AFI Album: “Sing the Sorrow [Bonus DVD]”

Is it punk? Is it goth? Alternative? Metal? Play this CD for 10 different people and I bet few of them will agree on how to categorize it. And that's one of the things that makes it great. If you were an AFI fan from their early days of three-chord songs on Answer That and Stay Fashionable, then this likely wouldn't appeal to you. This is not punk in the sense that their earlier CDs were (and yes, I have heard them). But the punk influence is still there, particularly in the vocals on "but home is nowhere" and "Bleed Black." To someone who only listens to pop on the radio, they would think this is punk. To someone who thinks Crass is real punk, they obviously wouldn't. If you look through the one-star reviews, a lot of them are from people who are mad that AFI "sold out" to sign to a major label and no longer sounds like they did when they were writing about breakfast cereal. Nor is this goth, per se, but if you only read the lyric sheet and looked at a photo of the band in this era, you might assume they are goth.

Okay, on with the review: this CD is amazing. I grew up listening to old punk and goth, and yet my days of wanting to listen to those exclusively are mostly over. Life has gotten too complicated for me to invest time and energy into being concerned with categorization or "selling out." AFI appeals to that part of me that liked those styles of music, because I can still hear those influences. My favorite songs on this CD vary almost by the day, and I love each of them best at different times. From the atmospheric call to arms of "Miseria Cantare" to the incredibly energizing and almost bouncy "This Celluloid Dream," there's enough variety here to keep it interesting. It's not like listening to the same song over and over. "...but home is nowhere" is positively epic. The lyrics are worthwhile to read and commit to memory, dark and almost poetic at times. If, like me, you grew up listening to The Cure, Bauhaus, Joy Division, etc. you might just love this CD. Davey Havok and the guys in AFI are combining varied influences in an interesting, complex way. The passion in this music is undeniable. After I got this CD, it was almost three weeks before I even wanted to listen to anything else, just because I kept discovering something new with subsequent listens. All of AFI's CDs have something to offer, and I really like all of them for different reasons. But this one is a true masterpiece and a great introduction for anyone considering checking out AFI.

This CD is one of the best I've heard in a long time, but don't buy this version, just buy the regular CD. This one cost ...more just for two bonus songs. Guess what? If you buy the regular CD and pop it into your computer, you get taken to a secret site where you can download both "bonus" songs. Pretty groovy, eh?

After patiently waiting for a follow up to the 2000 release of the album "The Art of Drowning", AFI's newest album arrived in stores on March 11, 2003. On my drive to the local music store that day, I was asking myself what AFI could possibly have in store this time after several fantastic albums aside from "The Art Of Drowning" such as "Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes" or "Black Sails In The Sunset". I soon found out quickly after purchasing the album. AFI are by far one of my favorite bands, and they prove why by delivering another passion filled roller coaster ride in the form of a CD. The sounds featured on the disc are a beautiful mixture. Some songs will go from a raging barrage of aggression to a soothing bridge that permits the listener's heart rate to slow down just enough to go back to another wall of passion filled music. The emotion on this album is amazing, and it really shows that the members of the band are pouring their hearts and souls into the music. When Davey screams and sings his heart out, you can feel it. When Jade delivers an amazing guitar part or a guitar solo you truly experience everything. When Adam delivers pounding drumbeats and Hunter rips through the music with a sonic energy, you can't help but see and feel every portion and every emotion that was put into the creation of their vision for this album. The music on this album is indescribable and each song has it's own soul, so because of that this album is phenomenal and leaves you feeling as if you've experienced something truly amazing. So while other fans may cry "sell-out" because of their switch from NITRO Records to Dreamworks Records, I'll stay true to this band because there is nothing wrong with evolution, and I am eager to see what AFI evolves into next.

AFI's first major label release is nothing less than a masterpiece. "Sing the Sorrow" is more or less saga with underlying themes of love, abandonment, death, and resurrection. The songs all seem to be intricately connected which results in a very tight album.

