AFI - Silver Bleeds the Black Sun... (2025)
Silver Bleeds the Black Sun… is AFI’s boldest embrace of gothic and post-punk aesthetics yet, shedding much of their mainstream polish in favor of a darker, more textured palette. The album opens with “The Bird of Prey,” whose echoing guitars, sparse synths, and measured drums set a brooding tone before Havok’s voice stretches into dramatized intensity. Songs like “Blasphemy & Excess” and “Spear of Truth” lean fully into gothic tropes—haunting bass, minimalist percussion, and theatrical vocal delivery—while others, such as “Ash Speck in a Green Eye,” temper the darkness with 80s synth pop echoes. Throughout, AFI appear confident in this direction, making the shifts feel deliberate rather than derivative. In the end, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun… is not just a reinvention but a reclamation: AFI channel their gothic aspirations in a way that feels mature, composed, and viscerally alive.
Genre: Gothic Rock
Country: US
Final Verdict: 64% (Good Album)
Yearly Ranking: 355th / 703
Highlight: The Bird of Prey
Made me think of:
Placebo
Sisters of Mercy
The Cure
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