I have a soft spot for early AFI but to be honest I haven't listened to them in a long time. So when frontman Davey Havok announced a new project with AFI guitarist Jade Puget that would be "straightedge hardcore," I was intrigued.
The project is called XTRMST (pronounced "extremist"). The band recently unveiled their first single, and it's surprisingly moshy:
I'm just as surprised as you. As with most straightedge bands, I'm more about the music than the message. I am writing this with a bong sitting on my desk, mere inches from my keyboard. (Don't worry, I won't smoke until the end of the day.). But XTRMST definitely have a message and they want to make it clear:
"The straightedge philosophy is something that we gravitated toward at a young age, drawn by concepts and ideals that seem almost foreign in modern society. Like much of the other subcultures we were a part of growing up, it put us at odds with 99% of the people around us, which was something we embraced. It seemed natural that this crucial ideology would find a musical expression.
For the release of XTRMST, we are extremely excited to be partnering with Dim Mak and Steve. This record is one of the most important we’ve made. The songs are of purity, passion and truth. May they speak to you.”
Their album, Conformist is out November 18th.
