1996–2000: Early years, Goddamnit and ''Maybe I'll Catch Fire'' Alkaline Trio was formed in December 1996, originally consisting of
Matt Skiba (guitar/lead vocals), Rob Doran (bass/vocals), and Glenn Porter (drums/vocals). 1997 saw the release of the band's first EP,
Sundials. This was followed shortly after by the departure of Rob Doran, after which
Dan Andriano, former singer of
Asian Man Records band
Tuesday and bassist for
Slapstick, took his place and they began recording. The band released their second EP entitled
For Your Lungs Only, in 1998. Later that year, the band released their first full-length
album,
Goddamnit, In 1999, the band released the
I Lied My Face Off EP on
Asian Man Records and filmed their first music video, directed by
Link 80 guitarist
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. Also in 2000, the band released a collection of their previously released
EPs on their self-titled album.
2001–2004: From Here to Infirmary and Good Mourning In 2001, the band released
From Here To Infirmary on
Vagrant Records. This album inspired music videos for the singles "Stupid Kid" and "Private Eye." The album was the band's first album to reach above
Billboard top 200 mark and the first to gross six figures in sales. Their next full-length album was
Good Mourning, released in 2003, with the album's launch single "We've Had Enough" seeing much the same success as the previous single "
Stupid Kid". The album was something of a departure from earlier works, featuring greater production values. The band appeared on various compilation albums, notably
Plea for Peace Vol. 1,
Vagrant Records: Another Year on the Streets Vol. 1, 2, and 3, and
Rock Against Bush Vol. 1. Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano have both independently recorded split records, Skiba with
Kevin Seconds on Asian Man Records and Andriano with Mike Felumlee on Double Zero Records, as well as jointly performing backing vocal duties on the album
This is Unity Music by
Common Rider. They recorded two split EPs: one with
Hot Water Music in 2002 and the other with
One Man Army in 2004. In 2004, Andriano became a member of
The Falcon, a group consisting of
The Lawrence Arms' bassist
Brendan Kelly, previously of
Slapstick (alongside Andriano) and
The Broadways, and drummer Neil Hennessy. The Falcon also saw contributions from
Todd Mohney of
The Killing Tree and formerly
Rise Against. The band released an EP, ''God Don't Make No Trash / Up Your Ass With Broken Glass
in 2005 and its first full-length, Unicornography'' in September 2006.
2005–2008: Crimson and Agony & Irony Alkaline Trio released their fifth studio album on Vagrant Records, titled
Crimson, On January 12, 2007, the North America branch of the label announced that they were undergoing
restructuring to focus on their back catalogue and digital distribution. As a result, their employees were let go and their roster of artists left as free agents. January 30, 2007, marked the release of
Remains an album of B-sides, rarities and live performances. An accompanying DVD contained performances from The Occult Roots Tour and all the band's music videos to date. This marked the end of their association with Vagrant Records. During late May 2007 the band began listing
Epic Records as its label on their MySpace. in 2008 On April 4, 2008, "In Vein" was made available for streaming through the band's
Myspace profile. On April 7, the album's title
Agony & Irony and track listing was revealed.
2009–2011: This Addiction and Damnesia During a concert in May 2009, the band revealed that they were no longer signed to Epic Records and that they would be releasing new material through their own label later in the year. Recording began that July. Four songs from the album ("This Addiction", "Dead On The Floor", "Dine, Dine My Darling", and "Dorothy") were debuted on that tour with
Saves the Day. On November 18, 2009, the band announced that they would be releasing their new album on their own newly formed label, Heart & Skull, a joint venture with
Epitaph Records. In the same article, Skiba also confirmed that the new album would be released on February 23, 2010, with another new song announced, entitled "The American Scream." The trio went back to their home in Chicago to record
This Addiction after recording their last few albums in L.A. The band worked hard to go back to their roots with the album, Atlas Studios being the place they recorded their first three albums. in
Hollywood in support of
This Addiction On December 1, Alkaline Trio confirmed to
Rock Sound that the title of their new album would be
This Addiction: "It is the first song on the record and the title of our new album," said vocalist Matt Skiba. "The song takes heroin addiction as a metaphor for love. The whole record is really personal, all three of us have been through quite a bit since our last album [2008's
Agony & Irony] and it is all expressed through this, all the songs are about the relationships we've been in and so the record has a constant theme." The album debuted at No. 11 on the
Billboard 200, making it the highest the band has ever charted to date. Alkaline Trio released an LP,
Damnesia, on July 12, 2011. Consisting of "a selection of beloved fan favorites selected from the group's extensive catalogue and presented in an intimate semi-unplugged format", the LP also included two new songs, "Olde English 800" and "I Remember a Rooftop", as well as a
cover version of the
Violent Femmes' "I Held Her in My Arms". On October 27, 2012, Skiba confirmed that the band had completed the album. On February 1, 2013, the band released a lyric video for the album's lead single, "
I Wanna Be A Warhol". On February 5, the band released the artwork and track-listing for the album, titled
My Shame Is True, as well as the artwork and track-listing for an EP called
Broken Wing. Both
My Shame Is True and
Broken Wing were released on April 2, 2013. The album peaked at #24 on the Billboard charts The band toured to support the album during 2013. In 2014, the band conducted an anthology tour dubbed the "Past Live" tour, in which they performed all eight studio albums in their entirety over four consecutive shows in several cities.
