On October 12, 2006, the band announced they had signed with major label V2 Records. In addition, it was mentioned that the band was working on new songs, and was aiming to record a new album in early 2007. However, in January 2007, V2 went through a restructuring process which left the fate of its acts unknown. On July 31, the group announced they had signed to another major label, Epic Records. During this, they played the Warped Tour for two weeks. On the tour, they performed a new track, titled "In Vein". It ended up being the third track on Agony & Irony. Following these dates, the band entered the studio to work on their next album.
Composition
Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record." Regarding the record's sound and influences, Skiba states that he was "listening to a lot of Pat Benatar, Def Leppard and a lot of the 80’s MTV music that I grew up with. So that was a big influence in the writing process, bands like The Cars". Norwegianexperimental band Ulver contributed strings, programming and vocals on "Lost & Rendered" and "In My Stomach." Douglas P. of English neofolk group Death in June contributed a spoken word introduction to "I Found Away". "Help Me" was inspired by the Joy Division film Control. In an interview promoting the album, Matt Skiba cites that:
there’s a theme of duality on the record, it’s sort of a spin on ‘ebony and ivory’ which of course represents black and white. The songs on the new album sort of represent a struggle between good and evil, light and dark, and despair and hope. We felt Agony and Irony was appropriate, I mean we fancy ourselves as being pretty clever, and we felt a play on words was also fitting for the new record. It's also a lyric from 'Flagpole Sitta' by Harvey Danger, so we thought we earn double points for that.
Release
On April 4, "In Vein" was made available for streaming through the band's Myspace profile. It was mentioned that the band's untitled next album would be released in July. through Epic Records. The following day, the band appeared at the Bamboozle Left festival. On April 7, the album's title Agony & Irony and track listing was revealed. On April 22 an "In Vein" EP was released on iTunes. The EP featured two tracks which had already been heard by fans and a new song entitled "Into the Night". "Help Me" was released to radio stations on April 22. In May and June, the band participated in the Zumiez Couch Tour alongside Kandi Coded, Our Last Night and Dr. Manhattan. Agony & Irony was made available for streaming on June 27 on their Myspace. Three days later, a music video for "Help Me" was released. According to Alternative Press, the video "features 100% less on-the-road and concert footage and 100% more Matt Skiba dressed up as someone from Young Guns flying with a jetpack." Agony & Irony was released on July 1 through Epic Records. In October and November, the band supported Rise Against on their headlining tour of the US. Due to Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath becoming ill, Alkaline Trio performed two shows with another band on the tour, Thrice. "Over and Out" impacted radio on October 21. In January and February 2009, the band went on a tour of Europe with the Audition and Broadway Calls. In February and March, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival. Also in March, the band launched a contest for fans to remix "I Found Away" that would be included on a digital release titled Remix EP. In April, the band went on a tour of the east coast and Midwest with Saves the Day and were supported by Death in the Park. Further dates were added, extending the tour into mid-May. Following this, the band supported the Offspring on their Shit Is Fucked Up Tour in May and June. In June 2013, independent label Shop Radio Cast released the album as a two-LP set with a booklet and additional recordings.
