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Has anyone picked up the new album yet? If not, DO SO! Its the best AFI album yet, seriously. It IS better than even Sing the Sorrow.

I especially love, in this order...

1. Love Like Winter (new fav song ever)
2. Prelude 12/21
3. Summer Shudder
4. The Interview
5. Miss Murder

Comments?

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"Dance, water, dance!"
-Demyx, Kingdom Hearts II

"I met my love before I was born..."
-AFI, 'Love Like Winter' from 'Decemberunderground'

Currently Playing: Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus

I've been an insanely huge AFI fan since Black Sails in The Sunset came out back in the day, I'm a Despair Faction and Fifth Column member and an overall fanatic, so it's safe to assume that when the CD mega store downtown Montreal opened up at 9 this morning, I was the first in line with a few friends, to pick up the album in it's limited edition face "booklet" format.

The first 200 people into the store also recieved bracelets that lets us basically hang out with the band the day after their show in Montreal, June 13th, which I'm looking forward to.

Anyways, on to Decemberunderground.

As a whole, this album is probably the most musically produced album they've created. They've strayed far from their original "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" roots, but it's a change that suits them well. The use of synth and various programmed effects adds a surreal vibe to the album, giving it it's very own personality seperate from any album they've done yet. Davey's lyrics are much more thought out, each line having significant meaning and importance for both the song itself and the album as a whole.

They put a lot of work into this album and it shows, I definatly prefer it over Sing The Sorrow, infact, I prefer it over The Art Of Drowning as well. This album really shows off their musicianship, I don't regret buying this album at all.

The only song I'm not infact crazy about on the album is the single "Miss Murder", I feel it doesn't represent the album properly at all, and sounds too much like AFI mixing hardcore styling with Green Day popishness. Don't be discouraged by the song, the rest of the album is infinitely more rewarding.

I think my personal favorite tracks are Kill Caustic, Summer Shudder and 37mm.
I can't wait for the show next week.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

"Miss Murder" is what turned me onto them. I'm discovering that I really kinda like them. I love their energy.

Edit

I just got the whole album yesterday. It's awesome^_^.

This post has been edited by tenshi/akuma on 11th June 2006 14:47

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"I sat alone and I didn't care,
I sat two years in the same old chair,
I saw three roads but didn't know,
Which way to go-go-go"
My Coco, stellastarr*

I'm so pleased with the album, really.
Until now, Sing the Sorrow had been my favorite, but I can't get over how much they really have changed. AFI has been using more and more harmonics with each album, and this is where it really shows.

I think the biggest difference is the focus on instrumentals and soft lyrics rather than screams and harsh chords. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE when Davey screams. Thats why I liked them in the first place. But truthfully, Decemberunderground just takes it all to the next level. They still scream (Kill Caustic, Affliction, etc), but it's more of a Thursday-ish type of scream - one of emotion, pure emotion. Not only that, but the music playing with it has improved so much since the 90s.

I love AFI as much as I do because of their experience. It shows, and it sets them apart from everyone else. That and their awesome attention to detail. Prelude 12/1 referring the Mayan calender, anyone?

Love Like Winter is my favorite song ever, I'm convinced. Thank you AFI, thank you. And how about their cover of Nine-Inch Nails's Head Like A Hole? Crazy!


btw, I am super jealous that you not only get to go to the concert, but you get to hang with them. Have a great time, man.

This post has been edited by Shinjutsei on 11th June 2006 03:03

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"Dance, water, dance!"
-Demyx, Kingdom Hearts II

"I met my love before I was born..."
-AFI, 'Love Like Winter' from 'Decemberunderground'

Currently Playing: Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus

My brother likes AFI, I've never really listened to them, but he's not home, so i uploaded their music on my Ipod. I must say, not bad. Not bad at all, actually.

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Can you pull down the dawn?
It's been so dark since you've been gone
and we've been begging for the morning to come.
We were so optimistic,
wasn't it so easy to be?
We were young and naive.
-The Hush Sound: Eileen

I feel bad, really.
I have 30Gs of music on my iPod, and I only listen to AFI.
Poor other bands. I feel for ya. Hee hee. Not.

