THE STRANGE HISTORY OF AFI
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- Опубліковано 27 кві 2024
- The strange history of AFI that made them one of the most important bands in punk and alternative music:
* Their skatepunk era ("Answer That And Stay Fashionable") and melodic hardcore era ("Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes")
* AFI's horrorpunk era ("Black Sails" and "All Hallows EP")
* The mainstream breakthrough with "Decemberunderground" and "Miss Murder"
* The post-punk era: "Burials," the blood album and "Bodies"
* How Davey Havok popularized straight edge and hardcore, and his projects like XTRMST
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0:00 Intro
3:04 AFI's skatepunk & hardcore era
6:01 "All Hallow's Eve" & the horrorpunk era
7:10 "Sing The Sorrow"
10:33 "Decemberunderground"
13:33 "The Leaving Song Pt 2" video
16:25 "Burials" & the post-punk era
18:13 AFI's legacy & influence - Розваги
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/finnmckenty
Oh man I love AFI they made misfits cool again by having horror punk influence. I said that before I watched it you already covered that lol i like every era by them. They're synth pop not as much but it's still pretty good for what it is.
AFI made the misfits relevant? 🤔
Hey fin how are you? Having a chill day so far?
No.
@@xqc-5734 so edgy
AFI is criminally slept on for how unbelievably inspired and unique their writing was.
Emphasis on WAS.
Miss Murder 259million plays on spotify.... sounds more like they've found their entire potential audience. Is it so hard to believe a style of music isn't for everyone?
@@crown_7295 yes because rock radio stations around the US (for much of AFIs run) dictated song circulation and discovery to mainstream audiences. Much of AFIs work was deemed “too edgy” and was skipped on radio rotation despite being genius. AFI with better song representation during their rise would have been as big as MCR, Korn, Linkin Park, etc. but were held back due to perceptions about their demo being “too narrow”.
"unique and inspired"
Also the band " Hey miss murder may i. take my LIOOOOFFFFEEEEE WOOOAAAAAHHHHH"
Nah these guys were grown ass men trying to kick it with the younger fans. Creepy and very uninspired
Underrated
The art of drowning is extremely underrated. People talk about black sails and then go to sing the sorrow, you didn’t even mention it. Art of drowning is one of those albums for me that never gets old. Despair factor is an all time fav
the art of drowning is a masterpiece to my ears. I didn't really get into everything after that, just wasn't my thing. but the art of drowning will always be pinnacle AFI for me. Just a great album and is always overlooked for some reason. Not sure why : (
Agree
Art of Drowning is my favorite album by them.
I agree. The Art Of Drowning is a stone cold classic!
Yeah, Art of Drowning is what got me into them. And I still believe Days of the Phoenix is one of the best songs ever written and I still get goosebumps when I see the intense video...
When I was 15 I went to see AFI and Strung Out at a hole in the wall 15 minutes outside of Orange County. Davie was selling his own merch and I was starstruck despite them being so unbelievably humble at that time. He noticed I was smoking a cigarette and he told me that if I put it out he would give me my patches for free. I did. He did. I'll never forget it. I haven't smoked since.....by the way, he played last caress that night and I'm pretty sure there's a video of it.
That's so sick
I simply cannot imagine the self-control that goes into being straight edge. I'm on the patch and I'm still vaping. Fuck.
Props for listening to Strung Out. I was introduced to SoCal hardcore from Crusty Demons of Dirt. Fuck yeah.
@@seanbaskett5506 I started listening to punk in the early 90s when I first started high school. And by the time I was in my 30s. I'd already been addicted to everything you can imagine and i've been in recovery now for about ten years. When everything you do is based on substance abuse your life can get pretty bleak. After that, you get some time on your belt and the years that you spend without doing any drugs or alcohol. Get easier and easier because those natural endorphins are available to register in your brain again. I wouldn't trade sobriety for anything now.
@@seanbaskett5506I think it depends on the person. I had that straight edge mindset for years... probably until I was nineteen, until I decided to try boozery and smoking. Admittedly my first tenure into the world of alcohol was pretty heavy like any other person turning twenty who was in university, but I grew out of that phase and now I do both of those rather sparingly.
I know there's some folks who can't go without smoking for a few hours, but I literally was going through a pack of cigarettes in the span of maybe six to eight months, and I switched to the vape for my few puffs every few weeks. And when it comes to alcohol, I consume it rarely and rather minuscule in amounts too. It's a level of discipline I don't even need think of since I'm not dependent on the stuff, but I'm sure it's very different for someone who's super reliant on either or both to get by in their lives.
Of course, different people have different relationships with substances such as those. I remember in an interview AFI's guitarist mentioned he drank a few times at parties back in the day, but he never cared for it and ultimately found the Straight Edge lifestyle being more rewarding by comparison.
Sing the sorrow might be my favourite album of all time. Not one skippable track, have listened to for years and years and will listen to it for the rest of my life
Same. It's still in my regular rotation and I bought it the day it came out. It really is a masterpiece.
I timeless piece ❤
This album along with self titled the used debut album were such a different sound and probably my favorite time in music. Those 2 albums are up with my favorite albums of all time
i got the silver CD instead of the standard red one... still have it and listen to it
This album is one of the few I never listen to on shuffle. I think it just flows so perfectly from start to finish.
StS is a work of art, in my eyes. The Great Disappointment is one of my all time favorite AFI tracks
"nobody is asking Hatebreed to go make a ska album, right?"
Well I fucking am NOW
Jamey Jasta did a song with Catch 22. So at least one of the members has done ska
ua-cam.com/video/vfZM7ODsEk0/v-deo.html
Literally had the same thought!
@@xgx666 wtf this rules?!? Like, I hate ska punk, but anyone who doesn't want an album of this is WEAK.
As long as Jasta still does the same vocal style, then I'm down.
