The Art of Drowning

Infobox Album | Name = The Art of Drowning
Type = Album
Artist = AFI


Released = September 19, 2000
Recorded = Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California
Genre = Punk rock, Horror punk
Length = 41:26
Label = Nitro
Producer = Chuck Johnson, AFI
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gs91z83a2yv2~T1 link] | Last album = "All Hallow's EP" (1999)
This album = "The Art of Drowning" (2000)
Next album = "The Days of the Phoenix EP" (2000)

"The Art of Drowning" is the fifth full-length studio album released by then punk rock band AFI. It was the last studio album recorded by AFI on Nitro records. It reached #174 on the Billboard 200 and #9 on Heatseekers.The album, as well as its predecessor, features a darker, horror punk sound, and contains AFI's first use of electronic music in "The Despair Factor." However, after this release, AFI moved towards an alternative rock sound.

Track listing

#"Initiation" – 0:39
#"The Lost Souls" – 2:42
#"The Nephilim" – 2:35
#"Ever and a Day" – 3:06
#"Sacrifice Theory" – 1:58
#"Of Greetings and Goodbyes" – 3:04
#"Smile" – 1:31
#"A Story at Three" – 3:53
#"Dream of Waking" – 3:01 (vinyl only)
#"The Days of the Phoenix" – 3:27
#"Catch a Hot One" – 2:54
#"Wester" – 3:01
#"6 to 8" – 4:21
#"The Despair Factor" – 3:54
#"Morningstar" – 3:18

Bonus tracks, B-Sides, unreleased tracks, etc.

All tracks recorded during the "Art of Drowning" sessions unless otherwise noted.

* "Battled" is featured as a hidden track on the CD format of the album.
* "Dream of Waking" is featured as track 9 on the A-Side of the 12" vinyl edition of the album. It was later released on the Nitro Records "Punkzilla" compilation.
* "A Winter's Tale" was recorded during the "Art of Drowning" sessions. It was featured on the "The Days of the Phoenix EP", and later on the "AFI" compilation.
* On the iTunes download of the album, "Battled" is erroneously labeled as "Bonus Track".

Personnel

*AFI - Vocals (bckgr), Producer
*Davey Havok - Vocals
*Adam Carson - Drums
*Hunter Burgan - Bass
*Jade Puget - Guitar
*Nick 13 - Vocals (bckgr)
*Lars Frederiksen - Vocals (bckgr)
*Chris Higgins (X-13) - Vocals (bckgr)
*Darcy Vaughn - Viola
*Thadd LaRue - Vocals (bckgr), Assistant
*Chuck Johnson - Producer, Engineer
*Frank Rinella - Assistant Engineer
*Eddy Schreyer - Mastering
*Andy Ernst - Mixing
*Alan Forbes - Artwork
*Jamie Reilly - Layout Design

Chart positions

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album 2000 The Billboard 200 No. 174 2000 Heatseekers No. 9 2002 Top Independent Albums No. 33

Notes

* The inner-edge of the CD case reveals a hidden message: "Battled". This is the name of the hidden track on the CD edition.
* "The Despair Factor" contains the lyrics "My whole life is a dark room... one big dark room," which is a line originally spoken by Winona Ryder in the film "Beetlejuice".
* The official AFI fan club, the Despair Faction, gets its name from the song "The Despair Factor."
* The song "Wester" was featured in Winter X Games Snowboarding 2000.
* The song "The Days of the Phoenix" refers to the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, California. Petaluma is near Ukiah, California, where the band originated, and the band played the venue often in their early years.