Alexisonfire (album)

Alexisonfire
Studio album by Alexisonfire
Released	October 31, 2002 [1]
Recorded	2002
Genre	Screamo [2] emo [3] post-hardcore [4] [5]
Length	42:16
Label	Distort Equal Vision Defiance Records
Producer	Alexisonfire Greg Below
Alexisonfire chronology
Alexisonfire (2002) Watch Out! (2004)
Singles from Alexisonfire
".44 Caliber Love Letter" Released: September 16, 2002 "Pulmonary Archery" Released: August 17, 2003

Alexisonfire is the debut studio album from Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire, released on October 31, 2002.

Release

Alexisonfire was released on October 31, 2002. ^[6] The cover art was photographed by lead singer George Pettit at Ferndale Public School in St. Catharines, Ontario. It is based on the lyrics from "A Dagger Through the Heart of St. Angeles". There was also an alternative cover art released, which just depicts the band's logo and name. In June 2003, the band embarked on short tour of Canada with From Autumn to Ashes, A Static Lullaby, and Boys Night Out. ^[7] The following month, the band performed at Hellfest. ^[8] In September and October, the band went on a tour of Canada with Billy Talent, Spitalfield and Death from Above. ^[9] Following this, the band played with Spitalfield on their tour of the US. ^[10] In December 2003, the band went on an eastern Canadian tour, with Jersey and At the Mercy of Inspiration. ^[11]

On January 14, 2014, a remixed and remastered version of the album by Dine Alone Records was released.

In 2017, Dine Alone Records released a playlist curated by the band of the twenty songs that influences the album. It included Pg.99's "In Love with an Apparition", Joshua Fit for Battle's "To Bring our Own End", Saetia's "Venus and Bacchus", Majority Rule's "The Sin in Grey", Love Lost But Not Forgotten's "Loathing", the Appleseed Cast's "On Reflection", Owl's "Everyone is my Friend", Chore's "Superville", Don Caballero's "For Respect", Shiner's "Glass Jaw Test", Faraquet's "Cut Self Not", Sunny Day Real Estate's "The Ocean", Saves the Day's "At Your Funeral", the Get-Up Kids' "Ten Minutes", Mogwai's "Take Me Somewhere Nice", Moneen's "Wrath of the Donkey", At the Drive-in's "Arcarsenel" Snapcase's "Disconnector" and Bane's "Struck Down by Me". ^[12]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Punknews.org	[13]

In 2015, NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". ^[14] In 2022, Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan wrote that the album defined typical emo characteristics such as "Two singers, one who screams and one who whine-sings... Chaotic song structures... Bright melodies even at the most aggressive moments... Verbose teenage poetry, sometimes delivered as tense spoken word... [and an] overwhelming amount of melodrama..." Sacher said that the album "helped establish [the foregoing traits] as dominant traits of the early 2000s emo/post-hardcore boom." ^[15]

In December 2018, the album was given a platinum certification by Music Canada as it sold over 100,000 units in Canada. ^[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alexisonfire.

No.	Title	Length
1.	".44 Caliber Love Letter"	4:31
2.	"Counterparts and Number Them"	2:18
3.	"Adelleda"	5:47
4.	"A Dagger Through the Heart of St. Angeles"	4:12
5.	"Polaroids of Polar Bears"	5:08
6.	"Water Wings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)"	2:41
7.	"Where No One Knows"	3:12
8.	"The Kennedy Curse"	3:38
9.	"Jubella"	2:29
10.	"Little Girls Pointing and Laughing"	4:54
11.	"Pulmonary Archery"	3:26
Total length:		42:16

Personnel

George Pettit – unclean vocals, photography Dallas Green – rhythm guitar, clean vocals Wade MacNeil – lead guitar, vocals Chris Steele – bass guitar Jesse Ingelevics – drums

Greg Below – producer, engineer, mixer D. Sandshaw – A&R for Equal Vision Records George Kotsopoulos – drum editor Bed Kaplan – drum editor Bill Scoville – album layout

Charts

Chart performance for Alexisonfire

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [17]	127

Chart performance for Alexisonfire/Watch Out!

Chart (2007)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [18]	28
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [19]	27

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Alexisonfire

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [16]	Platinum	100,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for Alexisonfire

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog	Notes
Canada	October 31, 2002 [20]	Distort Entertainment	CD	DE-002
United States	September 9, 2003 [21]	Equal Vision Records	CD	EVR89	Digipak
United Kingdom	July 5, 2004 [22]	Sorepoint Records	CD	SORE018CD	Alternate cover
Germany	ca.2004/2005	Defiance Records	LP		Limited edition

Videos

• "Pulmonary Archery"
• "Counterparts and Number Them"
• "Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas)"

External links

• Alexisonfire official site
• Distort Entertainment Archived 2002-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
• Equal Vision Records
• Sore Point Records Archived 2006-10-20 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. "Distort Entertainment". 2002. Archived from the original on November 23, 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
2. JR (December 23, 2004). "Watch Out!". IGN. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
3. "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". NME.com. January 14, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
4. https://www.brooklynvegan.com/15-albums-that-defined-the-2000s-post-hardcore-boom/
5. "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". NME.com. January 14, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
6. White, Adam (October 25, 2002). "Alexisonfire to release debut album on Halloween". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
7. Heisel, Scott (June 9, 2003). "Alexisonarecordlabel". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
8. Heisel, Scott (April 25, 2003). "Hellfest lineup announced". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
9. White, Adam (September 11, 2003). "Alexisonfire Canadian Dates With Billy Talent". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
10. Heisel, Scott (September 16, 2003). "Spitalfield US Dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
11. White, Adam (November 30, 2003). "Jersey & Alexisonfire touring, minus one guitar". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
12. "Spotify – Web Player". Spotify. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
13. "Alexisonfire - Alexisonfire". Punknews.org. 17 January 2003.
14. "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". NME.com. January 14, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
15. Sacher, Andrew (August 10, 2022). "35 Best Emo & Post-Hardcore Albums of 2002". BrooklynVegan . Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
16. "Canadian album certifications – Alexisonfire – Alexisonfire". Music Canada . Retrieved November 17, 2025.
17. "Albums : Top 100". Jam! . August 7, 2003. Archived from the original on November 6, 2003. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
18. "Official Independent Albums Chart on 11/3/2007 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
19. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 11/3/2007 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
20. "Distort Entertainment". 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-11-23. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
21. "Alexisonfire: Equal Vision Records". Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
22. "Sorepoint Records: Alexisonfire". August 16, 2004. Archived from the original on August 16, 2004. Retrieved February 1, 2013.