.

.

by Keavin Wiggins
.

The story of AFI is one of passion and devotion. A story of a band that has stuck to their guns, year in and year out and in the process won the hearts and ears of fans across the world without once giving in to temptation and compromising their artistic integrity. 

Really good music should connect with fans on an emotional level. When AFI decided on their name, which stands for A Fire Inside, they were not only adopting a moniker but also a calling. 

With AFI it's not about labels, fashion, image, or getting a video on TRL. Since their beginnings they have never strayed from producing a street level brand of music that fans who feel the passion can latch on to. Even now as they make the jump from kings of the indie underground to a major label band, they have stayed true to their roots and continue to ingore those voices telling them to sacrifice or compromise that fire inside that has held them and their fans captive for a decade. "To play music you're passionate about every night � it's like a dream.  Sometimes you get sick; sometimes you get really tired, but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life," says AFI frontman Davey Havok. 

Fears of the band selling out when they landed a major label deal are quickly forgotten as you delve into the music on their DreamWorks debut, "Sing The Sorrow".  AFI's music still rings with an uncompromising assault of emotion and power as well as musical integrity. 

AFI has always followed their own direction and that is very apparent on "Sing The Sorrow". They don't play themselves into a corner; instead they bring about a culmination of various styles and "Sing the Sorrow" is just the next evolution of the formula that has always had punk at its core but also wasn't afraid to break the rules and reach out in other musical directions (in true punk fashion). The lead off single "Girl's Not Grey" seems to have it all, a driving beat, incendiary guitars and a hard-hitting melody set against a multi-textured and powerful backbone. 

"Bleed Black" should keep old school fans happy and give newer fans a glimpse into the heavier side of AFI. And it ain't about Hot Tropic t-shirts and pop songs with guitars. If anything AFI bridges the world of the 70's style punk of bands like The Clash and The Ramones with a modern 21st century influx of styles that came after those formidable bands. 

"Death of Seasons" is a full throttle rocker that should kick fans in the ass and having them screaming for more. You won't find posers like Sum41 belting out tunes like this. But it's not straight ahead hard core, it's a further explorations of a musical world that knows no bounds, similar in that respect to the music of Faith No More, another band that wasn't afraid to break the rules and do what the hell they wanted. 

"The Leaving Song Pt. 2" delves into a progressive punk that flirts on the edges of metal but stays true to the core punk theme. Although pop bands that claim punk credentials have blurred the lines over the years, there is no mistaking the punk credentials in the vocals here but musically this songs goes far beyond that and takes us into the heart of AFI's multi-genre approach to music. 

"We've always been able to do anything we want," says guitarist Jade Puget.  "The credit for that goes to both the band and our fans: to us for striving not to sound like anyone else, and to our fans for embracing those changes and looking forward to the new directions each new record will take."

"Sing The Sorrow" isn't a massive change in direction for the band, they do stay true to their past but they also build upon that foundation and take the next logical step. They won't let others dictate what defines them. Not the fans, and certainly not record executives. Which is why DreamWorks is about the only major label that makes sense for a band like AFI, as they offer bands the best of both worlds; a freedom to be who they are and the resources to bring that vision to a mass audience. 

But even with a major label behind them the band still sticks to their "do it yourself" work ethics. "It also comes from never having any other choice but to do everything ourselves," Havok says.  "We never planned or had any expectation of assistance from anyone else.  And thanks to that work ethic, we were able to grow slowly and naturally so that when others gradually took an interest in what we were doing, whether it was Nitro [Records] or DreamWorks or whoever, they realized they couldn't change us even if they wanted to."

It has taken the band ten years to get to this point and once you hear "Sing the Sorrow" you can see that the journey couldn't have been made any other way. It's been a long and hard path for the band but they always kept "a fire inside" burning--pushing them forward to each new moment of truth. One of those moments is now at hand and this album proves the nay Sayers wrong; an underground band can reach beyond their core and reach out to a mass audience without compromising and in turn they may just bring the mainstream into the underground. Whether AFI accomplished that with "Sing the Sorrow" we will have to wait and see but there is no doubt that the band and more importantly the music is up to the task!