''AFI'' (also referred to as ''The Blood Album'') is the tenth studio album by American rock band
AFI
AFI may refer to:
* ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol
* Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer
* AFI (band), an American rock band
** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...
. It was released on January 20, 2017, through
Concord Bicycle Music
Concord Music Group was an American independent music company based in Beverly Hills, California, with worldwide (including the U.S.) distribution through Universal Music Group. The company specialized in recordings ( Fearless Records, Concord R ...
. The album release includes four limited sleeve art and vinyl color variants, corresponding to each of the four members of AFI, and associated with each of the four
blood group
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates ...
s (A, O, B and AB).
Hailed by some critics as a comeback album, ''AFI'' saw the band experiment into
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and
new wave sounds, which echoed off of the band's side projects, particularly
Blaqk Audio
Blaqk Audio is an American electronic music duo, formed by current AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget under Interscope Records.
Their debut album, ''CexCells'', was released on August 14, 2007, and reached number eighteen on the ''Billboa ...
and
Dreamcar, which all infused elements of these genres. The album was noted for a strong influence of the band's childhood influences, particularly the likes of
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
,
Echo and The Bunnymen,
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
, and
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
. The decision to explore this route was both hailed and criticized by contemporary music critics. Some critics felt that this direction marked one of the most ambitious albums by AFI, while others felt it was done as a cautious move to appeal to mainstream audiences.
Commercially, ''AFI'' was the band's most successful domestic album since ''
Decemberunderground
''Decemberunderground'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band AFI, released on June 6, 2006, through Interscope Records. The album was supported by three singles, " Miss Murder", " Love Like Winter", and "The Missing Frame".
Recording ...
'', debuting at number 5 on the
''Billboard'' 200, with 29,000 equivalent music units moved. It was the band's third album to debut in the top five in the ''Billboard'' 200, and tied with ''
Sing the Sorrow
''Sing the Sorrow'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band AFI. Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by Jerry Finn and Butch Vig.
''Sing the Sorrow'' received positive review ...
'' as the second highest debut album for AFI in the United States. In Australia, ''AFI'' debuted at 12 on the
ARIA Charts
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, being their strongest release on the album since ''Decemberunderground'' as well. In Canada and the United Kingdom, the album did not sell as well as previous efforts.
Background and recording
After the conclusion of the ''
Burials
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
'' tour, members of AFI undertook several side projects. Vocalist
Davey Havok
David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the rock band AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the hardcore punk band XTR ...
and guitarist
Jade Puget
Jade Errol Puget (born November 28, 1973) is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the rock band AFI (joined in 1998), the guitarist/writer for the straight edge hardcore band XTRMST, and the keyboardist/synthesi ...
focused on the
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
band called
XTRMST, which released its eponymous debut album in 2014. Havok and Puget also worked on a third studio album with
Blaqk Audio
Blaqk Audio is an American electronic music duo, formed by current AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget under Interscope Records.
Their debut album, ''CexCells'', was released on August 14, 2007, and reached number eighteen on the ''Billboa ...
which was released in 2016. Finally, in late 2016 Havok worked with members of
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, they ...
on a
new wave supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
, called
Dreamcar. This led to speculation about the band breaking up.
In a June 2016 interview with Aggressive Tendencies, Jade Puget confirmed that AFI had begun working on new material for their tenth studio album, but chose not to reveal more information about it, including the release date. About 60 songs were written for the album.
The album was recorded at Megawatt Recording in the
Valley Village
Valley Village is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, located within the San Fernando Valley.
History
Founding
According to Elke Garman, co-president of the Valley Village Homeowners Association in 1991, the history of Valley Village wen ...
neighborhood of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, with Jade Puget as the main producer, and
Matt Hyde
Matt Hyde (born June 19, 1964) is an American producer, engineer, mixer and musician. From 1982 to 1985 he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. While still at Berklee in 1984, he obtained an internship at Pyramid Recording Studio in Bost ...
as co-producer. Hyde handled recording, while Marcel Fernandez and Thomas Bellier did additional engineering. Hyde mixed the recordings, before the album was mastered by Tom Baker at Baker Mastering.
[
]
Artwork and title
The album cover, designed by Frank Maddocks, is dark red and features three stylized blood drops—which are a window to the gatefold
A gatefold cover or gatefold LP is a form of packaging for LP records that became popular in the mid-1960s. A gatefold cover, when folded, is the same size as a standard LP cover (i.e., a 12½ inch, or 32.7 centimetre square). The larger gatefo ...
