AFI sing the sorrow 

<img src="afists.jpg"> 1. Miseria Cantare - The Beginning 2. The Leaving Song Pt. II 3. Bleed Black 4. Silver and Cold 5. Dancing Through Sunday 6. Girl's Not Grey 7. Death of Seasons 8. The Great Disappointment 9. Paper Airplanes (makeshift wings. 10. This Celluloid Dream 11. The Leaving Song 12. ....but home is nowhere Band: AFI CD: Sing the Sorrow 

Elegance is timeless. But after 12 years of near-constant touring and recording, their natural progression in timeless elegance has led AFI to the point of their first major-label release, demanded by the diverse legions of fans that have gathered from all corners of the socio-musical landscape. 

For those unfamiliar with AFI, they would most easily be described as "melancholy melodic hardcore (punk)", but truthfully, they possess a unique and changing sound that matures with each album. Their early upbeat shout-along "East Bay Hardcore" style gradually became darker, heavier, and more refined with poetic imagery and metaphor. 

So what is 'Sing the Sorrow'? While maintaining the intensity of previous albums, 'Sing the Sorrow' employs a fuller sound and includes more of the slow and medium-paced songs alongside their large anthems than ever before. The broadening of the sound spectrum here recalls the change from 1997's 'Shut Your Mouth...' to 1999's 'Black Sails in the Sunset', this time including occasional natural guitar, light keyboards, and a couple of industrial beats. The vocals mix more successfully than ever lead singer Davey Havok's choir-like and coarse screaming voices. 

While the softer tracks like "The Leaving Song", "Silver and Cold", and "The Great Disappointment" are truly great, those searching for the harder and faster stuff will find a satisfying portion. "Dancing Through Sunday" is the fastest song, genius in riffage, rhythm, and melody. And oh yeah, there's a Lightspeed Guitar Solo! "Death of Seasons" has everything from the most hardcore primal screams to unabashed popular appeal. "Paper Airplanes (makeshift wings)", "Bleed Black", and "The Leaving Song Pt. II" will add to the long list of great aggressive AFI songs. 

This album is a great work of art, and much like Offspring's 'Smash', Pearl Jam's 'Ten', and Nirvana's 'Nevermind', track after track screams gigantic status.