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Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...
band formed in
St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
Ross, Mike. "",
CANOE A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...
JAM! Jam! was a Canadian website which covered entertainment news. It was part of the Canoe.com online portal, formerly owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division, and now owned by Postmedia Network. Jam! was the only media outl ...
, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007.
in 2001. The band's members are George Pettit (vocals), Dallas Green (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards), Wade MacNeil (lead guitar, 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.CRIA Gold and Platinum Certifications for May 2007
.
Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(May 2007).
CRIA Gold and Platinum Certifications for April 2007
Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(April 2007)
Blending aggressive and melodic elements, they gained popularity with their self-titled debut album in 2002, featuring their breakthrough single "Pulmonary Archery". Their second album, ''Watch Out!'' (2004), brought commercial success in Canada, while their third release, ''Crisis'' (2006), debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart and solidified their international reputation. ''Old Crows / Young Cardinals'' (2009) continued their evolution with a heavier and more experimental sound. After disbanding in 2011, the band reunited for a series of shows before officially reforming in 2015. They released ''Otherness'' in 2022, their first full-length album in over a decade, marking a return to their signature sound with new creative directions.


History


''Alexisonfire'' (2001–2003)

Alexisonfire was formed in late 2001 in the aftermath of a three-band break up. Pettit was playing guitar in a metal band called Condemning Salem, Green was lead singer and guitar player in Helicon Blue, and MacNeil and Steele played in a punk band called Plan 9. These bands broke up at the same time, and Pettit, Steele, MacNeil and Green recruited drummer Jesse Ingelevics, and formed Alexisonfire. The band's name was derived from Alexis Fire, a pornographic actress. When Fire discovered that they were using her website name as their band name, she threatened to sue, but it was discovered that the moniker was not registered, and no further action took place. In 2002, the band released its first EP, ''Math Sheets Demo'', so named because the CD was wrapped in Jesse Ingelevics' math homework. This caught the attention of
recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...
Greg Below and
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
journalist Mitch Joel, who were setting up the record label Distort Entertainment and were looking for artists. Below was also working with
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
, which allowed the band to record at the company's in-house studio, and land a co-publishing and distribution deal. On October 31, 2002, ''
Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...
'' was released. Although there was a distribution deal with EMI, the album's success was mostly attributed to
word-of-mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
. They had already been playing dates in Ontario and New York with bands like GWAR, Juliana Theory and Glassjaw; 2003 saw them touring in support of the album, crossing Canada twice, playing with Spitalfield and
Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
, appearing at
Hellfest Hellfest (), also known as Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...
, and touring Europe with
Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against's mu ...
. In October 2005, ''Alexisonfire'' was certified gold in Canada, marking over 50,000 sales.CRIA Gold and Platinum Certifications for October 2005
.
Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(October 2005). Retrieved on September 22, 2007.
(In 2014, Dine Alone Records released a remastered version of the album.) At the 2004
Canadian Independent Music Awards The Canadian Independent Music Awards, also known as the Independent Music Awards or Indies, are national awards presented annually to musicians to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. They were first inaug ...
, the video for the album's song "Pulmonary Archery" won Best Video. They were named Favourite Indie Band at the CASBY Awards, and the video for the song "Counterparts and Number Them" was nominated for Best Independent Video at the
MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...
.


''Watch Out!'' (2004–2005)

