AFI

By the time of the release of their major label debut, Sing the Sorrow, A.F.I. had transformed themselves from lightning- fast hardcore- punk torchbearers to scary goth- metal freakazoids on a mission to gather up an army of alienated youth. It's clear from the opening minutes of that album—where the music lurches to a sludgy crawl more than a couple times—that A.F.I. are on to something new, weaving electronic drums, synths, punk rhythms, anthemic choruses, creepy- crawly lead vocals, and metal riffage into a dark, near- perfect album for even darker times. The A.F.I. of Sing the Sorrow come off as the Damned for the new metal generation, whereas the A.F.I. of their debut, Answer That & Stay Fashionable, could have been just about any hardcore- obsessed garage band from the 1980s or 1990s. The transition from a generic Southern California punk band to something more substantive and original began with 1999's Black Sails in the Sunset, in which they started slowing things down and finding their own voice. Earlier releases like the four- song EP Fire Inside (not a cover of the Bob Seger song, but a reference to the band's name, which stands for "A Fire Inside") seem to end almost as soon as they begin, which is even true of blitzkrieg full- length albums like Answer That & Stay Fashionable and Very Proud of Ya. (KEMBREW McLEOD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide