1 To Z: Alkaline Trio - 'Mercy Me'

I first heard of Alkaline Trio when adverts for their 'From Here To Infirmary' album started appearing in music magazines in the early 2000's. At that point guitar music still maintained a healthy degree of presence in the singles charts, but the focus had now switched back to American acts. Kids were rocking out to the likes of Blink 182, The Offspring, Green Day and a lot of less impressive groups, some of who were putting a new spin on the punk rock sound for a new generation to discover. After seeing Alkaline Trio's album advertised in lots of publications that hadn't ever reported on them, I finally heard (and saw) the band on MTV2, when 'Private Eye' was played. A couple of years later, 2003 would see the start of a punk phase that I didn't get out of for five years, and Alkaline Trio played their part. 'Mercy Me' immediately grabbed my attention when I heard it on a free CD that was given away with Kerrang! magazine, and turned our to be the highlight of their 'Crimson' album from 2005. Personally I prefer Heavens, a duo that frontman Matt Skiba fronted in 2006...