Alexisonfire recorded their second album with Julius Butty at his Silo Studios near
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, '' Watch Out!'' and was released on June 29, 2004. It was released worldwide, mainly through Distort but through
Equal Vision Records Equal Vision Records is an independent record label based in Albany, New York. It was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo, the singer for the punk bands Youth of Today, Shelter, and Better Than a Thousand. Initially, the label existed sol ...
in the US, and Sorepoint Records in the UK. It debuted at No. 6 on the
Nielsen Soundscan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
Top 200, sold 6,000 copies in its first week, received gold certification in Canada in twelve weeks, and certified platinum in 2007. The critical reception came from the fact that the band was more focused from the eighteen months of touring, helping them harness more aggression, release more emotion, and fine-tune all the tracks. The album was noted as a real departure from their debut album, and was a critical success. As soon as the album was released, the band went on tour, playing the Vans
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
on several US dates, and then heading to the UK, playing the
Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
and other British gigs. (While playing
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
with Johnny Truant and The Blood Roses in, the members of all three bands had the word "Yeti" tattooed on themselves. On an episode of the MuchMusic program ''The New Music'', Pettit and Green said that the idea for the tattoos came from the 1988
Gary Oldman Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...
film '' The Firm''.) The band spent all of 2005 on the road, touring the UK, US, Canada and Europe. They also played the
Summer Sonic Festival is an annual music festival held on one weekend in August simultaneously in both Chiba and Osaka, Japan. The festival features revolving lineups performing one day in Osaka then performing the next day in Chiba and vice-versa. The lineup often ...
in Japan. On June 14, 2005, Alexisonfire posted a statement on their website stating that founding drummer Jesse Ingelevics had left the band. He was replaced by Jordan Hastings, late of the band
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
. At the
MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...
, the video for the song "Accidents" won Best Independent Video, and the band was nominated for the Peoples' Choice Award – Favourite Canadian Group. At the Juno Awards of 2005, Alexisonfire won the award for New Group of the Year.


''Crisis'' (2006–2007)

On August 22, 2006, the band released their third studio album, ''
Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
'', which received rave reviews and continues to be deemed 'important'. The album's release was marked with a party on a boat on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
in
London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. This also launched a 10-month world tour that took them through the UK, Australia, Canada and the US. They were now playing to crowds of up to 80,000 people, at the
Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
,
Festival d'été de Québec The Festival d'été de Québec (FEQ) is the largest music festival in Canada in terms of number of artists (more than 200), largest stage (100,000), largest number of days (11). A total number of passes of 140,350 (130,000 standard, 3,000 gold ...
, and they headlined at the
Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...
in London. They played the
Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...
, the Taste of Chaos tour, the Saints & Sinners Festival and Australia's
Soundwave Soundwave or Sound Wave may refer to: * Sound, a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave * Acoustic wave, the wave which carries sound Festivals * Soundwave (Australian music festival), an annual music festival 2007–2016 * Soundwave Fe ...
festival. At this point, they were one of the most popular bands in Canada. The band toured with
Anti-Flag Anti-Flag was an American punk rock band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1988. The band was known for its left-wing politics, left-wing political activism. For the majority of the band's career, their members included Justin Sane (voc ...
,
Saosin Saosin ( or ) is an American rock band formed in 2003 in Orange County, California. The group originally consisted of Beau Burchell, Justin Shekoski, Zach Kennedy and Anthony Green. They released their debut EP, '' Translating the Name'', i ...
,
The Bled The Bled is an American post-hardcore/metalcore band from Tucson, Arizona, formed in 2001. They released four albums ('' Pass the Flask'', '' Found in the Flood'', '' Silent Treatment'' and '' Heat Fetish'') before disbanding in 2012. History ...
, Norma Jean, Every Time I Die,
Cancer Bats Cancer Bats are a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is cu ...
, Attack in Black, Moneen,
Envy on the Coast Envy on the Coast are a post-hardcore band from Long Island, New York. They released their second full length, ''Lowcountry'', in March 2010. History 2003–2005: Formation The members of Envy on the Coast began playing together in 2003, tho ...
, A Change of Pace, The Ghost of a Thousand and
The Dear & Departed The Dear & Departed was an American Rock music, rock band from Orange County, California, Orange County and Los Angeles, California, founded by Dan Smith. Founded in 2006, the band went on the Vans Warped Tour and released their debut album ''So ...
, among others. At this time, Pettit told a reporter: "The next record, I think, is us pretty much wanting to put the knife in screamo. I don't want to be the band that saves it, I want to be the band that kills it." Pettit later regretted making the statement. At the 2006 CASBY Awards, ''Crisis'' won Favorite New Indie Release. At the 2007
MuchMusic Video Awards The iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards were an annual awards show broadcast annually on Much (TV channel), Much from 1990 to 2018, and Fuse (TV channel), Fuse from 2010 to 2013 that honoured the year's best music videos. Originally debuting in ...
, the video for "This Could Be Anywhere in the World" won the award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best Rock Video. The band was also nominated for the Peoples' Choice Award – Favourite Canadian Group. At the Juno Awards of 2007, ''Crisis'' garnered a nomination for CD/DVD Artwork Design of the Year, Julius Butty received a Producer of the Year nomination for "This Could Be Anywhere in the World", and Alexisonfire was nominated for Group of the Year.


