Up Next on the chopping block is the band AFI and their band that I’ve kind of been curious about because I’ve only really heard their hit songs. I remember when I was in junior high and high school there were kids that were super devoted to this band and would always wear their T-shirts. There were also some that would act surprised when people said they didn’t like them. So the question is this band more than their popular songs? I guess we shall see so with that let’s take a look………..
Answer That And Stay Fashionable- so with this album, I was expecting something more on the Goth side of things, but this isn’t a Goth punk album and it’s just a straight ahead almost skater punk album. I found them to be a very fun album and like I said it’s nothing special. It’s just a good skater punk album. I’m gonna go ahead and give it 8/10.
Standouts: I Wanna Get A Mohawk, Cereal Wars, Your Name Here
Very Proud Of Ya- again you kinda get more of the same. There isn’t really much of a difference between this album or the last album in my opinion. Both are fun punk albums, and sometimes that’s what’s needed simplicity. I’m not gonna dwell too much on this one so I’m gonna go ahead and give it another 8/10.
Standouts: Perfect Fit, Soap-Box Derby, Charles Atlas
Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes- so far I haven’t really heard any major difference between this one and the last two albums. I like what I’m hearing so far but again it’s still kind of more of the same. There’s not really much variation between these albums. I do know that they’re going to change their sound later on but as of these three albums, they’re kind of the same. I will say, though that the vocals on here tend to be a bit more on the screaming side of things, but other than that there isn’t a significant difference between any of them. Again, I’m giving this one 8/10.
Standouts: Let It Be Broke, Coin Return, Today’s Lesson
Black Sails In The Sunset- I would say that this album has a darker tone to it. It’s not really a skater punk album like we’ve heard on the last few, but I would say it’s more postpunk than anything. It’s not a complete departure from what was done before but this is definitely a different sounding album. I’m gonna go ahead and give it 8.5/10.
Standouts: Strength Through Wounding, No Poetic Device, Narrative Of Soul Against Soul
The Art Of Drowning- I think it’s pretty safe to say that at this point they’ve kind of steered away from that kind of skater punk sound and got more towards the post punk/post hard-core sound and it works quite well. Again now, like with previous releases this one does sort of pick up the last album left off however I feel like this one’s just a bit more cohesive. I would definitely say that this is one of their more classic albums, or at least I wouldn’t be surprised if this was considered to be one. I’m gonna go ahead and give this 9/10
Standouts: The Days Of The Phoenix, The Lost Souls, Catch A Hot One
All Hallows EP- a four song EP with three original songs and a cover of Halloween by The Misfits. Fun fact the song Totalimmortal was covered by The Offspring and I believe there’s a music video for it. Anyway, check this one out and I’m giving it 9/10
Sing The Sorrow- OK so this is what I feel like the album that I guess broke them. The last album you could kind of feel it like they were on the verge of something great and I think this is that album. This one is the one that has their radio, friendly songs or whatever you wanna call them, but I’m sure the casual listener to this band would name songs off this album. This one now is not really a punk album at all, but rather more of a Gothic punk album if that makes any sense. I’m gonna go ahead and give this album 10/10. It’s a classic.
Standouts: Bleed Black, Death Of Seasons, Rabbits Are Roadkill On Rt. 37
Decemberunderground- OK so this is the album that gave us the song Miss Murder and if you remember 2006 especially around summertime, FUSE used to have a program called Warped Wednesdays and it was basically music videos from bands that were on the Warped Tour both past and present and this was featured prominently. In fact, I remember KROQ always playing this song around that time as well and it just got so overplayed. Now the rest of the album I would say half of it is good and the other half just gets kind of boring. To me it probably would’ve served better as an EP rather than a full length. I don’t know I kind of wanted to like this album a little bit better but again it just gets boring around the second half. I’m sure this one has its fans and I’m sure it’s considered a classic to those fans but to me it’s just meh. I’ll go ahead and give this one 6.5/10.
Standouts: Summer Shudder, Love Like Winter, Kill Caustic
Crash Love- I don’t wanna say this is a bad album because it’s not, but it almost feels kind of phoned in. I don’t know how to really describe it. It’s not their best work and this was one of those that I couldn’t wait to be over. I will say it does have more of an Indie rock feel rather than a post hard-core or post punk feel. Like there are moments of brilliance, but as a whole this record is just boring. The songs feel lackluster in a way and I would say this one is easily skipable. I’m gonna give this one 5/10.
Standouts: End Transmission, Veronica Sawyer Smokes
Burials- OK so with this album, it’s sort of gone back to that more darker tone that we heard on albums like Sing The Sorrow. Aside from it being a darker record it’s almost like a cinematic feel to it. I don’t know. I really can’t describe it but it’s a very interesting record to say the very least. I didn’t want to like this one as much and I didn’t really on the first lesson but listening to it again. I actually liked it a little bit better so I’m gonna go ahead and give this one 9/10. It’s a very interesting record.
Standouts: No Resurrection, 17 Crimes, Greater Than 84
AFI(The Blood Album)- this one almost feels like a B sides to the last album. I really want to like this one more because number one it’s a cool name The Blood Album and two the last album was so good that I wanted them to continue that trend. Now this album isn’t really a bad album in anyway it’s just maybe not as strong as the last album. Again like with Crash, there are some good moments, but as a whole, it didn’t really work. There’s a lot of really dull moments and a good amount of filler which, like I said it gets boring. I’m gonna go ahead and give this one 5/10.
Standouts: Hidden Knives, Dumb Kids
Bodies- I feel like this one has a little bit of everything that I’ve heard so far. It’s got some postpunk that we heard on earlier releases and it’s almost like a new wave feel. I feel like with the next album they might be trying to go in that direction and if they did, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit. You can definitely tell that with this album they’re trying to sort of evolve their sound and it works on here. I’m gonna give this one, 8.5/10.
Standouts: Looking Tragic, Escape From Los Angeles, Far Too Near
Silver Bleeds On The Black Sun….- OK so here we are in 2025 and we have new AFI. The thing I’ve noticed about this band is that every album that they do always sounds different than the last album. Sure there might’ve been some distinct similarities when they first started putting out albums, but still vastly different if that makes any sense. Now with this one, you can absolutely tell that they were very influenced by bands like Joy Division and The Cure (damn the fact that I can hear it now is crazy given how I started listening to music). You know for an album that came out October 3, 2025, this very much sounds like an 80s album. It sounds like an 80s album, but with modern production. You know if one word to ask me back in the day if I like this album, it would’ve been an absolutely resounding hell no!!! But now I quite enjoy this album and it’s definitely going to make my list of great albums that came out in 2025. I’m giving this a very strong 9.5/10.
Standouts: Holy Visions, Marguerite, Spear Of Truth
I can tell that this is one of those bands that has one of those kind of rabid fan bases. Like the people that like this band LOVE this band and I can see why. Even their kind of not so great albums are really not that bad. I think I saw them live years ago but I honestly don’t really remember and I kinda would like to see them again.
Final Grade: B
Album Rankings:
- Sing The Sorrow
- The Art Of Drowning
- Burials
- All Hallows EP
- Silver Bleeds On The Black Sun….
- Black Sails In The Sunset
- Bodies
- Very Proud Of Ya
- Answer That And Stay Fashionable
- Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes
- Decemberunderground
- Crash Love
- AFI(The Blood Album)
Sinister Reviews 