AFI – decemberunderground

Will Give You Chills

Genius. Freaks. Life-changing. Wusses. However you view punk band A Fire Inside, there will always be someone else with a contrary opinion. With fifteen years of experience in the music industry, criticism doesn’t phase AFI. Their only shock was the sudden popularity of decemberunderground, the California band’s seventh release.Much of this hype is due to the catchy, marketable single, “Miss Murder,” whose radio version replaces the hardcore shouts with singing to further appeal to the masses. MTV junkies purchasing the CD from “that band with the bunnies in the video and the guy with makeup” be warned, this album isn’t for you. There are lyrics akin to a Sylvia Plath poem and singer Davey Havok’s wonderfully controlled voice is like Lucifer: beautiful, but able to quickly transform into demonic screaming. One of the best songs on the album is “Kill Caustic,” a thrashing, made-to-mosh anthem perfect for venting along with. Guitarist Jade Puget features some of his most sublime work on tracks like “The Killing Lights,” an emo inspired tune of questioning self worth and new wave “Love Like Winter” with quavering riffs straight from the 80s. Adam Carson continuously proves to be one of the top drummers in punk rock and Hunter Burgan’s bass playing never goes unnoticed, even among so many other elements. The only flaw on this otherwise ideal album is a slightly out of place experimental piece at the end of the violent track “Affliction.”

AFI has come a long way from their origin as a high school band. Even after changing members, slightly altering their style, and going mainstream, the band continues to bring an underivative sound and energy to their music.