AFI (The Blood Album) by AFI

AFI, better known as The Blood Album, arrived on January 20, 2017 through Concord Bicycle Music as the tenth studio album from the Ukiah, California band. Guitarist Jade Puget produced it, with the lineup that has held since 1998: Davey Havok singing, Adam Carson on drums, Hunter Burgan on bass and keys, and Puget on guitar and keyboards. The packaging made a game of the title, with four limited sleeve and vinyl-color editions, one per member, each tied to a blood group.

Musically they dug into post-punk and new wave, the sounds of their side projects Blaqk Audio and Dreamcar and of the heroes they grew up on: Morrissey, Echo and the Bunnymen, the Cure, Joy Division. Havok croons and broods over chiming guitars and gloomy synths. Some critics called it one of their boldest records, others a safe grab at the mainstream, but it debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, their best US showing since Decemberunderground.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.