. While the album title does not appear on the cover, ''AFI (The Blood Album)'' is printed on a sticker on the shrink wrapping. On the album title, Havok states:
I started to recognize the reoccurrence of blood in the lyrics that I was writing for what would eventually become the record. I brought it to Jade's attention early on in the process as something we might want to revisit at the time we decided what was generally gonna comprise the finished record.
When we got to that point, "Blood Album" seemed an appropriate subtitle for the record. We self-titled the record officially to give a bit of a ceremonious nod to it being our 10th record as a band.
Music and composition
The album has been noted for having elements of the band's traditional horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...
and gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...
influences, but has been noted for infusing elements of post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and new wave on the record.
Gen Handley, writing for ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' interviewed Jade Puget
Jade Errol Puget (born November 28, 1973) is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the rock band AFI (joined in 1998), the guitarist/writer for the straight edge hardcore band XTRMST, and the keyboardist/synthesi ...
about the post-punk and new-wave influences on the record, Puget said that there really is elements of it, although it was not his or Havok's intention when writing songs for the record. Puget said "these directions just come out of us for one reason or another. People have been saying that AFI is ’80s for like 15 years now, so the fact there is New Wave on there isn’t that surprising."
Puget further noted several tracks on ''AFI'' that had evident influences of new wave. Specifically, he referred to "Above the Bridge" and "Feed From the Floor" which he said, had a Cure
A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...
-esque feel to them. "That kind of music is just what we listened to when growing up, and I really love that element of the record."
Release and promotion
On October 17, 2016, a few days after blacking out their profile pictures on social media, AFI began posting cryptic teaser videos on their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Later that week, the band released a teaser of their first song in three years via a Facebook live video.
When describing the length of time (four years) between ''AFI'' and their previous album, ''Burials'', Havok said "we just come from the place of wanting to be 100% happy with the works we create, rather than fulfilling some sort of demand, whether it be from a label or a consumer. It’s really the modern standard of short attention spans, and it puts us in a difficult position. Quantity typically eclipses quality these days, but we can’t bow to that." Havok referenced the time span of four years as well between ''Crash Love
''Crash Love'' is the eighth studio album by the rock band AFI. Produced by Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee, it was released on September 29, 2009, through Interscope Records.
Background and recording
Following the touring cycle for 2006's ''Dece ...
'' and ''Burials'', which was also a four-year gap (2009 to 2013).
Ahead of its January 20, 2017 release, ''AFI'' was listed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2017 by ''Alternative Press''.
Singles
On October 27, the band released two new songs, "Snow Cats" and "White Offerings", via their Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
and with audio on their YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.
Music videos
The first music video for ''AFI'' was "White Offerings", which was released on the band's YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
and Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
channels on December 12, 2016. The video begins with a woman who is wearing half black facial mask and half white facial mask. It pans into the band playing on an entirely white music set with white geometric shapes. Throughout the video, black paint drips on to several of the white objects. The video ends with Havok attending a banquet alone before the song ends with a mic drop, then walks past the slate to stare directly into the camera for several seconds, which was done to break the fourth wall
The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
as a transition to the "Snow Cats" music video. The video was directed by Drew Kirsch and produced by Lex Lewter. Dan Epstein, writing for the ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' described the music video as "dramatic" and the song itself as "muscular".
In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'', Havok said that the white assemblage for the music video was Kirsch's concept. Havok said he wanted the video to be a performance video, but also have looping moments that touched on the lyrical themes of the song. Of Kirsch's vision, Havok said "when we saw irsch’streatment, we thought it really did a good job of drawing in those themes of connection, imperceptions, incompatibility and transference that you hear in the lyrics." The white backdrop was described as "mesmerizing" by Caitlyn Ralph of ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
''.
On January 5, 2017, AFI released the second music video ahead of the album's release, for their single, "Snow Cats
"Snow Cats" is a song by American rock band AFI
AFI may refer to:
* ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol
* Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer
* AFI (band), an American rock band
** ''AFI ...
". The video, also directed by Kirsch depicts a constant moving visual throughout the video. In an interview with ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'', Havok said the video is to "animate a cyclical struggle with the surreal colors of applied persona and identity". ''Noise'' magazine described the visuals and effects as "interstellar" and "futuristic".
