Sing the Sorrow, their DreamWorks debut, isn't the wholesale departure from AFI's roots that some longtime fans griped about. It is merely the next step on a path that began with 1999's Black Sails in Sunset, the first album to feature guitarist Jade Puget. Assuming the role of principal songwriter, Puget wrapped vocalist Davey Havok's gothic tendencies in songs that put a finer point on the aggressive hardcore of AFI's earlier material, and massaged hooks from a morass of crashing rhythm, punk rock riffs, and Havok's opaque lyrics. The backing of DreamWorks meant that AFI could now hire major-league production to tweak what Puget had started. And they did. Work on AFI's major-label bow began in August of 2002 at L.A.'s Cello Studios, with Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins) and Jerry Finn (Green Day, Rancid) at the helm. Emerging in early 2003 with Sing the Sorrow, it's clear the molting process AFI began with Black Sails in Sunset is complete. Vig and Finn kept the band's nucleus of pummeling California hardcore but stretched the songs lengthwise to incorporate greater lyrical introspection for Havok and even more attention to melody than on previous efforts. Oscillating between churning verses and intersecting solos and riffs, "The Great Disappointment" is like junior-varsity Fugazi, while the heroic emo chord changes of "This Celluloid Dream" transform Havok's preening wail into a sensitive croon, and single "Girls Not Grey" is a car-radio singalong of pure genius. It's true that the anthemic backing vocal choruses of material like "Girls Not Grey" and "Bleed Black" make the songs more pop than hardcore or even Havok's beloved goth. And the distorted synth and drum programming on "Silver and Cold" and "Death of Seasons" is a cheeky production trick that isn't very successful when married to the songs' upbeat choruses. But neither the producers nor the band went overboard. Just when the strings, piano, and rainstorm effects threaten to turn Sing the Sorrow into a My Dying Bride album, there is a burst of hardcore like "Dancing Through Sunday" to recall California pioneers of the genre like Dead Kennedys or SST transplants Hüsker Dü. Whatever factions of the band's longterm fans might think of their major-label affiliation, Sing the Sorrow represents a coalescing of the band's sound. And that's fine with AFI. "People have always either hated us or loved us," guitarist Puget told MTV.com. "And the reactions tend to be pretty extreme on both sides, but the hatred is just as cool because people are actually reacting. It's either, 'F*ck those guys,' or 'I f*ckin' love AFI. They rock.'"
I'm pretty positive life is complete. AFI put on an awesome show last night!We missed the first opener, which I believe was the Dearly Departed? or the Dear and Departed? something. anyways, we arrived just as they were exiting the stage. Then, Sick of it All came onstage and caused a ruckus in the crowd. They put on a very high energy show. I'd never really heard them before, but judgin...
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I have an obsessive personality. I can't just "like" something. I am either totally obsessed, or just not very interested at all. Well, my latest obsession is kind of embarssing to me. Like 16 year old, giggly girl embarassing.I can't get enough AFI lately; in fact, I just bought the DVD. And I want to stay inside all day and do nothing but watch the DVD. Intervention, folks-- I think I need on...
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I have an obsessive personality. I can't just "like" something. I am either totally obsessed, or just not very interested at all. Well, my latest obsession is kind of embarssing to me. Like 16 year old, giggly girl embarassing.I can't get enough AFI lately; in fact, I just bought the DVD. And I want to stay inside all day and do nothing but watch the DVD. Intervention, folks-- I think I need on...
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This album immediately sends me back to the townhouse that Eric, Russ, Jeff, and all those other guys lived in back when I was in grade 12. Not because I was there a lot or anything, but because it's where I listened to it the first time, thanks to my buddy Michael. He wanted to play it for everybody because there were a couple songs that he though were pretty rad. I remember everyone there (wh...
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I'm pretty positive life is complete. AFI put on an awesome show last night!We missed the first opener, which I believe was the Dearly Departed? or the Dear and Departed? something. anyways, we arrived just as they were exiting the stage. Then, Sick of it All came onstage and caused a ruckus in the crowd. They put on a very high energy show. I'd never really heard them before, but judgin...
More >
Over the last two weekends, thanks to some friends here at school, I got ridiculous amounts of music new and old (Yes, I played nice and shared and all that fun stuff). I'm still sorting through a lot of it, but I'm gonna post and talk about a small helping of it here. My attitudes toward bluegrass and roots-type music waver pretty regularly. Some of it can be really chill and interesting to l...
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Hey.. although no one reads me blogs... ohwell! okay, i got to spend most of time with my love.. awesome.. anyways, our NEW BUILDING is cluttered and everyone was telling me JOhnny Depp was coming to my school. Because everyone knows I'm in love with him. UGH! and then i got in trouble because I had skulls on my leggings and my shirt had a skull on it. and eye liner has to be thin... and YES i ...
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 "Sing the Sorrow")
