Lorne Behrman has released “They Won’t Take Us Alive,” an urgent punk rock anthem from his third album, If Heaven Didn’t Hurt, out now through Spaghetty Town Records.

The song was originally written as fiction, following a couple whose relationship begins to unravel as they watch someone close to them die of cancer. Before its release, however, the story took on an unexpected weight when Behrman faced his own prostate cancer diagnosis.

Initially minimal enough that treatment was not required, Behrman says the cancer progressed over the following year and eventually required surgery. He is now recovering, with the defiant spirit of “They Won’t Take Us Alive” taking on a far more personal meaning in the process.

Musically, the song begins with sharp, hooky guitar chords before breaking into a driving punk groove. Its minor-key chorus turns the title into a chant of resistance, pairing the heaviness of its subject with the directness and momentum of classic New York punk rock.

That combination of heartbreak and dark humor extends across If Heaven Didn’t Hurt. Produced and mixed by Matt Chiaravalle, the 10-track album builds a grimy, cinematic version of New York’s East Village, drawing inspiration from the atmosphere of 1970s films while following interconnected stories of desperation, relationships and survival.

The record features Howard Alper on drums, Matthew Jacob Dougherty on bass, Rob Clores on keyboards, Danielle McCullough on backing vocals and The Uptown Horns.

Behrman has spent years moving through New York’s punk and rock underground, both as a solo artist and with groups including The Dimestore Haloes, L.E.S. Stitches and The Dead Tricks. On “They Won’t Take Us Alive,” the line between storytelling and lived experience becomes unusually thin, transforming a song about staring down mortality into an anthem of resilience.