When the world last saw AFI, the multi-platinum group was packing venues behind 2017’s AFI (The Blood Album), which hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Hard Rock Albums Charts and No. 5 on The Billboard 200. It was the band’s second consecutive Top 10 Billboard debut, following 2013’s Burials.
Q gave AFI (The Blood Album) 4 stars, and the AV Club said the band sounded “as fired up now as they were 25 years ago.” People magazine made it a Pick of the Week, Kerrang called it a “serious contender” for the Best Albums of 2017 list, The 405 praised it as “their strongest album in a decade” and ABC News gave it 3.5 stars and described it as “a dynamic record that should please both old and new fans of the band.”
After the release of AFI (The Blood Album), the band was hardly content to rest on its laurels. AFI then released yet another highly-praised addition to their discography, 2018’s The Missing Man EP. They quickly followed that release and extensive headline touring by thrilling audiences with a series of 2019 performances alongside The Smashing Pumpkins.
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AFI’s unshakeable connection with their audience is a testament to the band’s knack for reinvention, renewal, and exploration, anchored by an unblemished authenticity. AFI songs are embedded in the spiritual DNA of a legion of supporters, and these new songs are further demonstration of AFI’s unwavering commitment to artistic exploration, a dark conjuration of an uncapturable muse.
The band initially summoned a steady subcultural groundswell in the mid-90s, devoid of careerist ambitions. The band first made music as teenaged misfits in an obscure Northern California town, steadily assembling a dense catalog over the years marked by its diversity and authenticity. Davey Havok, Adam Carson, Hunter Burgan and Jade Puget keep their eyes fixed on the present and future, ensuring their position as a uniquely vibrant artistic force remains steadfast and strong.
Like similarly artistically-minded iconic bands, AFI’s ever-evolving identity has kept their sound, themes, and overall image fresh. A place in rock n’ roll history assured by magical musical androgyny, both post-modern and timeless, AFI remains guided by the flames of authenticity and determination that defined their first ten albums and are sure to drive the next ten and beyond.