Line #55 Music/AFI


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/afi_afi_176657_1654_1298.jpg]]
2	->''I can't stand my laughter as they cry\
3	My soul brings tears to angelic eyes.''
4	-->"God Called In Sick Today"
5
6	AFI (A Fire Inside) is an American alternative rock band, formed in 1991. Originally formed as a HardcorePunk 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 took a different turn.
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8	On their 1999 album ''Black Sails in the Sunset'', they supplemented their hardcore sound by experimenting with GothRock influences. This trend would continue with their next two albums, ''The Art of Drowning'', which also brought in {{industrial}} elements, and ''Sing the Sorrow'', which became AFI's breakthrough album and reaching #5 on the Billboard charts. Then ''Decemberunderground'' came around. While somewhat lighter in tone, it was a major success and produced some of AFI's most popular songs, such as "Miss Murder" and "Endlessly She Said".
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10	''[[NewSoundAlbum Crash Love]]'' was stated to be a "straightforward rock record" by the band, with a {{New Wave\|Music}} feel and focus on catchy, more upbeat songs. However, it [[BrokenBase caused some alarm]] due to perceived abandonment of their hardcore roots. Their 2013 album ''Burials'' continues that merger of styles, featuring a dark, operatic feel to most of the songs.
11
12	Not to be confused with the Creator/AmericanFilmInstitute. Lead singer Davey Havok and lead guitarist Jade Puget also head an [[ElectronicMusic electronic]] side project, Blaqk Audio and a HardcorePunk side project, XTRMST.
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14	----
15	!! Current members:
16	* Davey Havok – lead vocals (1991–present)
17	* Adam Carson – drums, backing vocals (1991–present)
18	* Hunter Burgan – bass guitar, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1997–present)
19	* Jade Puget – lead guitar, keyboards, programming, backing vocals (1998–present)
20
21	!! Former members:
22	* Vic Chalker – bass, backing vocals (1991–92)
23	* Geoff Kresge – bass, backing vocals (1992–97)
24	* Mark Stopholese – guitars, backing vocals (1991–98)
25
26	!! Studio discography:
27	* ''Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' (1995)
28	* ''Very Proud of Ya'' (1996)
29	* ''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes'' (1997)
30	* ''Black Sails in the Sunset'' (1999)
31	* ''The Art of Drowning'' (2000)
32	* ''Sing the Sorrow'' (2003)
33	* ''Decemberunderground'' (2006)
34	* ''Crash Love'' (2009)
35	* ''Burials'' (2013)
36	* ''AFI (The Blood Album)'' (2017)
37	* ''Bodies'' (2021)
38
39	----
40	! '''''Kiss my tropes and lay me to sleep''''':
41	* AlbumTitleDrop: ''Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' in "Don't Make Me Ill" and ''Decemberunderground'' in "The Interview". Partially also ''Very Proud of Ya'' in "Consult My Lover", though the line is actually "Very proud of you".
42	* AnachronicOrder: Possibly. "The Leaving Song Part II" is placed before "The Leaving Song" on ''Sing the Sorrow''.
43	* AngryDance: Davey loves to thrash about in a non-threatening but aggressive and almost acrobatic way when he's on stage.
44	* AudienceParticipationSong: "Strength Through Wounding", "Miseria Cantare (the Beginning)"
45	* BalconySpeech: Davey does one of these in the "Miss Murder" video.
46	%% * CarefulWithThatAxe
47	* CelebrityIsOverrated: From ''Crash Love'', "I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here" is a vain, sassy song about being recognized everywhere and living as a persona. ''Crash Love'' as a whole is a look at society's obsession with celebrity.
48	* ChocolateFrostedSugarBombs: One of their old songs, "Cereal Wars", is about loving extremely sweet breakfast cereals so much that it's impossible to decide which one to pick at the supermarket, and being upset that the supermarket has stopped carrying the sugariest brands. Davey even wishes he could eat the TropeNamer with ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes.