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"Dance, water, dance!"
-Demyx, Kingdom Hearts II

"I met my love before I was born..."
-AFI, 'Love Like Winter' from 'Decemberunderground'

Currently Playing: Guitar Hero, Shadow of the Colossus

Decemberunderground is AFI's strongest effort yet, musically and lyrically. There's no denying that it's a brilliant piece of work with a unique sound (even for them). I can say without bias that it is one of 2006's best releases. If Sing the Sorrow was a dark and moody album, DU cycles through light and dark, heavy and light, acoustic and electronic. It definitely strikes a chord with old fans and will no doubt win them many new fans.

Sentimental favorites aside, it's my favorite cd. I don't think any new offering can replace Black Sails in that category, but I'm enjoying DU just as much.

Summer Shudder has quickly become my favorite track, but Kill Caustic is a close second, especially live.

This post has been edited by Jlombardi13 on 20th June 2006 03:16

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Lou: There's a couple of guys fighting down at the aquarium, Chief.
Wiggum: Do they still sell those frozen bananas?
Lou: I think so.
Wiggum: Let's roll.

"Hey Miss Murder can I/ make beauty stay if I/ take my life"

Anyone who thinks crap like that is worth praising has no right to ever bitch about myspace...ever. Bad enough I have to sit through this buggle-gum emo on the radio, the praise shown here only solidifies my belief that rock is effectively dead.

That said, it is catchy, but that's what pop is supposed to be. Wouldn't be so bad if they could be a little more tasteful. Suicide's become a bit of a joke lately, and they carry on the tradition by turning it into a bad pun. It's crap like this that turned me on to the eighties revival music on the alternative stations today.

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Arts

Farts

Twarts

Quote (Narratorway @ 21st June 2006 12:41)

"Hey Miss Murder can I/ make beauty stay if I/ take my life"

Anyone who thinks crap like that is worth praising has no right to ever bitch about myspace...ever. Bad enough I have to sit through this buggle-gum emo on the radio, the praise shown here only solidifies my belief that rock is effectively dead.

That said, it is catchy, but that's what pop is supposed to be. Wouldn't be so bad if they could be a little more tasteful. Suicide's become a bit of a joke lately, and they carry on the tradition by turning it into a bad pun. It's crap like this that turned me on to the eighties revival music on the alternative stations today.

You can't base the band's sound off that one single, as opposed to that, try listening to something a bit less touchy on the suicide aspect and more on the actual musical content, like for instance, the song 37mm or The Missing Frame.

Those lyrics to Miss Murder, "Can I make beauty stay if I take my life"
is actually sarcasm, Miss Murder is basically a song dedicated to the kind of person who needs attention so badly that they'd do anything for it, even go so far as to hurt themselves, and the importance that has come about of being "in".

Even while going with a much more pop and electronic influenced sound, they haven't at all strayed from their punk mentality. While I admit that the lyrics used probably around as "tasteful" as most would have it, when has rock ever really been "tasteful" ? As far as I know, most of the songs written from 1960 to 1979 are either about sex or drugs in some way or another. Every era has it's theme.

At any rate, the album as a whole is much better than the Miss Murder single.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

I've never listened to AFI, but I ran across the Miss Murder video on youtube yesterday, so I decided to take 8 minutes to watch it. It was the "director's cut" of the video.

It wasn't my style at all. I had a hard time making myself watch it, to be honest. I found the music to be well played but not engaging... the lyrics were something I would expect from a depressed teenager who's girlfriend just broke up with him... All in all, just not my cup of tea whatsoever.

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Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

Quote (Dragon_Fire @ 21st June 2006 12:09)

You can't base the band's sound off that one single

Nope, but I can base it off of four singles and one concert experience. They're emo pop schmaltz pure and simple, the musical equivalent of a Milky Way bar although I get the impression they think they're something more. The sarcasm in that one song is about as deep as an ingrown hair, and I doubt any of the other songs are gonna have any more resonance with me. Again, it's catchy and makes good background noise, but it's in a genre that's gonna age about as well as eighties hair metal.

Edit

Oh and Miss Murder sounded a whole lot better when it was done by Green Day and called Holiday

This post has been edited by Narratorway on 23rd June 2006 00:57

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Arts

Farts

Twarts