2016–2021: Is This Thing Cursed? In an interview on July 20, 2015, Dan Andriano was quoted saying, "We need to make a new record, pretty much. We're gonna go to England and play some shows with NOFX, do a couple festivals this fall, but it's time for us to make a new record. But I'm doing some Emergency Room stuff and I'm not sure what Matt's gonna be up to with the Sekrets, if he's gonna tour on that, but I think by early next year we're gonna be recording another record." While the production of the ninth album was postponed by Matt Skiba's work with
Blink-182, in an interview on July 3, 2016, Skiba assured that the album would move forward, saying, "I'll be writing for a new Alkaline Trio record while on this summer tour so once things with Blink cool down a bit, the Trio can go in and make a new record and start touring again while Blink is on break. [...] It's such a unique and wonderful position to be in, having two full time bands that people – myself included – are big fans of." Alkaline Trio opened for the Misfits on December 28 and 30, 2017. On January 11, 2018, the band announced that the Chicago stop during their 2014/15 Past Live Tour (all eight studio albums performed in four nights) will be released in its entirety on
Blu-ray, and as an eight-
LP box set.
Past Live will be released in February 2018. In addition to this announcement, the band also hinted at new music coming soon. Andriano stated that "There's not an inch of me that feels like we're done making music, or we're done making new stuff. I wanna be a band that people want to hear new stuff from. Because I feel like I'm still in a band that wants to write good, new music." Alkaline Trio was slated to perform at the Self Help Festival on March 3, 2018. However, they were forced to back out after Skiba went through throat surgery. The band shared on Instagram: "Matt's recovery from throat surgery is not healing as quickly as planned and, per his doctor, he can't perform. Everything went well, he just needs more time to heal so he can play many shows in the future. Thank you for understanding." On July 19, 2018, Alkaline Trio announced their ninth studio album,
Is This Thing Cursed?, along with the release of the lead single, "
Blackbird." The band also went on a North American tour to support the album with opening act,
Together Pangea. On August 2, 2018, it was announced on Skiba's Instagram that Grant would not be drumming on the tour due to ongoing health problems. Skiba and Andriano recruited former
My Chemical Romance touring drummer,
Jarrod Alexander, to fill in for Grant on the tour, which began the next day in Dallas, Texas and ended on October 18 in Santa Cruz, California, while the album was released on August 31. In January 2020, the band posted a picture of Andriano in a recording studio with the subtitle "New Jams!" (as well as some pictures with Skiba and Andriano in vocal booths) on Instagram, indicating that work on new material was on its way. On March 19, 2020, the band released a three-song
EP entitled
E.P. after postponing a planned tour with
Bad Religion due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, with the songs being recorded before the pandemic. Drummer Derek Grant returned to the band around this time, after taking a lengthy break. Skiba announced in
Instagram comments in April 2020 that he is currently writing more music for the band. In June 2021, the tour with Bad Religion was rescheduled with the first show taking place in
Riverside, California, on October 15, 2021.
