20 Punk Rock Albums Turning 20 In 2020
3. AFI - The Art Of Drowning
A Fire Inside's fifth studio album was listed by Alternative Press as one of the ten most-influential punk albums of the year 2000. The Art of Drowning contains 14 hard hitting rock anthems, 15 if you had the patience to wait through 7 minutes of silence for the albums secret ending song entitled "Battled".
The track that really gained the album a bit of traction however was the breakout single "The Days of the Phoenix". The album's big single made it's way onto various stations and was transformed into a visual medium in the form of a music video. The other songs largely covered the same dark formula that the band had become known for. When asked about the song "Smile", lead vocalist Davey Havok said,
"Hate humanity? Yep, sure do. There’s such a lack of responsibility for one’s actions in the world, selfishness, and a great destruction in the way people live their lives. It’s all instant gratification, and who cares how my instant gratification affects those around me, or on a small personal level or a global level."
If nothing else, this is a nice place-keeper while the world awaits AFI's next CD coming in 2020.
Standout Track: The Days of Phoenix