(album re-visited)
Alexisonfire
Year: 2002
Genre: Punk
Length: 42:16
Let's get one thing out of the way here: Alexisonfire's 2002 self-titled debut album dominates my life. The album is, in my opinion, forty-two minutes of the most pure raw passion ever put to hardcore punk. Many of you may groan because this is Alexisonfire, the same band that gave you "Boiled Frogs", but before there was safe radio post-hardcore, there was this. Cutting, razor sharp, energetic tunes that stick to you like leeches. From the depressing guitar riff of
.44 Caliber Love Letter to the final shrieks of
Pulmonary Archery, Alexisonfire is the finest record that five eighteen and nineteen year old kids could possibly make.
Alexisonfire's early sound is characterized by raw production, constant tempo changes, high-pitched guitar leads, harsh screaming, pretty backup vocals, strange but poetic lyrics, and powerful climaxes. Some of the songs sound like demos, that's just how punk rock and no-frills they were. During this time, they described their sound as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight" (you should take a look at their artwork and maybe read a few lyrics) and I think that this describes their sound pretty accurately.
You can tell that Alexisonfire weren't in it to make a quick buck at this point. And being as young as young as they were, a lot of their youthful energy, struggles, and artistic wandering made its way onto this album with no commercial goal in mind. Some odd things make their way on to the album such as a blood-curdling scream, death growls, and the following lyrics:
Even in their randomness, they do paint an odd mental picture that only an artsy high school student could understand.
During the large amount of time that I have spent with this album, it has been relevant with me in one way or another, whether that be musical or lyrical inspiration, relevant lyrics, or the overall mood that it portrays. I wish that Alexisonfire made more albums like this, or even "Watch Out!" but Alexisonfire said it best in the absolutely terrible "Keep It On Wax" from their 2006 album Crisis. "Times change and people change with 'em". Or on "Old Crows" from Old Crows/Young Cardinals. "We are not the kids we used to be". I respect that Wade, but when I hear the painful gang-screaming on
Waterwings, I wish you were.
98%
Masterpiece