Review Summary: Dark, fiery, and poetic, Black Sails in the Sunset is one of the most intelligent and powerful punk albums ever created.
There was once a time when gothic punk existed almost entirely in the underground. Almost a decade before the likes of Aiden and Black Veil Brides began to pollute the mainstream with eyeliner-drenched mallcore, Misfits-inspired bands such as AFI and Alkaline Trio were pouring their heart and soul into some of the finest punk albums ever recorded. Black Sails in the Sunset is one such masterpiece, delivering anthem after soul-searching anthem to the black-garbed faithful.
Black Sails in the Sunset begins with a sort of call-to-arms, a chant which baptizes the listeners in imagery of blood, darkness, and pain. This is not going to be a light album --- frontman Davey Havok has a way with angst, filling each song to the brim with his tormented musings. But fear not: he also has a talent for avoiding generic teenage self-pity, instead devoting his lyrics to contemplations of life, death, mysticism, and the emptiness of religion. Lyrics like "Breathe in the life of the summmer's death/As the orange and red breathe their first breaths" have far more in common with Baudelaire or Poe than they do with Good Charlotte, although influences of Robert Smith and Trent Reznor frequently shine through as well.
Several of the album's faster songs fly by in a blur --- AFI's hardcore tendencies are still undiluted here, with none of the electronica and pop flourishes of later albums. Porphyria Cutanea Tarda and Exsanguination (the first two "real" songs, both about vampirism) --- are furious, thrashing affairs, with rapid-fire verses giving way to huge shout-along choruses. Both also feature bridges that are positively anthemic, showcasing AFI's brilliant melodic sense and love for bombast. This love is explored further in numbers like Malleus Maleficarum and the album's (almost) penultimate offering, the stunning At A Glance. Both dare to meander into slower sections filled with chants and "woah-oh's", an interesting move for a hardcore band and one that certainly pays off for both the musicians and their riveted listeners. Meanwhile, tracks like The Prayer Position, No Poetic Device, and The Last Kiss are exercises in pure emotion and barely-restrained fury, keeping the listener's blood pumping with their shouts, screams, and chant-able lyrics.
Even more intriguing, perhaps, are the album's ballads, Clove Smoke Catharsis and God Called In Sick Today. Hardcore bands aren't "supposed" to attempt ballads --- such a mushy turn typically gets bands labeled sell-outs in this scene, sometimes fairly so. But AFI put their blood, sweat, and [eyeliner-stained] tears into their slower songs, carefully crafting them into elegant masterpieces. God Called In Sick Today, especially, is a showcase of AFI's raw talent, switching gears from intimate to anthemic and back again while never letting the listener escape its grip. Jade Puget's clean guitar work is precise and emotive, while Havok's surprisingly beautiful singing anticipates his excellent vocals on the band's later albums. The track (appropriately the final one, aside from an upbeat hidden song) is a clear sign of where AFI's next steps would lead them, but it is also flawless in its own right, soaring and melancholy.
With Black Sails in the Sunset, AFI created almost a perfect punk album. It's heavy and furious, but AFI aren't so concerned with their hardcore credibility that they're afraid to write a slower masterpiece. The only flaws might be Havok's occasionally grating vocals and his more over-the-top angsty lyrics (see The Last Kiss's "cut myself today/it's all for you") --- but even these are forgivable, because they still fall within the flow of the album. This is an excellent work, one that defines AFI and affirms their place in the canon of truly great punk bands.
