For almost a decade, Southern California’s AFI have been belting out high-octane, emotive punk. And for nine of those ten years, they were known as this little cult band that put out strong, albeit not exactly stunning albums.
And then it happened.
The Art Of Drowning (Nitro), AFI’s second album (minus the All Hallows EP) where the band took on a decidedly obvious image change. Gone were the white wife-beaters and suspenders. And Havok…what’s this? Wearing PVC? A Devillock? All black? Somewhat shunned by purists, there was still no stopping the dark forces who had embraced the horror-punk image made popular by the likes of the Misfits, Samhain and the Damned
But we swallowed it, hook, eyeliner and sinker—to the point where the band is travelling around in an Econoline and the merch is in a 25-foot U-Haul. Defending this abrupt change as nothing more than letting his true self out, Havok waxes poetic on the average teenager.
“I feel that only now am I truly able to express what I felt since the band started. When you’re 15 years old, you don’t know the most sincere way to say that something affects you. You just walk around with all of these emotions running wild.
“That’s also compounded by being somewhat afraid to let them out. You don’t want to be writing deep, emotional songs at an age where ridicule runs rampant. It took a while, but now you’re seeing the real AFI.”
Havok, adored by millions, is now at the point of ludicrous Rock God status. Watching him bounce around chatting with fans was once common, but now he must hide out, fearful of being torn apart by ravenous worshippers a la Hard Day’s Night.
Still, it does nothing to stop his positive outlook.
He is quick to defend those who support what AFI are doing, noting the band’s luck in having (somewhat) intelligent fans.
“Most bands end up playing to the crowds they hate, and they have to realize that that’s the crowd they attract. At this point, it seems weird watching our fan base get younger and younger, but they’re the ones that are in touch with what we’re doing. Our fans are intelligent; they can forget all of the different genres and clichés, because that’s not what AFI is about.”
In the final stages of touring The Art Of Drowning, Havok reveals happiness at the opportunity to get his hands into fresh dirt.
Not even in the preparation stages of writing a new album, he longs to be creative, as opposed to a punk rock jukebox night after night. However, a big time-out is in order to rest and regroup before anything is available.
Relating his expectations for new material back to the band’s drastic alteration in image (and, to some degree, sound), Havok expresses deep discontent with punk as a whole.
Understandably classified in this genre, he feels that AFI are somewhat different from the majority of the pack, which is why they have such a dedicated fan base.
“There’s nothing new out there. I don’t think I’ve heard one band that has forwarded punk to any new level in years, which is why I’m buying Tool albums and listening to the Sisters Of Mercy.
“It’s not that I don’t like punk anymore, though—put on an old Black Flag album and I’m totally into it, but over the past ten years, there haven’t been any bands that are doing anything new.
And I think that AFI is just outside of that typical sound.
We vary things up and strive to better each album, where most bands just recycle the same material over and over.
With the next album, I think you’ll see a natural progression. It will be dark, but it will sound like the next installment of The Art Of Drowning…just one step further…”
