Alkaline Trio - The Torture Doctor Lyrics

I love trio!!! My go to kick ass band!

Acoustic Cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbYwn8557EI

I'm so tires of being wired wrong.... all my life

First head this in the tattoo shop I go to a lot, so glad I heard it!

I'm completely in love with this song and this band <3

this is beautiful <3

this is the alkaline trio ive grown up loving.

+MrNorthernlights4 So you grew up in 2013? Because this song is barely 3 years old.

He means this is the closest thing to older Alkaline on the record. And he's right. Brilliant song and Skiba at his finest.

+santaclara84 you got that right! and to the previous person, i grew up to maybe ill catch fire and singles

+Nick V lol yaaa... im 31 years old. goddamnit was what i grew up on. or well, the first 3 LPs (adding in from here to infirmary)

this song is based off of H.H. Holmes. the character James March in American horror story is also based off of him.

This song is about H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer. All of Holmes' killings took place in Chicago, which is actually where Alkaline Trio is from. H.H. Holmes is also known as "The Torture Doctor".

The song is about H.H. Holmes, the Chicago serial killer.

I think this song is about the doctor in the second season in American Horror Story.

H.H. Holmes more likely

Sweet Song!

Damn everybody bashing this song.. It's the first song I heard by them.. Then again I'm black..lol

Because my rave would over look this music anyday and that's real.. Im straight out the hood of Atlanta. This music doesn't make it down here to often.. You have to step outside the box

lol, I live in and attend school in Camden, NJ. I know a bunch of people who like this sort of music, even here. "Straight out the hood" hahaha

You laughing but it's true... For one you in the north and this the south.. There are still big culture blocks even tho dudes wearing white boy skinny jeans around here.. Me being one of them.. Music doesn't travel like that around here. White boys listen to rap and rock and niggas listen to rap and r&b very rare to find a black dude FROM THE HOOD no quotes necessary that listens to rock and other music because it's culturally not acceptable

+devin quinn I'm black and alkaline trio is pretty much favorite band beside blink-182

I love that you like ak3. Black or not buddy.

U guys ROCK....

i like the retro footage in these videos what are they?

Such a great song. Thanks Alk3!

alkaline trio will always be relevant tbh

Dude no joke. One of the few bands that has failed to disappoint me. I'll even admit that I liked most of Agony and Irony, but since they went onto their own label they keep pumping out the sound that any old school fan should love and appreciate.

what a tune love the trio

though* (mustard crust)

This isn't even close to their best songs, but it's still good. You don't deserve to be here. You have the IQ of mustard crust and that's being generous.

So two more songs than you've produced....

Matt Skiba is the fuckin' man

like it

what a song

Try 720 (HD) Its fab!:D

hey hoeee

I didn't think much of this song at first, but it is damn catchy. Can't get it out of my head.

omg Dr. H. H. Holmes

Forgot to add...the same ones complaining that it's lazy and only like the old stuff,would be bitching even louder if the album actually sounded like that old stuff. They would say they were tired and needed to be more original.

Totally agree...I figure the ones doing the complaining couldn't have really grown up with this band. I mean seriously, these guys are closer to 40 than 30. Would it really sound authentic to hear them still screaming and all that they did on their first albums? They were angry youth, and now they're older bad ass musicians! Honestly, I was 20 when I found them and I'm 33 now...if I heard Cringe now I'd probably turn it off! But this album is just flat out great start to finish

i've been an ak3 fan since maybe 2001 (2000?) when i saw them at wetlands on the best plea for peace tour ever...i like this album....but sometimes i wish for the jaded misanthropy of the 24-27 year old skiba...even though i'm now 32. when i read stuff i wrote at 25 it makes me cringe...but with ak3...it just sounds right.

Cheers to that! Go Trio

looool.

...Or, I always grimace when someone segues into an assertion with "Fact is...", because of overwhelming odds that what they're about to claim will be questionable at best and mad stupid at worst, and that has held true here.

Golly. Momentarily ignoring that I too would be perfectly fine if either of those bands actually HAD puit out the same record ten times over...you're really giving achildleftburning a run for the money in the idiocy dept here. BYO split...Good Mourning...Crimson...This Addiction...all flat-out identical in every respect. from style to production? Er, ok. Greatest Story Ever Told? Utterly indistinguishable from Oh Calcutta! Don;t say "instantly moot"...you sound like a doofus.

the cock it thickens and grows

Daniel man, i love this band... but that's funny as fuck. You can't unhear it.

I dont want to join the hate group, but I really disliked their last album. So far this one is golden. I dont care if its their older stuff or not. Have they changed? Sure. Most bands do. Most bands mature. Now they know how to work with each other better. Get that sound that they want versus clashing into a mess.

I know there are real true Trio fan's out there who I think can relate with me on that they keep making music for the fans that can relate to their songs and all that so to the little new comer's who dont know shit about music nor Trio in general do me a favor and go listen to something else!

Beautiful! The lyrics remind me of circa This Could Be Love Days, but with a newer sound!

I've heard this song a million times by a million pop punk bands and never liked it.

Too true dude

YES PLEASE DOCTOR!

Harmonies are out-of-this-world fantastic on this whole album. TEAM ANDRIANO.

That is awesome!

..But, the music quality. Not a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

@NormalGuys BeardsClub well said. Too well said.

@Muc Bird never said the old stuff isn't better. the first four releases are classics, and I don't think they'll ever match them. but I've enjoyed everything since, and love Crimson which is a great record when you look past the genre and accept that it's not an old Trio album. and any band that puts out a b-sides album that is liked better than some of their proper studio releases, well your discography is in pretty damn good shape.

Could be ,but 3 of them are very good

FUCK YES.

