Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the seeds of change in AFI?, 31 May 2006
I personally couldn't wait for AFI's lastest release after their three year absense and I really wanted to hear how they had changed- and boy have they!
From the opening to the ending, what you are hearing is a new, more mature AFI with Daveys vocals showing an definite improvement from before, don't get me wrong, I have always loved his voice but now it sends shivers down my spine because of its richness.
The tracks range from their more "classic" style to 80's(ish) synthpop but the writing and instrumentation are as sharp as ever.
When I first listened to it, I wasn't sure because it was so different to previous albums and I have read reviews where fans are criticising it for being too mainstream but in my opinion, it is an album that has to be approached with an open mind and may take a few listenings to get used to but is worth the effore and cash.
I'm sure it will become a five star album soon enough
by the way, I have been a fan of AFI for seven years and have all the albums from "shut your mouth"
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A largely depressing effort by a great band, 5 Jun 2006
I rushed out to buy this when I heard that a new album was finally out and I am still trying to come to terms with it! I guess it's a matter of personal taste, but I thought this album was pretty awful. It took me two days to manage to listen to all of it all the way through without breaking down!
I thought that `Sing the Sorrow' was a bit of a departure from the AFI that I loved, the ones who had written `Black Sails...', `Art of Drowning' and `Very Proud...', but I grew to love it, because (apart from the fact that some music executive had told Davey to start experimenting with a generic, guttural growl instead of his trademark high-pitched, passionate screams) it seemed like a natural progression for the band. Sure it was a bit more produced, but it was still an AFI album. And a great one at that.
I sometimes wish that bands would break up and start up afresh if they are going to trample their hard-earned reputation through the pop-infested mud. `Decemberunderground' is a dreadful album and has really crushed my love of this band. The songs are more complex in terms of structure and the band seem to be able to play their instruments technically better than in the past, and yet the music is not progressive, but a convoluted pop pastiche of the dark fervour that defined the music of past albums. `Miss Murder', the big single sounds like a Green Day track. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Green Day - but they play sing-along pop-punk as they have always done and they do it very well. But that was never what AFI were. They have something darker in them and their songs never had that commercial sheen. I don't have a problem with bands going mainstream, and becoming popular, but when they do so at the expense of their sound and, seemingly, everything they ever stood for then it's not a good thing. Some parts of this album sound more like Bon Jovi!
I saw these guys play in 2000 and it was the best gig that I have ever seen. The intensity and the connection between the band on stage and the impassioned crowd has not been matched by any band I have seen since. It was fantastic. But I cannot imagine the same being the case if they play these new songs. There is none of the rage, the primal darkness that made those old songs so fantastic, that gave AFI a cult following.
I've probably gone on enough, but it's just when a band that you really respect so much pushes out an album like this it's pretty painful and it's hard to stop whining about it.
If you like AFI, then listen to the album and make up your own mind. I hope that you like it, because to me it sounds like a different band. It's like they ran out of steam and decided to recycle themselves as radio-friendly rock stars. I know I'll buy the next album, if only in the hope that they will redeem themselves, but if this signals a definitive change in the band's direction, then I think it is a such a shame that everything beautiful has to fade so cruelly.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy successor to Sing the Sorrow, 4 Aug 2006
You have to take the opinions of many other reviewers here with a hefty pinch of salt - many of them are fans of the "old" AFI, back in their punk/hardcore days. Nothing wrong at all with that, but it completely skews their view of AFI's new releases.
Many old fans hate Sing the Sorrow, which I feel personally is pretty foolish. Sing the Sorrow is a classic album, easily one of my top 10 albums of all time. It has a feel all of its own, with beautifully dark lyrics and sweeping melodies. In one word - brilliant. And a natural evolution for the band.
When I bought the new album, I was expecting an effort that paled compared to Sing the Sorrow. I had heard the single "Miss Murder" and was not particularly impressed. I bought the album anyway, and was quite simply blown away.
This album is seriously good. Davey Havok's lyrics are as poetic and absorbing as ever, the melodies are great and there are some rousing choruses. Furthermore, there are some seriously beautful moments on this album, for example the guitar interlude halfway through "Affliction" which is quite simply gorgeous. The best songs, for me, are The Missing Frame (lovely, haunting chorus), Summer Shudder (awesome guitar work) and Love Like Winter (again, totally electric chorus).
Some people have complained about the amount of synth, but I think this is an exaggeration and that it really adds to the album. As for the idea that this album is an identity crisis - another exaggeration. Sure, it is hard to define what genre this album falls under, but only because it is so dynamic.
If you loved Sing the Sorrow, you should love this too.
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