Silver Bleeds The Black Sun...

About

AFI is no stranger to goth’s dark arts, from the tortured hardcore anguish of 1999’s classic <i>Black Sails in the Sunset</i> and the smeared-guyliner sound of 2003’s commercial breakthrough <i>Sing the Sorrow</i> to the inky rock music of 2021’s <i>Bodies</i>. But on the California legends’ 12th studio album <i>Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…</i>, 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.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →