http://www.nitrorecords.com

The origins of AFI (A Fire Inside) are humble-- four high school students making noise in a garage in the early 90's, looking for some way to alleviate boredom in a small town between skateboard sessions. As they learned to play their instruments with each practice, even they couldn't imagine what the band would become.

On September 26th, the band released their fifth full-length album, entitled
The Art of Drowning, showcasing exactly what it is AFI has evolved into-- a band with a sound unlike any other, a sound where chilling melodies collide alternately with furious aggression and somber melancholy. While their music is firmly rooted in both punk rock and hardcore, they have effectively blasted away any distinction between the two and can claim an army of fans from both subcultures as well as virtually every other underground or extreme music genre from goth to metal.

Not just a "studio" band, the intensity of their live performances must be seen and heard to be believed. "Through our bleeding, we are one!" the crowd chants as the band takes the stage, wherein occurs an exchange of energy between band and audience that is much like a lightning storm-- charging and changing the normally genial vocalist Davey Havok into a man possessed. One of the ways the band has garnered the fanatical following they now enjoy is through the plain hard work of many a month spent on the road. They've toured with such acts as The Offspring, Rancid, Danzig/Samhain and Sick Of It All to name a few, as well as doing a stint on the most recent Warped Tour (2000). Since their first nationwide tour in 1995, they have crossed the North American continent countless times and have done multiple tours of Europe. They even paid a visit to Japan in 1998. In support of The Art of Drowning, AFI have just completed a very successful tour with punk legends Rancid and are starting out 2001 as the support act for The Offspring in Europe.
This will be followed by more touring in the U.S. and Canada in March, performing on the main stage of Warped Tour 2001, and a U.S. headline tour in the fall, 2001.

In addition to original members Havok and drummer Adam Carson, the band has seen its share of lineup changes. Bassist Hunter Burgan (of The Force) entered the fold as a tour stand-in before recording on the band's third album Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes, while guitarist Jade Puget (ex-Redemption 87) joined for the fourth full-length, Black Sails in the Sunset, as well as the subsequent All Hallows e.p., a four-song release that contains the original version of "Totalimmortal" (a song that received heavy radio airplay all over the nation when it was recorded by The Offspring for the soundtrack to the film "Me, Myself & Irene"). Puget's task was not easy: in addition to assuming guitar duties he became a primary writer of the band's music. Still, no one better understood where AFI had been musically and where they should go. He'd known the band since the very beginning and had played guitar on the flip side of their first ever release, a split 7" with
Loose Change released in 1992.

Things coalesced quickly as Jade proved to be the perfect complement to Havok's brooding lyrics and accomplished vocal talents. There's no weak link in this chain; to say that Burgan and Carson are accomplished in their respective rhythm section duties would be an understatement. Such lineup changes might have destroyed any other band, but the opposite has occurred with AFI. With each new album and e.p. the band has bravely forged ahead into new musical territory, while always maintaining their original energy and intensity.

The Art of Drowning is no exception to this progression. While it contains the inevitable musical surprises that avid listeners have come to expect from the band, it is also a distillation of all that has come before, touching on every phase of their evolution, as well as showing signs of what is to come. Of the new album, vocalist Davey Havok says, "I feel it's our most complete work."

It is also the most sonically pleasing of their albums. Recorded in Berkeley's famous Fantasy Studios with Chuck Johnson at the helm, it was then mixed in the familiar environment of Art of Ears in Hayward by longtime associate Andy Ernst. Johnson, a well-respected veteran who's worked with everyone from Nick Cave to Korn, lent his expertise as he co-produced the new album with the band.

The days of honing their craft in the garage are now a long ago memory, but one thing has not changed-- the fire inside AFI still burns more strongly than ever. With each new record, each tour, each show, the flames spread-- ever igniting in new people and places, threatening to someday engulf the world.

Members:

Davey Havok

Jade Puget

Adam Carson

Hunter