Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…

AFI are no strangers to goth’s dark arts, from the tortured hardcore anguish of 1999’s classic <i>Black Sails in the Sunset</i> and the smeared-guyliner sound of 2003’s commercial breakthrough <i>Sing the Sorrow</i> to the inky rock music of 2021’s <i>Bodies</i>. But on the California legends’ 12th studio album <i>Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…</i>, Davey Havok and company journey further into the shadowy sounds of 1980s rock than ever before. The anthemic “Blasphemy & Excess” is immediately reminiscent of Siouxie & The Banshees’ dark-clothing fantasias, while spring-loaded guitar lines bounce around “Ash Speck in a Green Eye” in a manner not unlike Joy Division’s singular sonic miserabilia. Splashy drums abound courtesy of long-time sticksman Adam Carson, whose machine-gun rhythms have mutated into pounding heartbeats—but the biggest change apparent is Havok’s voice, which has taken on a distinctly dramatic timbre after decades of howling into the void. AFI are still reinventing themselves more than 30 years into their career, and long-time fans of this group would never expect anything less.