Black Sails in the Sunset

Black Sails in the Sunset
Studio album by AFI
Released	May 18, 1999 (1999-05-18)[1]
Genre	Hardcore punk horror punk
Length	46:04
Label	Nitro
Producer	AFI
AFI chronology
Black Sails EP (1999) Black Sails in the Sunset (1999) All Hallow's E.P. (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Alternative Press	[2]
Punknews.org	[3]

Black Sails in the Sunset is the fourth studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on May 18, 1999, through Nitro Records. With the addition of guitarist Jade Puget as a permanent member, it is the first AFI album to feature the current line-up of the band.

Background and music[]

The band members, sans Jade Puget, were roommates when guitarist Mark Stopholese departed AFI. Puget had just graduated college and was living in Davey Havok's room while the band was on tour. They asked him to join the band as the new guitarist and immediately began writing the album; Puget had already written the basis for "Malleus Maleficarum".^[a] The band describes the album as forming the beginning of their subsequent sound, which contains more melodic vocals, as opposed to their first three albums, which maintain a fast, non-melodic punk sound. "God Called in Sick Today" marked the band's first ballad-style song.^[4]

The album has been described as a hardcore punk album^[1] as well as a horror punk album.^[5]

The band wanted the album's cover artist, Alan Forbes, to depict skulls emerging from the water. Bassist Hunter Burgan later shared a concept design from Forbes, which prominently depicts a literal skeleton, and other faces and bones.^[6]

Critical reception[]

Black Sails in the Sunset was received well by critics. Alternative Press gave the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, commenting that "with new guitarist Jade Puget adding a sense of brooding, thespian eloquence to the disc's shadowy post-hardcore, AFI all but reinvented themselves," and "With longer, deeper, richer, more complex compositions than they've ever attempted before, Black Sails tackles everything from brooding hardcore ... to shimmering balladry..." The publication also went as far as to say that the album is "their first epic."^[2]

Decoy Music praised Havok's lyrical contribution to the album, commending his efforts to "find himself," saying "the way he expresses how he feels is pure poetry." Yarborough concluded by recommending the album to "anyone who likes heavy punk."^[7]

In 2021, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 1999 by Metal Hammer magazine.^[8]

Track listing[]

All lyrics are written by Davey Havok; all music is composed by AFI.

• Due to a misprint, tracks 9 and 10 were mislabeled with their titles switched. Shown here is the correct track listing.

B-sides[]

All tracks recorded during the album's sessions unless otherwise noted.

• "Lower It" is featured as track 7 on the vinyl release of the album.^[9] It was eventually re-released on the AFI retrospective compilation.^[10]
• "Who Knew?" is featured on the Black Sails EP.^[11] It is included as a bonus track on the Japanese release of the album.^[12]
• "Transference" is featured on the No Time to Kill compilation, released on Hunter Burgan's Checkmate Records.^[13][14]
• An unnamed track, sometimes called "The Chicken Song", is featured as a hidden track on the No Time to Kill compilation.^[14]

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[15]

• Adam Carson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• AFI – producer, backing vocals
• Andy Ernst – engineer, mixing
• Alan Forbes – cover illustration
• Davey Havok – lead vocals, lyrics
• Dexter Holland – backing vocals
• Hunter Burgan – bass, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
• Thad LaRue – assistant engineer
• Gabe Morford – photography
• Jade Puget – lead guitar, programming, keyboards, piano, synthesizer
• Nick 13 - rhythm guitar, vocals
• Jamie Reilly – layout Design

Studios

• Engineered and mixed at The Art of Ears, Hayward, CA

References[]

Footnotes

Citations