AFI has been around for twenty six years now with a career now spanning ten full length albums and countless EPs. Most bands hardly manage to make it half as long or put out even a fraction of the work the band has. The Self-Titled (Blood Album) is poised to enter the stable of solid releases after an almost four year gap from their previous album Burials. So does the band still have the momentum to keep up with the high quality bar they set for themselves? Or have they run all out of blood?
AFI have really been through a lot since their fairly dramatic shift out of punk and into more alternative rock and mainstream success with 2003's Sing The Sorrow, an album that many see as their best work. Since then they have really never stayed still in terms of style. Decemberunderground was a mix of overly produced mainstream 'emo' rock songs and some decent post punk work. Crash Love was essentially a reset where the over production was stripped away for a more raw sound that drew influences from all over the rock and punk spectrum. Burials brought back a bit of the theatrics and the outward aggression but overall maintained a similar sound. The Blood Album goes even further than Burials in terms of reverting back to a lot of what made Sing The Sorrow so popular.
Like Crash Love this is one of the rare AFI albums that doesn't begin with an intro track. The opening song Dark Snow is a full fledged song although it does do a good job in setting the style and mood. It's fairly heavy on the synth work and it's a fairly powerful song. Still A Stranger which starts with an acoustic guitar and features it in the background is probably one of my favorites from this album and from the band in general. Hidden Knives does a great job blending elements of hard rock, punk, and post punk all together, it's a song that could have fit right in on Sing The Sorrow. The standout track is easily So Beneath which is probably the most aggressive song they have really ever done, the band does not mince words or hide it's message with the song.
I've actually really enjoyed Davey Havok's vocal changes throughout the years. Crash Love was a bit too smooth though, the grittiness was missing and while there on Burials it wasn't nearly as smooth as it is on this album. Honestly this is the best his voice has sounded in years, especially on songs like The Wind That Carries Me Away with it's shout and catch bridge. While there is some growling sprinkled throughout if you're looking for screaming you might want to look at XTRMST instead because it's really not here. Jade Puget on guitar also seems to have found his comfort zone again. Some of the riffs on Crash Love and Burials felt a little bit awkward or rushed. Not so on this album, it just sounds like it flowed naturally. Also as a bonus not sure what it is but something about many of the riffs, particularly on songs like Snow Cats and White Offerings really remind me of Sing The Sorrow's style.
The album does carry some clots though. Some of the tracks are very stylistically similar and can blend together, however that isn't to say they are necessarily boring. There are some songs like Above The Bridge which repeats it's chorus just a few too many times and The Cure inspired Feed From The Floor that do fall a bit flat. They're not bad but just overall meh especially considering the strength of the rest of the songs on this album.
AFI have really gone back through their history with The Blood Album and returned to a style that blends their hardcore roots with post punk and hard rock. The result is something that feels comfortable like returning to an old friend. They really have shown they have no intention on stopping nor are they willing they stay still with their style. While bringing going back and bringing back a lot of elements that made fans fall in love they have also progressed their sound even further. It's everything an AFI fan could really want from an album.
Like Crash Love this is one of the rare AFI albums that doesn't begin with an intro track. The opening song Dark Snow is a full fledged song although it does do a good job in setting the style and mood. It's fairly heavy on the synth work and it's a fairly powerful song. Still A Stranger which starts with an acoustic guitar and features it in the background is probably one of my favorites from this album and from the band in general. Hidden Knives does a great job blending elements of hard rock, punk, and post punk all together, it's a song that could have fit right in on Sing The Sorrow. The standout track is easily So Beneath which is probably the most aggressive song they have really ever done, the band does not mince words or hide it's message with the song.
I've actually really enjoyed Davey Havok's vocal changes throughout the years. Crash Love was a bit too smooth though, the grittiness was missing and while there on Burials it wasn't nearly as smooth as it is on this album. Honestly this is the best his voice has sounded in years, especially on songs like The Wind That Carries Me Away with it's shout and catch bridge. While there is some growling sprinkled throughout if you're looking for screaming you might want to look at XTRMST instead because it's really not here. Jade Puget on guitar also seems to have found his comfort zone again. Some of the riffs on Crash Love and Burials felt a little bit awkward or rushed. Not so on this album, it just sounds like it flowed naturally. Also as a bonus not sure what it is but something about many of the riffs, particularly on songs like Snow Cats and White Offerings really remind me of Sing The Sorrow's style.
The album does carry some clots though. Some of the tracks are very stylistically similar and can blend together, however that isn't to say they are necessarily boring. There are some songs like Above The Bridge which repeats it's chorus just a few too many times and The Cure inspired Feed From The Floor that do fall a bit flat. They're not bad but just overall meh especially considering the strength of the rest of the songs on this album.
AFI have really gone back through their history with The Blood Album and returned to a style that blends their hardcore roots with post punk and hard rock. The result is something that feels comfortable like returning to an old friend. They really have shown they have no intention on stopping nor are they willing they stay still with their style. While bringing going back and bringing back a lot of elements that made fans fall in love they have also progressed their sound even further. It's everything an AFI fan could really want from an album.