Signed and Sealed in Blood

On August 31, 2012, the band announced the album's title and first single, "Rose Tattoo" through their Facebook page. The title of the album is taken from lyrics in "Rose Tattoo". The band asked fans to tattoo themselves with the new logo from the album's cover and send photos and videos to their web site by September 19, 2012. The images were used in the packaging for the CD and vinyl album.

The album has sold 106,000 copies {{as of|2013|9|10|lc=y|df=US}}.

Where "Going Out in Style" told the story of a fictional character named Cornelius Larkin—complete with an obituary written by Michael Patrick MacDonald for the liner notes – "Signed..." has no such constraints. "This is just the opposite of that," bassist Ken Casey explains, "just us having fun and making the most catchy, singalong kind of songs we can. It's not that the last album wasn't fun. It was. 'Going Out in Style' is one of the records I'm most proud of, of anything we've done. But it gave me a couple migraines along the way, getting through that because everything was so connected. This time we cut loose." But he does feel that "Signed..." is also "almost a continuation of ('Going Out in Style'), in a musical sense. There's an upbeat, party vibe to it. A lot of these songs, we were having such a good time writing them and just enjoying the writing process. It's the quickest we've released an album, ever, after another."

The group previewed some of the songs on the album during its Halfway To St. Patrick's Day U.S. tour. Casey described the final track, "End of the Night," as "the closing time, kind of loser's anthem, about people who don't want to go home." The album also features a holiday song called "The Seasons Upon Us," which Casey promised "is definitely not some cheesy Christmas tune. It's about a dysfunctional family."

{{Music ratings

| MC = 77/100{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/signed-and-sealed-in-blood/dropkick-murphys | title=Reviews for Signed and Sealed in Blood by Dropkick Murphys | website=Metacritic | accessdate=July 2, 2015}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web | url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/signed-and-sealed-in-blood-mw0002443417 | title=Signed and Sealed in Blood – Dropkick Murphys | website=AllMusic | date=January 7, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Heaney, Gregory}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2Score = B+{{cite news | url=http://www.avclub.com/review/dropkick-murphys-emsigned-and-sealed-in-bloodem-90556 | title=Review: Dropkick Murphys: Signed And Sealed In Blood | newspaper=The A.V. Club | date=January 8, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Heller, Jason}}

| rev3 = The Boston Globe

| rev3Score = (favorable){{cite news | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2013/01/07/review-dropkick-murphys-signed-and-sealed-blood/JDHS0B5dkAQUgUoIoZq7xJ/story.html | title=CD REVIEW: Dropkick Murphys, 'Signed and Sealed in Blood' | newspaper=Boston Globe | date=January 7, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=McLennan, Scott}}

| rev4 = Consequence of Sound

| rev4Score = C+{{cite magazine | url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/01/album-review-dropkick-murphys-signed-and-sealed-in-blood/ | title=Dropkick Murphys – Signed and Sealed In Blood | magazine=Consequence of Sound | date=January 18, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Bray, Ryan}}

| rev5 = Kerrang!

| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev6 = Los Angeles Times

| rev6Score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-xpm-2013-jan-08-la-et-ms-dropkick-murphys-signed-blood-album-review-20130108-story.html | title=Album review: Dropkick Murphys' 'Signed and Sealed in Blood' | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=January 8, 2013 | access-date=July 2, 2015 | author=Wood, Mikael}}

| rev7 = musicOMH

| rev7Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web | url=http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/dropkick-murphys-signed-and-sealed-in-blood | title=Dropkick Murphys – Signed And Sealed In Blood | publisher=musicOMH | date=January 7, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Shepherd, Sam}}

| rev8 = PopMatters

| rev8Score = {{Rating|6|10}}{{cite magazine | url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/166875-dropkick-murphys-signed-and-sealed-in-blood/ | title=Dropkick Murphys: Signed and Sealed in Blood | magazine=PopMatters | date=January 8, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Fiander, Matthew}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/signed-and-sealed-in-blood-20130108 | title=The Dropkick Murphys Signed and Sealed in Blood Album Review | magazine=Rolling Stone | date=January 8, 2013 | accessdate=July 2, 2015 | author=Dolan, Jon}}

| rev10 = Sputnikmusic

| rev10Score = 3.6/5{{cite web|title=Album Review – Dropkick Murphys: Signed And Sealed In Blood|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/54280/Dropkick-Murphys-Signed-And-Sealed-In-Blood/|website=Sputnikmusic|accessdate=July 2, 2015|date=January 18, 2013}}

