Davey Havok, frontman of long-running punk-goth band AFI, reflects on the group's 35-year career ahead of their first UK shows in nine years, supporting last year's album Silver Bleeds The Black Sun. In a wide-ranging interview, he discusses the band's origins in the 1990s Californian punk scene, the backlash bands faced for signing to major labels, and his complicated feelings about their breakout hit "Miss Murder" continuing to define their legacy.

Havok, born in 1975, traces his fascination with punk and death-rock aesthetics back to childhood, shaped partly by a Catholic upbringing that fuelled his desire to embrace outsider identities. He recalls the fallout within the DIY punk community after Green Day's mainstream success, including an incident at Gilman Street venue where AFI's promo posters were defaced with a dollar sign after the band signed to Dexter Holland's Nitro Records. The interview also touches on Havok's unexpected admiration for glam metal and his thoughts on why AFI were never fully embraced as part of the 2000s emo movement.