Sing the Sorrow

Sing the Sorrow
Studio album by AFI
Released	March 11, 2003 (2003-03-11)
Recorded	Cello Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Alternative rock, post-hardcore, punk rock
Length	55:54
Label	DreamWorks
Producer	Jerry Finn, Butch Vig
AFI chronology
336 (2002) Sing the Sorrow (2003) AFI (2004)
AFI video chronology
Clandestine (2003) I Heard a Voice – Live from Long Beach Arena (2006)
Singles from Sing the Sorrow
"Girl's Not Grey" Released: June 23, 2003 "The Leaving Song Pt. II" Released: August 3, 2003 "Silver and Cold" Released: 2003

Sing the Sorrow is the sixth studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on March 11, 2003 through DreamWorks Records. It debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Platinum in December 2004 by the RIAA. The album was supported by three singles, "Girl's Not Grey", "The Leaving Song Pt. II", and "Silver and Cold", all which have successfully charted within the Alternative Songs Chart.

Background

Sing the Sorrow is considerably different than the band's earlier material, which heavily revolved around the hardcore punk genre. Although Davey Havok's shouts remain intact, the sound shifts towards alternative rock, characterized by more elaborate production, slower tempos, and pieces of industrial music. The album includes experimental segments as well, featuring the inclusion of a spoken word poem accompanied by piano keys and the hidden track "This Time Imperfect", both intertwined within the last track on the album.

It ranked #77 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's List of the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time. The album's lead single "Girl's Not Grey" received a 2003 VMA for the 'Best MTV2 Music Video' category.^[1] The track is also a playable track on the video game Rock Band 2, and a downloadable track for the video game Guitar Hero 5 and iPhone/iPod touch application Tap Tap Revenge. "The Leaving Song Pt. II" was also made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series. "Dancing Through Sunday" was featured as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Artwork and liner notes

The album was released with three different covers, featuring different colors for the logo and text. The colors were red, silver and black. The original cover features red artwork. Several of the first pressings in the United States and United Kingdom featured the silver cover, but the pressings are now rare and out of print, although the digital version of Sing the Sorrow among iTunes still features the silver artwork. The black cover was solely available at performing shows within the United States tour following the album's release, and through the Despair Faction's online store as well. The black cover is now rare and out of print, with only 2,500 copies in circulation.

All versions of the back cover feature a small encircled picture. The picture is of an ocean horizon, a reference to the artwork of AFI's fourth studio album Black Sails in the Sunset. Although the album was released through DreamWorks Records, a logo of Nitro Records is found on the back cover of all versions, AFI's previous record label. The second to last page of the album booklet features a small picture of a rabbit with the phrase "Rabbits are Roadkill" written next to it, a reference to the song "Rabbits are Roadkill on Rt. 37", recorded during the Sing the Sorrow sessions and released in 2005.

International versions of the album use different artwork on the album label. Often contain a picture of an inverted octopus whilst other contain a foraminifer or a dead bird. All of the pictures are taken from the book Animals by Jim Harter. Some versions, including the Ukrainian edition, feature no artwork on the album label, and have inconsistent cover artwork from other versions.

Special limited edition

A special limited edition was released that included the short film Clandestine on DVD, directed by Norwood Cheek. It also contained a 60 page booklet featuring extensive artwork and lyrics as well. The film is eight minutes in length and stars all four band members. The film contains references to imagery and concepts from the album. The film focuses on the four band members trying to obtain a mysterious box which bears resemblance to the Sing the Sorrow album cover. The film features two alternate soundtracks, one by Hunter Burgan and the other by Jade Puget. Only 20,000 copies were pressed.

Extra tracks

Extra tracks are featured on several international versions of the CD release. The UK edition features two bonus tracks, "Synesthesia" and "Now the World". "Now the World" is featured on the Japanese edition as well. These tracks were available for download from a 'secret site' that US editions of the CD release included links. Although, the site has been shut down for some time, since Dreamworks Records were overtaken by Interscope Records. However, most copies of the CD release still have the links to the secret site.

