It's been awfully quiet for a while in the Anti-Flag camp, and now we know why. The band has been planning its next move, which will include a new album and a Russian invasion.

April Fool's Day will be new release day for Pittsburgh's favorite political punk rockers. The band will issue "The Bright Lights of America," its sixth album and second for RCA. It was recorded at Saint Claire Studios in Lexington, Ky., with none other than Tony Visconti at the helm. You know the name for his work with David Bowie ("Diamond Dogs," "Scary Monsters," many more), T Rex and Thin Lizzy. He was intrigued enough by Anti-Flag to take on his first punk project.

Frontman Justin Sane was turned on to Visconti through the last Morrissey record, which he calls "one of my favorite records in like 10 years. I'm a huge Morrissey fan, but there were elements on that record that had never been there before. [Visconti] was looking for a young rock band, and so we approached him on our own outside the label. He was excited and said, 'I'll do it.' "

Sane says he and Visconti were like kindred souls, even doing Tai Chi together. Musically, Sane says, "He pushes people to go beyond their comfort level. We wanted to have someone who would have fresh and new ideas. There hasn't been a punk rock record that does what we do on this record. We're interested to see how the kids respond."

The band promises a more expansive sound, thanks in part to instrumentation like timpani drums, tubular bells, glockenspiel and cello they borrowed from a university. "We felt like we were tarnishing this instrumentation that's usually up on a pedestal," he says laughing.

For Anti-Flag, there's much to do in advance of the album release. The band will invade Australia later this month, including a stop at the Big Day Out Festival with Rage Against the Machine, and two other dates with Rage. After that it's a 3¹/₂-week tour of Europe highlighted by a booking on the NME Brats lineup with Gallows.

On March 4 and 5, Anti-Flag hits Russia for the first time, playing shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Sane says, "We've been approached by people in Russia forever -- kids doing more underground kind of shows. We get letters from Russia all the time: 'You must come to Russia -- you will rock like mighty Russian bear.' It's always come down to finances and timing. It's our first opportunity to go there, we had the time and it's probably like a break-even kind of deal."

The U.S. tour commences in late March with dates to be announced shortly. In the meantime, you can hear how much bigger Visconti has made Anti-Flag sound -- is that a choir? -- by going to www.fatwreck.com. "Good 'N' Ready," a track from the upcoming record, can be found on, of all things, "Hanuk-Comp: From the Dreidel to the Grave," a holiday collection from Fat Mike of Fat Wreck Chords.