}}

Signed and Sealed in Blood was well received by music critics. The album holds an average critic score of 77/100 at Metacritic, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Gregory Heaney of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars called it "an album that's sure to please Murphys fans both old and new". At The Observer, Hermione Hoby gave the album two stars out of five, criticising it as 'hearty but slightly absurd'.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jan/06/dropkick-murphys-signed-sealed-blood-review|title=Dropkick Murphys: Signed and Sealed in Blood – review|author=Hermione Hoby|newspaper=The Observer|accessdate=July 2, 2015}}

{{track listing

| total_length = 40:49

| title1 = The Boys Are Back

| length1 = 3:20

| title2 = Prisoner's Song

| length2 = 2:47

| title3 = Rose Tattoo

| length3 = 5:06

| title4 = Burn

| length4 = 2:39

| title5 = Jimmy Collins' Wake

| length5 = 2:59

| note5 = Lyrics by Richard Johnson

| title6 = The Season's Upon Us

| length6 = 4:02

| title7 = The Battle Rages On

| length7 = 2:17

| title8 = Don't Tear Us Apart

| length8 = 3:01

| title9 = My Hero

| length9 = 3:10

| title10 = Out on the Town

| length10 = 3:02

| title11 = Out of Our Heads

| length11 = 3:11

| title12 = End of the Night

| length12 = 5:17

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Bonus tracks

| title1 = Lucky Charlie

| note1 = Digital stores, Japanese CD

| title2 = The Boys Are Back (Acoustic)

| note2 = Bonus digital download card with Deluxe Edition

| title3 = 78 RPM

| note3 = Stiff Little Fingers Cover, written by Jake Burns and Gordon Ogilvie. Bonus digital download card with Deluxe Edition

| title4 = The Battle Rages On (Acoustic)

| note4 = Pre-order bonus digital download card

| title5 = AK-47 (All I Want For Christmas Is An)

| note5 = "The Season's Upon Us" 7-inch single

| title6 = Shark Attack

| note6 = Bonus track on the vinyl pressing }}

Fans who pre-ordered the album through the band's website received MP3 download of the song, "The Season's Upon Us" as well as a digital download card with their order which included three exclusive songs. "The Season's Upon Us" was also released as a 7-inch single in special colors of red, green and white with the non-album b-side "AK-47 (All I Want For Christmas Is An)".{{cite web|url=http://kingsroadmerch.com/dropkick-murphys/|title=Dropkick Murphys homepage|publisher=Kingsroadmerch.com|accessdate=12 December 2014}}

;Dropkick Murphys

• Al Barr – lead vocals
• Tim Brennan – guitars, accordion, bouzouki, piano, whistle, vocals
• Ken Casey – lead vocals, bass guitar
• Jeff DaRosa – banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, mandola, acoustic guitar, piano, autoharp, vocals
• Matt Kelly – drums, vocals
• James Lynch – guitars, vocals
• Scruffy Wallace – bagpipes, whistles

;Additional musicians

• Winston Marshall – guest banjo on "Rose Tattoo"
• Michelle DaRosa – vocals on "Rose Tattoo" and "The Season's Upon Us"
• Parkington Sisters – strings on various songs, vocals on "End of the Night" and "Shark Attack"
• Niki Cremmen – vocals on "Rose Tattoo"
• So Many Close Friends – additional gang vocals on various songs

{{Reflist}}

{{Dropkick Murphys}}

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Category:2013 albums

Category:Dropkick Murphys albums

Category:Albums produced by Ted Hutt