All versions of Sing the Sorrow contain a spoken poem and hidden track "This Time Imperfect" located within the last track of every edition. After a brief silence, haunting piano music begins to play as Jade Puget's younger brother, Gibson, speaks the first third of the poem. After the poem is concluded, the hidden track "This Time Imperfect" fades in, featuring a guitar playing backwards and extensive sampling.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Alternative Press	[3]
Blender	[4]
Entertainment Weekly	(D)[5]
PopMatters	(favorable)[6]
Punknews.org	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Sputnikmusic	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]

Critical response to Sing the Sorrow was very positive. The review aggregator Metacritic scored the album a 81 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, with the mention of "Universal Acclaim".^[11] E! Online called it "[a] well-crafted mix of hardcore bluster, determined melody and anthemic grandness that boasts depth and texture rarely heard from the Warped Tour ilk."^[11] Alternative Press awarded the album a perfect score, saying that, "Sing the Sorrow soars with the kind of melodies hit singles are made of, yet it somehow persists with AFI's esoteric darkness."^[11] Allmusic awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Emerging in early 2003 with Sing the Sorrow, it's clear the molting process AFI began with Black Sails in Sunset is complete," and concluded that, "Whatever factions of the band's longterm fans might think of their major-label affiliation, Sing the Sorrow represents a coalescing of the band's sound."^[12] Rolling Stone awarded the album a 4 out of 5, claiming that "Sing the Sorrow is not exactly a concept album, but it does have a singleness of dark purpose that builds in momentum as the disc progresses."^[11] In further support, The New York Times rated Sing the Sorrow as the tenth-best album of 2003. Conversely, Entertainment Weekly awarded the album a 'D,' commenting that "The songs combine the most pretentious and overworked elements of their influences."^[11]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by AFI. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Miseria Cantare- The Beginning"	2:57
2.	"The Leaving Song Pt. II"	3:31
3.	"Bleed Black"	4:15
4.	"Silver and Cold"	4:11
5.	"Dancing Through Sunday"	2:26
6.	"Girl's Not Grey"	3:10
7.	"Death of Seasons"	3:59
8.	"The Great Disappointment"	5:27
9.	"Paper Airplanes (makeshift wings)"	3:58
10.	"This Celluloid Dream"	4:11
11.	"The Leaving Song"	2:44
12.	"...but home is nowhere" (3:51 on the UK edition, includes hidden tracks "The Spoken Word" and "This Time Imperfect")	15:07
Total length:		55:54

UK edition
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Synesthesia"	3:30
14.	"Now the World" (4:03, includes hidden tracks "The Spoken Word" and "This Time Imperfect")	15:19
Total length:		1:03:28

Japanese edition
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Now the World"	4:03

Special limited edition DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Clandestine" (Short Film)	8:06
2.	"Death of Seasons" (Audio 5.1 Mix)	3:59
3.	"Silver and Cold" (Audio 5.1 Mix)	4:11
4.	"...but home is nowhere" (Audio 5.1 Mix)	3:51
5.	"The Great Disappointment" (Audio 5.1 Mix)	5:27
6.	"Reivers' Music" (Audio 5.1 Mix)	3:22

B-sides and unreleased songs

All songs recorded during the Sing the Sorrow sessions unless otherwise noted.

• Demo versions of "Synesthesia", "This Celluloid Dream", "The Great Disappointment", "Paper Airplanes (makeshift wings)", "...but home is nowhere", and "The Leaving Song" can be found as b-sides on the album's single releases.
• A different version of "Now the World" can be found on the 336 EP and the "Girl's Not Grey" single. The title can be found in the special limited edition book of Sing the Sorrow.
• "Reivers' Music" is featured on the DVD of the special limited edition album. It can also be found on the 336 EP and "Girl's Not Grey" single.
• "Rabbits are Roadkill on Rt. 37" was recorded during the Sing the Sorrow sessions, and was eventually released on the MySpace Records: Volume 1 compilation in November 2005 and as a bonus track on the UK and Australian editions of Decemberunderground.
• "Carcinogen Crush" was recorded during the Sing the Sorrow sessions, but the band felt that it did not fit the album. The title can be found in the special limited edition book of Sing the Sorrow. It was eventually re-recorded during the Decemberunderground sessions, but remained unreleased.^[13] It was eventually released as a bonus track on the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and as a digital single on December 4, 2007. It is also featured on the "Medicate" UK vinyl and the Japanese version of Crash Love. Jade Puget confirmed in a blog entry that Hunter Burgan is the sole songwriter of the song. The Sing the Sorrow version remains unreleased.
• "100 Words" was recorded during the Sing the Sorrow sessions, and was not released until years later on the deluxe version of Crash Love. The title can be found in the special limited edition book of Sing the Sorrow.

