AFI
Burials
Universal/Republic Records – October 22nd 2013
By Jamie Manelis (@JamieManelis)
Find it at: iTunes | Insound | HMV Digital
7.8
That’s right, AFI, the reason why asymmetrical haircuts and black eye shadow dawned amongst teenage boys in the mid 2000s’ (inciting widespread panic in suburban mothers everywhere), are back again with their ninth studio album/another piece of your soul. Although there follows a cathartic release when listening to music from your teenage years, Burials dropkicks you in the face and proves AFI will not be pigeon-holed. From the haunting drone of the first track “The Sinking Night” to it’s panic-attack inducing end (“The Face Beneath The Waves”), the full-length aggressively confronts our anxiety-ridden spectrum from repression to redemption. Between the unforgiving power chords that spark an infectious anger and Davey Havok’s spiteful lyrics on “I Hope You Suffer” (“I’ve seen my darkest days/ You gave each one to me”), you start to feel things. A lot of things. You become immersed in a twisted, atmospheric nightmare of regrets and resentment, contemplating the worst break-up you’ve ever endured while also really feeling the need to give Davey a hug. He’s obviously been through a lot, and so have all of us (sorry Mom, it wasn’t a phase), but you’d be denying your true north if you didn’t buy into AFI’s revival of grandiose alt tunes.
Listen: “No Resurrection”, “Wild”, “Heart Stops” || Watch: “I Hope You Suffer”