Decemberunderground was my introduction when I was 14. I went backwards from there and completely fell in love with everything they put out. They absolutely kill every album. So much respect for a band that can reinvent themselves over and over and still be 100% authentic. Davey and Jade are legendary together.
Props on going backwards! Many who heard the catchy stuff couldn’t really get into either their more hardcore or goth/emo sounds. And vice versa, those who loved the first few albums were really put off by the poppy-ness of Miss Murder and such. As this video strongly proposes, I too think they’re consistently stellar - you just gotta be open to change
I am older so I did not have as far back to go when I found Black Sails, but I get it!
@@Michael-kp4bd Well said. I do have the most nostalgia for the late 90s early 00s albums, but respect it all!
I was 12, loved decemberunderground! UA-cam was still an infant but I found the music videos from Sing the Sorrow, then the rest of their albums on their website! I’ve had no issues calling them my favorite band since then!
@@SevenDaySunset Good times!
The art of drowning is quite literally one of the greatest albums of all time. Listening to it in its entirety from start to finish is flawless. Every track holds your attention to the end, then as soon as the next track starts, you're already sucked in. It flows so perfectly from one track to the next. Its one of those albums where its hard to listen to one song from the album without wanting to listen to the whole thing.
I dig there punk sound of very proud of you but the dark side of art of drowning is also super amazing I would say it’s honestly my second favorite album from them
agreed. It was really weird that that album was not mentioned here. Absolutely their best offering and the pinnacle of their horror punk era.
Black Sails is better imo. Both great tho
My dad had listened to them since 94’ and they were his all time favorite band. He got me into them and I will forever be thankful for that. 🕊️
I hope you my kids say this some day
TELL YOUR DAD YOU LOVE HIM.....is your icon fucking nicacado?
Jade is an extremely underrated guitarist. His ability to make a one guitar band sound huge is incredible.
Well, he can in the studio. Playing live it's not like that.
That is because of his Gibson Les Paul Studio. The humbucker sound is much fatter than single coils.
Yeah he multitracks a lot
In the studio he multitracks, but live I believe he mics his cab with two or more mics. He also tends to play thicker chords using most of his strings, rather than just power chords over and over again
Is anyone surprised so many high-school girls like me fell in love with their albums? Spooky, emotional, romantic, poetic and yet still hard-core. I'm definitely a forever fan.
Im not. They make music for that demo.
That was me! Spoke to my soul lol
I did. I was 14 when i found them. That was a great year!
They were skate punk when i was in high school, and i dated a guy who loved Davey Havok. He didn’t look like him but his style was influenced by him.
:raises hand: Yep! I found them in like, 2002/2003 and have loved them ever since.
Jade Puget joining the band made a huge impact in the sound of the band. Black Sails in The Sunset is a masterpiece.
He had a big impact not just on the music, but Davey HAvok himself.
Dvey HAvok, Jade and Nick 13 from Tiger army, all lived in the same frat house. Which they called the squat. But really wasnt a squat cause they were allowed to live there pretty much rent free, but they lived in essentially 1 room that was the size of a walk in closet.
Jade moved into daveys room when he joined the band, since he had no where to live.
In fact, they were living in that flat when they got signed to i think warner bros records. Releasing sing the sorrow, which propelled them into fame and money.
First chance they got, they ditched that flat and got their own places.
But it was nick 13, and Jade being involved in daveys creative process that changed the band into the modern version of AFI.
When I was in 9th Grade I saw the video for Leaving Song Part II....it changed my life and I started going back and listening to AFIs older stuff. That paved the way to me getting into punk. Mad respect to AFI. Thank you for the video.
Every year when the summer finally dies, black sails and sing the sorrow always carry me into the autumn. Something always vibe with me since I was 7 years old. I'm 29 now. A tradition that I'll never get rid of. This time of year is also when HIM makes an appearance.
same! gotta put all hallows ep and art of drowning in there too
@@crazziemonkke of course!
Hell yeah same here! Also the misfits, rob zombie, manson. It's gotta be a "Seasonal thing" it just feels right! Haha
Sing the sorrow is their best album, and I'm a diehard, wife is too. Just where I was at in life when that album came out.
Third season...
I can't even begin to explain how important this band has been in my life. They literally grew the same way musically I have through my life and I'll never stop listening to them
Oi! Oi! Same. They will always be my all time favorite band.
I see you're a man of culture as well
I had a art history lecturer who described The Beatles as a high modernist band because of their ability to change styles almost on a whim and keep their high standards at the same time.
Your description of AFI made me think of that.
i just want to take a minute to express how much i love davey’s use of lyrics. he uses words to paint a picture of a feeling or an environment instead of telling you directly what’s happening, it makes his lyrics nuanced in an evocative show-not-tell fashion. i’ve always felt this way of writing leaves the listener to take whatever they need from the music and make their own meaning and importance out of it.
I don't speak English natively, and I swear, Davey's lyrics helped expand my vocabulary quite extensively. Pretty sure there are words I wouldn't have learned the meaning of otherwise. XD
YES! His lyrics are straight poetry. So beautiful
I’d say The best artist write in parables. The best music is.
I distinctly remember looking up ‘filigree’ (from God Called in Sick Today) and ‘imbrued’ (Girl’s Not Grey) in middle school. Thanks for the improved vocab, Davey!
“AFI ruined punk for me. Not in the way of, I heard AFI and never wanted to listen to punk again. I mean, whenever one of my friends would show me some new punk band, I’d say, this is good, but have you listened to AFI?” - Gwarsenio Hall
I did the same shit haha
"afi aren't the best punk band. but they're the best good punk band." -- also Gwarsenio
Right on Gwarsenio, I knew several east coast kids that hated afi cause they were "cali punk"
Too bad they only made 4 punk albums over 20 years ago.
@@Radam_Jay oh yeah. tragic. :D
Sing the Sorrow is a literal masterpiece.
