And the funniest thing of the whole conversation was when she says, 'You know, it's funny. We have two different visions of the same story.' And I never thought about it. I remember what I wanna remember, she remembers what she wants to remember. We were both living the same story, but it's what you take of it. I could witness something and I could write something about it and you witnessed the same thing and you write something different about it. But it's the same thing; it's just how we perceive it in our minds. And it's interesting 'cause with that thought in mind, I'm, like, these are my stories. If you want to listen to my stories, you can. If you don't agree with them, well, this is my experience."

In September 2021, Miret revealed that his cancer was in remission.

After Miret was diagnosed with cancer in early 2021, a long road of tests and diagnoses led to a complex initial surgery and lengthy hospital stay. Even though the original surgery was complicated, the results were extremely positive.

Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the U.S. to escape the Castro regime. He joined AGNOSTIC FRONT in 1983, and the seminal New York hardcore group released classics like "United Blood", "Victim In Pain" and "Cause For Alarm" over the next several years.

In 2017, Miret released a memoir, "My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts, And Glory", which documented his struggles to adapt to life in the U.S. after his family fled the Castro regime. According to the Phoenix New Times, the book delved into many facets of Miret's life: the grinding poverty of his childhood; living as a teenager squatter; becoming deeply enmeshed in downtown New York’s hardcore scene; and later turning to drug-running to support his family.

In addition to fronting AGNOSTIC FRONT, Miret has also played with ROGER MIRET AND THE DISASTERS and is a member of THE ALLIGATORS.

For the past several years, Roger has resided in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Photo credit: Lad & Misfit Photography