Silver Bleeds the Black Sun...
AFI is no stranger to goth’s dark arts, from the tortured hardcore anguish of 1999’s classic *Black Sails in the Sunset* and the smeared-guyliner sound of 2003’s commercial breakthrough *Sing the Sorrow* to the inky rock music of 2021’s *Bodies*. But on the California legends’ 12th studio album *Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…*, Davey Havok and company journey further into the shadowy sounds of 1980s rock than ever before. The anthemic “Blasphemy & Excess” is immediately reminiscent of Siouxie & The Banshees’ dark-clothing fantasias, while spring-loaded guitar lines bounce around “Ash Speck in a Green Eye” in a manner not unlike Joy Division’s singular sonic miserabilia. Splashy drums abound courtesy of longtime sticksman Adam Carson, whose machine-gun rhythms have mutated into pounding heartbeats—but the biggest change apparent is Havok’s voice, which has taken on a distinctly dramatic timbre after decades of howling into the void. AFI is still reinventing itself more than 30 years in, and longtime fans of this group would never expect anything less.
AFI has never been a band to shy away from evolution. In fact, they encourage it as a natural progression of their sound. For the last 33 years, the
Charlotte Griffiths reviews the new album by AFI. Read her review of 'Silver Bleeds the Black Sun' here on Distorted Sound!
AFI - Silver Bleeds The Black Sun review: AFI's latest transformation is inconsistently brilliant, offering scattered glimpses of how wonderfully this band could age should they ever piece together the loose ends of the puzzle.