Sing the Sorrow

## Singles

1. "Girl's Not Grey"
January 12, 2003
2. "The Leaving Song, Pt. II"
August 2, 2003
3. "Silver and Cold"
November 11, 2003

## Studio Album Chronology

"Sing the Sorrow" is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band AFI. The album was released on March 11, 2003 through DreamWorks Records. Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by Jerry Finn and Butch Vig. The album was supported by three singles: "*Girl's Not Grey*", "*The Leaving Song, Pt. II*" and "*Silver and Cold*", which have since successfully charted within the Alternative Songs and Rock Songs charts.

## Music and lyrics

Musically, *Sing the Sorrow* is a departure from the hardcore punk and horror punk genres featured in the band's previous material. The album features elements of hardcore punk, post-hardcore, alternative rock, gothic rock, and emo. The album is more experimental than previous AFI albums. The album includes instruments other than guitar, bass and drums, including instruments such as piano and strings. Lyrically, the album is darker and more poetic than previous material. The opening track features some electronic programming from Jade Puget. The album includes a hidden song, which leads into a spoken word poem accompanied by piano keys and distorted synth sounds.

## Artwork and liner notes

The album was released with three different covers, featuring different colors for the text, logo, and iconography. 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 (for the UK Edition). The black cover was solely available at performing shows within the United States tour following the album's release, and through the official fan club's online store as well. The black cover is now rare and out of print, with only 2,500 copies in circulation.

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.

*Sing the Sorrow*'s seventh track, "Death of Seasons", features the only use of profanity on the album. "Fuck" is used twice: once at 1:33 as "all of this hatred is fucking real", and later at 2:52 as "'cause this hate is fucking real." The album managed to avoid receiving the RIAA's Parental Advisory label by printing the lyric as "scuking" [*sic*] within the booklet ("\*\*\*\*ing" in latter pressings), as the band thought the label would ruin the album artwork.

## Release

The album was released on March 11, 2003, through DreamWorks Records. In mid-to-late June and mid-to-late July, the group appeared on the Warped Tour.

### 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 playable soundtracks, one by bassist Hunter Burgan and the other by guitarist Jade Puget. Only 20,000 copies were pressed.

## Reception

*Sing the Sorrow* received critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its melodies and musicianship, as well as its mature sound in comparison to the band's previous material. The review aggregator Metacritic scored the album an 81 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, with the mention of "universal acclaim". *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." *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." 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." *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." *The New York Times* rated *Sing the Sorrow* as the tenth-best album of 2003. Conversely, *Entertainment Weekly* gave the album a 'D', commenting that "The songs combine the most pretentious and overworked elements of their influences." The album ranked number 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.

## In popular culture

The track Girl's Not Grey 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*. "Miseria Cantare" was used in the trailer for the 2014 short film *Interference*, which premiered at the Roxbury Film Festival, and was also used by the professional wrestler CM Punk as a one-off entrance theme at the All Elite Wrestling Revolution pay-per-view on 6th March 2022, having previously used the track as his regular entrance theme during his run in the Ring of Honor promotion.

## Singles

Three singles, each with an accompanying music video, were released from *Sing the Sorrow*: "Girl's Not Grey", "The Leaving Song Pt. II," and "Silver and Cold." "Girl's Not Grey" was the highest-charting single, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, No. 33 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart. The second single, "The Leaving Song Pt. II" charted at No. 16 on the Alternative Songs chart, No. 31 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, No. 27 in Australia, and No. 43 in the UK. The third and final single, "Silver and Cold" reached No. 7 on the Alternative Songs chart and No. 39 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

## B-sides and outtakes

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", "The Leaving Song", and "Now the World" can be found as b-sides on the album's single releases.
* "Reivers' Music" is featured on the DVD of the special limited edition album, as well as the "Girl's Not Grey" single and the *336* EP.
* "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. It was eventually re-recorded during the *Decemberunderground* sessions, but remained unreleased. 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 2009 on the deluxe version of *Crash Love*.

## Personnel

* Jade Puget – guitar, executive producer, programming, keyboards
* Hunter Burgan – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Adam Carson – drums, percussion, 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
* 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

## Certifications and chart positions

### Weekly charts

 Canadian Albums (*Billboard*)
 UK Albums (OCC)
 US *Billboard* 200

### Certifications

 Canada (Music Canada)
 United States (RIAA)
 ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## Release history

**Standard edition**

 United States
 Australia
 Japan

**Special limited edition**

 April 22. 2003

## Trivia

* The early version of the album cover would had depicted a burning rose. This was later repurposed as the cover for some releases of the "*Girl's Not Grey*" single.
* Reivers' Music was released in 2002 on the EP 336, in which it was a two song EP that included the demo version of Now the World.
* The titles for the songs Carcinogen Crush and 100 Words can be found in the special limited edition book of *Sing the Sorrow*.
* Out of every song on the album, Death of Seasons is the only one that contains explicit lyrics as there is two uses of the F word in it.
* This is the second and the final release through DreamWorks Records, the first being the 336 EP.