It’s no secret that I wasn’t particularly fond of Crisis, Alexisonfire’s third album and Vagrant Records debut. In fact, I was very disheartened by it because any band that has the talent Alexisonfire possesses should never release an album that bad. I hoped that Crisis was just an aberration and not a trend, and after waiting nearly three years, my fear has been calmed. Old Crows/Young Cardinals is a gem, as it is the album we’ve been waiting for the Ontario quintet to write their entire careers.

Produced by Julius Butty, Old Crows/Young Cardinals takes the best progressive parts of Crisis and the intensity of the first two AOF records, making the album a force to be reckoned with. It’s fast, aggressive, and in-your-face; paced by the soul of punk rock and layered with the triple-vocal attack of George Pettit, Dallas Green, and Wade MacNeil. “Old Crows” kicks off the album with a dirty guitar riff and is carried by Pettit’s new gruff vocal delivery. Green makes his first appearance on the high-octane “Young Cardinals,” as he rips through the chorus, while drummer Jordan Hastings sets the tempo. 

Alexisonfire are like a cult. They aren’t wildly popular and haven’t rode the wave of “popular screamo” like most bands have, but they have a fiercely passionate core of fans and two albums that match that intensity. After spending a few years on the Equal Vision roster, Alexis has jumped ships to one of the biggest independent labels ever, Vagrant, to release their third album, Crisis. Possessing one of the finest vocals talents in the scene, Dallas Green, Alexisonfire are looking to break into new ground. Incorporating three styles of vocals (from Green, George Pettit, and Wade MacNeil) with dual guitar work, Crisis is a bag full of mixed results. Throughout the eleven tracks, you’ll come across some songs that are good, some that are horrible, and a lot that sound like watered down versions from Watch Out!.