FANS EXPECT A CHANGE IN US…”
AFI MAINMAN DAVEY HAVOK PUTS THE BAND’S FORTHCOMING NEW ALBUM UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
AFI frontman Davey Havok has spoken exclusively to Kerrang! About the band’s forthcoming follow-up to 2003’s ‘Sing The Sorrow’.
The Bay Area goth-punk quartet recorded their seventh studio album titled ‘Decemberunderground’ in Los Angeles with producer Jerry Finn, who has worked with AFI in the past.
“We’re all really excited and we’re all really happy,” Havok tells K!. “We’ve played a few shows recently and it’s been wonderful to get back onstage. The new material has been going down very well, so it’s perfect.”
Havok also reveals that he and his bandmates – guitarist Jade Puget, bassist Hunter Burgan and drummer Adam Carson – don’t find the album-making process gets easier with every one they complete.
“For us, it’s a matter of growth each time,” he admits. “We always try to push ourselves and as we continue to do that, we have more and more that we want to create and accomplish to satisfy ourselves. In that respect, it’s a little bit harder and more challenging each time. But I’m pretty sure that hardcore AFI fans expect a change in us with every record and I think we’re giving them something new. Still, it has relation to what we’ve done in the past.”
Why did ‘Decemberunderground’ take so long to make?
“For that exact reason. We were just really set on creating something that was another step forward for us,” the frontman says. “We were really happy with how ‘Sing The Sorrow’ worked out so well so we really wanted to have a large volume of songs to choose from when we came to the point of going into the studio and recording. Once we’d chosen the songs, it was a matter of going into the studio and perfecting them. That process took quite a while!
“The songs are very focused and very intricate,” explains Havok, happy to discuss the sound of the tracks but refusing to talk about the lyrical content of the album in any detail. “Everything was very thought-out. There’s a very rich, grand feeling to the entire album. Musically speaking, it’s very large sounding and very moving. Lyrically speaking, it’s very cold and detached. A lot of the lyrics are my favourite that I’ve written in a long time.”
Here, then, is Davey Havok’s track-by-track guide to ‘Decemberunderground’…
PRELUDE 12/21
This is the introduction to the album. It’s really exciting for me to have this because I was wary of doing one at all, but we decided to take on the challenge. It’s definitely very different from any one we’ve done before. It has a presence and a very large, cinematic feel to it, yet it’s somewhat intimate as well. It’s very striking.
KILL CAUSTIC
This is a hardcore song. Actually, it’s the one hardcore song on the record. It’s really fun to play – it’s got a little two-step part and a breakdown part. It’s great because it’s got ties to our past and that community, which is definitely a huge part of us, which makes it a personal stand-out track.
MISS MURDER
This is the first single. This one is in a time signature that we’ve never worked in before and it’s got a swing fell going on. It’s also got a grimey, rock’n’roll vibe to it. Ronan Harris from VNV Nation [London electronic synthpop duo] helped us out on programming parts.
SUMMER SHUDDER
This is a very anthemic, catchy song. It also really reminds me of Quicksand [influential New York post-hardcore band] in the groove. It’s very melodic.
THE INTERVIEW
This song is the band’s favourite on the record. It’s a very intimate, moody, cold pop song. It has quite a dark feel to it, but again has a big anthemic chorus.
LOVE LIKE WINTER
This is a song that’s unlike anything that we’ve done before, which is very exciting for us. It’s very unique. It’s based on this very focused loop that runs throughout the song and opens up into a chorus that some people who’ve heard it say is so 80s it makes them want to grow their hair back out! I’m not sure I get that vibe but it has a very arena rock feel to it. It includes some of my favourite lyrics on the record. I definitely have enough going on with me personally that I can be inspired to write!
AFFLICTION
This is definitely the most relentless song on the record. It’s very brutal and very aggressive pretty much non-stop all the way through, with a brief moment of Black Sabbath and Melvins met with some very rich backing vocals. The women that did the vocals were fantastic – very soulful and talented. If there’s some slamming to be done in the mosh pit, it’ll be to this song.
THE MISSING FRAME
This is the first song in quite some time that has ‘whoa’s on it! It’s the only song on ‘Decemberunderground’ that does. The last record was virtually bereft of ‘whoa’s. For a while our albums were laden with them and then we didn’t’ do them any more, but they’re back on this song! For whatever that’s worth! This song has a protopunk vibe to the verse and there’re some definite U2 moments to it too.. I love it.
KISS AND CONTROL
This is a really dark, dramatic song. It’s very moody and has an aggressive yet melodic chorus. I was really proud that this made the record because I’m really happy with the lyrics. People have said that they sound like a stream of consciousness but by no means did I intend that. They’re very pointed in my mind! They’re… let’s just say that they’re very colourful and leave it at that!
THE KILLING LIGHTS
This is a very catchy, bold pop song. It’s really melodic and has a nice piano outro that I really like.
37MM
This is definitely a stand-out track. It’s the one that people are like “this is my favourite song” or just say “what is that?!”. It’s virtually a synthpop song. It’s very loop-based and melodic. It’s very different.
ENDLESSLY, SHE SAID
This is also another band favourite. It’s very dark and emotional and has a very intimate, personal feel to it. It’s a great way to close the record.
AFI’s album ‘Decemberunderground’ is out May 29 and the single ‘Miss Murder’ follows on June 5.
