AFI - Sing The Sorrow

I picked this bad boy up at the Sound Exchange in Somerset, NJ because of Gwarsenio Hall and CM Punk. I wasn’t into this kind of gothic music when it was at its commercial peak, but there’s a bunch of New Brunswick bands that are influenced by Sing The Sorrow and earlier AFI albums, so I’ve been warming to it via repeated exposure.

Davey Havok sounds like a million bucks. He has that kind of voice where you couldn’t imagine him singing over any other band, and you couldn’t imagine anyone else singing over Jade Puget’s riffs. In isolation, it’s annoying; in context, it’s great. Puget is the only guitarist in the band, but the band does a lot of layering work and interesting alternate parts. There are riffs on riffs on riffs here. They just give them out like candy. The vocals are the focus, but the rest of the band certainly holds their own. The occasional keys and sound design elements are warm and vibey, but ultimately unobtrusive. If you’re down to be overly dramatic, this album is for you.

Sing the Sorrow by AFI is a good album, and I like it.