Alkalin Trio - Crimson

Artist: Alkaline Trio
Album: Crimson
Release: May 24th 2005
Record Label: Vagrant Records
Rating: 4 out of 5

AlkalineTrio.com
Myspace.com/AlkalineTrio

Band Members:
Mat Skiba - Guitar and Vocals
Daniel Andriano - Bass and Vocals
Derek Grant - Drums and Vocals



Tracklisting:
1. Time To Waste
2. The Poison
3. Burn
4. Mercy Me
5. Dethbed
6. Settle for Satin
7. Sadie
8. Fall Victim
9. I was a Prayer
10. Prevent This Tragedy
11. Back To Hell
12. Your Neck
13. Smoke

From what I have heard, Alkaline Trio are somewhat legendary. Until now Alkaline Trio weren't in the top 10 of my playlist. I gave some of their songs a listen recently and found that they have moved up into the top 10.
Their latest album Crimson has just been released on Vagrant Records.

The album opens with a simple guitar introduction to Time To Waste, the first single from the album. Shortly into the song the guitars kick in, this one song gives you a small hint as to what you can expect from the rest of the album.

The chorus is extremely catchy and anthemic, one of which will be spinning in my head for the next few months.
Track number 3, Burn has a slightly deeper and darker feel to it than the previous songs. Do you ever watch a film, and as soon as that scary music starts, you know something bad is going to happen? That's the type of feeling I was left with the first time I heard this track.

The lyrics certainly lead the mind astray, thinking about those "lightning storms" and "forest fires." The chorus is somewhat memorable and not what I initially expected. It is accompanied by heavy guitars which make the chorus possibly the best bit of the song.

Neck on the track list is Mercy Me, your typically catchy punk song.
After the bouncy tunes of Mercy Me, an eery sound can be heard, this would be Dethbed. The creepy intro quickly moves into the fast, upbeat sounds of the rest of the song, strange mix of sounds if I say so myself.

Sadie is another song that really stands out on this album. The song has a softer tone to it than any of the others. The lyrics "Thats curdling the blood they found on you and your knives and clothing too" are very graphic, something you would see in a nightmare perhaps?
At the end of this song a womans voice, belonging to Hannah Hannoura can be heard talking about how she would murder someone if she had too. These lines that she speaks are very chilling.

Although the beginning of the album is very upbeat and everything you want a punk album to be, the catchy choruses and rhyming couplets do tend to become a little repetitive.

Overall a brilliant album, set to bring more fame to Alkaline Trio than they need. For anyone who is a dedicated punk fan, this album is for you.

Review by Cherry Pullinger.


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