''Old Crows/Young Cardinals'' and ''Dog's Blood'' (2008–2010)

In 2008, MacNeil told a ''Bombshell Zine'' interviewer: "Alexis hasn't broken up, but we'll see what happens. We are at a crossroads now." As a result, by 2009, rumours that Alexisonfire was about to break up abounded, but the band announced the name of their new album on February 1. They began recording '' Old Crows/Young Cardinals'' on the same day. By March 1, the recording process was near completion and two songs were announced--"Midnight Regulations" and "Emerald St." On March 31, 2009, it was confirmed that Alexisonfire had signed to Dine Alone Records, whose founder, Joel Carriere, had once been the band's manager. On April 20, Alexisonfire released the song "Young Cardinals" for radio airplay. The music video premiered on MuchOnDemand on May 15, 2009; the album was released on June 23, 2009, and was very well received. The band then went on a 300-date tour through Europe, the US and Canada, which lasted through December 2010. In 2008, Dallas Green told Canoe.ca that he had sketched out new songs that he hoped would take the band into "new, weird territories". These songs would become the four-track EP ''Dogs Blood'', which was released in 2010. The band announced the release of ''Dogs Blood'' at the 2009 Verge Awards, hosted by
The Verge (XM) The Verge is a Sirius XM Canada channel featuring new and emerging rock bands from Canada. The channel is produced in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario for the entire SiriusXM platform. The channel's former names included Unsigned, and (un)Signed, which ...
, where ''Old Crows/Young Cardinals'' was nominated for Album of the Year and the band was nominated as Artist of the Year. At the
Juno Awards of 2010 The Juno Awards of 2010 honoured music industry achievements in Canada for the latter part of 2008 and for most of 2009. These ceremonies were in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada during the weekend ending 18 April 2010. Primary ceremo ...
, ''Old Crows/Young Cardinals'' was nominated as Rock Album of the Year. On February 16, 2010, the band was set to play a free all-ages show at the
2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
venue Live City Yaletown when, seconds into the show, the rush of the audience broke a barrier and people were trampled; 20 were slightly injured. Alexisonfire returned to
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
later that year as headliners at the PNE Forum. Also in 2010, the band released a collection of six songs available exclusively through iTunes as a digital download. The EP, ''iTunes Originals'', contained previously recorded material from the group's discography, versions of some of their previously released songs performed slightly differently, and interviews with the band. On November 22, 2010, a digital version of their ''Aussie Tour 7"'' was released on iTunes. It contains two cover songs, originally by
Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by H ...
and The Saints.


Disbandment and farewell tour (2011–2012)

In 2005, Dallas Green had launched a solo folk/rock side project called
City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...
. The project had become very successful and between that and his commitments to Alexisonfire, he said that he suffered a nervous breakdown and that being in Alexisonfire was killing him. At the end of the ''Old Crows/Young Cardinals'' tour, Green told the band that he was leaving Alexisonfire, but that he would not announce his departure until the rest of the band decided on their future plans. On February 14, 2011, Alexisonfire tweeted that they had been writing new music for their fifth studio album, describing it as "so heavy it's going to make ''Dog's Blood'' look like a ska record". Despite these statements, the album did not materialize and on August 5, 2011, Alexisonfire announced their break-up. In the statement, George Pettit cited the departures of both Green and MacNeil (who left to become the vocalist for
Gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...
), and personal issues among the remaining members as reasons for breaking up. Pettit also described the break-up as not being "amicable". Alexisonfire planned on celebrating their tenth anniversary with one last headlining Canadian tour and "a series of releases", although Green had specifically said that, for him, their December 19, 2010, show in their hometown was their last concert. In July 2012, Green stated he had been in contact with other ex-Alexisonfire members, and that he and MacNeil had been "starting to talk about doing some final lexisonfireshows, because when we did play our last show nobody knew it was our last show." In December 2012, Alexisonfire embarked on their farewell tour. It was initially nine dates, but it expanded to 30, with stops in Canada, the UK, Australia and Brazil. In December, the EP '' Death Letter'' was released, featuring new interpretations of songs spanning the band's previous four albums. On December 25, 2013, the band released a limited-edition vinyl box set containing all the four albums as well as EPs, LPs, B-sides etc. One thousand copies were produced; they were sold out in 30 minutes. In August 2014, they released a slightly smaller second edition of the boxed set.


