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AlexisonfireAlexisonfire: Watch Out!Watch Out! (2004)Equal Vision Records Reviewer Rating: 4.5 User Rating: Contributed by: AnchorsAnchors (others by this writer | submit your own) Evolution. It's necessary for people to survive, and just as, if not more necessary for music, and musicians to survive. Nobody wants to see the same retread album done over and over. Bands cannot get away with long careers if they don't change their sound. Unless you're Bad Religion, then you've go.  
Evolution. It's necessary for people to survive, and just as, if not more necessary for music, and musicians to survive. Nobody wants to see the same retread album done over and over. Bands cannot get away with long careers if they don't change their sound. Unless you're Bad Religion, then you've got a free pass in the inginuity department. But that's a story for another time. For the rest of the music world, a litte change goes a long way, and can add years onto your career. Alexisonfire jumped early to the opportunity to change, as their sophmore effort Watch Out! is a real departure from the self titled released a year prior. Inevitably, when a band changes their sound, you'll have the people that love it, and the people that hate it, I reside in the former of the two, as I think this effort shows a real maturation in the band sound, and this album serves as a showcase in just what is to come from these 5 lads from St Catherines. Where the first album is all about showing just how fast they can play guitar, and just how loud they can scream, the songs on Watch Out! are crafted with longevity in mind. While the songs were a blast for a while, more than half the album lost it's appeal after repeated listens, and the production lacked severely. Both problems remedied this time around. The album kicks off with the lone single so far, "Accidents." Starting off with a hard, but catchy riff, you're quickly thrown into a state of incessant foot-tapping, as lead singer George Logan's ear splitting screams come in, and I'm happy to report, they haven't lost a thing. Alexisonfire appear to be drawing from a lot of their roots this time around, with a chorus of 'whoa oh's' that would feel right at home on any old AFI or Bad Religion album. All of this melds right together, to create a perfect opener for this album. Alexisonfire have opted to also implement a lot of airy, atmospheric elements with this go-round. The third track, 'It Was Fear Of Myself That Made Me Odd' best exemplifies, this, as well as showing the new found role that singer/guitarist Dallas Green has. Where as in the last album, it appeared that Green's background vocals were always built around George's screaming, he really comes into his own here, and shares quite a bit of the vocal duties. As with last time, Alexisonfire have stayed away from the verse-chorus-verse structure, this song slowly builds into a frantic bit of screaming from George that splashes back in after some solid repeated drum fills. This is one of the most well constructed tracks on the album, and really goes to show what improvements these guys have made as songwriters. As I said before, singer/guitarist Dallas Green has much more of a prominent role in the vocal department this time around. A mistake many melodic hardcore bands make, is having a backup singer who ruins songs, due to his voice being off key, or just not fitting, but Alexisonfire's case is quite the oppisite. Song four, 'Side Walk When She Walks' showcases Dallas' voice beautifully, as lead singer George does not appear on the track at all. It's one of the albums slower songs, but it fits in well with the overall arrangement. The next song, 'Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama' leads in with a killer guitar riff, and does not relent throughout, between George's screaming, and the rousing chorus filled in by Dallas. The song closes with more of those atmospheric moments spread throughout the album. One of the albums real standout tracks is 'White Devil,' and deals with the use of cocaine that's thought of as being all too cool. The lyrics clearly paint the picture of the problem: "Looks so good / Convulsing on the floor, ya sugar!" And the chorus "Look what you have become / White devil, white devil, white devil." It's clearly a more serious direction than the band has taken in the past. But it works for the band, never sounded forced.
