Alexisonfire
Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, Ontario[1] in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vocals), Dallas Green (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Wade MacNeil (lead guitar, backing vocals), Chris Steele (bass) and Jordan Hastings (drums, percussion). The band has won numerous awards, and in Canada their albums have all been certified either gold or platinum.[2][3]
Alexisonfire
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
- 2001–2011
- 2012
- 2015–present
- George Pettit
- Dallas Green
- Wade MacNeil
- Chris Steele
- Jordan Hastings
- Jesse Ingelevics
Musical style and legacy[edit]
The band describes their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight";[18] in 2004, then-drummer Jesse Ingelevics described their sound as "Mogwai meets Sunny Day Real Estate".[98] Others have described their music as post-hardcore,[99] emo,[100] melodic hardcore,[101][102] and screamo.[103][104] The band members originally bonded over the myriad punk rock styles that their hometown scene consisted of, including moshcore, screamo, youth crew, crust punk and emo.[98] Their music is unique for its use of three main vocalists: one clean (Green), one unclean (Pettit) and one serving as a combination of the two (MacNeil).[98] Their 2009 album Old Crows / Young Cardinals saw a more prominent overall use of clean vocals, with Pettit also providing further clean vocals, having occasionally done so on Crisis.[105] The band's first two albums include occasional spoken word vocals, also performed by Pettit.[106]
The band have cited influenced including Saetia, Refused, Fucked Up, Moneen, Quicksand, Planes Mistaken for Stars, the Misfits, Tears for Fears, Hot Water Music, Elliott, the Appleseed Cast, Iggy Pop, Nick Cave,[107] Alice in Chains, Jeff Buckley, Leonard Cohen and Slint.[108]
Alexisonfire has been cited as an influence by bands such as Cancer Bats, Silverstein, Four Year Strong and 36 Crazyfists.[109] Revolver Magazine additionally cited them as influencing the majority of the mid-2000s post-hardcore scene.[110] Liam Cormier, lead vocalist of Cancer Bats, stated "everyone will always remember Alexisonfire and Billy Talent as the two bands that brought heavy music to the forefront and broke that scene wide open in this country."[111] The band has also been well-regarded for their live performances throughout the years. Ex-frontman of Grade, Kyle Bishop, credited them for this in an interview with The Grid TO. "Previous to them, Canadian content was pretty lame, palatable stuff," he said. "Then you had Alexis come in, George shredding his larynx and smashing his face against the wall. They destroyed everything. And a lot of people gravitated to that, and I've never seen that happen in Canada before. They opened up the door for a lot of bands to be appreciated, and brought a whole new group of people into punk rock."[111] In an article for Exclaim!, Ian Gormely praised the band for "opening doors for like-minded artists steeped in Southern Ontario's potent punk and metal scenes," and as having an "enduring influence in Canadian rock, and aggressive music in general".[98]
Current members
Current touring musicians
Former members
Former touring musicians
Official Member Timeline
Studio albums