This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
A.F.I.: Davey Havok (vocals); Jade Puget (guitar); Hunter (bass); Adam Carson (drums).
Recorded at Cello Studios, Los Angeles, California.
SING THE SORROW was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package.
This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
With its major label debut SING THE SORROW, AFI (aka A Fire Inside), has made the leap from being strictly hardcore punk denizens to a more complex outfit dabbling in goth guitar textures and a soaring sound. With Nirvana/Smashing Pumpkins producer Butch Vig and Green Day/Rancid knob-twirler Jerry Finn manning the board, this transition ends up being a smooth one. Swirling synths, disembodied harmonies and the Tool-like bashing of drummer Adam Carson help the foreboding "Miseria Cantare" set a mood closer to Dead Can Dance than the Dead Kennedys. Although "Death of Season" predominantly rides a hardcore vibe, the most obvious indicators that this ain't your older brother's punk rock are "The Leaving Song Pt. II," with its sing-along-chorus and pounding rhythm, the dark Cult-like rocker "Bleed Black," and "This Celluloid Dream," a charged anthem of vulnerability.
Further indications that AFI successfully straddles the worlds of mainstream acceptance and street credibility are radio-friendly songs like "The Leaving Song" and "The Great Disappointment" featuring Jade Puget's melodic riffing and Davey Havok's heartfelt crooning. This Bay Area quartet seals the innovative SING THE SORROW with "Girl's Not Grey," a perfect pop-punk song that rides along on catchy, chanting harmonies and churning guitar.
What the critics say...
Rolling Stone (3/20/03, p.64) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...SING THE SORROW is a dark planet that refracts various strains of rock, from punk to hardcore to metal to mope rock, and beckons everyone to twist and shout along..."
Spin (4/03, pp.101-2) - "...Retaining nu metal's most-friendly sonic whomp, the band replace the genre's pervasive despair with open-hearted punk uplift....Even this record's darkest moments sound hopeful..."
Q (01/01/04, p.79) - Ranked #23 in Q's "The 50 Best Albums of 2003" - "[Incorporates] U2's dynamics and Killing Joke's apocalyptic atmospherics..."
