Is This Thing Cursed?
album by Alkaline Trio

Is This Thing Cursed? is the ninth studio album by American punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released on August 31, 2018 on Epitaph Records. Produced and mixed by Cameron Webb, the album was announced alongside the release of the lead single, "Blackbird".
It is their first release since 2013's My Shame Is True. It is their final album to be released on Epitaph.
Writing and composition
Vocalist and bassist Dan Andriano compared the recording process to that of the band's early days: "the songwriting process is almost like what it was back in the day. We would just kind of write a song, be excited about it, then move on. We wrote in that spirit in the studio. I really feel like we made a record that the old school fans are going to dig." The band also compared Is This Thing Cursed? to their second album, Maybe I'll Catch Fire (2000).
The public source identifies “Is This Thing Cursed?” as album by Alkaline Trio. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thing, Cursed and album.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Is This Thing Cursed?”, the useful work is to connect “album by Alkaline Trio” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 27, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q56063704. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2018, 2013 and 2000.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Is This Thing Cursed?”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Is This Thing Cursed? primary sources, Is This Thing Cursed? archive and Thing research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Is This Thing Cursed?”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Is This Thing Cursed?” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.