Klatzke
12/15/08, 10:11 AM
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Record Label: Vagrant Records
Release Date: August 22, 2006 (USA)
I've never understood the hate attributed to Alexisonfire's sophomore album, Crisis. When I bought this album, I hadn't ever heard Watch Out! and I think it may actually be better that way. I've since become familiar with that album, but upon buying Crisis, I was indifferent to it. Coming onto this album with fresh eyes very likely had a huge effect on my opinion of it. I wasn't familiar with what their sound should be, nor was I enveloped in any kind of publicity for it. On it's own, I think that Crisis easily stands the test and, at least in my eyes, is a great album.
What I think Alexisonfire really nailed here is their sweet balance between melody and aggression. This is most obvious on what is probably the best track from the album "This Could Be Anywhere In the World." This track follows a pretty rigid structure where Dallas Greene trades sections of verses with their screamer George Pettit. Anyone at least slightly familiar with this band knows that one of the biggest attractions to them is Greene's great singing. In fact, one of the issues that seemed to be taken with Crisis is the reduction on Greene's vocal parts. It is true, he seems to have been cut out a bit and replaced by more of Pettit's screaming. However, unlike some others, I think that this works out quite well. As I said, the vocals are pretty evenly shared between the two and it adds a bit of an "exchange factor" that I find myself partial to. Of course, some of the tracks take on one face or another. On the aggressive side, we've got the opener "Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints" and "Mailbox Arson" and on the more subdued side, "Rough Hands" and "To A Friend." They may share vocal duties on these songs, but it's one or the other of them that really give the songs a shape. "Rough Hands" is one of my easy favorites. It's pretty subdued, and while Pettit does make up a pretty large part of the track, it's Greene's vocals that make this track come alive. Even though most of the album is made up of winners, there are unfortunately those that fail to impress the same way. For example, "You Burn First" is just kind of strange, and I'm really unsure what they were going for. "Keep It On Wax" is another one that falls a bit short.
The musicianship on this album is one of its pitfalls. There's not really a place on it where the guitarists really step up and shine. They just never step up and take their place at the level that their vocalists are performing, and because of that they kind of stay in the background. It's not that they're bad, it's just that in the long-run of the album no one is ever going to look back and say "remember that guitar part?" or even "there's a sick lead in this song." I know that they're not untalented, and there are plenty of places where they back up that statement, they just kind of get lost in their overall sound. The drummer, Jordan Hastings, however, is a different story. It may just be how well their songs highlight him, but Hastings really shines. Good examples of this are the aforementioned track "This Could Be Anywhere In the World" and "We Are the End." He always seems like he's on his game, and his drum parts are definitely an integral part to the overall sound of the album.
Crisis does have its shortcomings. However, they're easily overcome by the more impressive aspects of the album. Even after a critical look, I don't see where all of the criticisms of this album derive from. While it may not stand completely up to Watch Out! I still think that Crisis is more impressive than what many bands were and are putting out in both 2006 and today. Coming into this album with a fresh outlook may have helped my opinion of the album along, but I believe that I would have still found merit in it with or without the fresh experience.
From Autumn to Ashes; their UK counterparts We Are the Ocean; As Cities Burn's Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest
myspace.com/alexisonfire (http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire)
Record Label: Vagrant Records
Release Date: August 22, 2006 (USA)
I've never understood the hate attributed to Alexisonfire's sophomore album, Crisis. When I bought this album, I hadn't ever heard Watch Out! and I think it may actually be better that way. I've since become familiar with that album, but upon buying Crisis, I was indifferent to it. Coming onto this album with fresh eyes very likely had a huge effect on my opinion of it. I wasn't familiar with what their sound should be, nor was I enveloped in any kind of publicity for it. On it's own, I think that Crisis easily stands the test and, at least in my eyes, is a great album.
What I think Alexisonfire really nailed here is their sweet balance between melody and aggression. This is most obvious on what is probably the best track from the album "This Could Be Anywhere In the World." This track follows a pretty rigid structure where Dallas Greene trades sections of verses with their screamer George Pettit. Anyone at least slightly familiar with this band knows that one of the biggest attractions to them is Greene's great singing. In fact, one of the issues that seemed to be taken with Crisis is the reduction on Greene's vocal parts. It is true, he seems to have been cut out a bit and replaced by more of Pettit's screaming. However, unlike some others, I think that this works out quite well. As I said, the vocals are pretty evenly shared between the two and it adds a bit of an "exchange factor" that I find myself partial to. Of course, some of the tracks take on one face or another. On the aggressive side, we've got the opener "Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints" and "Mailbox Arson" and on the more subdued side, "Rough Hands" and "To A Friend." They may share vocal duties on these songs, but it's one or the other of them that really give the songs a shape. "Rough Hands" is one of my easy favorites. It's pretty subdued, and while Pettit does make up a pretty large part of the track, it's Greene's vocals that make this track come alive. Even though most of the album is made up of winners, there are unfortunately those that fail to impress the same way. For example, "You Burn First" is just kind of strange, and I'm really unsure what they were going for. "Keep It On Wax" is another one that falls a bit short.
The musicianship on this album is one of its pitfalls. There's not really a place on it where the guitarists really step up and shine. They just never step up and take their place at the level that their vocalists are performing, and because of that they kind of stay in the background. It's not that they're bad, it's just that in the long-run of the album no one is ever going to look back and say "remember that guitar part?" or even "there's a sick lead in this song." I know that they're not untalented, and there are plenty of places where they back up that statement, they just kind of get lost in their overall sound. The drummer, Jordan Hastings, however, is a different story. It may just be how well their songs highlight him, but Hastings really shines. Good examples of this are the aforementioned track "This Could Be Anywhere In the World" and "We Are the End." He always seems like he's on his game, and his drum parts are definitely an integral part to the overall sound of the album.
Crisis does have its shortcomings. However, they're easily overcome by the more impressive aspects of the album. Even after a critical look, I don't see where all of the criticisms of this album derive from. While it may not stand completely up to Watch Out! I still think that Crisis is more impressive than what many bands were and are putting out in both 2006 and today. Coming into this album with a fresh outlook may have helped my opinion of the album along, but I believe that I would have still found merit in it with or without the fresh experience.
From Autumn to Ashes; their UK counterparts We Are the Ocean; As Cities Burn's Son, I Loved You at Your Darkest
myspace.com/alexisonfire (http://www.myspace.com/alexisonfire)