AFI (A Fire Inside): Sing The Sorrow (2LP)

"Sing The Sorrow", which was co-produced by Jerry Finn (Rancid, Green Day, Jawbreaker) and Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins), retains the aggression and pathos typical of the Bay Area band and pushes further and further into uncharted territory, such as the virtuoso guitar intro of "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" or the industrial-inspired break and Dead Can Dance-like outro of "Death Of Seasons". Meanwhile, first single "Girl's Not Grey" is a standout track from its sublime intro to the beautifully subdued verses to the rousing choruses, both reminiscent of AFI coming into their own on 2000 album "The Art Of Drowning" and hinting at a variety of future directions. For purists, "Dancing Through Sunday" and "Bleed Black" are peppered with generous sing-along opportunities and hard-hitting, bombproof riffs and rhythms. And like virtually every track on "Sing The Sorrow", they're all imbued with alternately brooding and celebratory lyrical imagery of rebirth, resurrection and apocalypse, all of which are somehow deeply personal - in other words, classic AFI. "When you play a style of music that doesn't really fit anywhere, you're taking a risk. You're challenging people to leave their niche, their preconceived notions of what they're supposed to like. Luckily we have a lot of people who just focus on the music and appreciate us for what we are. So we have fans from all different genres of music, the jocks, the scary kids, skaters, college kids, punk rockers, hardcore kids, metal kids, all of that." - Davey Havok