Alexisonfire drop heavy new track “Complicit”

Alexisonfire have just dropped a new single “Complicit,” their second new song of the year.

“Complicit” comes after the band dropped “Familiar Drugs” in February, which was their first new song in nearly 10 years.

Read more: Travis Barker, $uicideboy$ drop collab EP featuring Korn guitarist

A day before the drop, the band teased a video of the lyrics to get fans excited for the new music.

Now, “Complicit” is finally here, and you can listen to it below.

Also, in case you’ve never heard “Familiar Drugs” or are just in the mood to jam out to it again, you can listen to that below as well.

Alexisonfire are hitting the road for a string of headlining shows this summer. You can grab tickets for that here.

Dates:

06/01 – London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
06/08 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
06/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
06/15 – Toronto, ON @ The Budweiser Stage

Back in February, Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil opened up to AP about making new music after nearly a decade.

“The timing of this announcement hasn’t been chosen for any specific reason,” MacNeil begins. “Alexisonfire putting out this song isn’t a statement to the world or anything. It’s simply the case that we’ve been spending a lot more time together. It’s important to remember that this thing started as just us buddies playing music, and we remained friends when Alexisonfire weren’t active.”

Despite officially being a “new” song, Alexisonfire’s return with “Familiar Drugs” has its roots deep in the band’s past. Based on a riff of Green’s that he’d been trying to work into a song for some time (“Musicians always have a few tracks they’ve been attempting to write forever,” MacNeil says), there are parts of the new song that Alexisonfire have been playing in soundchecks for years.

“We tried writing this song on the Crisis cycle, so it’s been a long time coming,” he explains. “It definitely sounds like us, but we wanted to push Alexisonfire in a different direction. It’s a lot doomier and more stoner-esque than our previous material—the band are heavier than it’s ever been. Everything you do as a musician affects the way you play, so Dallas playing softly with City And Colour, me doing shows with Gallows, focusing more on vocals and stripped-back songwriting, plus Jordan [Hastings, drummer] time with Billy Talent, [bassist Chris] Steele being away from music and George doing punk stuff has all contributed to where we are now. We had no specific plan; it just fell into place.”

Read more: YUNGBLUD proves “Parents” ain’t always right in new song

While the appeal for most fans attending the band’s upcoming shows will be a chance to hear both “Familiar Drugs” and Alexisonfire’s back catalog in a live setting, the five-piece are determined for these gigs to be about more than just the music. Partnering with Canadian nonprofit Indspire, $1 from all tickets the band sell will be donated to helping a cause that’s close to MacNeil’s heart.

“I’ve been wanting to work with them for a while,” he outlines. “They raise money for indigenous education and support students, which is something I feel is really important. Spreading awareness and letting people know that there are still a lot of problems facing indigenous peoples means a lot to me, and if we can use our music to help in any capacity, I think that’s a great thing.”

MacNeil’s desire to make this key event in Alexisonfire’s history about more than just the band itself is admirable, and despite the guitarist admitting he has “no fucking idea” why so many people connect with the music of Alexisonfire, he concludes by contemplating the role that the honesty of the band has played in their journey so far.

Read more: Radiohead dream biopic would star “slightly unusual-looking” ‘SNL’ actor

“We’ve always tried to be honest, and hopefully that’s resonated with people,” he says. “Like with the way we originally called it a day: Dallas said he wanted to focus on other stuff, I was touring with Gallows…George was trying to be very straight with everyone when he wrote that letter to the fans. We’ve now found our way back in a really natural way. It feels awesome that all these years later there are people that still want to listen to us. I’ve been feeling that happiness from the fans as we’ve been doing shows recently, and I just hope everyone is as stoked on ‘Familiar Drugs’ as we are. To be back with Alexisonfire in 2019 is a truly beautiful thing.”

What do you think of the new Alexisonfire track? Sound off about it in the comments down below!

See more: 16 memorable band photos

[envira-gallery id=”186668″]