49	* ClusterFBomb: "Cruise Control", albeit not to the extent of most examples.
50	* ColorMotif: Most of their albums' physical packages and discs have distinct color setups that match the mood of the album, such as the burning red of ''Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes'', the amber and gold of ''Crash Love'', and the brownish grey of ''Burials''. Their website changes accordingly to suit the new theme.
51	* ConceptAlbum: Not hard-and-fast examples; WordOfGod 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. Similarly, ''Sing the Sorrow'' is about death and rebirth, while ''Burials'' is about the emotional fallout of a failed relationship.
52	* CoverVersion:
53	** "Halloween", "Demonomania" and "Last Caress" by Music/TheMisfits, "The Hanging Garden" by Music/{{The Cure\|Band}}, "Don't Change" by Music/{{INXS}}, "Jack the Ripper" by Music/{{Morrissey}}, "Head Like a Hole" by Music/NineInchNails, "My Michelle" by Music/GunsNRoses, "Ziggy Stardust" by Music/DavidBowie, "Man in a Suitcase" by Music/ThePolice, "Today's Lesson" by Filth and "Song 2" by Music/{{Blur}}.
54	** Happened to the band themselves when Music/TheOffspring covered "Totalimmortal" for the ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'' soundtrack.
55	* DressRehearsalVideo: The video for "Medicate".
56	* DrugsAreBad: The use of drugs by companions is mourned in songs like "Clove Smoke Catharsis" and "Veronica Sawyer Smokes". AFI follow a UsefulNotes/StraightEdge lifestyle and are resolutely against drugs.
57	* DudeLooksLikeALady: {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d in [[https://web.archive.org/web/20131203085453/http://www.mitchclem.com/nothingnice/151/ this comic]].
58	* EmoMusic: Of classic[=/=]PostHardcore variety. They were also a key TropeCodifier in the early 2000s post-hardcore scene along with Music/{{Thursday}}, Music/BrandNew and Music/TakingBackSunday, particularly with ''Sing the Sorrow'' and ''Decemberunderground''.
59	* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: Most of the band members, past and present, went to the same high school. The band was actually formed during lunch in the cafeteria.
60	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: "Torch Song"
61	* GenreMashup: Their later albums get into this. ''Black Sails in the Sunset'' has several songs with GothRock elements in it, ''The Art of Drowning'' has a couple songs with industrial intros, ''Sing the Sorrow'' continues to build on these two genres while having a few unique departures of its own such as "Dancing Thru Sunday" which outright has Jade playing a HeavyMetal style shred solo, while ''Decemberunderground'' adds more "mainstream" elements while still continuing with a similar sound to STS. ''Burials'' is an outright modern GothRock record, with layered production and keyboards.
62	* GratuitousSpanish: "The Leaving Song, Part II" and "Love Like Winter"
63	* HiddenTrack: "No Dave Party" (pre-gap track), "Battled", "Midnight Sun", "This Time Imperfect" after the last track, "And Then I'll Be Back Home" after "Affliction".
64	* KnuckleTattoos: Davey has 'em. (They say "Ciao Baby".)
65	* LongRunnerLineUp: Type 2.
66	* LoudnessWar: ''Burials'' has got to be their least earphones-friendly track. There are lots of complex background parts, especially in songs' choruses, not one of which is quiet or calm. The mix is a little bit messy.
67	* LoveIsADrug: "Medicate" is about this, more or less.
68	* LoveNostalgiaSong: "The Days of the Phoenix" is not too far into their career, but still very nostalgic for their super-early concert days, and a particular lovely girl.
69	* TheMakeover:
70	** Davey retooled his personal appearance prior to the release of ''Crash Love''. Sporting a moderate beard and mustache bordered by PermaStubble, he looks more masculine, and tones down the width of his large jaws.
71	** His hair has changed distinctly between each album since ''The Art of Drowning''.
72	** The band's clothing motifs has also changed, from the white of ''Decemberunderground'' to the suits of ''Crash Love'' to now the leather and black of ''Burials''.
