Alkaline Trio still has enough energy for seventh album

 Alkaline Trio released their seventh studio album “This Addiction” with one thing in mind: to go back to their old sound.

   This was their first release off a major label in Epitaph Records, which is joined with their own label Heart & Skull.     

   Lead singer/guitarist Matt Skiba said that the band wanted to write an album reminiscent of their first album “Goddamnit!” and one of their most popular albums “From Here to Infirmary.”

   Skiba said that he wanted to write a pure album about the real relationships and issues the band had faced over the past few years in their personal lives, going back to their routes rather than sticking with the change in sound they experienced on the their last two albums. What resulted was an 11 track (excluding bonus songs) album reminiscent of their glory days.

   From the opening guitar stroke of “This Addiction” listeners realize that this isn’t the same Alkaline Trio that they’ve come to know in recent years, rather this was a successful trip back to their original sound. “This Addiction” is also the title to the opening song on the album which Skiba cites is a comparison of love to a drug addiction, as seen in the first words in the song, “you hit me just like heroin, I feel you coursing through my veins.”

   While many of the songs on this album bring fans back to the old sound of the Trio, they also kept things fresh by adding horns on their song “Lead Poisoning” and even throwing in some gothic synthesizers in their song “Eating Me Alive.” Both the horns and the synthesizer were pleasant surprises that really enhanced this album.

   “The Addiction” definitely has its highs and lows. “Dead on the Floor” offers a nice melodic approach which is reminiscent of the song “Radio” that came off of Alkaline Trio’s second album “Maybe I’ll Catch Fire.” Bassist and singer Dan Andriano offers a more pop side to the Trio with his songs “Off the Map” and “Dine My Darling, Dine” while also adding a great ending song with “Fine.”

   Songs such as Skiba’s “Piss and Vinegar” and “Dorothy” take the album down a notch by veering away from the momentum that had been building up throughout the album. However, Skiba’s “The American Scream,” which is a song about a real life U.S. soldier who returned from a tour in Afghanistan and committed suicide on his mother’s grave, really brings out the best of the Trio.

    While Andriano’s effort of the album only contained three songs compared to Skiba’s eight, Andriano definitely took his work to the next level on this album. Skiba, who usually is the star of the band, had many shining moments on this album, but had some inconsistencies to go along with it.

   While “This Addiction” isn’t the most addicting Alkaline Trio album, it is definitely a great album and one that is worth many listens. It was proof that even through seven albums and a few line-up changes Alkaline Trio is still great at writing songs.