Band: AFI
Album: Bodies
VÖ: 11.06.2021
Label/Vertrieb: Rise Records/BMG
Website: http://afireinside.net/
AFI are leaders, not followers. A collective in a perpetual state of creative evolution as fluid as the evocative figures contorting on the cover of Bodies, their newest collection of songs. The record is a snapshot of unrelenting artists in motion, unconcerned with compromise or outside demands.
AFI's unshakeable connection with their audience is a testament to the band's knack for reinvention, renewal, and exploration, anchored by an unblemished authenticity. AFI songs are embedded in the spiritual DNA of a legion of supporters and Bodies is further demonstration of AFI's unwavering commitment to artistic exploration, a dark conjuration of an uncapturable muse.
The band initially summoned a steady subcultural groundswell in the mid-90s, devoid of careerist ambitions. The band first made music as teenaged misfits in an obscure Northern California town, steadily assembling a dense catalog over the years marked by its diversity and authenticity.
"AFI is such an integral part of who I am. What we do with AFI together is a foundation for me," explains frontman Davey Havok. "Coming back is a return to a home I've always known."
It's a sentiment shared by the entire band. "I couldn’t do what I do in AFI in any other place," observes guitarist Jade Puget. "Davey and I have written songs together for over 20 years now. I couldn't find the thing he and I have together anywhere else, nor the thing the four of us have when we come together. AFI is home for me and will always be that."
"At this point, it's not even a choice. It's just what I do," drummer Adam Carson concurs. "I started this band with Davey when I was 16. It's something that I love so much. It's just a part of me."
"Every album is an opportunity to show people a snapshot of our evolution," adds bassist Hunter Burgan. "And with this band, it's always something fresh. We’ve been playing together for so long that I have a deep understanding of each of my bandmates‘ musical styles, and yet I am still pleasantly surprised by the new things they bring to each record."
AFI never stepped into the mainstream; the masses came to them. The platinum success of Sing the Sorrow blazed a path for a generation of hardcore-punk weaned bands to similarly crossover. 2006's Decemberunderground upended expectations again and earned AFI a second platinum plaque. Crash Love was another adventurous turn, with expansive and almost optimistic-sounding melodies, glistening with emotion. The haunting Burials arrived four years later, debuting in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The self-titled follow-up, commonly referred to as "the Blood Album," became AFI's second-highest charting album since their inception, debuting at No. 5 in 2017.
"Anyone who knows our catalog knows that no two records really sit together," Puget points out. "Some sit a little closer, maybe. We do certain things, just by virtue of who we are, that are consistent, but those things come about organically. Every time we do something, I have to judge it on its own merits. Some fans are going to judge a new album, or a new song, based on what's come before. But as artists, we can't do that, because it would only hinder our creativity."
Bodies was mixed by Tony Hoffer (Depeche Mode, Belle & Sebastian) and mastered by Vlado Meller (Oasis, Pink Floyd). Puget produced the album and handled most of the engineering.
Like similarly artistically-minded iconic bands, AFI's ever-evolving identity has kept their sound, themes, and overall image fresh. A place in rock n' roll history assured by magical musical androgyny, both post-modern and timeless, AFI remains guided by the flames of authenticity and determination that defined their first ten albums and are sure to drive the next ten and beyond.
Infos zur vorherigen VÖ:
Band: AFI
EP: The Missing Man
VÖ: 07.12.2018
Label: Ex Noctem Nacimur
Website: http://afireinside.net/
Los Angeles, CA (October 26, 2018) – It’s a morning of surprises for AFI fans, beginning with today’s release of new track “Get Dark.
The second surprise is that “Get Dark” is the first track from a special EP titled The Missing Man (Ex Noctem Nacimur), which was produced and mixed by AFI guitarist Jade Puget and is slated for a December 7threlease.
“Thanks to the unexpected continuation of The Blood Tour, we found ourselves inspired to begin writing,” says AFI lead vocalist Davey Havok. “It was during this process that The Missing Man was found.”
About “Get Dark,” Havok says, “From the initial performance and recording, it had a driving sense of forward movement and penetrating connection. The song’s themes of deification and deference, self-loathing and vanity, captivation and release, damage and healing, are posed in a subtle invitation to those inherently compelled to accept.”
About the production, Puget says, “I was aiming for something a little raw for ‘Get Dark.’ In fact, I used most of the vocal takes from the very first time Davey sang it, as well as some of my guitar parts from when we were writing it. The song is built on the sparseness and simplicity of the verse drum groove and guitar riff that opens up into this big anthemic chorus. For the EP, the same idea of a certain rawness was really important to the overall vibe. I feel like it’s easy to turn out a slick, polished set of songs, but to walk that fine line between studio creation and live sound can be difficult. It’s been an intense labor of love and we can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
The Missing Man follows last year’s AFI (The Blood Album), which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Hard Rock Albums Charts and No. 5 on The Billboard 200. It was the band’s second consecutive Top 10 Billboard debut following 2013’s Burials.
Alternative Press and Q gave AFI (The Blood Album) 4 stars each, AV Club said it sounded like the band are “as fired up now as they were 25 years ago,” People magazine made it a Pick of the Week, Kerrang called it a “serious contender” for the Best Albums of 2017 list, The 405 praised it as “their strongest album in a decade” and ABC News gave it 3.5 stars and described it as “a dynamic record that should please both old and new fans of the band.”
Since the release of 1995’s debut album Answer That and Stay Fashionable, AFI has written and recorded five top ten hit singles (“Miss Murder,” “Medicate,” “Love Like Winter,” “Silver and Gold,” “Girl’s Not Grey”), hit No. 1 on The Billboard 200 (with the stunning Decemberunderground), garnered worldwide critical acclaim and amassed a fiercely loyal global following whose members number in the millions.
