AFI have been together for over 20 years and have no signs of slowing down. With the hot-and-cold response their previous album Crash Love received, Burials is sure to shut critics up as they go back to their gothic roots.
Burials comes out swinging with “The Sinking Night” and “I Hope You Suffer”, the latter so dark and hauntingly hard, letting singer Davey Havoc angst come out in full force belting out the chorus “I hope you suffer/just like I’ve suffered.” “Deep Slow Panic” is big enough to fill an arena, with a surprisingly great groove that will get you moving.
Unfortunately the middle section of the album kind of melds together; with alt-rock “17 Crimes” as an exception, it doesn’t really go anywhere and, while the songs are still good, they are not really noteworthy. “The Embrace” and “The Wild” start crawling back up, “Greater Than 84” really gets us back on track, with its rock feel and gothic tenderness. Closer “The Face Beneath The Waves” could fit into any horror movie with its Depeche Mode-esque feel but theatrics that make it an AFI song.
Overall Burials is a good album, shows maturity and growth, and will have older fans rejoicing the more signature sound they missed on the last album.