That album got me through high school
The hidden tracks were true gems!! 🤌🏼🤌🏼
@@jofranco238 funny thing is I can’t find Synesthesia on like Spotify but they have this time imperfect. (The difference being the countries of release iirc). It’s annoying because both are excellent songs.
Hell yes. STS is probably the most perfect album when considering the theme, atmosphere and lyrical geniusness.
Silver and Cold was my favorite off the album for a while, and when I visited Prague as a 26 year old, I really eagerly ran out to the bridge in the music video 😂
Many people have talked and written about how ones teenage years are a blur, because of teenage angst and the pressure of growing up. I don't remember things too vividly from back then, either. But I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing and how I felt when I discovered AFI. I think that says a lot about their impact (at least, on me personally) to be honest.
This is the only band that I absolutely love everything they’ve released. I can’t name a single album that’s better than the others. Just a shame that 20+ years as a fan and I still haven’t seen them live
I can’t say enough good things about every member of AFI that I’ve come across over the last 23 years. From their shows at the Phoenix Theater to the night they signed to a major to Coachella….they’ve always been so kind. So happy for their continued success. They deserve it.
Ukiah CA boys represent
@FoRmEr OuTLaW84 jelly much?
@FoRmEr OuTLaW84 🤣
@FoRmEr OuTLaW84 I agree completely. Thinly veiled “I’m the main character” comment.
@FoRmEr OuTLaW84 you must be a blast at parties
The virgin expensive youtuber backdrop vs the chad Mother In Law’s spare room
I remember pretending not to like Sing the Sorrow, but I would listen to it almost everyday before going surfing hahaha
That album is incredible.
That was me too I graduated high school 08 in Mississippi. Afi was definitely “weird and gay” but after I heard leaving song pt2 I got that album and was sold the writing the whole vibe was so different than anything I had ever heard. I love art of drowning and black sails but sing the sorrow does something special for my soul
Sing the sorrow, would be the first album i ever bought myself, that was real serious music.
I saw the video of girls not grey, and had no idea what i was watching.
Had no clue who AFI was, or their history. I didnt even realize they were from the punk scene.
I wanted to be a skater back in 03 when i was in the 8th grade.
All my friends skated, so I started learning how, and it was like kismet.
All my friends wanted to be punks and skaters. But none of us knew what it was.
But I would discover AFI, and then move to southern cal where i was perfectly positioned to become a punk, and start a band. It all lined up like fate had been leading me to that point.
In the 8th grade i would start listening to street punk, and buy my fiorst pair of tight jeans. and people didnt wear them outside of the punk scene, so everyone thought tight jeans were weird.
Then my first day of high school, I decided to plant my flag, and start at a new school as the person i wanted to be perceieved of being.
So I wore tight paints with patches, a hoody with a GBH back patch, and my All hallows Tshirt.
Within five min, a kid who was in a grade ahead of me, came up to me and he was like, you like AFI and GBH? I was like, yea... and he was like sick, so you been to any punk shows?
I told him id been to two.
Said I saw my friends brothers band play a few years ago, they were skate punk from the 90s, and i went to soma to see casualties, a global threat and clit 45.
He invited me to go meet his friends, and we would hit it off immediately.
Wanted to then spend all our time hanging out, and that first day they would say they are looking for a singer for their punk band.
I ended up replacing kevin which was messed up, cause he brought me into their circle. Eventually we would have a falling out cause his parents were super strict.
They didnt want him dressing punk, or hanging around freaks.
So we had to kick him out cause frankly, he wasnt that great of a singer.
I was able to change my voice. So I was the logical voice.
Since i would spend time singing casualties and toxic narcotic at the top of my lungs, working out my vocal cords, and i would bring the sound of a global threat to a more hardcore sound, and my band was born.
All because AFI, came on one time when i was standing in the living room watching MTV.
I immediately took my allowance, and before moving to chula vista, I bought sing the sorrow. and from then on, i decided i would be punk rock.
So I became a punk. And while my ideology has evolved, I am still at my core, a punk. Even if today, im more about cyber punk technology, and less about anarcho collectivist politics.
OMG. I was the same way. I was into hip-hop and soul. I would listen to AFI, Coheed & Cambria, everyday whenever I had any privacy. I was actually scared of my stuff called friends finding out. I hated being so popular. I missed out on on so much.
Just saw them live yesterday and I am surprised Davey's vocal was still top notch and their performance was very energetic. Love that they played most of their older songs from art of drowning and sing the sorrow. 😊 its was so amazing🥰🥰🤩
I don't know how he does it, honestly- I sang in bands for years and the AFI influenced screamo songs we did left me without a voice for days after🙊
AFI has been my favorite band since 2000 when I was a 14 year old just learning what punk music was. I know a lot of people don't like their current sound, and I still prefer "old AFI." But we have to remember, these dudes are almost 50 years old. If they were still sitting there pretending they were oppressed street punks, it would feel insincere and like total bullshit.
Thank you! I enjoyed their new release because I really felt there was a nostalgia about it that made me long for the days of Sing the Sorrow and Miss Murder but loved they were moving forward, like we all are. Plus releasing music in a pandemic is not ideal
They changed over to their current sound, starting with Sing The Sorrow because Davey pulled a Meat Loaf and destroyed his vocal chords. He had to change his style if he wanted to continue to perform/record. I love old AFI, but I still respect their newer stuff.
I was born in 93 and remember buying sing the sorrow when it came out and have willfully stayed ignorant of everything after that. Couldnt tell you what "miss murder" sounds like lol
Me and my friends shouting whooaaa ohhh along to AFI was the sound of growing up to me
I was 15 and Wester was the 1st song I heard and I was hooked. They’ve been one of my favorites ever since (36 now) my kids even love them bc they’ve heard them since they were babies.
AFI 2003-7 was a Hot Topic manager's WET DREAM. They checked ALL the boxes. It was like an entire Hot Topic with all of its various niches and nuances chewed up and spit out into one band. As a teenager I devoured EVERY morsel. Still an AFI fan today, and am always excited to see how they evolve with each new release.