Ten days after ''AFI'' was released, the third music video, "Aurelia" was released. The video features facial closeups of the band members, particularly of their eyes and mouths. Critics and journalists noted that the video seemed to be focused on being uncomfortably up close and personal about issues, as well as show the signs of human aging over time. Zach Dionne, writing for ''Fuse'' described the music video as "intimate".
The fourth and final music video, for the track, "Hidden Knives", aired on May 3, 2017. The music video was inspired by silent movie
''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...
s of the early 20th century and involved a murder mystery at a masquerade
Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to:
Events
* Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event
* Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa
* Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...
party.
Critical reception
''AFI'' was well received by most contemporary music critics. On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website, Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which normalizes music ratings, ''AFI'' received an average score of 77 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews based on 14 critics". On AnyDecentMusic?
AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...
, ''AFI'' received an average rating of 6.7/10 based on 10 contemporary music critic reviews. Most critics that praised the album admired the ambition of the band to test the waters of post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...
and new wave, while critics that were negative about the album felt it was too much of a departure from the band's early sound, and felt bland and predictable.
In a staff article by ''Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' magazine, the staff gave five stars out of five stating that "You better get ready to start your "Best Albums of 2017" list—a serious contender has arrived." On their end of the year list, ''Kerrang!'' listed ''AFI'' as the 13th best album of 2017. Writing for ''The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', Annie Zaleski
Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author.
Career
Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won firs ...
praised the album, and said the band felt "refreshed" and "rejuvenated" praising the glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
and jangle pop
Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...
influences from Morrisey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
and Echo and The Bunnymen, saying that ''AFI'' AFI "doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it doesn’t need to: The record illustrates that the members of AFI are deeply committed to forward motion, and remain as fired up now as they were 25 years ago." Zaleski gave the album a B+ grade.
Like Zaleski, Neil Yueng of Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised what he felt was ambition from the band, stating that "there's certainly enough here to prove that post-Nitro AFI are a better and stronger group, unafraid to continue pushing their sound with each release." Yueng compared the works of ''AFI'' with the works of The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
, Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
, and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
. Yueng gave the album four stars out of five.
Megan Roos, writing for ''Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' believe that the album had strong moments, but felt ultimately it tried too hard to appeal to everyone. Roos was primarily disappointed that the album did not touch so much on their hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
and horror punk
Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...
roots. Roos said that "it's not that the record isn’t good – it possesses potential chart-climbers and bittersweet moments that’ll make fans nostalgic for the group’s early punk days." Roos summarized that ''AFI'' felt too safe and cautious, "they chose the shelter of mainstream acceptance, a predictable – if disappointing – decision."
In a staff review by Punknews.org, the impression of the album was more mixed. The staff felt the album was too cautious and predictable. The staff summarized the album stating that "you do get a sense of what could have been, had they just unchained themselves a bit more. Ironically, the songs that stand out the most here are the ones that ape tracks off ''Sing The Sorrow
''Sing the Sorrow'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band AFI. Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by Jerry Finn and Butch Vig.
''Sing the Sorrow'' received positive review ...
''." Punknews.org gave the album three stars out of five Ian Cohen, writing for ''Pitchfork'' echoed these sentiments saying that it was predictable. Cohen also felt the album was rushed, feeling that album could have been their comeback album. Cohen stated that "at least half of The Blood Album’s songs feel virtually interchangeable and the other half sound like AFI wrote this stuff in the time it takes to play it." Cohen ultimately gave the album a 5.0 out of 10.
Commercial performance
''AFI'' debuted at No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' 200 with 29,000 equivalents units moved.AFI - Chart History
. ''Billboard''.
Track listing
Personnel
Personnel per booklet.
AFI
* Adam Carson – drums
* Davey Havok – lead vocals
* Jade Puget – guitars, programming
* Hunter Burgan – bass, programming
Production and design
* Jade Puget – producer
*
Matt Hyde
Matt Hyde (born June 19, 1964) is an American producer, engineer, mixer and musician. From 1982 to 1985 he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. While still at Berklee in 1984, he obtained an internship at Pyramid Recording Studio in Bost ...
– co-producer, mixing, recording
* Marcel Fernandez – additional engineer
* Thomas Bellier – additional engineer
* Tom Baker – mastering
* Frank Maddocks – art direction, design
* Jiro Schneider – band photography
Charts
References
External links
*
''AFI (The Blood Album)''at
Genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
*
{{Authority control
2017 albums
AFI (band) albums
Concord Music Group albums