DALLAS GREEN AND WADE McNEIL EXPLAIN WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE THE BAND’S LAST ALBUM — FROM 13 YEARS AGO! — INCLUDING THEIR GUITAR DYNAMIC
By Adam Kovac
IN THE 13 years since Alexisonfire released their last full-length album, much has changed. Screamo has gone from being a punchline to a beloved nostalgic era, as evidenced by the huge crowds jamming into Emo Nights across the continent.
But when it came time to get back in the studio, capping off a reunion that until now has generated just a handful of singles to go along with regular touring, capitalizing on nostalgia was the last thing the Canadian quintet had in mind. The result of those sessions, Otherness, is a moodier affair. As always, the band is relying on singer/guitarist Dallas Green’s angelic voice for the hooks, punctuated by the demonic screaming of George Pettit and gravelly whiskey-and-cigarettes tenor of Wade McNeil. But the album relies less on the fleet-fingered riffing of past releases and more on delay-drenched atmospheric guitar lines to complement the trio of voices.
“The approach over the years has changed to allow everything to have its own space,” McNeil says. “I think that’s really important. It’s more to benefit the song — and finding the most important part that we want people to hold onto.”
Green, whose folky side project City and Colour released several albums during AoF’s hiatus, had seen his own guitar playing undergo an evolution. As the band began work on Otherness, it was agreed that for the first time he and McNeil would split guitar duties along more conventional roles than ever before.
“On this record, I really became the lead guitar player of the band, just in terms of the way we were doing songs and Dal and my respective interests in
