Alexisonfire

There's a few things to mention before we get into this band: first off, this will be Sophie's 500th post. Holy shit, I did not expect it to have kept going for this long. As always, I hope you've all found something you've enjoyed in this increasingly expansive catalog of free shiz. Also, a long-time frequenter of this blog is celebrating their birthday today actually it was yesterday, I'm a little late getting this post up (Happy belated Birthday Anthony), and he requested this band. I can't say no to that, plus this band is perfectly fitting to celebrate numero 500. Enjoy.

Alexisonfire are a five-piece post-hardcore band from Saint Catherines, Ontario, that formed in 2001. They called it quits in 2011, when Dallas Green (vocalist/guitarist) left to focus on his solo project City and Colour, and Wade MacNeil (guitarist/vocalist) became the lead singer for Gallows. However. they reunited the following year to embark on a farewell world tour, and played their "final show" on December 30, 2012 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The band announced their return in 2015, with a headlining set at Riot Fest. Though they're not as active as they once were, they will be doing a handful of shows in Australia in 2017, so in some capacity Alexisonfire are in fact, back again.

To contextualize Alexisonfire's influence, they emerged in the new millennia, following a decade long build-up of post-hardcore in the underground. A ton of bands were pushing the envelope on traditional punk and hardcore, including more dynamics, more melody, and sometimes even more aggression. They got experimental, incorporating off-kilter rhythms and chord structures, and essentially whatever the hell else they wanted. This culminated in Refused's The Shape Of Punk To Come, which title says it all. This evolving sound broke loose at the turn of the century, when a ton of new, up-and-coming bands rode this new wave of post-hardcore. The production was cleaner, the songs had more hooks, so much so that they actually made it into the semi-mainstream. Bands like Thursday, Thrice, Glassjaw, as well as Alexisonfire can all be credited for exposing an entire new generation of people to post-hardcore.

Up here in Kanada, Alexisonfire were incredibly popular, especially around Watch Out! and Crisis. A small personal anecdote here, but I first heard "Accidents" when I was 9. That was my first exposure to any form of "aggressive" or "extreme" music, and it's obviously come a long way since then. I suppose their popular appeal isn't much of a surprise. The blend of George's howls and Dallas' VERY catchy and melodic choruses are infectious. The band not only brought an uninhibited energy, but some legitimately good songwriting. They've got the best of both worlds, so to speak. In addition, they never put out a bad album. All four of their full-lengths are fantastic (my personal favourite is their debut), and are an absolute essential for post-hardcore fans. There are some things missing from this discography, most notably some live stuff. If anyone has that, or anything else I don't, please feel free to send it to me so I can add it. Otherwise, here's the majority of their discography. Enjoy.

Math Sheets Demo (2002)

1. The Philosophical Significance Of Shooting My Sister In The Face: An Essay By James Secord

2. Counterparts And Number Them

3. Little Girls Pointing And Laughing

Pink Heart Skull Sampler (2002)

1. .44 Caliber Love Letter

2. A Dagger Through The Heart Of St. Angeles

Alexisonfire (2002)

1. .44 Caliber Love Letter

2. Counterparts And Number Them

3. Adelleda

4. A Dagger Through The Heart Of St. Angeles

5. Polaroids Of Polar Bears

6. Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)

7. Where No One Knows

8. The Kennedy Curse

9. Jubella

10. Little Girls Pointing And Laughing

11. Pulmonary Archery

The Bled/Alexisonfire (2004)

1. The Bled - Ruth Buzzi Better Watch Her Back

2. Alexisonfire - Counter Parts And Number Them

Brown Heart Skull Sampler (2004)

1. Sharks And Danger (Demo Version)

2. Get Fighted (Demo Version)

Watch Out! (2004)

1. Accidents

2. Control

3. It Was Fear of Myself That Made Me Odd

4. Side Walk When She Walks

5. Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama

6. No Transitory

7. Sharks And Danger

8. That Girl Possessed

9. White Devil

10. Get Fighted

11. Happiness By The Kilowatt

The Switcheroo Series: Alexisonfire vs. Moneen (2005)

1. Alexisonfire - Passing Out In America (Moneen cover)

2. Alexisonfire - Tonight I'm Going To Wash The Hippy (Moneen cover)

3. Moneen - Accidents Are On Purpose (Alexisonfire cover)

4. Moneen - Sharks In Danger (Alexisonfire cover)

5. Moneen - Bleed And Blister (Version 2)

6. Alexisonfire - Charlie Sheen vs. Henry Rollins

Crisis (2006)

1. Drunks Lovers Sinners And Saints

2. This Could Be Anywhere In The World

3. Mailbox Arson

4. Boiled Frogs

5. We Are The Sound

6. You Burn First

7. We Are The End

8. Crisis

9. Keep It On Wax

10. To A Friend

11. Rough Hands

Crisis Bonus Tracks (2006)

1. Thrones

2. My God Is A Reasonable Man

Old Crows / Young Cardinals (2009)

1. Old Crows

2. Young Cardinals

3. Sons Of Privilege

4.Born And Raised

5. No Rest

6. The Northern

7. Midnight Regulations

8. Emerald Street

9. Heading For The Sun

10. Accept Crime

11. Burial

Old Crows / Young Cardinals Bonus Tracks (2009)

1. Two Sisters

2. Wayfarer Youth

Dog's Blood (2010)

1. Dog's Blood

2. Grey

3. Black As Jet

4. Vex

Australian Weekend EP (2010)

1. The Northern (Acoustic) (Triple J Radio)

2. I'm Stranded (Acoustic) (Triple J Radio)

3. Old Crows (Live @ Soundwave)

4. Young Cardinals (Live @ Soundwave)

5. This Could Be Anywhere In The World (Live @ Soundwave)

Aussie Tour 7" (2011)

1. The Dead Heart (Midnight Oil cover)

Death Letter EP (2012)

1. Born And Raised

2. Midnight Regulations

3. You Burn First

4. Accept Crime

5. Burial

6. Happiness By The Kilowatt

Live At Copps (2016)

1. Young Cardinals

2. Boiled Frogs

3. Heading For The Sun

4. .44 Caliber Love Letter

5. Drunks, Lovers, Sinners And Saints

6. No Transitory

7. Crisis

8. Rough Hands

9. Charlie Sheen vs. Henry Rollins

10. Born And Raised

11. Waterwings

12. You Burn First

13. We Are The Sound

14. Keep It On Wax

15. Accept Crime

16. Malibox Arson

17. Get Fighted

18. Old Crows

19. The Northern

20. Dog's Blood

21. Accidents

22. Pulmonary Archery

23. This Could Be Anywhere In The World

24. Happiness By The Kilowatt

Otherness (2022)
1. Committed To The Con

2. Sweet Dreams Of Otherness

3. Sans Soleil

4. Conditional Love

5. Blue Spade

6. Dark Night Of The Soul

7. Mistaken Information

8. Survivor's Guilt

9. Reverse the Curse

10. World Stops Turning