There are bands doing similar things to Alexisonfire, yes, but don't be fooled by the imitations, this is the real thing. Every screamed vocal, and every single chord is dripping with passion and urgency, and it's all put together masterfully. The three vocalists (Rhythm guitarist Wade also does background vocals) all build off each other, and all make each other sound better than they could ever hope to alone. The guitars and atmospheric elements strike the perfect mood for the vocals, and just complete the package. These guys have improved leaps and bounds from their self titled effort, and I greatly look forward to seeing what the future holds for these five young Canadians. As Logan screams in 'Get Fighted:' "Maybe the music isn't dead, maybe we all just forgot what it fucking sounded like." How true it is.           Please login or register to post comments.What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
George's last name isn't Logan. It's Pettit. Other than that, the review was pretty ace. Excelente !! AOF if fckin amazing george is sexxxxiii this album is defnietely thier best one i like how dallas sings more cuz hes got a cute voice "i think this cd is okay, but the thing i hate is when the singer goes into those little singing solos, i like the guy who screams more!!!" They are so fucking under-developed. All songs lose their energy after a minute or two. i think this cd is okay, but the thing i hate is when the singer goes into those little singing solos, i like the guy who screams more!!! not quite metalcore, not quite hardcore, id call it screamo, but its not really stereotypical screamo. its allright, standout track would be "get fighted" A friend of mine went to see them with Rise Against last night and she was telling me that there were scalpers selling tickets for $75-80 ! When the hell did scalpers start showing up at "punk" (To use the term loosely) shows?? And $80? Shit, you could buy a Metallica ticket for that much (Yeah, they've gone downhill but that's not the point). When the fuck did this shit start happening? 1. This album is ten times better than their first one. to guy below me...all those bands are fuckin great!!! well i could disagree with u on Sparta but i also disagree Alexisonfire is gay...really like the rest of the bands u mentioned Alexisonfire rock my fuckin socks off..thats my view on it anyways. i dont know why u guys think alexisonfire is so great , in my opinion, their fuckin gay, u cant even tell what they are saying, are they speaking english or not recommended bands, SENSES FAIL,THRICE,EIGHTEEN VISIONS,THURSDAY,UNDEROATH,ATREYU,ARMOR FOR SLEEP,A STATIC LULLABY,FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES,THE BLED,SAOSIN,SPARTA,BLOOD BROTHERS,BY THE WAY, ALEXISONFIRE IS FUCKIN GAY!! alexisonfire are fucking awsome!! i love alexisonfire.....they have some really good songs..they are one of my three favourite bands and they diserve to be there.......i love the way their music sounds it just drowns you like you get so lost in it . its nuts......the way he sings is crazy i love them!!!! As I look back on this review now, there's so much more I could have done with it or said about it. Too late for a redo now, I suppose. This album doesn't have the incredible riffs their first album had to offer but this album is something completely different. I didn't like the vocals at first on the self-titled but I grew used to them and soon had no complaints as they emphasised the backing vocals which sounded so awesome already. Alexisonfire (Alexis~on~fire) Looks like it's all confirmed and universally endoresed by all people regrdless of their musical tastes. A universally uniform general consensus. Tatecore is the best, lovliest form of music since the dawn of time. So sweet! really good cd, theyre last cd was much better and more innovative. i love the new cd even though i hate how they completely changed their sound from the first cd. also ive seen em twice and their old material sounds a lot better live than their new stuff For the ones who say that alexisonfire is shit, just try to be like them and try to do songs with good lyrics hard guitar and hard drum like them. theyre original. so fuck everyone who says this bands shit. if u dont like this kind of music its not the same thing so shut up PERFECT 10!!! I love Alexisonfire. Greatest Band Ever!! I jUst Bought Watch Out And I'm Loving Every Minute Of It!!! I Love How Dallas actually sings!!!MMM... This album is pretty decent. It is actually better than their first CD in terms of vocal quality and band growth. i give this a 10 because though it wasnt as good as the first one they still have the mix of harmonious guitar riffs, good screaming, and good for what they are trying for. also they are a band that is better live than recorded because they invoke a great energy for their crowd and unlike a lot of bands that use