Although often described as a cross between goth rock and hardcore punk, by the time of their commercial breakthrough in 2003, the Ukiah, California, USA-based quartet AFI (an acronym for A Fire Inside) started out as a straight ahead skate/punk band. Formed in 1991, while its members were still attending Ukiah High School, the band has experienced several line-up changes since their inception, although members Davey Havok aka David Marchand (b. David Anthony Passaro, 20 November 1975, Rochester, New York, USA; vocals) and Adam Carson (b. 5 February 1975, USA; drums) have been present since the beginning. With Geoff Kresge (bass) and Mark Stopholese (guitar) in tow, AFI issued Answer That And Stay Fashionable and Very Proud Of Ya, before Hunter Burgan (b. 14 May 1976) replaced Kresge as AFI’s bass player. By the end of 1997, AFI had issued their follow-up, Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes.
New guitarist Jade Puget (b. 28 November 1972) assumed the role of main songwriter on 1999’s Black Sails In The Sunset, adding a welcome melodic slant to the band’s hardcore thrash. AFI received some unexpected added exposure when Offspring covered one of their songs, ‘Totalimmortal’, for a movie soundtrack, and by the time of 2000’s The Art Of Drowning, the quartet had grabbed the attention of major labels. AFI’s much-hyped major label debut with DreamWorks Records, Sing The Sorrow, was issued in March 2003, and promptly went into the US Top 10. A switch of record labels followed the demise of DreamWorks. The band’s debut for Interscope, Decemberunderground, topped the US charts in June 2006.
