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Review |
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Over the past fifteen years Alkaline Trio have grown
to be one of the most influential punk bands of
their time, they have a huge hardcore following
of fans that have the classic Alkaline Trio heart
skull tattooed over their bodies and also support
every release and tour that the band does and to
celebrate their fifteenth anniversary the band have
put together a very special album in the name of
‘Damnesia’ which is a stripped down
acoustic album which features reworkings of 12 classic
tracks, 2 new tracks and a cover song.
‘Damnesia’ is a very unique album
and it is an album aimed at the hardcore fans
and features the majority of the fan favourites
which help make the album appear like a greatest
hits with the acoustic stripped down sound giving
it that extra special feel as each song sounds
slightly new.
The album kicks off with the opening track from
Agony And Irony ‘Calling All Skeletons’
and despite the stripped down nature of the song
it still blasts in as fast as the original and
the whole acoustic sounds make the song sound
pretty tasty.
‘This Could Me Love’ is my all time
favourite Alkaline Trio song due to its catchy
nature and really dark twisted lyrics which tell
a fucked up love tale, well the reworking of the
song here sounds slightly slower yet even darker
due to the addition of the piano which adds a
slightly spookier edge to the song, whilst Matt
Skiba’s vocals sound as clear and easy listening
as ever.
The video that Alkaline Trio released to preview
the album was for ‘Clavicle’ and the
song is your basic stripped down acoustic song
with not much more to offer, now some people may
find this slightly bland but compared to the original
version of the song it is a decent variation and
quite a simple listen.
The reworked version of ‘Mercy Me’
works really well as the whole acoustic guitars
help add to the catchy vibe of the song and the
dual vocals from Dan Andriano and Matt Skiba pretty
much run the show proving that you don’t
need electronics when your vocals are so good.
Some of the tracks on ‘Damnesia’
sound quite different such as ‘The American
Scream’ which opens with an eerie sounding
piano piece rather than the fast paced guitar
assault like the original, ‘We’ve
Had Enough’ features a double bass which
really adds to the atmosphere, whilst ‘Private
Eye’ is majorly slowed down.
The cover song featured on the album is a cover
of The Violent Femmes ‘I Held Her In My
Arms’ and it features a massive upbeat positive
twang kicking off an almost country music feel,
the two new tracks featured on the album are ‘Olde
English 800’ which is a short catchy song
which features Matt Skiba taking charge of the
melodic vocals, whilst the second new track is
‘I Remember A Rooftop’ and despite
being very basic sounding it features Dan Andriano
at his best with his vocals on top form.
There is only one way to finish an greatest hits
style Alkaline Trio compilation and that is everyone’s
favourite sing-a-long track ‘Radio’
and it really does end ‘Damnesia’
in a perfect way with its massive sing-a-long
verses which sound rawer than ever.
Now when Alkaline trio announced plans for ‘Damnesia’
I am sure that many people wondered how relevant
the release was, but considering that Alkaline
Trio only released their last studio album last
year and that they wanted to give something back
to their fans who have been there supporting them
over the last 15 years ‘Damnesia’
is the perfect release as it proves that old songs
can be reworked and also gives the fans something
to enjoy whilst waiting for the next Alkaline
Trio album release.
4/5
Review by Trigger |
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| Band
Members |
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Matt Skiba (Vocals, Guitar)
Daniel Andriano (Bass, Vocals)
Derek Grant (Drums, Vocals)
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| Track
Listing |
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1. Calling All Skeltons
2. Nose Over Tail
3. This Could Be Love
4. Every Thug Needs A Lady
5. Clavicle
6. Mercy Me
7. The Amercian Scream
8. We've Had Enough
9. Olde English 800
10. I Held Her In My Arms
11. Blue In The Face
12. I Remember A Rooftop
13. Private Eye
14. You've Got So Far To Go
15. Radio |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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