screaming, actually do scream in concert. Alexisonfire is one of the greatest bands ever, not too mention canadian too! the first cd and the second a both equally amazing. I can play the first cd over and over again and never get sick of it. I hate your life if you don't like Alexisonfire. This is a stellar cd you should own it or die. And for the notorious "Is it 'Alex is on fire or Alexis on fire' ?" what kind of idiot would name a band 'alex is on fire'? i thought this album would suck but it kicked ass. i find it better than the first and it is really really deep and the lyrics are really written and presented well. Alexisonfire is fucking gay. What the fuck are they saying? Does anybody know? Is it english? Man this shit is just as bad as Hip hop rap crap. I find this work to be a lot more accessible than their last album. While I thoroughly enjoyed it, I found it hard to really understand and grasp without have a lyrics sheet handy for every song, and then I'd be like, oohhh yeah, ok that's what that means. The guitar is still just as layered as the first album even though I do miss the long swirling masses of intros that they had in the last album that just built up steam and released just as the song started. I also like being able to sing along to this cd without losing my voice after the first song, which was damn near impossible with the self titled. All in all, I'd say worthy effort, I just wish they hadn't strayed from the intros. Would've given the cd an little bit more meat. of course those 4 posts weren't made by the same bloke because this album is a pile of shit. Look at the times they were posted. Ive heardthe sample but i was wondering if the record didn't sux since theyre playing for a major label And those last 4 posts WEREN'T made by the same person, OK? 'Cause you'd never be abl to tell... Yeah I agree. You are so right. Anyone caught listening to ths should be boiled in their own shit. Twice. Hey. This album is totally shit. Anybody who likes it is a complete dumbfuck. Who cares about original...this band is really good. And if you think about it we're all hypocrites.....i mean how PUNK is it to be posting on a message board....haha. i really liked the CD. the first one was good, this one kept it going. wow, these reviewers erally have no clue. ALexisonfire is not original by no means. They are pretty much 3rd generation screamo garbage. I saw these guys with Avenged Sevenfold and they were whining how the other bands on the tour were mean to them. What a bunch of sissy maggots. I see wrestilng talk so I wanted to get some thigns off my chest: id like to begin by saying that the review done by whoever runs this site was completly ridiculous. this album does not compare to their first album. first of all they obviously have been greatly influenced by a few metal bands such as As I Lay Dying, mentioned in their thank you's, and due to the fact that their riffs and melodies, even their sreaming, is more and more metal. i found this quite disapointing since i believe their first album was incredible with its guitar work and vocals. i had greatly anticipated this albums release and was disapointed at first listen. however, i am glad that they have not lost their musical talent. also the sreaming has been put through some type of distorer much like Every Time I Die and even ZAO, thus adding still more of a metal element. overall this album is simply mediocre, i miss the grand entries and incredibly deep lyrics of their first album as well as the unique blend of screams and singing. maybe next time. It's amazing how some of you guys can make such stupid comments regarding this album, which is amazing, when you guys listen to some of the shit you do. I guess I'm gonna have to lisetn to the whole thing. I heard 6 songs on a stream a couple weeks ago - I liked what I heard, they just didn't have that umph that the first album had. They seem to have gotten a little repetive and lost some of the sheer emotion of the last. I also miss the down-trodden sounding intros and technical squirrly sounding guitars I also wanted to chime in on the debate about "anyone can scream". I feel this is of course not true... but practicing to become a better screamer instead of a good well rounded singer with range is like learning how to roller blade instead of skateboard. "This is WAY better than their first album, like night and day. It's still not good enough for me to spend weed money on, though. And I think the name should be Alex Iso 'N' Fire, which of course would be in tribute to the inventor of the isosceles triangle." If you seriously think anybody can do good screaming, then you have no idea what you're talking about. there was nothing wrong with hacksaw jim dugan. last time i checked, youth crew still included youth of today, gorilla biscuits, judge, and all those other bands from 88 and 89. The Rockers were a great example