Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. This Addiction is a chiseled, go-for-broke disc with a modicum of overdubs, melodic flourishes, and even harmonies.
  2. Alkaline Trio aren’t naïve punk rockers from the Chicago suburbs anymore, as a result this album fails to recapture that innocence but succeeds in creating another strong body of work that the group can be proud of.
  3. Q Magazine
    80
    The title track sets the tone with its exploration of heroin addiction as a metaphor for relationships, but it's "The American Scream"--a gritty, neo-gothic parable--that best illustrates Alkaline Trio's unique take on three chords and the truth. [Mar 201, p.97]
  4. This Addiction promises exactly what the title describes, as most older fans will eat this up.
  5. Fans will be pleased to find Alkaline Trio remembering what it's like to be itself.
  6. Alternative Press
    70
    While This Addiction might not be perfect, it's a more than respectable entry into the band's already sizable canon, proving that though they may be in that rarified group of punk-rock lifers, Alkaline Trio aren't done evolving yet. [Mar 2010, p.89]
  7. 70
    Hooky, blood-soaked bad-love allegories such as "Draculina" and "Dine, Dine My Darling" (check the punny Misfits nod) satisfy like heartburn-inducing comfort food.
  8. This Addiction is interesting and ultimately noteworthy because it finds a way to continue on with the band’s winning schematics while tweaking the blueprints in such a way that it's almost hard to notice that you’ve been duped by all the seeming predictability.
User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. Mar 31, 2022
    10
    A really great album...period. Glad to hear them going back to there old roots but with a fresh sound. Matt sounds great and Dorathy andA really great album...period. Glad to hear them going back to there old roots but with a fresh sound. Matt sounds great and Dorathy and PIss and Vinager are the stand tracks for me. Great job guys! Full Review »
  2. Jan 2, 2014
    7
    This Addiction offers something newer for Alkaline Trio. They've dropped the gritty punk sound that they developed in their early albums andThis Addiction offers something newer for Alkaline Trio. They've dropped the gritty punk sound that they developed in their early albums and got rid of the over-production that they had on Agony and Irony. It's a solid album but it still feels like a sound yet to be mastered. Some songs are instant classics, while others fall as flat as half of all the other pop-punk messes out there. The album as a whole holds up and is genuinely enjoyable. An album that should definitely be a part of any ak3 fan's music library. Full Review »