Crimson is the best next step for Alkaline Trio. It keeps Good Mourning's blacks and reds and crack melodic sense. But it's also much more accessible with its measured aggression, rich piano (courtesy of Jellyfish and studio veteran Roger Manning), and production from Jerry Finn, who's worked with Blink-182 and the very-relevant-to-Alkaline Trio Jawbreaker. Like those groups Alkaline Trio has grown away from punk-pop; they've grown up. On 1998's Goddamnit!, Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano let out rowdy "Woah-woahs" and wished things like "I wanna wake up naked next to you." But then that happened, and the other side of the bed wasn't as pretty.
By Mourning they were dealing with death metaphors and painful levels of self-medication. Crimson has a similar sense of emotional brokenness, but things never get so heavy that you'll need the goth eyeliner - the album's pop sense glimmers steadily beneath its dour shroud. "Poison" and "Time to Waste" downshift into powerful choruses despite lines about dead eyes and meaninglessness, "Mercy Me" and "Dethbed" rock self-hate and cynicism over propulsive beats, and "Prevent This Tragedy" incorporates a keyboard descent that's a perfectly pretty foil for a line like "the flames of hell they give me hope."
As great as Alkaline Trio are at relating their booze and blood-spattered lives to us, it does get a little tedious. But Skiba and Andriano's interlocking harmonies never flag, and the band's rhythms are just too catchy throughout. Let's see. They're writing smart, bright, punk-derived pop, but they're black and white and blocky-featured, and they like Depeche Mode much more than Duran Duran. That settles it - Alkaline Trio are the bizarro world Killers. - Allmusic.com (AMG)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alkaline Trio is...
Matt Skiba - Guitar, Vocals
Daniel Andriano - Bass, Vocals
Derek Grant - Drums
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song Reviews
-----
Time To Waste - The intro to the current best Alkaline Trio album is not disappointing at all. Keep in mind that this song will lure you into the album for good. First off, this song bleeds emotion. The intro to the song is phenomenal. It goes all softy and throws you into a whirlwind of insane riffs and great lyrics. The hit single and one of the best on the album.
(10/10)
-----
The Poison - This is the second track, and it seems to blend in perfectly with where the first one left off. It varies in tempo throughout the song. The chorus is almost addictive. But on the downside the song is really short. But it keeps the song fresh knowing if you want to hear it, you don’t have to put up with four minutes of imp-sick-of-this-song. But the lyrics stand out here.
(8/10)
-----
Burn - The intro starts off echoey. Which is extremely cool. The song in the beginning kind of sounds like someone thinking to themselves. As the song progresses, It goes on as some sort of bad relationship between a dude and a chick. This one is awfully gothic. Break out the eye-liner and the nail polish because you're going to need it for this one.
(9/10)
-----
Mercy Me - The intro sounds very cheerful. As do the verses. But if you listen carefully the lyrics are really depressing. It one of my favorite songs on the album. It really grabs you from the inside and twists as you begin to feel bad for a made up character that you know nothing about other than the fact that they said, "I wish I had a casket of my own". It’s still a very good track and a highlight of the album.
(9/10)
-----
DethBed - Yes, this is how they spelled it. It has a thrashy start which is a really cool beginning to any song. But the song is about a dead guy. I'm kind of getting tired of all of the dead guys. The theme just gets old. The song has cool verses but not that good of a chorus. With the cliché` lyrics "They found me face-down in the street", I can only give this song what I feel it deserves.
(7/10)
-----
Settle For Satin - This is one of the not-so-great or so-so songs on the album. It starts off really funky and thrashy which I like but winds up in a puddle of bad lyrics combined with OKAY guitar riffs. My least favorite song on the album. On my new stereo this track will help me break in my >> button.
(5/10)
-----
Sadie - This is a magnificent song properly named after one of Charlie Manson's sisters. As we all know her murdered his whole family so he obviously killed her. This song oozes genius in it's lyrics and it's musical talent. It is great. I don't know where to begin on explaining to you that this is the best song on the album. Period.
(10/10)
-----
Fall Victim - A much lighter song than the tragic "Sadie". It goes back to the normal Alkaline formula. This track is cool. Why? The lyrics are all really meaningful and deep. But it fallows the same exact formula of every song on the album. Oh and if it's all too similar enough. It's about suicide.
(8/10)
-----
I Was A Prayer - This song begins all weird. Then it goes on into a floppy and drab verse which goes into a sloppy chorus. This is not a very good song as you can tell. It's ok. But not what I was expecting at this good point in the album.
(7/10)
-----
Prevent This Tragedy - OMG at this point in the review I almost deleted the whole thing! Anyway, it's a song that starts off sounding like it's going to be horrifically bad. But it transforms into a catchy chorus. It’s has these points in the chorus that sound louder than others so I thought that was cool.
(9/10)
-----
Back To Hell - A really cool title that occupies an amazing song about evil, hate, and the enemies. It's a big standout on the album. My best guess is that this will be the next single off the album. It's just an overall sweet song. It rocks so hard that I can't help but turn my radio up on full blast when I hear it.
(10/10)
-----
Your Neck - A really cool song but it fallows the once again, overused formula of death and fast verses and edgy choruses. It doesn't really catch my attention as much as the other songs do. It doesn't seem appropriate to be on this part of the album. It should have been in the 3-7 spot at least. But it's okay for an occasional listen.
(8/10)
-----
Smoke - This is an amazing conclusion to a great album. It has groundbreaking vocals along with an amazing chorus. This is the only song on here that could have ended the album appropriately. Nothing else would of seemed right. Nothing could have ended this beautiful mess of hatred, death, and lonesomeness. Perfect ending.
(10/10
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion
This is by far one of the best albums I've ever listened to. I recommend you go out and buy it right now. NOW. It really was one of those sleepers with the music biz. To think they put up with so much trouble making the album. Matt broke both arms skateboarding. A messed up PunkVoter tour, but oddly enough. No trashed relationships. If your still reading this then you should of already gone out to go buy this cd. So technically you're late. Go. Now.
OVERALL SCORE
(9/10)