Personnel

AFI Davey Havok — vocals, backing vocals, spoken word vocals Jade Puget — guitar, executive producer, programing, keyboards, backing vocals Adam Carson — drums, backing vocals Hunter — bass, backing vocals Additional musicians Susie Katayama – cello Roger Joseph Manning Jr. – additional keys on "...but home is nowhere" Anna-Lynne Williams – guest female vocal Jasmine Weist – Guest female vocal Nick 13 – additional backing vocals Geoff Kresge – additional backing vocals Chris Holmes – additional backing vocals Ralph Saenz – additional backing vocals Matt Wedgley – additional backing vocals Steve Cunningham – additional backing vocals St. Mileon's Church – choir Gibson Casian – spoken word vocals Hans Wold – spoken word vocals

Production Jerry Finn – producer, mixing, additional backing vocals Butch Vig – producer, additional backing vocals Joe McGrath – recording, additional backing vocals Chris Holmes – assistant engineer Alan Mason – assistant engineer Dan Chase – assistant engineer Stacey Dodds – assistant engineer, vocoder on "Death of Seasons" Alan Sanderson – assistant engineer Alan Mason – additional technical assistant Garner Knutsen – drum technician Mike Fasano – drum technician Brian Gardner – mastering Luke Wood – A&R, additional backing vocals Jason Noto – art direction, design Doug Cunningham – art direction, design Alan Forbes – icon illustration Matthew Welsh – photography

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart Peak position Canadian Albums Chart[14] 10 UK Albums Chart[15] 65 US Billboard 200[16] 5

Certifications Territory Provider Certification Canada CRIA Platinum[17] United States RIAA Platinum[18]

Release history

Standard edition Region Date Label Format Catalogue United Kingdom March 10, 2003 DreamWorks CD 450 448-2, 450 448-2(A), 450 448-2(B) United States March 11, 2003 0044-50380-2 Australia March 31, 2003 450 380-2 Japan April 22, 2003 UICW-1034

Special limited edition Region Date Label Format Catalogue United States April 22, 2003 DreamWorks CD+DVD 0044-50440-0

"Scuking" Death of Seasons' Lyric

Sing the Sorrow's seventh track in the North American release, Death of Seasons, features the only use of profanity in the album. Appearing twice in the track, once at the 1:33 mark as "it's fucking real", and later at the 2:52 mark as "cause' this hate, is fucking real." The album managed, however, to avoid receiving the RIAA's "Parental Advisory Warning" label on the cover, which the band had thought would ruin it's artwork, by citing the lyric as being "scuking" within the cover booklet.

References

1. ^ "MTV Video Music Awards". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/winners-by-category.jhtml. Retrieved September 23, 2010. 
2. ^ Allmusic
3. ^ Metacritic
4. ^ Blender
5. ^ Ew.com
6. ^ PopMatters
7. ^ PunkNews.org
8. ^ Rolling Stone
9. ^ Sputnikmusic
10. ^ Slant Magazine
11. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Critic Reviews for Sing the Sorrow". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/sing-the-sorrow/critic-reviews. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
12. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Billboard Bits: 'Guitar Hero III,' Os Mutantes, Isis
14. ^ "Sing the Sorrow - AFI". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/afi/sing-the-sorrow/570007. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
15. ^ "Chart Log: A – Azzido Da Bass". Zobbel. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_A.HTM. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
16. ^ "Sing the Sorrow - AFI". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/afi/sing-the-sorrow/570007. Retrieved 2011-07-29. 
17. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – June 2006". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/0606_g.php. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 
18. ^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=AFI&format=&LP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2007&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 28 July 2011. 

External links

• Sing the Sorrow at Metacritic
• Clandestine at the Internet Movie Database