Alkaline Trio walk among us once again! On January 26, 2024, everyone’s favourite tortured triumvirate will return in Grand Guignol style with “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs”, its tenth album and first full-length offering of new material to be released in (66)6 years.
Recorded with GRAMMY-winning producer Cameron Webb at Studio 606 in Northridge CA, “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs” finds Alkaline Trio stripping its sound down to the skin and bones of its unmistakable sonic spirit while taking that dark essence to parts previously unknown. Accompanied by the premiere of a fittingly kinetic video directed by Ravi Dhar and featuring pro skaters including Steve Caballero, Chris Cole and more, the album’s first single and title track exemplifies its balance of the eerily familiar and the shock of the new. Oh, and there’s that song/album title…
“My mom worked for years as an emergency room nurse,” says vocalist/guitarist/founder Matt Skiba. “She and her co-workers referred to exceptionally busy nights as ‘blood, hair, and eyeballs’. Well, we’ve been busy making an exceptional record we refer to as “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs”, too.
“We approached this new record in completely new ways”, Matt added. “We built the songs together, from the ground up, in the same room which hasn’t happened since the band started. Usually, we start with an idea somebody’s already written. This time, we had the unique opportunity to build the songs onto drums recorded at Studio 606 onto two-inch tape using one of the most beautiful-sounding and legendary consoles in rock. It has almost everything to do with how our new record sounds.”
Speaking of the “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs” video, bassist/vocalist Dan Andriano adds, “Sometimes the full circle nature of life is enough to just completely blow my mind…this is one of those times! Skateboarding is my first love, my favourite sport, and a community through which I was first introduced to punk rock. So when Matt and I read Ravi’s idea to combine the two and throw some spooky zombies in there we both loved it right away. The work Ravi and the entire production crew put in was insane and it shows. To kick off our 10th album release with this super fun video featuring Steve Caballero, Chris Cole, Ace, Corey and Shea is so much more than a dream come true, it’s true love. This is not a phase.”
In addition to being a darkly shining exemplar of the Trio’s signature blend of wry lyrical wit and bittersweet melodic sensibility, “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs” arrives in a confluence of endings and beginnings—specifically, it’s both the first album to be released via the band’s new label home, Rise Records, and the last to feature longtime member Derek Grant, drummer on every Alkaline Trio record since 2003’s classic Good Mourning.
See below for “Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs”’ tracklist, as well as a full list of upcoming US live dates, on which Skiba and Andriano will be joined by veteran drummer Atom Willard (Against Me!, Rocket from the Crypt). “Playing with Atom is so inspiring,” says Andriano. “His motor is unparalleled.”
ALKALINE TRIO
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs Tracklist
Hot For Preacher
Meet Me
Versions Of You
Bad Time
Scars
Break
Shake With Me
Blood, Hair, And Eyeballs
Hinterlude
Broken Down In A Time Machine
Teenage Heart
High Fives & Stage Dives 