afi

sing the sorrow

‘”Radiate. Recognize one silent call as we all form one dark flame. Incinerate. Love your hate, your faith lost. You are now one of us,” chants Davey Havok on “Miseria Cantare,” the prologue to “Sing the Sorrow,” AFI’s magnum opus and sixth album.

“You are now one of us,” an ever so eerie statement that is both

cultish and brazenly dark in its ramifications, the most descriptive example of what to expect from goth-punk icons AFI.

If you are not among their legion of fans yet, this album will reconcile those differences. As the band promised in interviews prior to the album’s release, “Sing the Sorrow” will defy all expectations of AFI fans, as their fourth release “Black Sails in the Sunset,” did so long ago.

This album is a long way down the road from the band’s earlier albums, such as “Answer That and Stay Fashionable.” The band has moved to a major label, flexed their muscle, and shown just what they can do if provided with the right space and resources. AFI has taken the sound that they began to define in their previous album, “The Art of Drowning,” and has expounded upon it, refined it, and made it much more alluring and distinguished.

While maintaining the same punk roots and relying on all that their fans have come to know and love as AFI, this is a band that prides itself on having the ability to redefine themselves with each passing album. Each album gets progressively darker and more complex. This one adds on the assistance of a choir, orchestral instrumentation, and “dark wave” drums that point heavily to an influence from bands such as VNV Nation.

Although Davey Havok’s voice is strong and has an impressive range, the lyrical content of the songs and his high-pitched screams have always bordered on the odd combination of ’80s Glam Rock and pop punk sensations such as A Newfound Glory. It is reminiscent of these sounds, which is the one prominent downside to AFI, but it still has the ability to prove its distinctness and uniqueness.

As the title may suggest, and as any AFI fan already knows, these are not lighthearted topics that Havok touches upon in his songs. The songs are moody and evoke a depression of gothic darkness. Still, something of a radiant, resplendent beauty shines forth from the album.