Scream, sing, scream, sing, scream, and sing. This simple recipe, which was discovered and completely exploited these past few years, has created a plethora of bands that for the most part are really really bad. Thankfully, there seems to be a lessening of this herd and some fine gleaning has thinned the crop to what we are supposed to believe are the creme of this crappy genre. Unfortunately, as shown by Alexisonfire's newest album, Crisis, fans are actually just getting the best of the worst.
In 2003, when the whole screamo scene was still on the rise, Canada's Alexisonfire managed to separate itself as one of the better bands in the now dying genre. Their self-titled album was a biting and atmospheric approach to heavy but accessible music. Despite their stellar debut, Alexisonfire's second outing, Watch Out!, was really a backwards progression from their self-titled release, containing way less intensity and instead extremely watered down choruses and the complimentary obnoxious singing. Fast forward to 2006, now on their third release and on a far larger label, Vagrant, Alexisonfire are back with a slightly tighter and more aggressive version of its predecessor. However, despite the minor improvements and added energy, the album still lacks enough originality and diversity to give any listener enough incentive to listen.
The songs on this album range from bad to average. "Drunks, Lovers, Sinners and Saints" is nothing new or original, "This Could Be Anywhere in the World" has a decent verse but horrible singing, and the opening of the title track "Crisis" sounds suspiciously similar to Refused's "New Noise." The only song that is slightly endearing is the single "Boiled Frogs," mostly in part because it sets a good pace and doesn't let up for the stalling singing moments that plague many of Alexisonfire songs.
Crisis is truly a testament that the emo-core genre is more or less dead. Nothing here is new or intriguing, and unless you are a huge fan of Alexisonfire I don't see any reason to listen to this album. I figure if Alexisonfire doesn't meet the record sales and the mainstream demographic their label has access to, I foresee Alexisonfire in the midst of a musical identity crisis.
