I am broken Betty Elms, behind the clock
Susan Blue and Nikki Grace, a starless walk
Regulars in the Los Angeles goth and post‑punk music scene have long been in on an open secret: AFI frontman Davey Havok is one of its most ardent evangelists. It’s common to spot him on local dance floors, losing himself to Bauhaus or Specimen. He‘s also often the first in line to see a new band play, singing their praises on the playlists he curates or interviewing them for the SiriusXM show Volume West he co-hosted with music journalist Lyndsey Parker. And in 2024, his synth‑driven side project Blaqk Audio joined The Sisters of Mercy for a 26‑date crusade across North America—proof, if any were needed, that the singer’s goth credentials go deeper than wearing black eyeliner.
Havok’s Batcave spirit frames AFI’s latest metamorphosis: “Behind the Clock,” a brooding post‑punk anthem leading into the October 3rd release of the band’s forthcoming album, Silver Bleeds the Black Sun, out on Indie label Run For Cover Records. The single arrives with a shadow‑drenched film by director Gilbert Trejo, and finds Havok — sporting a Count Orlok moustache and black apparel— driving AFI deeper into the underground they’ve always championed.
“Behind The Clock” swaps polished alt‑rock for a brooding darkness replete with scratching guitars reminiscent of Bauhaus’ vampiric debut single, and Hunter Burgan’s subterranean bass line driving rhythms that churn with industrial heft of Killing Joke’s “War Dance.” The track is more art noir than pop song, as the melody permeates the air with a frost reminiscent of Modern English’s debut LP Mesh & Lace and the brooding gravitas of The Sisters of Mercy’s early, more experimental singles and EPs .
The song’s lyrics celebrate Havok’s lifelong love of the films of David Lynch, and devotees of the director’s canon will recognize the roll‑call of Betty Elms, Nikki Grace, Susan Blue, and Fred Madison—avatars from Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire, and Lost Highway. Havok stitches these fractured identities into a glitter‑coated fever dream where killers and muses swap skins, echoing the album’s fixation on blurred realities and shared delusions.
“It’s an exploration of life mirroring art versus art mirroring life,” Havok explains. “In a grander sense, it’s about who is part of the art and who is made of the art.”
Shot through vintage lenses, Trejo’s visuals for the track peer at AFI through gearworks, keyholes, and fractured mirrors, bathing the band in the “green‑lit blue” hues of the lyrics.
Speaking on the video for “Behind The Clock,” director Gilbert Trejo explains: “We wanted the video to feel like you’re seeing something you shouldn’t. In effect you are, because that’s how Davey writes lyrics. He’s expressing himself so openly, that you’re let behind this curtain. It’s a world that most artists don’t cut to, marrow deep.”
“Gilbert’s video sublimated the essence of ‘Behind The Clock,” Havok adds. “Working with him was a privilege and utter joy. He is an artist of the purest form.”
Watch Behind The Clock below:
Produced by guitarist Jade Puget, the ten‑track LP is, in Havok’s words, “dark and other‑worldly, yet stately, biting, and beautiful.” and “starkly different from what we’ve done in the past … a struggle to reconcile existence in a godless dystopia that lacks sanctuary, mystique, reason, and a chance of survival.”
“We started with something that sounded like Echo & the Bunnymen and wound up with a mélange of death‑rock and post‑punk: Sisters, Bauhaus, Siouxsie, all the late‑’70s stuff we grew up on, adds guitarist Jade Puget, who has the words “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” tatooed on his arms. And drummer Adam Carson distills it further: “We leaned into that post‑punk world, embracing that part of our DNA while still sounding like AFI.”
Pre‑orders for multiple vinyl variants, CD, cassette, and digital bundles are live now via Run For Cover.
To usher in the album, AFI will mount a 24‑date North‑American trek — including Madison’s Sylvee (30 Sep) and a Halloween stop in Denver — with synth‑goth luminary TR/ST in tow for most of the dates, before closing at Mexico City’s Corona Capital festival.
Fall 2025 Headline Tour:
- September 14, 2025 — Pittsburgh, PA — EQT Park (Four Chord Music Festival)
- September 30, 2025 — Madison, WI — The Sylvee
- October 2, 2025 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit
- October 3, 2025 — Chicago, IL — Salt Shed
- October 4, 2025 — Columbus, OH — The Bluestone
- October 6, 2025 — Buffalo, NY — Buffalo RiverWorks
- October 7, 2025 — Cleveland, OH — House of Blues Cleveland
- October 9, 2025 — Washington, DC — The Anthem
- October 10, 2025 — Boston, MA — Citizens House of Blues
- October 12, 2025 — Wallingford, CT — Dome at Toyota Oakdale Theatre
- October 14, 2025 — Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore Philadelphia
- October 15, 2025 — Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Paramount
- October 17, 2025 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade
- October 18, 2025 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works
- October 20, 2025 — Asheville, NC — The Orange Peel
- October 21, 2025 — North Myrtle Beach, SC — House of Blues Myrtle Beach
- October 23, 2025 — Orlando, FL — Hard Rock Live
- October 24, 2025 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — War Memorial Auditorium
- October 25, 2025 — Tampa, FL — The Ritz Ybor
- October 28, 2025 — Dallas, TX — South Side Ballroom
- October 29, 2025 — Austin, TX — ACL Live at Moody Theater
- October 31, 2025 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Auditorium
- November 1, 2025 — Salt Lake City, UT — Rockwell at the Complex
- November 4, 2025 — Oakland, CA — Fox Theatre
- November 5, 2025 — San Diego, CA — SOMA
- November 16, 2025 — Mexico City, Mexico — Corona Capital
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