Ya'll let me know when and what i listen is punk enough. Are these jeans to tight? I only got one x on my hand, half a hawk, i haven't washed my shirt, but at the same time its a pacsun shirt just so i can fall in all the categories that are needed. Rocking safety pins in my hoodie but don't worry- its a dark hoodie. Heard this bullshit for years- so let me know. Till then, the story plays on and you sit on your throne. Douche bags.

Crimson (And arguably Good Morning) to present was a change in style.

Don't be that guy.

What people don't know is that alkaline trio has only written 4 songs over the years. They all sound the same!

Also
'This band has one of the most solid discographies ever'.........-_-
please

Can't agree with you normal guys.
The old stuff is actually way better maybe just cos that's what i was into at the time i dunno.
They seem to be making terrible music these days and should probably have retired when the whole punk pop rock thing died.
Fuck hipsters
be real
this is shit

Beautifully said :)

I think you're forgetting their complete change of style in Damnation.

I bet the acoustic version of this song will be at least as good as this! :D

NGBC well said. Heart an Skulls forever

@NormalGuys BeardsClub wow, shut up. are u familiar with the concept of oversimplification, generalization, or hyperbole

love the verse

shame that the Trio fans that are most outspoken are the ones with sticks up their asses and are only allowed to like their old stuff. oh no theres an old-school punk "hey ho" chant. yup that automatically makes it lazy and shit. get over yourselves hipsters. this band has one of the most solid discographies ever and it's a shame some people are just too cool to appreciate that.

to be honest i like the "hey ho" part, it's catchy. >_>

These guys are still so so good!! The Torture Doctor is a great song!

Hey Ho!!!

Such a great song...and then they forgot the chorus so they just sand "Hey Ho". I love AT, but this is crap. Finish a god damned song.

dude they released im only here to dissapoint and its a dan song as well :D

take out the hey oh and you got a great song

Without no doubt EVERYONE should check out

I love this song, this album is very different from their early stuff, but they've just developed as a band, it's part of being a musician.

not really impressed. then again i rarely am with new trio. then it grows on me like mold. for some reason i notice a trend that bill stevenson influences bands to suppress certain aspects of songs as of late(i.e. hot water music, rise against, bouncing souls) to create a more fluid and streamlined sound, as opposed to a build up ending in an "anthem" type ending.

HEY HO HEY HO HEY HO HEY HO, Fuck You

i wanna be a warhol is terrible, but this and i, pessimist are great

fucking nice catch! I love it haha

Really liking the sound of this new album

Set the video to 240p and it totally adds to the B movie experience! AK3 <3

We talked so much we filled this ash tray twice... Shut up and Fucking Listen.

What's the matter big man? Commenting on the comments causing you an issue? Deary me. I'll see you had at least the sense to remove it, so I'll give you credit for that. Fact is 'AK3' sound hasn't altered for shit in the last 10 years. That's not a problem for me, in the same way The Lawrence Arms or other bands of the genre don't. You can't back up your argument with 'it's science' because that's as transient as any other argument. INSTANTLY MOOT, as @achildleftburning says.

Oh, I comprehend what you've said just fine. It's just comically stupid. You claim to not buy into a notion for which there is an abundance of empirical evidence (that being the, oh, thousands of artists whose sounds have evolved over time). Most artists, save for the biggest of mongoloids, don't wish to shit out the exact same record ten times over. And must fans, save for the same, don't want them to. Are you really under the impression artists' sounds don't evolve organically?

Yeah Agony and Irony blew. Definitely the absolute bottom for Alkaline Trio.

While I wasn't fussed on the music of songs like Kiss Kiss, Dan's lyrics were great and for the first time better than Matt's on an album. Dan gets better and better. Loving these new ones though.

'Kiss kiss' was fucking great!!! 'You're making me sick' etc... Sheesh!

I mean, we all say dumb shit now and again, but just own up to it instead of trying to awkwardly shuck and jive your way around it.

lyrics remind me of maybe ill catch fire era
minus the hey ho bit
so far excited for new album

I think thats what the song is about.

The lines he writes seem to be about how he can't live the life of the angsty, angry rocker anymore. He can't fake or force the pain and misery. He has grown past it, and forcing himself to be the image he always was is just as painful.

Atleast that is what it sounds like to me.

Agony and Irony was their worst album, hands down. The only good song on it is Calling all Skeletons and it's a damn good song but it doesn't make up for shit like Love Love, Kiss Kiss... From what I've heard so far, I like this more than anything they've done since Good Mourning.

Damnesia was awesome though! Nobody covers Trio like Trio

Skiba is 37 now. he and alkaline trio have evolved and so have I. nostalgia is the reason i wont like any of their future albums as much as the past ones. Still, Matt Skiba can do no wrong in my book. ill still be buying the album and hopefully catching them on tour.

Further down the rabbit-hole for Skiba. He probably wrote these lyrics in his drug-induced sleep. Song is catchy, but so is every other song they've ever done, and catchy doesn't equal good music. We'll see how the rest of the album sounds.

people who say this song is nowhere near as good as their old stuff: if only there was some way to hear those songs again...

I think Skiba is just trying too hard to hold onto his youth and he needs to let it go. Dan probably let go a long time ago and his solo album is proof of that. Apparently, however, most of the songs on this upcoming album are going to be very personal, so I plan on going in fully open minded and await the outcome.

Truth. The consolation is that a new album means a new tour. In Boston/RI they always play a great mix of their discography, lots of older stuff. I've lost track of how many times I've seen them over the last 10+ years but they are probably about as good as they've ever been live. So at least there is that.

Alkaline Trio is one of my fave bands

I don't know why people whine and complain so much.. maybe they need to let go off of"Goddammit" and accept change. to me every album that they have released is great in its own unique way. Every album has its own thing. They give their fans variety, some people dont like Crimson some people do etc..