AFI (A Fire Inside) are an American alternative rock band, formed in 1991. Originally formed as a
Hardcore Punk revivalist band, they continued much in the same way for their first three albums: "Answer That and Stay Fashionable", "Very Proud of Ya", and "Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes". Then things started to take a different turn.
On their 1999 release "Black Sails in the Sunset", they supplemented their hardcore sound with
Goth Rock influences. This trend would continue with their next two albums, "The Art of Drowning", which also brought in
industrial elements, and "Sing the Sorrow", the latter album becoming AFI's breakthrough album and reaching #5 on the Billboard charts. Then
Decemberunderground came around. With a bigger emphasis on a electropop-ish
New Wave sound, the album proved to be a bigger success than "Sing the Sorrow" but also
caused some alarm due to percieved abandonment of their hardcore roots.
That concern was addressed (for the most part) by their most recent album, "Crash Love", stated to be a "straightforward rock record" by the band, but still combining elements of their influences over the years into
one cohesive whole.
Not to be confused with the American Film Institute, best known for their "100 Years, 100 Movies" lists. Lead singer Davey Havok and lead guitarist Jade Puget also head an
electronic side project, Blaqk Audio.
AFI Members:- Davey Havok – lead vocals (1991–present)
- Adam Carson – drums, backing vocals (1991–present)
- Hunter Burgan – bass guitar, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1997–present)
- Jade Puget – lead guitar, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1998–present)
Former members:- Vic Chalker – bass, backing vocals (1991–1992)
- Geoff Kresge – bass, backing vocals (1992–1997)
- Mark Stopholese – guitars, backing vocals (1991–1998)
Discography:- Answer That and Stay Fashionable (1995)
- Very Proud of Ya (1996)
- Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes (1997)
- Black Sails in the Sunset (1999)
- The Art of Drowning (2000)
- Sing the Sorrow (2003)
- Decemberunderground (2006)
- Crash Love (2009)
- TBA (2013)
Tropes used by this band include:
- Audience Participation Song: "Strength Through Wounding," "Miseria Cantare (the Beginning)"
- Careful With That Axe
- Cluster F-Bomb: "Cruise Control"
- Concept Album: Not hard-and-fast examples; Word Of God states that the major themes of Decemberunderground and Crash Love are isolation and society's obsession with celebrity and instant gratification, respectively. The All Hallow's E.P. could be considered one of these, though arguably only half of it ("Halloween" and "Fall Children")" would really count.
- Cover Version: "Halloween" and "Last Caress" by The Misfits, "The Hanging Garden" by The Cure, "Don't Change" by INXS, "Jack the Ripper" by Morrissey, "Head Like a Hole" by Nine Inch Nails, "My Michelle" by Guns N' Roses, "Ziggy Stardust" by David Bowie, "Man in a Suitcase" by The Police, "Today's Lesson" by Filth...
- Dress Rehearsal Video: The video for "Medicate".
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: lampshaded in this comic
. - Emo: their closer to classic/ post-hardcore emo than scene emo. They were also key players in the early 2000's post-hardcore scene along with Thursday, Brand New and My Chemical Romance.
- Everyone Went To School Together: Most of the band members, past and present, went to the same high school. The band was actually formed during lunch in the cafeteria.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Spanish in "The Leaving Song, Part II" and "Love Like Winter"
- Gratuitous Latin: "Miseria Cantare," "Porphyria Cutanea Tarda" (somewhat justified in that it's a medical name for a disease)
- Hidden Track: "Battled," "Midnight Sun," "This Time Imperfect" after the last track, "And Then I'll Be Back Home" after "The Missing Frame"
- Knuckle Tattoos: Davey has 'em. (They say "Ciao Baby.")
- Long Runner Line Up: Type 2
- Obligatory Bondage Song: Mentions are made of wrist restraints in "Kiss and Control," and "The Interview" refrerences an honest-to-god OBS, "Master and Servant" by Depeche Mode. Then there's "Dream of Waking"...
- Obsession Song: "Carcinogen Crush"
- Precision F-Strike: "This hate is fucking real" in "Death of Seasons"
- Punny Name: "Yurf Rendenmein"
- Refrain From Assuming: "Prelude 12/21" is not called "Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep," or any variation thereof.
- Shout Out: to Beetlejuice in "The Despair Factor," Goodfellas in the "He Who Laughs Last" video (the "as far back as I can remember..." line) and Alice in Wonderland in the "Girl's Not Grey" video. Also to Reservoir Dogs on the "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" album cover; the album title itself is a line from the film Bad News Tour.
- The Something Song: "The Leaving Song", "The Leaving Song, Part II", "Torch Song"
- Spoken Word In Music: again, on "Answer That and Stay Fashionable"
- Stage Names: Davey Havok
- Step Up to the Microphone: Jade in "The Interview"
- Stop and Go: In "The Despair Factor".
- Title by Number: "3 1/2," "6 to 8," "37mm," "Prelude 12/21"
- Underwater Kiss: The end of the video for "Love Like Winter".
- Viral Marketing / Alternate Reality Game: the lead-up to every album so far from Sing the Sorrow onward, relating to the theme of the album and often rewarding fans who crack the clues. Elements of the games have found their way into the albums, such as the touch tones in "Summer Shudder" and the Hidden Track "And Then I'll Be Back Home."
- Vocal Evolution: There's a big difference between Davey's voice on "Answer That..." and his voice today; partially due to a change in singing style and to the fact that people's voices naturally continue to deepen somewhat over time.
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