When Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…, AFI’s latest album, came out last October, the reviews were mixed. I heard it was very different from their earlier sound, a sound I admittedly had a deep attachment to from childhood. Thus, I didn’t listen to it. Not intentionally, of course, but their fall 2025 tour skipped the Pacific Northwest, and my calendar around that time was packed with so many shows that I filled much of my time listening to new releases from artists I was about to see.

Fast forward to this spring, and AFI announced a new set of tour dates, the “Holy Visions” tour, with Portland, Oregon, being the second stop. This time, I fully intended on listening to the new album in anticipation of the show, but life got ahead of me, and I didn’t end up listening to Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… until the day of the concert. As it turns out, this was probably the best course of action. Upon first listen I found the reviews were correct — it was very goth rock. I do like goth rock, but it was definitely different from what I would expect from AFI. After a couple of listens, I decided to table my thoughts on the album until after the show.

It was later during AFI’s performance of “Marguerite” when I decided I loved the new album. Hearing songs like “Holy Visions,” “Behind The Clock,” and “Nooneunderground” gave new depth to the goth and post-punk-inspired album. The rhythm, of course, was perfectly accentuated by vocalist Davey Havok’s theatrical and exuberant dance moves. Clad in skinny black pants and a flowy pink top almost the length of a dress, an outfit that mirrored the aesthetic of the new album, Havok jumped, pranced, and dropped on the stage.

Of course, AFI’s set wasn’t limited to songs from Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… Longtime fans were appeased with a setlist that spanned nearly all of the AFI eras, featuring songs from eight of their 12 studio albums. Amidst atmospheric dark red lighting, the band entered the stage to the beginning notes of “Strength Through Wounding,” the first track on their 1999 album Black Sails In The Sunset, while the crowd chanted the opening chorus “Through our bleeding, we are one.” Havok joined in on the second stanza. As the crowd finished chanting the chorus again, Havok tossed his microphone stand to the side, and the band went straight into “Girl’s Not Grey” from their 2003 album Sing The Sorrow. They followed “Girl’s Not Grey” with another throwback, “Love Like Winter” from 2006’s DECEMBERUNDERGROUND, which saw the sold-out crowd at the Roseland Theater singing along.

Starting their set with the first three songs being older and familiar hits began the evening on a high note, and from there, the energy never wavered. AFI played “Holy Visions” from Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… next, and though the genre shifted from the angsty post-hardcore sound to their current post-punk goth rock era, the energy didn’t, and the crowd danced along.

Like they did on their fall 2025 Silver Bleeds The Black Sun… tour, AFI varied their set list from the previous night, choosing a handful of songs that differed from what Seattle got to hear, including “37mm” and “Endlessly, She Said” from DECEMBERUNDERGROUND, “A Single Second” from 1997’s Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes, and “Greater Than 84” from 2013’s Burials. The highlight of the evening, however, was that Portland got to hear “Yürf Rendenheim” from their debut album released in 1995, Answer That and Stay Fashionable. It was the first time since 1996 that the band had played the fast-paced hardcore punk anthem live, and the crowd went wild for it.

After ending their main set with “Endlessly, She Said,” AFI returned to the stage for a three-song encore, playing “Blasphemy & Excess” from Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…, which Havok said was his dad’s, who was in the audience, favorite song from the album, and then “The Leaving Song” and “This Celluloid Dream” from Sing The Sorrow.

Opening the evening for AFI was Choir Boy from Salt Lake City. The aptly named synth-pop band, despite being less heavy and skewing more indie, proved to be a good complement to AFI’s current post-punk and goth rock aesthetic. Frontman Adam Klopp’s voice was operatic and emotional, layered over post-punk and new wave beats. The crowd cheered when keyboardist Jeff Kleinman brought out his saxophone for the self-deprecating post-punk synth-wave track “I’ll Always Let You Down,” Choir Boy’s latest single release, and danced along to the moody and slightly depressed lyrics that juxtaposed the poppy synth beats.

After the show, I found myself listening to both Choir Boy and Silver Bleeds The Black Sun... on repeat.