It's hard to overstate the influence Alexisonfire had in post-hardcore through the mid-2000s, their combination of singing and screaming setting the blueprint for many artists to come. Though they have reunited onstage this decade, the band has not released new music since 2010 Dogs' Blood EP until now.
Latest single "Familiar Drugs" is anything but a typical Alexisonfire song, leaving their post-hardcore standbys far in the past for a spin at straight-up sludge metal. The guitar work on the track is satisfyingly doomy and heavy, with singer George Pettit offering an intense scream over the song's proceedings. He's backed up by some of the most soulful vocals to ever hit the band from Dallas Green (also of City and Colour) who adds a real shift up in dynamic in the good cop/bad cop formula many bands do. It's a new epoch for the band's musical evolution, showing they're still bursting at the seams with new ideas, and are back to truly create something new.
Of the song, Pettit says, "'Familiar Drugs' is about recognizing you need to make a change in your life, being presented with the opportunity to make that change, and then choosing to do the same thing you always do. It's about something very specific to me but it can be taken literally or interpreted in any number of ways. Most people have something in their lives they can't quit, substances, unhealthy relationships, lethargy, self righteousness, a job they hate. 'Familiar Drugs' is about choosing comfort over self betterment."
You can pre-order the "Familiar Drugs" 7-inch here.