Reunion and ''Otherness'' (2015–present)

On March 9, 2015, the band announced a reunion tour, their first since their farewell tour in 2012, including dates at
Reading and Leeds festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...
, Sonic Boom, Heavy Montréal, X-Fest and
Riot Fest Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival held at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest is one of the largest independently-owned music fe ...
. On September 19, 2015, at Riot Fest in Toronto, Wade MacNeil announced on stage that the band was officially back. The band later clarified this statement, reaffirming they had "no immediate plans" regarding new music or tours together, however they've played 100 concerts since 2015. On February 12, 2016, the band released ''Live at Copps'', a recording of their performance on December 30, 2012, at the
Copps Coliseum Hamilton Arena (originally Copps Coliseum, later renamed FirstOntario Centre) is a sports and entertainment arena at the corner of Bay Street North and York Boulevard in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1985, it has a capacity of up to 19 ...
in
Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, which was the last show of their 2012 farewell tour. The album was released for download through
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, as well as in a special 4-record set, and as a
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
video. On June 22, 2016, Alexisonfire was announced as the main headliner for the 2017
Unify Gathering Unify Gathering was an annual Australian music festival held in South Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, featuring artists of various genres including Rock Music, rock, Metal (music), metal, and Punk rock, punk. The festival has been di ...
in
Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...
, and announced a tour with The Dirty Nil, Behind Crimson Eyes and The Getaway Plan through Australia and New Zealand. The band was then announced as a headliner at the annual Quebec festival Montebello Rock and, on February 27, 2017, the band made a surprise three-song appearance at the Toronto stop of
Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
's Afraid of Heights Tour. They played Toronto's Danforth Music Hall in December 2017, and spent the following June touring Germany and the UK before heading back to Canada to play the
Festival d'été de Québec The Festival d'été de Québec (FEQ) is the largest music festival in Canada in terms of number of artists (more than 200), largest stage (100,000), largest number of days (11). A total number of passes of 140,350 (130,000 standard, 3,000 gold ...
. On February 1, 2019, the band posted a black image on their Facebook page. Later in the day, the band posted a teaser video featuring a building with a green neon light spelling out the words "Familiar Drugs". Later, on February 12, 2019, the band posted 3 illusive black pictures on their Instagram page. Fans soon figured out that by changing the brightness and contrast on these black pictures, it revealed the numbers 2,15 and 19. On February 15, 2019, the band released a new song called " Familiar Drugs", their first new material in nearly nine years. On April 16, 2019, the band released the music video for "Familiar Drugs," which was shot completely on VHS and cellphones. On May 24, 2019, the band released another standalone single called "Complicit", followed by "Season of the Flood", on January 13, 2020. Alexisonfire went out on a short tour in 2019, playing shows in London, New York City, Los Angeles and Toronto as well as a show at Ottawa Bluesfest. This was followed by 2020 performances in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the band hosted a special one-time watch party on YouTube, showing a filmed performance of the final show on their farewell tour in December 2012 in Hamilton, Canada. Starting before the livestream was the premiere of their music video for their song, "Season of the Flood", which is made up of footage shot exclusively by AOF concertgoers in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver during the tour in January. In an interview with the ''Toronto Star'' in 2019, George Pettit revealed that, in 2015, he had become a professional firefighter and that, even though the band had reunited, that new career would be his priority. He also remains the lead singer in his side project, Dead Tired. Wade MacNeil continues as the lead singer for Black Lungs and
Gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...
. On May 21, 2021, MacNeil presented his latest project, Doom's Children with his first single and video, "Flower Moon". Jordan Hastings continues with his long-time side project,
Cunter Cunter (Romansh language, Romansh, in German language, German: Conters im Oberhalbstein) is a village and former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Sursés in the district of Albula (district), Albula in the Cantons of Switzerland, ...
. Dallas Green has continued on with
City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...
, and with You+Me, his collaboration with
Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
. In a June 2021 interview, Green stated that Alexisonfire was "trying to get all these new songs together for the first time in like ten years" implying that more new music was in the works. On March 10, 2022, the band announced their fifth studio album '' Otherness'', their first album of new studio recordings in thirteen years. It was released on June 24, 2022. The album won the
Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year The Juno Award for "Rock Album of the Year" has been awarded since 1991, as recognition each year for the best rock album in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three t ...
at the Juno Awards of 2023. The band opened for Blink-182 in Toronto on August 15, 2024.


