After recording the "A Fire Inside EP" (1998), Stopholese left the band and was replaced by Jade Puget, a former member of Influence 13 and Havok's close friend. The band then recorded "Black Sails in the Sunset" (1999), a musical turning point which introduced AFI fans to a much darker sound, mixing the band's original hardcore roots with dark romantic influences (a poem by Charles Baudelaire, "De profundis clamavi," is present in the hidden track "Midnight Sun") and an emphasis on a more somber atmosphere and lyrics. "The New York Times" later referred to this as the point where Havok "developed into a singer and songwriter of substance". The influence of the deathrock and goth rock scenes was also apparent. During this period, AFI's style was considered punk rock. Offspring frontman Dexter Holland was featured as a backing vocalist on two tracks: "Clove Smoke Catharsis" and "The Prayer Position".