AFI – Sing The Sorrow (2xLP, 45rpm)

After three EPs, five albums and over 600,000 units sold, Sing The Sorrow is AFI's major debut. Produced by Jerry Finn (Green Day, Rancid, Jawbreaker) and Garbage's Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), the album shows the passion for music that characterizes AFI. AFI (A Fire Inside) first came together in 1991 during their high school years in Ukiah, California. Part of the band later studied at college in New Jersey and the band was put on hold for the time being. In the mid-nineties, they reunited for a one-off concert. Shortly after the show, the band decided to leave college to devote themselves solely to music. They could hit the big time with their sixth hardcore punk album; they certainly have the potential to rise from the underground to the big leagues.

Reviews

J. Hentschel in Rolling Stone 5/03: "The return of tattooed stadium rock'n'roll to a level worthy of discussion."

"Sing The Sorrow", co-produced by Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day, Jawbreaker) and Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), retains the aggression and pathos typical of the Bay Area band and pushes further and further into uncharted territory, such as the virtuoso guitar intro of "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" or the industrial-inspired break and Dead Can Dance-esque outro of "Death Of Seasons".

Meanwhile, first single "Girl's Not Grey" is a standout track from its sublime intro to the beautifully subdued verses to the rousing choruses, both reminiscent of AFI coming into their own on 2000 album "The Art Of Drowning" and hinting at a variety of future directions. For purists, "Dancing Through Sunday" and "Bleed Black" are peppered with generous sing-along opportunities and hard-hitting, bombproof riffs and rhythms. And like virtually every track on "Sing The Sorrow", they're all imbued with alternately brooding and celebratory lyrical imagery of rebirth, resurrection and apocalypse, all of which are somehow deeply personal - in other words, classic AFI.

"When you play a style of music that doesn't really fit anywhere, you're taking a risk. You're challenging people to leave their niche, their preconceived notions of what they're supposed to like. Luckily we have a lot of people who just focus on the music and appreciate us for what we are. So we have fans from all different genres of music, the jocks, the scary kids, skaters, college kids, punk rockers, hardcore kids, metal kids, all of that." - Davey Havok