Review Summary: Alkaline Trio cry out "We want to be different" while old school fans can't help but scream "Betrayal!"
After
Good Mourning polarized fans and almost let them slip away,
Crimson was the final nail in the coffin for old school Trio fans. With its glossy production, multiple guitar tracks, string sections, and overall alt rock sound - old school fans couldn't help but cry foul and jump ship. And it's hard not to blame them, Alkaline Trio is basically a different band on
Crimson. While remnants of what they used to be can be found on tracks like "Mercy Me" and "I Was a Prayer," for the most part
Crimson is radically different enough to turn a lot of people off. Alkaline Trio is basically aping
Sing The Sorrow by AFI here, not exactly from a sonic standpoint, but just in the overall alt rock sound and how different both albums are from previous releases by the bands. Alkaline Trio's new direction is pretty hit and miss on
Crimson. The piano intro and hard edge sound of "Time To Waste" works, and the layered production of tracks like "Sadie" is great, but on tracks like "Your Neck" and "The Poison" the band falls flat on their face. The not so great tracks on this LP are a classic case of "Trying too hard syndrome," as their overproduced and layered sound can't adequately take the place of the tight songwriting the band was known for on previous releases. Overall,
Crimson has some great tracks, some so-so tracks, and some iffy ones, with most of the disparity coming from the band's sudden shift into a new sound. Alkaline Trio would head even further in this direction with their next release, and even try to take it all back with
This Addiction, but as for the band's original fans, well they'd already jumped ship after the beautiful mess that is
Crimson.
