Black Sails in the Sunset
Encyclopedia
Black Sails in the Sunset is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock
band AFI
. It was released on May 18, 1999 through Nitro Records
.
. It is the first album to feature guitarist Jade Puget
as a permanent member, thus making it the first album the current line-up of the band truly collaborated. The album did not peak on any mainstream Billboard
charts, however, it managed to peak at #6 on the Top Heatseekers (Pacific) chart.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
. It was released on May 18, 1999 through Nitro Records
Nitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
.
Release
Black Sails in the Sunset was released on May 18, 1999 through Nitro RecordsNitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
. It is the first album to feature guitarist Jade Puget
Jade Puget
Jade Errol Puget is the guitarist for the alternative rock band AFI , and the keyboardist/synthesizer operator for the electronic duo Blaqk Audio. Puget is vegetarian and straight edge....
as a permanent member, thus making it the first album the current line-up of the band truly collaborated. The album did not peak on any mainstream Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, however, it managed to peak at #6 on the Top Heatseekers (Pacific) chart.
Track listing
- Due to a misprint, tracks 9 and 10 were mislabeled with their titles switched. Shown here is the correct track listing.
Bonus tracks, B-sides, unreleased tracks, etc.
All tracks recorded during the Black Sails sessions unless otherwise noted.- "Lower It" is featured as track 7 on the vinyl edition of the album. It was eventually re-released on the AFIAFI (album)- Clean version :- Chart positions :...
retrospective compilation. - "Who Knew?" is featured on the Black Sails EP. It is released as the hidden track in the place of "Midnight Sun" on the JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese edition of the album. - "Transference" is featured on the No Time to Kill compilation. It is the only song by AFI to contain lead vocals by Hunter BurganHunter BurganHunter Lawrence Burgan is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bass guitarist of AFI.-Biography:Burgan grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is vegan.-Career:...
, which can be heard during the chorus of the song. - "The Chicken Song" is featured as a hidden track on the No Time to Kill compilation. It features Burgan playing the piano and Havok and Puget sharing lead vocal duties. The band often jokingly deny the existence of the song.
- "Weight of Words" was known to be recorded during the Black Sails sessions, but has yet to be released. However, the AFIAFI (album)- Clean version :- Chart positions :...
retrospective compilation is often called 'The Weight of Words' on online shopping sites.
Background
- On the side of the album is a hidden message, reading 'Beyond And To All Time I Stand'. This is a lyric from the album's hidden track, Midnight Sun.
- The track Midnight Sun was inspired by the poem De Profundis Clamavi by Charles BaudelaireCharles BaudelaireCharles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
. Havok can be heard reciting parts of the poem in the song's bridge. - 'Porphyria Cutanea Tarda' is listed as 'Porphyria' on the back cover of the album, as it was listed on Black Sails EP.
- Jade Puget has stated that 'Malleus Maleficarum' was the first song he wrote as part of AFI.
- The opening track, 'Strength Through Wounding' contains a repeated chant, 'Through our bleeding, we are one', which fans like to chant during concerts while waiting for the band to come onstage, or between songs.
- Dexter Holland, the vocalist for The OffspringThe OffspringThe Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
is featured in the tracks 'Clove Smoke Catharsis' and 'The Prayer Position', as he was the owner of the record label, Nitro RecordsNitro RecordsNitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
at the time. - "God Called In Sick Today" is one of AFI's favorite songs to play live. Since the album's release it has always been on their set, usually to end a show. An exception is the I Heard a Voice – Live from Long Beach Arena show, in which they concluded with "Miss Murder".
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Top Heatseekers (Pacific) | 6 |
Personnel
- Davey HavokDavey HavokDavid Paden Marchand , more commonly known by the stage name Davey Havok, is the lead vocalist of the American rock band AFI and the electronic music band Blaqk Audio....
- Vocals - Jade PugetJade PugetJade Errol Puget is the guitarist for the alternative rock band AFI , and the keyboardist/synthesizer operator for the electronic duo Blaqk Audio. Puget is vegetarian and straight edge....
- Guitar, backing vocals - Hunter BurganHunter BurganHunter Lawrence Burgan is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bass guitarist of AFI.-Biography:Burgan grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is vegan.-Career:...
- Bass, backing vocals - Adam CarsonAdam CarsonAdam Alexander Carson is the drummer of the rock band AFI. He and Davey Havok are the two original members left in the lineup. Carson also filled in as drummer for the band Tiger Army. His drumming can be found on Tiger Army's Early Years EP as well as their debut album Tiger Army...
- Drums
- Dexter HollandDexter HollandBryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the California punk rock band The Offspring...
- Guest backing vocals - AFIAFI (band)AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
- Producer - Andy ErnstAndy ErnstAndy Ernst aka Andro Ernst, is a music producer, engineer, musician, songwriter, from San Francisco. Artist’s he's worked with include: Green Day, AFI, Sway & King Tech, Rancid, Tiger Army, The Nerve Agents, Malo, Link 80, Screeching Weasel, Swingin' Utters, Screw 32, Good Riddance, Fury 66,...
- Engineer, Mixing - Mike Fasano - Drum Technician
- Thadd LaRue - Engineer, Assistant Engineer
- Alan Forbes - Illustrations
- Gabe Morford - Photography
- Jamie Reilly - Layout Design