Musical style and legacy

The band describes their music as "the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight"; in 2004, then-drummer Jesse Ingelevics described their sound as "
Mogwai Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogwa ...
meets
Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Suran ...
". Others have described their music as
post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...
,
emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...
,
melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. The style often includes guitar harmonies, riffs using octave chords, as well as broken chords. Additionally, lyrics tend towar ...
, and
screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is a subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002 Access date: June 15, 2 ...
. The band members originally bonded over the myriad punk rock styles that their hometown scene consisted of, including moshcore, screamo, youth crew,
crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
and emo. 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). 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 A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
''. The band's first two albums include occasional
spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
vocals, also performed by Pettit. The band have cited influences including Saetia,
Refused Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...
,
Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of guitarists Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker, bassist Sandy Miranda, lead vocalist Damian Abraham and drummer Jonah Falco. From 2007 to 2021, t ...
, Moneen,
Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...
, Planes Mistaken for Stars, the Misfits,
Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...
,
Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason B ...
, Elliott, the Appleseed Cast,
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
,
Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, writer, and actor who fronts the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Known for his baritone voice, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety ...
,
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
,
Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...
,
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
and
Slint Slint was an American Rock music, rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986 after the dissolution of two local bands, Squirrel Bait and Maurice. It initially consisted of guitarist-vocalist Brian McMahan, guitaris ...
. Alexisonfire has been cited as an influence by bands such as
Cancer Bats Cancer Bats are a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is cu ...
, Silverstein, Four Year Strong and 36 Crazyfists. ''Revolver'' Magazine additionally cited them as influencing the majority of the mid-2000s post-hardcore scene. Liam Cormier, lead vocalist of
Cancer Bats Cancer Bats are a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is cu ...
, stated "everyone will always remember Alexisonfire and
Billy Talent Billy Talent is a Canadian Rock music, rock band from Mississauga, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with lead vocalist Benjamin Kowalewicz, guitarist Ian D'Sa, bassist Jonathan Gallant, and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk. There have been no lineup change ...
as the two bands that brought heavy music to the forefront and broke that scene wide open in this country." 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." In an article for ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'', 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".


Band members

Current members * George Pettit – unclean vocals , clean vocals keyboards * Dallas Green – clean vocals, rhythm and lead guitar , keyboards * Wade MacNeil – clean and unclean vocals, lead and rhythm guitar * Chris Steele – bass guitar , backing vocals * Jordan Hastings – drums, percussion , backing vocals Current touring musicians * Matt Kelly – keyboards, organ, synthesizers, pedal steel, backing vocals Former members * Jesse Ingelevics – drums, percussion Former touring musicians * Kenny Bridges – bass Official Member Timeline


Discography

Studio albums * ''
Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...
'' (2002) * '' Watch Out!'' (2004) * ''
Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
'' (2006) * '' Old Crows / Young Cardinals'' (2009) * '' Otherness'' (2022)


Awards and nominations


References


External links


Alexisonfire
official website *

CanadianBands.com entry
Alexisonfire
at
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

Alexisonfire
unofficial blog and forum
Alexisonfire cover story
July 2009
Europunk: interviewPunk 76: interviewLeeds Music Scene: article

Spinner Interviews Alexisonfire

DINE ALONE RECORDS - View Releases
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexisonfire Canadian post-hardcore musical groups Screamo musical groups Canadian emo musical groups Musical groups from St. Catharines Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year winners Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Musical groups reestablished in 2015 Equal Vision Records artists Defiance Records artists Dine Alone Records artists Hassle Records artists 2001 establishments in Ontario 2011 disestablishments in Ontario 2012 establishments in Ontario 2012 disestablishments in Ontario 2015 establishments in Ontario Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year winners