AFI - Sing The Sorrow
Widely considered to be AFI's breakthrough album, Sing The Sorrow is a polarizing work amongst fans. It's the band's first release on a major label and some consider it to be a shift in sound and style compared to previous works. One thing is for sure, it is a landmark album for the band. AFI at this point has been honing their style of melodic hardcore punk mixed with elements of Gothic literature and horror. Their previous album, The Art Of Drowning, was the pinnacle of this sound and a real masterpiece for the band. This album still maintains that sound while adding a layer of sheen and polish that can either be seen as losing focus of their roots or improving on an established sound.
It really is a mixed bag when it comes to style and sound. A lot of the songs like The Great Disappointment and ...But Home Is Nowhere really put the horror style out in front with haunting, ethereal imagery, chilling guitar chords, and powerful vocals. They're the best examples of the style they had been honing with added production values. Then there's songs like Dancing Through Sunday, a pulsing fairly heavy song, with a more hard rock sound, with punk elements. It's an example of the band really branching out in terms of sound. Their first single Girl's Not Grey is another example of this new direction. Elements of punk manage to bleed through with a pumping drum beat and a chanting vocal refrain, lyrically the horror is definitely there. At the same time the production levels are much higher than anything previously, it's pure AFI but at same time extremely radio friendly.
This album does stumble a bit with some songs that feel like they were made to be singles or at least to fit more in with a wider audience at the expense of their established style. Songs like Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings) and Silver And Cold are songs that really wouldn't have felt out of place on a generic hard rock album, they feature so very little of their punk roots. These songs especially Silver And Cold, feel like they were purely written for the label to reach a broader range of listeners. Not really bad songs just out of place for AFI.
Ask anyone about this album and you'll generally hear two responses; either it's their best work or it's the point where they sold out. It really splits listeners and especially AFI fans into factions. Personally I feel neither is really true. It's not their best work, it's their most polished work, but there's a lot of missteps in terms of style. Some of the songs reach great heights and others fall flat. However it's not AFI selling out, at it's core it's still a pure AFI album through and through. Their talent and unique style really come through in the end. If anything it's a great place to start listening to the band, it's representative of their old horror punk sound as well as their more mellow current sound. Well worth a listen for anyone, it's still a great album.
It really is a mixed bag when it comes to style and sound. A lot of the songs like The Great Disappointment and ...But Home Is Nowhere really put the horror style out in front with haunting, ethereal imagery, chilling guitar chords, and powerful vocals. They're the best examples of the style they had been honing with added production values. Then there's songs like Dancing Through Sunday, a pulsing fairly heavy song, with a more hard rock sound, with punk elements. It's an example of the band really branching out in terms of sound. Their first single Girl's Not Grey is another example of this new direction. Elements of punk manage to bleed through with a pumping drum beat and a chanting vocal refrain, lyrically the horror is definitely there. At the same time the production levels are much higher than anything previously, it's pure AFI but at same time extremely radio friendly.
This album does stumble a bit with some songs that feel like they were made to be singles or at least to fit more in with a wider audience at the expense of their established style. Songs like Paper Airplanes (Makeshift Wings) and Silver And Cold are songs that really wouldn't have felt out of place on a generic hard rock album, they feature so very little of their punk roots. These songs especially Silver And Cold, feel like they were purely written for the label to reach a broader range of listeners. Not really bad songs just out of place for AFI.
Ask anyone about this album and you'll generally hear two responses; either it's their best work or it's the point where they sold out. It really splits listeners and especially AFI fans into factions. Personally I feel neither is really true. It's not their best work, it's their most polished work, but there's a lot of missteps in terms of style. Some of the songs reach great heights and others fall flat. However it's not AFI selling out, at it's core it's still a pure AFI album through and through. Their talent and unique style really come through in the end. If anything it's a great place to start listening to the band, it's representative of their old horror punk sound as well as their more mellow current sound. Well worth a listen for anyone, it's still a great album.
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