AFI: Американдық рок тобының тарихы

American rock band

AFI (abbreviation for A Fire Inside) is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Since 1998, it consists of lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Carson, bassist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Jade Puget. Havok and Carson are the sole remaining original members. Originally a hardcore punk band, they have since delved into many genres, starting with horror punk and following through post hardcore and emo into alternative rock and gothic rock. AFI has released eleven studio albums, ten EPs, one live album and one DVD. The band first reached substantial commercial success with their fifth album, The Art of Drowning (2000), which peaked at number 174 on the Billboard 200. They then broke into the mainstream with their sixth, Sing the Sorrow (2003), which peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 51 weeks. and is AFI's best selling release, having sold over 1.26 million copies as of 2009. AFI's seventh album, Decemberunderground (2006), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and featured the hit single "Miss Murder", which topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and appeared in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2013. Their next three albums, Crash Love (2009), Burials (2013) and AFI (2017), were also successful, peaking at increasing positions on the Billboard 200. efn|Crash Love peaked at number twelve, Burials at number nine, and AFI at number five. The band released their 11th album, Bodies, on June 11, 2021.

While still in high school in Ukiah, California, lead vocalist Davey Havok formed a band called AFI in November 1991 with Mark Stopholese and Vic Chalker. At the time, the band did not know how to play any instruments. Stopholese suggested that his friend, drummer Adam Carson, join the band. Stopholese learned guitar and Chalker learned bass, but Chalker was soon replaced by Geoff Kresge. By the end of October 1992, the band had played their first three shows, generally as an opener for a few other punk bands, including Influence 13, which featured future AFI guitarist Jade Puget and frequent collaborator Nick 13. AFI recorded their first EP, Dork (1993), with the now defunct band Loose Change, which also featured Puget. The band briefly broke up in 1993, when the members left Ukiah to attend different colleges. They decided to commit to AFI full time after an extremely positive experience and enthusiastic crowd response at a reunion show they played at The Phoenix Theater over Christmas break. AFI relocated to Berkeley, California and lived in a squat that was a decommissioned fraternity house. Between 1993 and 1995, the band independently released vinyl EPs such as Behind the Times, Eddie Picnic's All Wet and Fly in the Ointment, as well as the compilation EPs This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay, AFI/Heckle, and Bombing the Bay (with Swingin' Utters).

The Sydney Morning Herald has written that AFI have been "hailed as being responsible for bringing back the big '80s rock chorus." The band has received much praise in particular from Alternative Press, which has supported the group since the mid 1990s. The publication rated the band's major label debut, Sing the Sorrow as the most anticipated album of 2003, and noted that it "blew the doors off goth punk as we knew it". AFI has also been granted responsibility for paving the way for the rise of the visual element of rock bands in the 2000s; in a December 2006 article, Revolver Magazine wrote that "AFI have increased the importance of a band's visual identity and the flair for the theatrical," adding that "when a group like Panic! at the Disco borrows imagery from a movie such as Moulin Rouge!, you have to consider the precedent AFI set when they borrowed cues from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas." Shoutmouth. com placed AFI at number 22 on its list of the 25 most influential punk bands, noting that the band "have evolved with each album, showing that a punk band can not only change, but stay true to their sound at the same time. AFI have been on a constant rise through their career, and as such, out the honors". After Sing The Sorrow release, Yorkshire Evening Post described Havok's voice as one of those "you'll love or hate, but one thing can't be denied, this guy has range beyond belief". Recognized by his trademark flair and vocal style, Havok has been recognized as "a bona fide rock god" by Alternative Press. In 2003, The Pitch described the band's fan club as a "particularly excitable bunch", adding that "there's also the type of sentiments that put the cult back into cult success, such as links to something called 'the Church of Havok'."