Search - Alkaline Trio :: Agony & Irony

Alkaline Trio's "Into The Unknown"

Bryan_D | Texas | 01/27/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"If you know your punk rock history, you'll know that in 1983, hardcore greats Bad Religion took an unexpected and dramatic turn towards the keyboard-driven progressive sound of the day in an album called "Into The Unknown". That album has been disowned by both the band and the fans, and their follow-up was titled "Back To The Known" to make it clear that sanity had returned.



"Agony & Irony" is basically the same story, different day. Alkaline Trio has made a great name for themselves as a punk band, but for some reason, without warning, they've put out an album that is clearly no longer punk. There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, although I was one of the legion of fans who bought the album thinking it was the Alkaline Trio I knew and loved. All music fans know that you've got some bands whose music you buy site unseen, and some you need to hear a bit first to be sure. With this release, A3 went from the former to the latter.



Will the end of this story be similar to that of Bad Religion's? That remains to be seen, but their next album is being solicited as a return to form. Of course, if I had a dollar for every so-called "return to form" that was just another disappointment, I'd be rich. Let's hope they follow the Bad Religion model that far, because their return to form led to their best work ever. It seems too much to ask the same for "This Addiction", but we can hope it will at least be a rocking entry in the Alkaline Trio discography."