💯
hehe, AFI were the embodiment of late 90s to mid-2000s Hot Topic. I ate it up too in high school, but I pretty much stopped listening to them after HS. I just wasn't a fan fo their "theratical emo" sound and got bored of all the albums I had by then (I had all the albums up to Art of Drowning).
Sure in terms of how they LOOKED, but the band wasnt a staple of goth culture.
None of the hottopic kids at my high school back in 04 listened to afi. They listened to bands like a perfect circle, nirvana and all that.
Only punks listened to AFI.
Shit thats how i met my band, through our shared love for AFI.
Also back then, everyone thought DAvey Havok was gay.
Hilarious that one time an interviewer was like, lets take fan questions.
One fan sent in the question, is davey HAvok gay? Does he have a lover or whatever?
And Davey Havok was like, dumb founded, saying, Im not gay.
Maybe it was the extremely GAY looks he and jade shared in their videos. Which i didnt get either as a kid when i first saw them.
I didnt understand thats just how they were.
They werent gay, they were just effeminate. and that was cool. When my friend kevin was like, yea you do know Davey Havok was gay, I just said, yea, i dont think so.
They were like his bf is the guitarist.
Im like, i doubt that. Davey sings about beauty as if he is referring to a female.
So aesthetically was AFI a great band to market to hottopic poser kids?
Sure, but they didnt LISTEN to afi. They just wanted to look like Davey HAvok, and wear their sing the sorrow Tshirts.
While the true punks into AFI were buying All hallows Tshirts.
@@NEUR0MANCER_lol bullshit.
I graduated HS in 2004 and NO ONE who shopped at Hot Topic was listening to Nirvana.
By 2004 the mainstream emo bands had completely overtaken Hot Topic.
Was your Hot Topic located in some third-world country that was 10-20 years behind western civilization? Because in that case, I could see teenagers in 2004 listening to Nirvana lol
People evolve and change over time, and I think their changes have seemed fluid and natural. I know my styles have evolved and improved over time. However, Sing the Sorrow is my favorite era-but the band having a more post punk/Joy Division vibe at this time sort of flows with and fits with my own preferences, as well. 🖤
Totally agree
Art of drowning was the transition album and possibly their greatest work. Sing the sorrow is great, and definitely a masterpiece, but there was an element of actual punk snottiness on Art of Drowning that disappears on Sing the Sorrow. Art of drowning had everything, misfits nods, big chants, punk aggression, a bit of horror, a lot of moodiness, high tempos, and classic epitaph/nitro style production. Oof. Can't believe you didn't mention that one man.
For sure Art of Drowning is one of their best albums. It’s so damn catchy, energetic, and Davey’s voice really started to show range. There isn’t a bad track on that album.
Yeah, how do you make a history of AFI and not even mention this album?
Finn: “Nobody is asking Hatebreed to make a ska album.”
Me:
🤔🤔
Lol!
That would ve hilarious.
Yeah. Im like fuck yeah. Ska always wins 🏆
Nooooooo lol
Angry Ska
Black sails in the sunset was a huge influence on my life and I still listen to it on heavy rotation.
My favorite album. Love it so much
Black sails and art of drowning were next level and still hold up for sure
Its my favorite I have it on vinyl
Black sails -> All Hallow’s EP -> art of drowning era…… still some of my favourite all time music to this day. Can remember as a 17 year old listening to that in 99
Me too!
Heyyo, 1982 stand up! Let's get in a knife fight about the 🎶
This was SUPER insightful for me.
I got into AFI in 2004 when I was 20 through Sing the Sorrow. Going back through their discography, I didn't enjoy before Black Sails. And as they released new music, the last album I loved was Crash Love. Burials had its moments but that was where I got off.
This video totally made me understand why that was the case and educated me on different genres and sub-genres.
Just excellent - thank you sir
AFI were literally one of the first bands that got me into rock music in 2003. Their album Sing The Sorrow is hands down one of the best rock albums of the 2000s. Ever since then I’ve been a huge fan.
Same. Was just telling my wife this. For me it was AFI and Billy Talent
Yesssss exactly the same for me. Sing the Sorrow got me through so many tough times. It still holds up
Same.
@@TheRando10 billy talent!!!
I listened to them because the girls did. It got me laid when I started wearing eye liner and dyed my hair midnight black.
I'm here because of afi. They definitely got me into punk, hardcore and every other crazy sub genre and really expanded my mind with philosophy etc. They inspired me to make music and for that I'm eternally grateful.
Same
They still are so underrated. They are so inspiring
Them and deftones
Lmao
@@gregvaldez1269 Crazy sane for me . Love both so much
I appreciate how, even though not a fan of their current sound, you are able to present the larger picture and pay your respects to an undeniably great and influential band.
I've never told anyone that listening to AFI in my senior year of high school made me lose my faith. But it came back to me
Black Sails in the Sunset and Art of Drowning are absolute perfection
I was thinking the same thing. Those albums raise the bar as high as Mount Everest. The absolute peak of AFI.
Absolutely their best albums. All Hollows EP too.
All hallows EP & Art of Drowning💕
That is correct
yep, anything after that was absolute trash
Listening to AFI in early high school (SING THE SORROW, specifically) made me realize that I *needed* music to get by; that it wasn't an optional aesthetic of living. Through their evolution, it's obvious that AFI and bands like them who mature on their own time feel the same way, which is a damn cool bridge to share with strangers. Damn good retrospective, Finn. Best of luck on the move.
Crazy that there isn't any analysis videos on AFI on here. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. You freaking rock!
SING THE SORROW is 10/10 perfection all the way through. One of the greatest records ever.
