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Dan Yemin may not quite be an “elder statesmen” of punk, but his impact on it throughout the past 15 years certainly approaches Mt. Rushmore status. After establishing a melodic edge to the proceedings with Lifetime and Kid Dynamite, Yemin has finally “stepped to the mic” with Paint It Black. Conveying the intensely personal (try a brush with death) as well as the overtly political (war, chemical dependency and “womb envy”), Yemin and company continue to leave room for the threatening urgency of a beautifully writ ‘fuck you’ song. Drawing on traditionally aggro forebears like Minor Threat, musical innovators like Swiz and the cold-stare lyricism of hip hop, Paint it Black is a mixed-bag success story worthy of its pedigree.