AFI Share New Single ‘Holy Visions’ Ahead of Twelfth Album ‘Silver Bleeds the Black Sun…’

by | Sep 9, 2025

California trailblazers AFI have unveiled Holy Visions, the latest single from their forthcoming album Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…, dropping on 3rd October. The track arrives alongside a video directed by Gilbert Trejo, with the band bathed in dreamlike pink and blue hues that mirror the song’s ethereal textures.

AFI

AFI (Lexie Alley)
AFI (Lexie Alley)

Frontman Davey Havok described the collaboration with Trejo as seamless: “Getting to work with Gilbert on two videos was a joy. Holy Visions is the perfect visual sublimation of the song.”

Where Behind The Clock hinted at the band’s darker instincts, Holy Visions embraces atmosphere. Built on layers of shimmering guitars, airy synths, and Havok’s haunting vocal delivery, it balances melancholy with grandeur. It’s a sound that feels instantly recognisable as AFI yet distinctly new — a continuation of the band’s evolution toward more expansive, cinematic terrain.

Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… will mark AFI’s twelfth full-length release, a milestone that few bands reach with their fire still intact. This time, the group set out to create a record with a singular emotional palette. The result leans heavily into dreamy, ethereal soundscapes — the kind of atmospheres that have long simmered beneath their catalogue but are now front and centre.

The band describe the album as “dark and otherworldly, but also grandiose and stately,” a record that’s both familiar and foreign. It reflects AFI’s refusal to stagnate, a trait that has seen them move fluidly across genres for over 30 years.

AFI’s story has been one of constant reinvention. From their scrappy hardcore beginnings with Answer That And Stay Fashionable and Very Proud Of Ya, to the gothic punk theatrics of Black Sails In The Sunset and The Art Of Drowning, to their mainstream breakthrough with Sing The Sorrow (2003) and Decemberunderground (2006), the band have consistently challenged themselves and their fans.

Later releases like Crash Love (2009), Burials (2013), and The Blood Album (2017) showcased a willingness to embrace alternative rock and post-punk, while 2021’s Bodies leaned into dark pop textures. At every turn, AFI have redefined themselves while retaining the intensity and individuality that made them stand out in the first place.

To celebrate the album’s release, the four-piece will embark on a 24-date North American headline tour — their first full-scale outing since 2021’s Bodies. Supported by darkwave outfit TR/ST, the run kicks off on 30th September in Madison, WI, with stops in Chicago, Brooklyn, Boston, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and more, before closing on 5th November in San Diego, CA.

Fans can expect a setlist that draws from across the band’s extensive career, weaving new material from Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… into classics that have defined generations of fans. For a band renowned for their electrifying live shows — equal parts theatre, sweat, and catharsis — the tour promises to be a highlight of the autumn calendar.

Thirty-plus years into their career, AFI remain as restless and daring as ever. Holy Visions isn’t just a single, it’s a statement — proof that the band are still searching for new territory to claim. If Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… lives up to its promise, it could stand among the most ambitious entries in AFI’s discography.

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