Alkaline Trio: Every album ranked from worst to best by Matt Skiba
Frontman Matt Skiba ranks Alkaline Trio’s nine albums in order of greatness – from 1998’s Goddamnit to 2018’s Is This Thing Cursed?
Forming the band in Chicago back in the late ’90s, Alkaline Trio have solidified their morbid legacy over the course of nine albums, leaving a litany of absolute bangers behind them – Private Eye, Radio, Mercy Me, We've Had Enough… just to name a few.
But how does mastermind Matt view his back-catalogue? We asked the man himself to rank Trio's nine albums, from least-favourite to his all-time number one. Here's how he got on...
Good Mourning (2003)
“This record has some of my favourite songs on it, but it was one of the more miserable times I’ve had in the studio and in my personal life. I was struggling with alcohol and a relationship that was falling apart, and I was really unhealthy and unhappy while we were doing this one.”
My Shame Is True (2013)
“I’m really proud of this record, and working with [Descendents drummer] Bill Stevenson was definitely a career highlight. He’s one of my heroes. But it was during yet another break-up and a rather dark period of my personal life, so it’s a rather hard one for me to even look at.”
This Addiction (2010)
“I remember that we were doing a lot of drugs at this point. As a result, it was a really, really fun record for us to make, but totally not for very good reasons, if that makes sense. But one thing it is, like all Alkaline Trio records, the songs on there are really honest.”
Maybe I’ll Catch Fire (2000)
“This was written really quickly because we had a feeling that our drummer Glenn [Porter] probably wasn’t going to be in the band for much longer. It was a tough record to make, but also the fastest one we’d ever made. We wrote and recorded the whole thing in just two weeks.”
Agony & Irony (2008)
“Everything around this record was a really good time. We were on a major label for the first and only time – Epic Records – and we had a blast doing it together. It was the first record I’d made as a healthy, somewhat sober and coherent person, so that was pretty enjoyable.”
From Here To Infirmary (2001)
“This was the first record where people really started paying attention to us. The first time we went over to the UK was when this record came out and that was a huge spike in our career. A thousand people turning up to our shows was an absolute honour and a huge surprise.”
Crimson (2005)
“This was the last record that we made with [late producer] Jerry Finn, which makes it one of my favourites. I also like that we dedicated a lot of our time to charity organisations and ultimately getting some innocent people off of Death Row, and that felt so good.”
Goddamnit (1998)
“This used to be my favourite album for the very obvious reason that this was not just our first record, but our first record on Asian Man and our first full-length recording as a band. It was over 20 years ago now, and I have nothing but the fondest of memories from making it.”
Is This Thing Cursed? (2018)
“Obviously, this is our latest album, so I would put it at the top, but I really do think it is the strongest Alkaline Trio record. Having a friendship that has survived for so long and thrived for so long is something special, and I feel like I can hear it in this music.”
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