The Boy Who Destroyed The World was on a Tony Hawk game and that was the first song I heard from them. Was the favourite song by all my friends who played that game
Hell yeah! I remember that. Pro skater 2 I think... The one with the yellow n64 cartridge. I was already into AFI before then, I remember being STOKED when I heard that while doing a 360 melon off the ground, into a nose grind, into a manual, kickflip, manual, kickflip, up the ramp- 720 boneless, manual, kickflip, manual, kickflip.... You'll know exactly what I'm talking about I'm sure... Hahah.
@@danielnelson4881 It was THPS3 actually. I liked that song too. That's game's soundtrack as a whole was awesome.
@@archiemisc Yeah! You're probably right, I couldn't remember.
As a 7-10 year old at the time, THPS3 influenced my music taste for the rest of my life. Definitely went down the rabbit hole lol
Sing The Sorrow was my introduction to AFI when i was like 11 years old, I'm 28 now. Still my favorite album of there's until this day, I remember that's when Hot Topic was in it's prime and had that whole scene in it's store and totally highjacked The Nightmare Before Christmas stuff lol. Man it's crazy how time fly's, i love some good nostalgia
I stumbled onto this band listening to a Punk O Rama given to me by a friend back when. The song I first ever heard was A Single Second. From then it was a love story to me that introduced me to punk. I adore all of AFI. I once apon a time went to Warped Tour...possibly 2003. Good Charlotte was playing and AFi was not on the list of bands to play during the tour. But they showed up. I lost my shit. I had a film camera I had checked out from my photo class in high school. I tried to get to the front while they played and some old dude asked me if I wanted to go up (he meant crowd surf) and I said hell yeah. I was surfed to the front where a bunch of security dudes would bring you down so you could run back around. But this dude set me down right behind the gates and gave me a thumbs up and now I was as close to AFI as I could get. I snapped so many dope ass photos of the band. I felt like I was so blessed to be there. Davey had electrical tape around his arms. They played Art of Drowning and Black Sails. I ended up losing that camera in a moshpit later to a Glassjaw pit. But I had removed the film. Those photos are forever lost now, but what I did develop from that roll of film I'll never forget. They were damn good pictures of AFI. I got plenty of A's in that class. But the money I owed for the loss of the camera almost fucked me from graduating. Punk Rock.
I'm 10 years older and AFI was my midlife crisis band. It threw me back to the punk scene and introduced me to so much more including turning straightedge at the age of 28. At 53 I am still straightedge, and they continue to be one of my favorite bands. Gotta agrree 100% with Ben.❤❤🎉
I was obsessed with All Hallows ep, and their cover of the Cure’s just like heaven is absolutely amazing!
That was cool, the whole MTV Icon show was amazing where Blink, Defones, AFI, etc all dedicated and played covers to an audience including The Cure themselves. So much nostalgia.
Totally agree! In fact, I'm gonna go watch that perfromance right now for the 100th time
I always wished there would have been a studio cut of that Cure cover
Totalimmortal is the song that got me into punk.
Hanging garden cover is good too
This band was my life for so long. Black Sails and Art of Drowning are everything to me.
Add All Hallows Eve and Im right there with you. Total Imortal is my All Time Fav AFI Song.
Same and it was basically skipped over lol
Same. AFI was one of the most important bands ever to me
Big facts. Lol can y'all tell?
My people!
I was like 11-12 years old and my older brother threw Sing the Sorrow cd at me and told me “listen to this until you like it” because he figured out when we were little kids that I had a passion for music. I loved AFI instantly. I just introduced them to my 13 year old daughter tonight and she was digging them.
Davey Havok got me writing at a young age. His lyrics were always so beautiful..dark and eloquent. So stoked you made a video on AFI. My first brush with them was when Sing the Sorrow was released and it just blew the door wide open to punk, post punk, goth, hardcore. One of my favorite bands of all time.
I will never forget the look on my friends face as we put in Sing the Sorrow on his cars stereo for the first time after he bought it from Best Buy. The look of betrayal was always hilarious to me lol
So funny. Being older this has happened so much to all of us by this point.
I had the exact same experience. It was so disappointing. Kinda funny to hear him call it a masterpiece.
They just need to expand their tastes. I can't imagine being a fan of only one type of music. Thanks to being open-minded, I've seen hundreds of bands in concert and met lots of band people because of going to different shows and festivals. Your friend is missing out.
@@oldladytrexarms oh I totally agree, but we were a couple of 17 year old punk kids from the suburb. We have totally branched out now but let's face it people when they're young have a very limited scope.
Yes! Death of Seasons for me is the quintessential AFI song. It has everything.
My favorite song on that album!
I was in high school when I first heard afi 1992. But I do like that song, now every after that, album wise. I gave up.
That song still blows me away to this day. I love it so much
Agreed
Third Season from Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes (1997) is my favorite AFI song of all time. The rest of the album is pretty fast paced compared to that track, but they slowed it down and added a bit of groove to that song, and it's awesome. The music video is super cool too. Very simple, but very good. I love the bass part. It's one of my favorite songs to play on guitar currently.
I'm an 80's hard rock/ metal kid and It's still what I listen too, but I love your videos. In the early 2000's I lived with a few Straight edge fellas (absolutely genuine and amazing humans). They turned me onto AFI and a few other bands. Fantastic band and fantastic educational videos on your end. 👆👍🤘
AFI's early material is awesome! Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes is still one of my favorite albums. I love everything before Sing The Sorrow.
You're missing out
Agreed. I used to skate to that album exclusively.
I loved everything through sing the sorrow. xD but I also just don't know their newer stuff.
Raw energy of Shut your mouth is just simply incredible
AFI offers something for everyone. But I'd definitely say to give Burials and Blood a chance. They do have punk sounds/darkness to them. My husband loves Burials more than STS.
Can we also just appreciate that Davey and Jade apparently have access to the Fountain of Youth?
Jade looks younger than me and I’m 32.
Yeah. They're drinking that Keanu Reeves and Brandon Flowers water!