73	* MasterPoisoner: The story in the "Beautiful Thieves" video is murky and bizarre, but the band ends up killing all the happy, obnoxious, pretty people at the banquet by poisoning their drinks with ease.
74	%% * NonAppearingTitle: Too many examples to list. They usually have at least one song per album that averts this. ''Burials'' is the one with most aversions.
75	%% * NumberOfObjectsTitle: "37mm".
76	* ObligatoryBondageSong: Mentions are made of wrist restraints in "Kiss and Control", and "The Interview" references an honest-to-god OBS, "Master and Servant" by Music/DepecheMode. Then there's "Dream of Waking"...
77	** A large portion of SideProject Blaqk Audio's songs are these, especially "Graphic Violence" off of ''Material''.
78	* ObsessionSong: "Carcinogen Crush"
79	* PrecisionFStrike: "Death of Seasons" and "I Hope You Suffer" have one well-placed F-word each for emotion, and "Cereal Wars" has two for comedy.
80	* OlderThanTheyLook: Davey and Jade both fit the bill. Davey has the general appearance and energy of a man in his late twenties-early thirties despite being 40, and Jade's haircut makes him look far younger than he actually is (Jade is the oldest in the band).
81	* PunnyName: "Yurf Rendenmein"
82	* PuttingOnTheReich: Davey playing a fascist dictator in the "Miss Murder" video. The video got some criticism, presumably from people who didn't know the whole band are hardcore left-wing activists.
83	* ReligionRantSong: "The Prayer Position", "Smile", "Sacrilege", and a few others, are all plain exhausted with the bad things religion allegedly brings, and hopeful for a world without it.
84	* ShoutOut: to ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' in "The Despair Factor", ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' in the "He Who Laughs Last" video (the "as far back as I can remember..." line) and ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' in the "Girl's Not Grey" video. Also to ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' on the ''Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' album cover; the album title itself is a line from the short film ''[[Series/TheComicStripPresents Bad News Tour]]''. "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" is a big one to ''Film/{{Heathers}}''.
85	* SoloSideProject:
86	** Davey and Jade started a side project called Blaqk Audio, releasing an album called ''Cex Cells''. They later started another side project called XTRMST, releasing a self-titled album.
87	** Davey also has a New Wave band called Dreamcar that he founded with all the members of Music/NoDoubt who aren't Music/GwenStefani.
88	* TheSomethingSong: "The Leaving Song", "The Leaving Song, Part II", "Torch Song"
89	* SpecialGuest: Dexter Holland of Music/TheOffspring provides uniquely emotional vocals on "The Prayer Position", "Clove Smoke Catharsis" and "God Called In Sick".
90	* SpokenWordInMusic: again, on "Answer That and Stay Fashionable"
91	* StageNames: Davey Havok
92	* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Jade in "The Interview"
93	* StopAndGo: In "The Despair Factor".
94	* SurrealMusicVideo: "Snow Cats" off of ''The Blood Album'' has a trippy video with mirror images of the band playing, the camera zooming into the band members' eyes and mouths, slow-mo shots at points, and uncomfortable angles.
95	* TakeAThirdOption: When the band had their pick of producers for ''Sing The Sorrow'', they were torn between Butch Vig and Jerry Finn. They ended up hiring both, and apparently they complimented each other quite well. Butch focused on making sure tracks were technically sound, while Jerry Finn focused on content and how a song "felt" overall.
96	* TheBusCameBack: Former guitarist Geoff Kresge contributed backing vocals to ''Sing The Sorrow''.
97	* TitleByNumber: "3 1/2", "6 to 8", "Prelude 12/21", "Greater Than 84"
98	* UnderwaterKiss: The end of the video for "Love Like Winter".
99	* VocalEvolution: There's a big difference between Davey's voice on ''Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' and his voice today, partially due to changing his singing style and the fact that people's voices naturally deepen somewhat over time.

Context Music / AFI