Decemberunderground

"DECEMBERUNDERGROUND is a time and a place. It is where the cold can huddle together in darkness and isolation. It is a community of those detached and disillusioned who flee to love, like winter, in the recesses below the rest of the world."-Davey Havok

DECEMBERUNDERGROUND is also the title of AFI's seventh album. And like much of the record's lyrical and visual imagery, it seems to stand in stark contrast to the name behind the band's world-renowned moniker: A Fire Inside. Then again, the brightest flames burn white-they just don't burn bright for long•

"There's a lot more attention to detail on this record," Jade recalls. "We spent a long time writing it. We refused to rush ourselves. We took our time not just on every song but on each guitar part, each vocal, each bass line. We definitely didn't rush into the studio."

The fruit of this labor is a record that Davey Havok is confident "should break us out of any preconceived genres." And even on a cursory listen, the wealth and diversity of material backs him up from the first note: "Prelude 12/21" is a rhythm/vocal-oriented curveball that differs radically from the customary calls to arms that have opened all AFI albums since Black Sails. From there, DECEMBERUNDERGROUND veers from AFI's first straight-up vintage glam style shuffle on first single "Miss Murder" (complete with backing chants from The Despair Faction) to the stark and stunning soundscape of "Love Like Winter" and the epic suite "The Interview." The longtime AFI faithful need not worry, as DECEMBERUNDERGROUND features more than a fair share of familiar AFI hallmarks, from the slash and burn of "Kill Caustic" and "Affliction" to the balladic finale' "Endlessly, She Said."

Of AFI fans' reaction to the new record, Davey says, "Our fans always come with us every step of the way. I think they recognize honesty in our music, that this is the only way we can express ourselves, to make music that we love. Nothing else. That's what allowed us to make the jump way back when and what continues to keep us going now."

"Some artists fear change and their fans' reaction to it," Jade says. "A big part of our relationship with our fans is that we do change with every record. It's expected and embraced."

As AFI rode onto mainstream radio playlists with their gleaming major label debut, Sing the Sorrow, the rumble of disenchanted fans nearly drowned out that of their dark-hued music. But the heavily-tattooed San Francisco band aren't looking back on Decemberunderground, a slickly-produced, MTV-friendly disc brimming with sinister pop charms. The opening "Prelude 12/21" sets the upbeat tone with handclaps, strings, and a cheeky glam-rock stomp. AFI might still operate in that distinct area where punk, goth, and frightening stadium rock come together, only now they seem intent on crashing the retro '80s party attended by the likes of Franz Ferdinand and the Killers, with flashy tracks such as "Miss Muder" and the synth-heavy "Love Like Winter." "The Interview," meanwhile, is the closest Davey Havok has ever come to crooning a lighter-waving epic. Despite the odd lapse into the Cookie Monster metal territory of their early days ("Kill Caustic," "Affliction"), Decemberunderground is even more ambitious than its predecessor. First comes the backlash, then comes the platinum. --Aidin Vaziri