Jade and davey look ancient now...what crack are you on. The only one who hasn't aged is Hunter
Actually he looks creepy as hell, a grown man who looks like a 12 yr old boy....
Vegan diet and sober lifestyle. They all look like they workout too.
@@starlifeforce No booze definitely helps. Alcohol ruins your skin.
I saw AFI in concert at Red Rocks Aphitheatre Denver, CO 1996 before they were well known at a festival. Honestly, I liked the raw punk sound they had before they got famous.
I can't help it when she cries, my soul brings tears to angelic eyes.
- Davey Havok
AFI is one of my favorite bands of all time. Skipped over an important fact to mention. When the bands sound drastically changed to a much more melodic sound on Black Sails, that was largely in part to the addition of guitarist Jade Puget.
Jade started playing with them in shut your mouth and open your eyes. It was Davey who wanted to incorporate all the weird literature he was reading at that time into the song writing and thus affected the musical style in the end.
@@NiRvAnA6890 Most of that is incorrect. Jade started joined AFI Nov 2, 1998. Shut your mouth came out in Nov 1997. Theres interviews where jade talks about joining. The first song they wrote together was
Malleus Maleficarum off Black Sails. I wont disagree Davey is the lyrical component, but i am speaking from a sonic stand point here. Definitely do some research :)
Jade is such a sweet heart
@@StayLoose I mean, Jade is credited on Shut Your Mouth on "additional guitars", and he was living with them before Mark left the band, so I wouldn't be surprised if he had some creative influence on that album
I’m pretty stoked on this video. I appreciate that even though you’re not the biggest AFI fan, you respect their importance in the scene. They are definitely a huge gateway into darker genres such as horror punk, goth and post punk, as well as hardcore and post hardcore.
As an emo kid in 2003-2005, Sing the Sorrow and Decemberunderground were my anthems.
I had the AFI tote bag from hot topic, wore their shirts, everything.
True, I was bullied for liking them, graffiti popped up around the school “AFI is gay” I vividly remember.
“This Celluloid Dream” still fucks to this day.
Oh and I will still fight for the Fall Out Boy album “From Under The Cork Tree” as the best album of the 2000’s, every song is a banger. Best party album.
Well you stand up loud and proud and tell them you're not ashamed of being gay.
I was a freshmen in high school when sing the sorrow came out. It is a defining album of my teenage years and still holds up today.
Sing the sorrow is one of my all time favorite albums. That intro still gives me chills - "Nothing from nowhere, I'm no one at all. Radiate, recognize one silent call as we all form one dark flame... incinerate"
"You! Are now! One....one of us!!!"
I always go back and struggle between Miseria Cantare or Prelude as AFI’s best intros.
My roommate and I were playing SoulCalibur II back in the day. We fired up the game and the album at the same time. Miseria Cantare went along with the opening video like it was made for it.
@@1GuyWith6Guns that sounds awesome!
I think the thing about AFI that has helped them a lot is that throughout all their stylistic changes, it has all felt authentic.
This!👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽
It's anything but authentic. It's the literally opposite of authentic. They just wanted your money.
100% agreed!
@@paeden5431 The fact that they didn't ride out the December underground sound, which was extremely lucrative for them contradicts your statement. Are a bunch of nearly 50 year old guys supposed to still be making skate punk music about how hard it is to be a kid? They aren't Blink 182.
@@paeden5431 Right they suck...
I been watching you off and on for several years now and finally decided to subscribe, thank you for bringing such rich an in-depth info vids on band that have left such a massive influence on so many of us, our music, our style, our life's and myself and my own music. Keep doing what you do friend
AFI has been my all time favorite band for the last 15 years. But bro….when you said YOU DIDNT REALLY LIKE SING THE SORROW BUT LOVE DECEMBERUNDERGOUND!?!? absolutely do not understand but that’s the beauty of music lmao
Thank you for shining some light on this incredible band 💚
I heard Girls not Grey on the radio and immediately knew they were something special. I bought Sing the Sorrow on the day it came out and I was blown away. I bought every album backwards after that, and I couldn't believe I never knew about this band. I was happy that I saw them live in concert twice, once during the Sing the Sorrow era and once a few years ago opening for the Smashing Pumpkins.
Finn, no love for Art of Drowning? Easily there best album imo, it is a masterpiece.
I would have said that's when the Goth really started hard also! Black Sails and AOD are 2 of the best albums getting around!
One of my favourite albums of all time
One of my personal favourites is Totalimmortal from the All Hallows EP, definitely were ahead of their time in the late 90s 🤘🏼
Art of Drowning is a prime slice of goth punk. Still one of the best albums of all time.
Thanks for giving “shut your mouth and…” proper respect. saw that one on tour and whitnessed Davey catching a flying jumpkick to the face from a sXe hardcore kid.
I found Sing the Sorrow by accident in the local music shop. I had a vague re collection of the band in a Much Music interview and I really liked what A Prayer Position sounded like so I thought what the hell, I'm going to buy this album. Living in a small town in Finland and without the internet, it was a very, very small chance for me to find that album. And I just fell in love. For me STS is the ultimate perfect album with the atmosphere and lyrics I can identify with so well.
I did end up having all of their albums and embracing them. December Underground was the last album I bought and what has come after that, I just haven't been able to connect with their music. Same goes for a lot of bands, like e.g. I really love the early Goo Goo Dolls, but they changed in to these middle aged crybabies and I just cannot take it. But AFI still means so much to me and always will.
Imagine telling a modern AFI fan that this band also put out two of the best hard-core punk albums that will ever exist.
What albums were they?
I often love to do this lol.
@@GilbertSyndrome Answer That And Stay Fashionable and Proud Of Ya, most commonly.
black sails in the sunset, as well!
@@chevyblake812 oh, many great albums before, but most usually consider that album a slightly different, equally pedantic genre lol. I love that one as well. All Hallows, of course.
