Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois. The band's current members are Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals), Dan Andriano (bass, vocals), and Atom Willard (drums).
Alkaline Trio
Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Doran, and drummer Glenn Porter, Alkaline Trio released its debut single, "Sundials", in 1997. Following its release, Doran departed from the band and was replaced by Andriano, who occupied the role of co-lead vocalist alongside Skiba. The band subsequently recorded an EP, For Your Lungs Only (1998), and its debut studio album, Goddamnit (1998). Following the release of the band's second album, Maybe I'll Catch Fire (2000), Porter left the band and was replaced by Mike Felumlee for its subsequent album, From Here to Infirmary (2001).
Backed by the singles "Stupid Kid" and "Private Eye", From Here to Infirmary significantly increased the band's exposure, and its follow-up, Good Mourning (2003), charted highly on the Billboard 200. Good Mourning marked the recording debut of longtime drummer Derek Grant. In 2005, the band released Crimson which expanded upon the band's punk rock influences, with prominent overdubs and additional instrumentation, and continued with this direction on Agony & Irony (2008), which was released on Epic Records.
In 2010, the band released This Addiction on its own label Heart & Skull and Epitaph. Recorded in the band's home town of Chicago, with early producer Matt Allison, the album was a conscious effort by the band to return to their punk rock roots; it became the highest-charting album of their career, debuting on the Billboard 200 at No. 11. In 2011, the band celebrated its 15-year anniversary with the release of Damnesia, which featured new, acoustic-based recordings of songs from across the band's career. The band's eighth studio album, My Shame Is True, was released on April 2, 2013, while their ninth album, Is This Thing Cursed? was released on August 31, 2018, followed by a three track EP titled E.P. on March 19, 2020.
In June 2023, Grant departed from the band after twenty-two years, with Atom Willard being announced as his replacement soon thereafter. Their tenth album, Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs, was released on January 26, 2024.
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Music style, influences, and lyrics[edit]
Alkaline Trio's style has been primarily described as pop-punk,[43][44][45][46][47] punk rock,[43][48][49][50][51] emo,[43][52][53][54] and alternative rock.[55][56]
The band's influences include Social Distortion, Naked Raygun, Screeching Weasel, Pegboy, Ramones, Misfits, Green Day, The Clash, Jawbreaker, Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Bauhaus, The Cure, Ministry, NOFX, Front 242, and The Sisters of Mercy.[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65] Alkaline Trio's lyrical themes have included alcoholism, women, love, and depression.[66][67] Dan Ozzi of Differuser wrote that Alkaline Trio's "lyrics combine the macabre imagery of the Misfits with the clever turns of phrases of Jawbreaker."[68]
Related bands and similar bands[edit]
Alkaline Trio is part of a very large circle of Chicago punk/hardcore bands. Skiba was previously a member of Jerkwater, Blunt, and Traitors.[69] Former drummer Glenn Porter played in 88 Fingers Louie.[3] Andriano's previous bands were Slapstick and Tuesday.[70] Mike Felumlee (drums) has also performed with Duvall and Smoking Popes.[71] Derek Grant, who joined the band after the From Here to Infirmary album, has also played for Laughing Glass, Skolars, Telegraph, The Suicide Machines, Thoughts of Ionesco, Dan Zanes, The Sugar Pup and Sean Madigan Hoen.[72] In 2004 Dan Andriano joined the newly assembled group, The Falcon, with Andriano performing with fellow former Slapstick member Brendan Kelly (guitar and vocals), Neil Hennessy (drums), and Todd Mohney, a former member of Rise Against.[73] Mohney played guitar on the first EP but did not appear in the band's debut album Unicornography, and his spot was filled in by Kelly and Hennessy.[74]
Alkaline Trio have been compared to bands such as Jawbreaker[75] and Green Day.[76]
In 2006 Skiba started the side-project Heavens with Josiah Steinbrick, previously of F-Minus. Their debut album, Patent Pending was released on Epitaph Records.[77]
On September 16, 2009, bassist and co-vocalist Dan Andriano announced he would be playing a series of solo shows across the US under the name "Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room".[78] The band announced on Twitter that Andriano will be releasing his debut solo album under the same name in summer 2011.[79] The album, Hurricane Season, was released on August 9, 2011, under the moniker 'Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room'.[80] A second album followed in 2015 named Party Adjacent.[81][82]
Skiba was set to release his debut solo album on February 14, 2010, but it was delayed until the summer of 2010 due to the new Alkaline Trio album.[83] The album's name is Demos. In May 2012 Skiba released his second solo album (featuring his backing band, The Sekrets) entitled Babylon.[84] In June 2015 Skiba released his third solo album with The Sekrets entitled "KUTS".[85]
From 2015 to 2022, Skiba performed and recorded with rock band Blink-182. He began performing with the group starting with three shows in March 2015 filling in for long-time guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge who departed the group for the second time earlier that year. Skiba eventually became an official member and recorded two full-length albums with the band, before DeLonge rejoined.
Current members
Former members
Touring substitutes
Studio substitutes
Official Member Timeline
Studio albums
