Dog's Blood

Not to be confused with Dog Blood.
Dog's Blood
EP by Alexisonfire
Released October 31, 2010
Recorded August 2010
Genre Post-hardcore,[1] hardcore punk, experimental rock
Length 21:05
Label Dine Alone
Producer Alexisonfire, Jon Drew
Alexisonfire chronology

Old Crows/Young Cardinals
(2009)		 Dog's Blood
(2010)		 Death Letter
(2012)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk (90%)[2]
Alter the Press! [1]
Big Cheese (3/5)[3]
Bring The Noise UK [4]
Chart Attack (2/5)[5]
Music Feeds (favourable)[6]

Dog's Blood is an extended play by the Canadian post-hardcore band Alexisonfire. The EP was released on October 31, 2010. Dog's Blood is a collection of four experimental songs that are ostensibly different-sounding to the band's previously released material.[7] It was the band's penultimate release before their break up in 2011.

Writing and recording

Work on the Dog's Blood EP was originally announced in September 2009, shortly after the release of Old Crows/Young Cardinals in July 2009, and an early 2010 release date was expected.[8] By this point, the band had a small group of songs—one of which was an instrumental song written during the sessions of Old Crows/Young Cardinals, and the rest were written while Alexisonfire was on tour.[9] The title track "Dog's Blood" was originally only a "really crazy riff," that later evolved into a full song.[10] Alexisonfire vocalist George Pettit wrote macabre lyrics that were loosely influenced by Nick Cave.[9] The title track features guest vocals by Olly Mitchell, the former vocalist of Johnny Truant.[11]

The album was recorded and co-produced by Alexisonfire and Jon Drew, the latter of which has also recorded albums for the Canadian bands Fucked Up and Tokyo Police Club.[12] Though much of the EP was written by September 2009, the band did not find time to record Dog's Blood until mid-late 2010 due to their rigorous touring schedule.[13]

Release

Prior to the EP's release, Alexisonfire debuted the album's titled track live at the 2010 CASBY Awards in Toronto, Canada on September 30, 2010, and a recording of the track was posted online.[7] Dog's Blood was supposed to be released through Dine Alone Records on November 2, 2010, though it was distributed internationally on various dates through different labels. Due to a delay in the manufacturing of the Alexisonfire Dog’s Blood EP it was not actually shipped until November 23. The original release date coincided with Alexisonfire's late 2010 tour schedule. A vinyl edition of the album was pressed and limited to 2,000 copies in three different colors obtainable through different outlets: one color available from the band on tours, one available through the band's official webstore, and the final sold in record stores.[12] The EP is also available through online music retailers like iTunes and Amazon.com.[7][14]

All of the tracks on Dog's Blood are songs that the band felt were too different from their other material to ever make it onto a full-length album, and thus released them as an EP of "completely miscellaneous stuff."[10] Alexisonfire used the extended play as a safe medium for releasing their different-sounding songs without receiving backlash from their fan base. According to George Pettit, "If you're disappointed by an EP, you're probably still more than likely to come back for the next record."[13]

The artwork was designed by the American artist named "Skinner." Alexisonfire gave Skinner the EP's title and the band's name, and allowed him to freely design a cover art based on these two aspects alone. The artwork was completed prior to the album's recording.[10] Alexisonfire vocalist and guitarist Dallas Green was a fan of Skinner's work, and decided to contact him to do their artwork. According to Pettit, "Dallas loves [Skinner's] art. He always had pictures of it on his computer. He said, 'We should get this guy to do some art work,' so we got in touch with him and he put together this cool, interesting thing."[13]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Alexisonfire. 

No. Title Length
1. "Dog's Blood"   6:00
2. "Grey"   5:19
3. "Black as Jet"   3:52
4. "Vex"   6:02
Total length:
 21:05

Personnel

Alexisonfire

Additional personnel[11][12]

Release history

Release date[15] Region Label
October 31, 2010 United Kingdom Roadrunner Records
November 1, 2010 Europe
Japan
November 2, 2010 Canada Dine Alone Records
United States Vagrant Records
November 5, 2010 Australia Dine Alone Records

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Berclaz-Lewis, James. "Alter The Press!: Album Review: Alexisonfire - Dog's Blood". alter the press. Buzz Media. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  2. ↑ Tsai, Matthew (October 31, 2010). "Review: Dog's Blood". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  3. ↑ Miles Hackett (October 29, 2010). "Alexisonfire - Dogs Blood | Album Reviews | Big Cheese Magazine". Big Cheese. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  4. ↑ Morris, Carly (October 31, 2011). "Alexisonfire Dog's Blood E.P.". Bring The Noise UK. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  5. ↑ Harper, Kate (November 2, 2010). "Review: Dog's Blood". Chart Attack. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ Jason Strange (12 January 2011). "Review: Alexisonfire – Dogs Blood". Music Feeds. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Adams, Gregory (October 6, 2010). "Alexisonfire Announce New Dog's Blood EP". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  8. ↑ Harper, Kate (September 24, 2009). "Alexisonfire Releasing New EP In 2010". Chart Attack. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bezer, Terry (October 15, 2009). "Alexisonfire Dog's Blood EP Exclusive". Metal Hammer. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Charlesworth, Jenny (March 2, 2010). "Alexisonfire Ready to Record New Dog's Blood EP". Spinner. AOL Music. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Twitter / alexisonfire: http://mysp.ac/abhsqa tell". Twitter.com. 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2012-02-12.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Paul, Aubin (October 6, 2010). "Alexisonfire to release Dog's Blood EP". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Bliss, Karen (July 23, 2010). "Alexisonfire Reveal More Info on Upcoming EP, Dog's Blood". Spinner. AOL Music. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  14. ↑ Faulkner, Cole (October 6, 2010). "Alexisonfire Announce New EP Details". ThePunkSite.com. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Alexisonfire set to release new EP". LambGoat. October 6, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.

External links