Sing the Sorrow was my intro to AFI and I FELL IN LOVE...Such a great album! I was 13-14...such an iconic time....still feels weird that it was such a while back....it literally feels like yesterday. Miss those times--definitely was a very high period for the alternative/rock scene/esthetic..myspace..hot topic...the clothes you wore actually meant something.. and you could identify your crew and people who liked what you liked.....whereas nowadays, everyone just looks the same and people just wear whatever everyone else wears...its just a huge meaningless melting pot....alas... what I would do to get a time machine to back!!
Mine was The Boy Who Sold The World, on THPS.
This comment here is why I'm glad Im a 90s kid and want 14 till the 00s lmfao iconic time... Sing the Sorrow... So glad I got great music growing up
There are great scenes and fantastic bands out there today. The world of Spotify has changed things a bit so that quite a few listeners don’t go as deep into bands (and less focus on FULL albums, which were so monumental) and identify with them, but rather come across single after single… but at the same time, some do - and some Spotify playlist or recommendation might have been their entry point.
There’s a lot of what feels like cookie cutter garbage out now, but that’s always been the case. Every decade past is looked on with rose colored glasses as “the time of good music” when in reality, we remember the good stuff, and the garbage is forgotten or mocked and not considered quintessential. Just a thought.
I’m actually amazed that pop-punk is back in full force with Gen Z teens, i thought we’d need another decade for a resurgence. Does it compare to punk and hardcore of the 2000s? Probably not, but some of it will turn out to be timeless. If not for us, for the kids growing up with really solid artists currently hitting the scene.
Rock’s not dead!
I couldn’t agree more!! It may be nostalgia but there’s something to be said about pop cultures drastic change. You just don’t see many cliches anymore!! Where have all the punks gone 😂
decemberunderground was the first CD i bought with my own money. special place in my heart.
grew up in the sacramento area. i remember sneaking out of the house and going through the woods to go watch bands at the bar that was behind them. AFI was playing one night and it was one of the best concerts I had ever seen, and probably ever will. it honestly shaped my life musically.
It’s still crazy to me how AFI was getting heavy radio play during the mid-2000s. I miss those times.
It was a great time to be a teen. I doubt bands like that will ever be given heavy radio play ever again.
All that alternative music we had being played constantly made freshman year great.
@@joshuaholman7760 I think the radio and tv-stations have somehow gotten eveeeeb moooore watered down and "safe" since the proliferation of YT channels like this and streaming services like Spotify...
Where I live, near Toronto, there's very few radio stations that play new music, and they don't play new music exclusively! I still can't get used to Nirvana being "classic rock", and that said, All Hallows E.P is almost "classic rock" 😅 damn I feel old
@@tylercooke1288 bro, I heard Blink-182 on WOGL.
@@mramisuzuki6962 not sure what WOGL is 😬 blink 182 is a good example of that, I think, too! Enema of the state is considered classic rock, now! A lot of people were exposed to Blink182 through mainstream movies like American Pie and other teen comedies, and they became huuuge and were subsequently a gateway band, turning people onto "punk",exposing a lot of people to other, lesser-known bands that were still in the underground scene or on smaller independent labels
@@tylercooke1288 its crazy realizing that Nirvana and Alice in chains is deep in the era of classic rock now. And our classic rock channel in my city is starting to play early linkin Park and stained, as well as evanescence💀💀. Im not ready to for that reality lol.
It was a weird time when AFI and Alkaline Trio were suddenly “we’re vampires now.” But as someone into a bunch of different types of music back when it wasn’t cool, I was into it. Before that, I was stoked when Indecision covered Siouxsie and the Banshees or Kill Your Idols wore Joy Division shirts. But that was it. Not super into the hardcore to New Order pipeline taking place these days, but there’s no doubt AFI was a huge push in that direction. Bands just got more interesting after them.
I would say that the Beatles pulled the stylistic switches well, from their early British invasion phase to their folk rock phase, to their psychedelic phase, ending on their more traditional classic rock phase. They didn't just hop on trends. They set the trends. Even if you aren't a fan, these guys are worthy of respect too.
Their music is phenomenal, love their melodies and drums
@The Punk Rock MBA I’m sick at home today and this was the perfect thing to find waiting in my feed. Still my favorite band after all these years and it’s great seeing them get a dedicated profile like this. Excellent job and thanks for making today suck a little less 👍
It's been such a pleasure watching AFI get all the praise and respect that they deserve in the last 10ish years. Coming up in a hardcore punk scene in my youth, when I got into AFI between the sorrow and du era, there was no other band that got shit on more, especially during Decemberunderground, and if you liked them then you were into mainstream bullshit. I remember when when those same hardcore kids got a little older and more refined, suddenly more people started coming out of the woodwork singing AFI's praises, not just for their early stuff but for all of it. I love to see it, love to see it.
It's so weird now how much respect they're getting. I got hated on so much (especially for liking Crash Love) and now people are finally seeing how much AFI rocks. It's just interesting watching this happen over the past 17 years or so. (Only knew them when I discovered STS but I love all their past stuff, now.)
This band can do no wrong. Even if you grew out of their newer sound, you can still have a great time at their shows. I’ve never seen a band whose set lists varies so significantly from show to show. I don’t remember if it was always like this but it was definitely a big thing starting on the Blood tour. They still play with the same energy as they did in the earlier days too. There’s still plenty of fans that travel from city to city to see them when they tour. Plus, they’re all just all around good dude.
The message board back in the day was lit too. I’ve made so many life long friends from that and traveling and found a lot of what became my favorite bands from that board.
I’ll always have a special place in my heart for them. I have to now considering I’m covered in AFI tattoos.
Been a fan since the Very Proud of Ya Days. You took me back with that message board!
