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AFI Take Dark Direction

08/09/2013
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(Radio.com) AFI doesn't stand for "A Forever-changing Identity," but perhaps it should. Though the compound modifier might be cheating a bit, the sentiment describes the group's transformation from hardcore punks to arena rock gods � and much in between.

Their eight-album discography spans nearly two decades, each effort putting a new stylistic layer over the poetic lyrical flair and complex guitar riffs that mark the band's unmistakable sound.

AFI will release their ninth full-length, Burials, on October 22, and are already teasing fans (who know the group by its true moniker, A Fire Inside) with two new singles: the dark and moody "I Hope You Suffer" and a pop rock ballad, "17 Crimes."

The four years since 2009′s Crash Love has given the band plenty of time to hone their affinity for switching up sub-genres, but with two markedly different lead singles it's hard to say exactly how Burials will define the evolution of the group.

"This record is of silence, of burials, and the burials that result from that silence," frontman Davey Havok said in a recent statement. "It's of betrayal, cruelty, weakness, anxiety, panic � deep and slow � despair, injury and loss. And in this it is shamefully honest and resolutely unforgiving."

A seemingly anguished Havok confirmed that the record has been in the works for two years, though he, guitarist Jade Puget, drummer Adam Carson and bassist Hunter Burgan remained mum for most of that time. With nary an update or interview, rumors of a breakup were put to rest when they broke their silence earlier this year with a series of cryptic teaser videos, a fresh start with Universal Republic, and, finally, new music.

On Burials, the band teamed up with producer Gil Norton (Foo Fighters and Pixies) and engineer Andrew Scheps (of Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) to help define the dark sound Havok describes. But with such a broad and bleak themes as Havok describes, the group could move in one of many directions. Read more and what possible directions AFI could take.

Radio.com is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright Radio.com/CBS Local - Excerpted here with permission.

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