2022–2024: Grant's departure and Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs In March 2022, the band went on a UK co-headlining tour with
Taking Back Sunday. During an interview on the tour, Grant discussed their plans for new music, stating that new songs had mostly been played at soundchecks, but that "things are starting to kind of take shape, and I think we're at the stage now where we're ready to start actually kind of committing to tape somehow, even if it's just on an iPhone at you know, soundchecks." Grant also discussed plans for a 20th anniversary celebration for
Good Mourning, explaining that he had some ideas for what they may want to do, such as shows or a rerelease of the album. On June 8, 2023, Grant announced his departure from the band after 22 years, citing mental health reasons and a desire to pursue music production and graphic design. On June 15, the band announced
Atom Willard (who had previously served as a touring replacement in 2001) as their new drummer. On October 17, 2023, the band officially announced their next album
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs with a release date of January 26, 2024. This was accompanied by the release of the album's title track and the announcement of a 2024 headlining tour with
Drug Church. In the following weeks, the band also released the album's second single, "
Bad Time" on November 30, 2023. The album features the last contributions from Grant, as he had completed his drum parts prior to his departure. The album's third single, "Versions of You", came out on January 5, 2024. In support of the
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs, Alkaline Trio embarked on multiple headlining tours with support from
Drug Church, Worriers,
Spanish Love Songs, and Slomosa, while also supporting
Dropkick Murphys on their 2024 Australian tour. Later that year, the band also released a joint single "The Sacrifice / At Sickness." The band initially recorded the songs in the same sessions for
Blood, Hair, and Eyeballs, but cut them from the final track list for time reasons.
2025–present: Recording with Travis Barker, Willard's departure and Peterson's arrival On July 18, 2025, the band released, "Oblivion", the first in a series of three stand-alone singles produced by Matt Skiba's former Blink-182 bandmate,
Travis Barker. The tracks marked Atom Willard's recording debut for the band, with Alkaline Trio set to support blink-182 on their "Missionary Impossible" tour between August and October 2025. Reflecting on the recording process, Skiba noted: "I don’t think I’ve ever had such a great time in the studio. We'd wanted to get into the studio with Atom as soon as he’d joined the band and we finally found the time to do it. [...] I was blown away by how natural and amazing Travis is in the role of a producer and by the beauty and serenity of his studio. We had initially gone in thinking we would do a cover we’d been playing with, to take the pressure off of our first recording with Atom but ended up with three new songs." Andriano elaborated, suggesting that the band will continue to work with Barker in the future: "Matt’s been on fire lately, between him having so many good ideas and Travis being so easy and cool to work with we could’ve stayed in there forever. It’s always exciting when working with a producer for the first time, but Travis really blew us all away. He had so many cool and thoughtful ideas for all aspects of the tunes, from structure and writing suggestions to mix ideas, it was awesome. I have a feeling we might just do this again!" The band released two further singles from the sessions, "Bleeding Out" and "Surprise, Surprise", in September and October, respectively. On February 2, 2026, drummer
Atom Willard announced on his
Instagram that he left the band, stating: "I have parted ways with Alkaline Trio. Thanks to everyone who made my time there so awesome, very thankful for the experience. I am currently considering all studio, collaboration, and touring opportunities." On March 21, 2026, the band announced that drummer Tosh Peterson had joined the band as Willard's replacement. In a statement on Instagram, Skiba wrote: "I met Tosh at Swingers a few months back for lunch, to meet up and discuss the possibility of him playing in Alkaline Trio. Tosh’s mom was also there, who turned out to be a fellow history buff so her and I spent half the lunch talking about
Churchill and the
Miracle of Dunkirk while Tosh politely ate his fries. He later told Dan that if we had had a problem with his mom coming to lunch he probably didn’t want to play with us anyway. Apart from the absolute MONSTER he is behind a drum kit he is just a lovely guy: KIND, polite, enthusiastic, driven and HILARIOUS. I told Dan I wouldn’t want Tosh to play with us if he HADN’T brought his mom. Tosh is a beautiful human being we’re very excited to travel and play music with and a drummer we couldn’t be more thankful to be able to welcome into OUR family." Alongside his forthcoming work with Alkaline Trio, Peterson is
Lady Gaga's live drummer, and he has performed and toured with
Troye Sivan,
Filter,
Fall Out Boy,
Machine Gun Kelly and
Lil Nas X, amongst others. ==Music style, influences, lyrics, related bands, and similar bands==