Saw them live during the 90's-00s and warped tour Era. AFI has always remained true to their genre of music, Davey's voice may have gotten softer, but by no fault of his own. Several surgeries from years of screaming. The second they shifted it a bit they were called sellouts, like green day. With AFI, couldn't have been farther from the truth...2022 still blasting their music🤘
I saw them at Warped Tour and wad disappointed since I mostly knew their very early material and didn't expect a brooding goth band.
I hate how the Art of Drowning is always overlooked.
Really I feel everyone lives and dies on art of drowning and burials and blood album get buried but that's just me
@@nowtheworld138 I'm not a fan of anything they came out with after Sing The Sorrow. Got a little too poppy for me. Black Sails seems to be everyone's go to album that likes the old stuff. Black Sails is great but I feel like the Art Of Drowning was the Magnum opus. It changed the direction of the band. I guess the same could be said for Sing The Sorrow.
@@junkheadINC I get you. Trust me when sing the sorrow came out and miseria cantare started playing I was like what is this? But took me all of 10 seconds to fall in love with the album. With that said give burials and the blood album a second listen. There are some really good songs. I know personally burials came out in a time where I was really going through some bad times personally and that album really saved my mental health
@@nowtheworld138 for sure. Not even gonna lie, I can remember when and where I was when I put that CD in my vehicle. I teared up a little. I had been waiting on that album seemingly so long and it just started out so emotional that it just added to everything. Plus in the moment I was going through a lot of life changes. I will try giving them another chance. I think December Underground really through me off with them. Just didn't like it. Maybe 2 songs I could have listened to at the time.
its really solid, like an evolution of BSITS
For Sing the Sorrow, I think Butch Vig's collaboration is not as important for producing Nevermind but as it is for producing Smashing Pumpkins' Gish and Siamese Dream - not only AFI were exploring broader sensibilities and styles like the Pumpkins, but also Vig had great experience already with helping a band evolve and explode.
I sincerely think the Leaving Song pt. 2 is one of the great post hard-core songs. It was the song that got me into AFI and I've still never heard anything quite like it--raw, dark, hard-core, yet methodical and restrained at the same time
Sing the sorrow was a key turning point in my music taste developing and diving into the punk and hardcore scene. They will always be my favorite band and I’m excited for their future.
“AFI played Halloween better than the Misfits, you can’t change my mind”
Their version of Head Like A Hole was better than NIN’s
Their version of Jack the ripper by Morrissey was so good
Their version of drink fight fuck was better than GG Allin's. Davey had more solid shits on stage as well.
Every single cover song they have ever played sounds better than the original
Except for seven nation army
@@jigan001 Have you heard their cover of My Michelle from guns n roses it's better than the original.
Girl's Not Grey was my introduction to this band. I didn't find out about their older stuff until 2007.
That video, the song, and Davey's looks made me fall in love with the band and I haven't stopped loving them, since.
oh that must be the song I heard from this band
Same
Ilove them, especially 4the poetry,and how they talk 2audience,this is unigue!I discovered themin2005,i think,and when i heard this tenor,i fell in love!Melody!Songwriting!Poetry, everything is well done!
Love them4staying true!
*THANK YOU for giving AFI the attention and respect they deserve*
I was a huge AFI fan in the early to kid 2000s. I sort of forgot all about them so I appreciate this video a lot. Great memories to their songs.
Great video, Finn. AFI was the band responsible for... every musical choice I've made since the age of 12.
AFI was the band that made me check out a lot of their influences when I was a teenager, I found a lot of 80s post punk/gothic rock bands like killing joke, the cult, christian death and sisters of mercy.
Yes!
This band made me who I am today. I still have every single album and ep they have ever put out. AFI shows back in 99’ WHERE WILD. they are my favorite band of all time. Jade is also imo one of the greatest guitar players of the modern era.
Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes got me into hard-core. Loved that album and wanted more like it. Got me into the early 80s hard-core bands.
I got into AFI my freshman year of high school (2006) when Decemberunderground and Miss Murder came out. I loved it so much I dived in headfirst into their discography. Black Sails is still my personal fav (especially Malleus Maleficarem) and I still listen to htem on repeat. Thanks for another great informational video!
Since 95' ive gone through every reimagining of this band. They didn't introduce me to hardcore but they did solidify me as a hardcore kid. There were years where i could not stand to listen to an album only to years later swear that same album is a masterpiece. Every time they dropped something new it was an experience since you had no idea what you were going to get. The same reason i love them so much was why id get so hurt when they'd flip the script. Seriously a couple of their albums hurt my feelings like "how could they do this to me"? I wanted more of what they did and they were already doing something completely different. I can now appreciate half their discography while the other half i cherish. Through it all though they've been my favorite band by a huge margin. Thank you for this video, it was spot on. Cheers!
Sing the sorrow is truly a masterpiece and still holds up today. Girls not grey the leaving song pt II silver and cold...those are my 3 favts
Total immortal is my introduction to a.f.i. Then I heard the art of drowning. Totally was hooked. Then sing the sorrow. Loved celluloid dream. Totally awesome and then December underground was Totally awesome. 😊
I will always love the East Bay Hardcore days of AFI that I was first introduced to, but I'm so stoked they've survived + evolved through the ages! I've been an AFI fan for more than half of my life, which is so crazy to me!
Dittttto
Yes EBHC was my life! That fking bass sound and 1-2 drum beat was everything for me in the 90's.
Finally someone mentions their EBHC days!! 👏👏
This Celluloid Dream might be one of my all time favorite songs!
I’ve been a huge fan of AFI for over a decade now & I always end up singing along to every single song they’ve ever come out with 😁❤️💕🤘🏼 I discovered them during their Decemberunderground era back in the mid 2000s when Fuse TV used to have some amazing rock content like Tattoo Stories & other rock content that they used to give but best believe I fell in love with that band even more listening to the full album as well as their older material like The Art of Drowning, Black Sails, Sing the Sorrow, etc. I’m still so proud of how far they’ve come ❤️💕❤️💕