of wrestling tag teams where once one of the members went solo, (Shawn Michaels sky-rocketed, while Marty Jenetty flopped) the other tag team that is a great example was The Holywood Blondes, Steve Austin went on to be one of the most recognizable wrestlers ever, and Brian Pilman died. Nah dude, x-pac was the 1-2-3 kid and was called the lighting kid before that. Dynamite kid was in the british bulldogs tag team and is currently in a wheelchair from all the wrestling related injuries. His matches with tiger mask from japan are the fucking shit... I always thought the name was a "Good Times" reference. Shit, is Dynamite Kid where Kid Dynamite got their name? I knew it was a sports figure, and wasn't the Dynamite Kid the guy who wound up being Six Pac? Or X-Pac, or whatever. Also, Lex Luger was one of the worst fucking excuses for a wrestler ever, right up there with Hacksaw and Brutus Beefcake. The Rockers and the Dynamite Kid were the fucking shit, though, respect dat. This is WAY better than their first album, like night and day. It's still not good enough for me to spend weed money on, though. "I fully agree, aybody can scream" You mean UFC? That's old, no wait, UFC was the octogon. I loved it when they'd do wierd things to the wrestling ring, they'd like put two rings side by side, or the giant tower that WCW made that one time, and Hell In A Cells were always the shit. Lugar was terrible, his finishing move, the "rack" was ultra-wack. maybe that's why they made the name one word They should be "A Lex Is On Fire". That dude below used the acronym "AOF" for this band, but their name is all one word, so is that accurate? Best fucking Screamo cd I've ever bought, even beats out FATA's too bad you're beautiful Haven't heard this album yet. I thought their last one was okay, so I might check this one out. "wow. alexisonfire is the most "love 'em or hate 'em" band to come around in a long time. haven't heard this yet, but i look forward to it. put me in group a." this album is complete and utter shit. Not anyone can fucking scream well, it's a lot of work to have a good sounding one, try to sing some alexisonfire songs and match his fucking scream, or try a kid dynamite one? by the way, i posted the below comment. I forgot to log in :S OOPS! This is by far one of the worst reviews I've ever read on PunkNews. It's poorly laid out, and the entire piece was just a comparison to AOF's debut full-length. What most listeners, like this writer I am speaking about, are doing is raging on and on about how and why one is better than the other. You have to understand that WATCH OUT! is a different album than their S/T release. Just like every other artform, you can't judge an album solely on what it is and what it isn't, and what it has and what it doesnt have. If you were a fan of Salvador Dali's "Swans Reflecting Elephants", and was asked to look at Dali's "Red Orchestra", would you hate the 2nd piece because it didn't have as many swans in it as the first one? No, because they're 2 different pieces meant to give off 2 different impressions, and to attract the eye and mind (in the case of music, the ear) in 2 different ways by using different techniques. "Anybody can scream" The music is pretty good, wish I could say the same for the vocals.........anybody can scream. Horrible. I really enjoyed their first cd and was expecting something similar to their first cd. I disagree and have to say that dallas has a really annoying singing voice and that is one of the reasons i'm turned off from this cd. But thats just me. I am now going to pawn this cd off. i'm not a fan of the production on this at all. the first album used to get me so pumped up, this one fails in that category. too many long, drawn out moments. It Dies Today is just awful live. This is an exact quote from their lead singer: "its alexis on fire dumbfuck. haven't we been over this a few times....?" These bastards stole Alkaline Trio's logo!!!! i had sex with one of these guys ex-girlfreinds It really is pointless to bicker back and forth about etid and Alexisonfire, my final comment is this: we will see who is remembered in 5 years, let alone has a career. I'd bank on etid I know nothing about this band but I did see this review of them once on Unit Shifter : these guys played a show in des moines last summer with between the buried and me, it dies today, saved by grace, and nehemiah. 