ABLUM REVIEW: Silver Bleeds The Sun… – AFI
Punk legends, AFI, are back with a twist on their newest record, Silver Bleeds The Sun… Anyone evenly faintly familiar with the sounds of 00s rock will have come across AFI at some point with their unique take on goth-flecked punk, inspiring many bands, yet this time they have decided to move away from what’s become familiar. Their newest record instead experiments with goth rock and new wave, creating something that feels atmospheric, centring on themes relating to a dystopian existence where one questions the balance between good and evil.
It’s a haunting, awe-inspiring experience, and one you won’t soon forget. Opening track The Bird Of Prey sets the scene with low drums and the strumming of Medieval instruments that give it a folk feel, almost setting the stage of AFI being bards performing in the tavern. The scene then shifts when we blend into the next track, Behind The Clock where we hear the dark wave synths that will becoming a recurring feature of the album. We’ve now left the tavern and have set off on a journey through the woods where everything feels otherworldly, ethereal. We then experience another transition into something more gritty sounding thanks to the deep bass and low spoken word vocals that add a dramatic flair. The song then finishes on an 80s rock beat, comparable to Don’t You (Forget About Me) by SIMPLE MINDS.
The fun part of the dark wave style heard on the record is how we can travel back in time to the 80s where goth-rock started to gain popularity with names like BAUHAUS and THE CURE, to name a few, leading the movement. So, it should come as no surprise that these bands served as influences for AFI, heard even on their earlier music. In this category we have tracks like Ash Speck In A Green Eye, that manages to be both calming and fascinating with it’s blend of dark wave and 80s rock; Voidward, I Bend Back, which sounds heavily influenced by THE CURE; and A World Unmade, that features a distorted organ, giving it a place on a dark fantasy soundtrack, and has a solid dark wave production before fading out much like other songs from that time period, and older.
Yet one thing for sure is that not once does a single track feel dated or stereotypical. In fact, there are plenty of moments where we hear some more futuristic, industrial noises as heard on Holy Visions and Marguerite. And before anyone worries, or dares complain, about AFI branching out of their signature sounds, they concluded the record with NOONEUNDERGROUND that opens with ethereal noises, that seems to sound like screams, that peaks in volume before kicking off into a punk-rock composition, showing that they are still loyal to their roots. A stunning listening experience that serves to both educate you on the origins of goth-rock and also transports you to a world that is as vivid as it is calming.
Rating: 8/10
Silver Bleeds The Black Sun is out now via Run For Cover Records.
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