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(Translated from my old Italian text by Nicholas Green)
Melodic hardcore is without a doubt one of the predominant genres of the 1990s, with the San Francisco Bay Area as one of its epicenters, and Gilman Street - where Green Day cut their teeth - as its temple. A.F.I. (A Fire Inside), led by singer Davey Havok, has been hammering the San Francisco Bay Area with a gothic-tinged brand of hardcore punk since 1991.
After Answer That And Stay Fashionable (Nitro, 1995),
A.F.I. established themselves among the scene's leading figures with a second album, Very Proud Of Ya (Nitro, 1996), which hurtles with undiminished hysteria along the span of twenty brief, lightning-fast tracks (File 13, Perfect Fit). Purists will rejoice, but memorable songs are lacking.
On Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes (Nitro, 1997)
the desperation is sincere and the passion is laudable. But the music is another story.
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L'hardcore melodico e` decisamente uno dei generi dominanti degli anni '90,
e la Baia di San Francisco ne e` uno dei quartier generali, e Gilman Street
(il posto in cui si fecero le ossa i Green Day) il suo tempio.
Gli A.F.I. (A Fire Inside),
la truppa del cantante Davey Havok,
batte la Baia di San Francisco dal 1991 con il suo
hardcore venato di tinte gotiche.
Dopo Answer That And Stay Fashionable (Nitro, 1995)
gli A.F.I. si confermano fra gli
esponenti di punta del movimento con un secondo disco,
Very Proud Of Ya (Nitro, 1996), che sfreccia
con immutata isteria da File 13 a Perfect Fit lungo l'arco di venti concise
e fulminee tracce. I puristi gioiranno, ma mancano canzoni memorabili.
Su Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes (Nitro, 1997)
la disperazione e` sincera e la foga e` lodevole.
Ma la musica e` un'altra cosa.
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Surprisingly, the band achieved some notoriety with their subsequent albums,
that emphasized both the melodic and the gothic elements in their hardcore.
Black Sails in the Sunset (Nitro, 1999),
Art of Drowning (2000) and
Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks 2003)
kept increasing the doses of arrangements and singalongs, approaching
the atmospheres of doom metal and the pathos of grunge.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Giuseppe Schiavoni)
Sorprendentemente, la band arriva ad una certa notorietà con i successivi album, che enfatizzano sia gli elementi melodici che quelli gotici del loro hardcore. Black Sails in the Sunset (Nitro, 1999), Art of Drowning (2000) e Sing the Sorrow (DreamWorks 2003) incrementano le dosi di arrangiamenti e di cori, avvicinandosi alle atmosfere del doom metal e al pathos del grunge.
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Their progression towards mainstream music was crowned by the single
Miss Murder and songs such as Kill Caustic on the album
Decemberunderground (2006). Other than cliched melodic hooks, the album
offered little of notice.
Propelled by the impeccable
rhythm section of Adam Carson (drums) and Hunter Burgan (bass),
Crash (2009) marked a slight improvement, with catchy and virulent
songs such as
Medicate, Too Shy To Scream and especially
Veronica Sawyer Smokes.
The power-ballads Darling I Want To Destroy You and
Okay I Feel Better Now were more inspired than the average.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Nicholas Green)
Melodic hardcore is without a doubt one of the predominant genres of the 1990s, with the San Francisco Bay Area as one of its epicenters, and Gilman Street where Green Day cut their teeth as its temple. A.F.I. (A Fire Inside), led by singer Davey Havok, has been hammering the San Francisco Bay Area with a gothic-tinged brand of hardcore punk since 1991.
After Answer That And Stay Fashionable (Nitro, 1995),
A.F.I. established themselves among the scene's leading figures with a second album, Very Proud Of Ya (Nitro, 1996), which hurtles with undiminished hysteria along the span of twenty brief, lightning-fast tracks (File 13, Perfect Fit). Purists will rejoice, but memorable songs are lacking.
On Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes (Nitro, 1997)
the desperation is sincere and the passion is laudable. But the music is another story.
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