1) Alexis On Fire once and for all i know first hand it is ALEXISONFIRE not alex is on fire..........i had a discussion with the drummer from murder by death about it, and oddly enough his name is alex, my name is greg look out for Veracity Records soon, but only if you are into bands that are original... No, "youth crews" are basically young metalcore church groups in hoodies. Just because everyone outside of them makes fun of them doesn't make everyone wrong. does anyone know if this is alexis on fire or alex is on fire? No one ever tells me!! Does the rest of the cd have the Death By Stereo feel that Accidents does? this album is the fucking rock. sooo much better than their first album. i posted a review for this album at my site a few weeks ago: I agree with the comment below. The first album was miles better. The screaming is worse and the singing is worse. All the emotion is gone, unless you want to count fake sadness.... I hate the effects on the screaming, absolutely hate it. Sounds to me like they have completely left anything that resembled punk, and decided to try ripping off the Deftones instead. The waterwings video is in no way a ripoff of Elaborama, you're a fucking tool. The one, and only similarity that can be drawn is there's people skating in Elaborama, and Waterwings has the Roller Girls. Not bad, but a lot worse than their first one. Actually I can tell the difference between Alexisonfire and Etid. 1) Etid guitars are much louder in the mix on their records 2) Etid's lyrics are morbid, hilarious, brilliant all in one verse-Alexisonfire's are not 3) That fucking waterwings video is a blatant lo fi rip of "Ebolorama" "Youth Crew is lame. Really, really lame. Songs about vigilance and brotherhood suck, and need to be stopped" No, trust me , there are another thousand or so reasons why youth crew shit is lame. youth crew is only lame if you have no friends and drink yourself to sleep at night. Youth Crew is lame. Really, really lame. Songs about vigilance and brotherhood suck, and need to be stopped. I'm referencing your "great emo debates" that you flooded the forums with until people told you to shut your whiney yapper. is it just me, or is anyone else really REALLY fucking sick of reviews that give some sort of ominous, carefully crafted intro that double spaces down to proclaim proudly "ENTER SO AND SO.* as if the the tides of life are changing and certain mayhem will ensue. you did it not once, but twice. stop it immediately. Jesse, get the fucking chip off your shoulder. What old band did I reference? Every Time I Die? Whoa, flashback, all the way to 2000! I love how Anchors tries to be all hip and reference old band to sound cool; then he gives this pile of shite a 9. Their lyrics are so bad and cheesy, they need to stop with the heartbreak and get back to shitty "scene unity" songs about their youth crews. If those are legal in Canada. . Fake hardcore bands' problems are funny. Their lyrics are so bad and cheesy, they need to stop with the heartbreak and get back to shitty "scene unity" songs about their youth crews. If those are legal in Canada. After a few listens, I can now tell you that the best songs are the first track and the last track. First time I've heard these guys, the mp3 rocks, that little interlude sounds like Tool for some reason. Good shit though... For roughly the 12432532nd time, it's Alexis on fire. I saw them with BANE. the score is for the word "mainstr-emo" and for the kid who excused the idiot who compared this to etid on the grounds that he is canadian. When I first popped this CD in to my car stereo I had taken a wrong turn and ended up late at night on an empty road with no lights that seemed familiar but I remained lost. This pretty much sums up my sentiments on the new CD by Alexisonfire. To the kid below who was talking about Epitaphs new slew of bands: If you can't tell the difference between Alexisonfire and ETID, than you're in no place to leave a reply. Fanboy reviews have got to stop. These guys are a poor poor mans Etid. So you scream and your guitarists can string together some pull offs. So what. Blech. I'm Canadian and I hate this. What I don't hate are the new Tragically Hip and that Rush cover's ep. the last album was absolutely awful, but they improved a ton on this one. note to the band, dump the screamer, he sucks, and keep singing, youre good. sounds like i should check it out. wow. alexisonfire is the most "love 'em or hate 'em" band to come around in a long time. haven't heard this yet, but i look forward to it. put me in group a. "With bland tough guy hardcore, bad metalcore, and whatever it is you consider bands like Spitalfield and Story of The Year, I'd all but given up on hardcore as of late." this album grew on me frightening fast. I'm listening to the album right now, and it ain't half bad. Doubtful I'd give it a 9, but it's worth listening to. I agree with this review, but I still can't get into this band... Crappy Mainstr-emo has forced me away from all the emo-core hardcore screaming pop crap (ala Epitaph's new slew of bands). My friends were into their first album but I just could not allow myself to be drawn into it... I will not even listen to this because their last cd was the worst music I've ever heard. These guys should do the world a favor and quit the business all together. |
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