Lead singer Davey Havok comes to life at the beginning of the album with Miseria Cantare, a loud and primal intro to a turbulent CD. "Nothing from no where I'm no one at all..." his voice rises from the accompanied chants of "love your hate, your faith lost, you are now one of us". The lyrics are abstract and should be examined closely for a full understanding-it is not meant to be background music. The beginning of the CD is at a reflective state on what is to happen at the end. In the swaying melodies of "Bleed Black" the protagonist seems to be crumbling, "flowing", and "numbing". The somber breakdown gives away the tragic ending. "I know what died that night. It could never be brought back to life once again, I know. I know I died that night and I'll never be brought back to life." These lines refer to the hidden track "This Time Imperfect" the finale of the album where the listener is exposed to the protagonist's death. "I cannot leave here, I cannot stay. Forever haunted, more than afraid. Asphyxiate on words I would say. I'm drawn to a blackened sky as I turn blue." Tragically, the character dies and cannot finish the last line, "I'd show a smile, but I'm too weak. I'd share with you, could I only speak, just how much this hurts me...just how much this hurts me...just how much you..." In between these crucial events, the rest of the album unfolds beautifully. It seems as if the stormy and rainy introduction to "Silver and Cold" is where the protagonist's story actually begins. The song is about companionship and sacrificing one's self for it. From there the songs take off, expressing the urgency of fleeing. "What follows will swallow whole," is stated in "Girl's Not Grey". "Death of Seasons" shows the hatred involved: "Of late it's harder just to go outside, to leave this deadspace with hatred so alive. Writhing with sickness, thrown into banality, I decay. Killed by the weakness, but forced to return." Although this banal force is unclear and the reasons behind the difficulty to "go outside" or "to leave" are also a mystery, the task is attempting to understand. That is where the listener is actively involved and takes her enjoyment. "The Great Disappointment" is about a broken promise, the disappointment involved, waiting, and reflecting in a dreamlike state. This leads into "Paper Airplanes" which takes the listener into the protagonist's seclusion. "Anathema I will remain, forever will remain." Anathema, according to my dictionary is "one that is cursed or damned." As the CD begins to reach a closing, the gentle "Leaving Song" plays. This seems to be the end of hope and the beginning of a certainly doomed journey. "All the cracks will lead right to me and all the cracks will crawl right through me, and I fell apart as I walked away." "...But Home Is Nowhere" is the final real track. We have now reached the end. This is the last struggle. "I lay strewn across the floor, can't solve this puzzle. Everyday another small piece can't be found. I lay strewn across the floor pieced up in sorrow. The pieces are lost, these pieces don't fit. Pieced together incomplete and empty." The image of the wrought body laying on the floor remains with you as you reach the hidden track, "This Time Imperfect", where, like stated, the body is on its back and sees the blackened sky and passes away. As you can see, there are obvious connections from song to song throughout this album. The same electronic sounds rise after this song and the CD is meant to be repeated. The protagonist is brought back to life and is thrown into the cycle once again. This makes sense as now we hear "The Leaving Song Pt. 2". If the protagonist's journey began at "Silver and Cold", he would venture over the first leaving song, then be brought back to life to see the second.

However you want to look at it, "Sing the Sorrow" evokes wonder and raises questions. The inquisitiveness that is brought on is even elevated to a new high when watching "Clandestine", an obscure movie that is included with the DVD pack. If you have not experienced this album, you are missing out on something beautiful. Embrace the wonder of "Sing the Sorrow" and you will not be disappointed. The band is inviting you from their liner notes: "...to those who will, with us, forever sing the sorrow, to those who understand... we appreciate you wholly." The fun is in trying to understand.

Alright, I'm going to review this in 2 parts, owing to the 2 discs:

1- Tha Album

2- The DVD

Also, the hard-bound book (containing the lyrics and pictures of the band) is very nice, and well-suited to accompany the album and DVD.