AFI drummer and founding member Adam Carson talks to KCSU’s Danny Steiner about the Blood Album, evolving as a band, and AFI’s aesthetic.

In preparation for writing this article I went back and listened to the album that got me into AFI: Sing the Sorrow. I was immediately taken aback to my eight year old self getting into punk. The full orchestration, the sweeping choruses, and the punchy songs through out the album reminded me of what got me into this genre in the first place: the intensity. All things considered, this is not the hardest album out there, however at the time I was experiencing a whole new world. Havok’s guttural screams and dynamic register shifts were hardly the most impressive feat on this album. Puget’s distinguished songwriting shines through with ease, as well as powerful performances from Carson and Burgan. Most of all though, Sing the Sorrow sounds like it was a record that AFI wanted to make.

Fourteen years later, and perhaps the greatest accomplishment AFI has maintained is their ability to continually create art that is satisfying to them. With the release of their new self-titled record (also known as “the Blood Album”) this has never been more apparent. As Carson notes, “It’s not a just a rock album, or a moody-dark-post-punk record. I think like all of our records it’s varied and has a lot of different sounds.” The blood album if anything shows AFI’s commitment to evolve with each other and create music that reflects that. Carson also states, “It’s never a conscious decision, there’s a lot of change that happens between records. A lot of evolution, a lot of growth. We’re not the same people we were ten years ago”.

You can listen to the full conversation below.

Buy the blood album here

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