Alkaline Trio hint at forthcoming new music with release of epic vinyl box set

January 11, 2018

Acclaimed punks Alkaline Trio turn 21 this year and are celebrating by releasing a vinyl box set of their 2014 live recording Past Live, as well as hinting at new music. Says bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano, “It feels like the wheels are turning to get things going again.”

The trio closed out 2017 with an opening slot for the Original Misfits, one of the few live shows they played last year. Prior to that, Alk3's members have issued solo albums (Dan Adriano's In The Emergency Room's Party Adjacent and drummer Derek Grant's Break Down) while vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba joined blink-182, recording and touring behind the John Feldmann-produced album, California. It seems the band are now ready to record again. “We have the wind at our backs, it seems,” says Skiba. “Every aspect of the band—be it business or artistically or whatever—it feels like the Gods are in our corner.”

Andriano agrees, and says that he’s ready to make the band’s best record yet. “There’s not an inch of me that feels like we’re done making music, or we’re done making new stuff,” he says. “I wanna be a band that people want to hear new stuff from. Because I feel like I’m still in a band that wants to write good, new music.”

Taken from recordings of the band's four-night residency at Chicago's Metro club, the limited-edition Past Live vinyl bundle box will only be available via a four-week pre-order period ending Feb. 9. The package will feature eight vinyl LPs, a set of four Blu-Rays, exclusive printed posters and T-shirts, and tote bags made from backdrops the band used on previous tours. Preorder your copy here. “It’s taken a long time to get it out, and it’s hard to even put a finger on why,” says Andriano, “But it’s finally time.”

But Skiba stresses that Alkaline Trio fans are a dedicated bunch. “Our fans are amazing, and whenever we have a show it feels like we’re all in it together,” he says. “I was very pleasantly reminded of that at the first show,” saying that, with nearly 100 songs to remember, he’d occasionally stumble on a lyric, “I’d forget something and it just didn’t matter. The kids knew all the lyrics, and it just made it even better.” And aside from the fans who have been with the band for nearly two decades, it gave new fans a chance to be part of it.

“It feels like a family,” says Grant. “Now people are bringing their younger siblings and their kids to shows, it’s multi-generational, which is cool to see.”