Band: AFI (A Fire Inside)
Album: The Art Of Drowning
Released: 2000
Davey Havok - Vocals
Jade Puget - Guitar
Hunter - Bass
Adam Carson - Drums
They all do back up vocals for the cd, along with guests.
Review:
Initiation - It's an intro, not much to say. No words, unlike the usual AFI intro, with chanting. It's starts out quiet and slow, very urgent sounding. After a while it gets a little more hardcore and then ends and fades into the next song. 5/10
The Lost Souls - Bass solo to start, then the drums tumble along and the guitar comes in with a highly distorted, high pitched riff. Then into the verse: fast singing, nice back ups, fast chords. The chorus follows the same suit. There's a cool musical break where Davey still sings fast and then it speeds right back into the chorus. After the second chorus, there's another high pitched riff, and then a quiet part. It always get stuck in my head. "Take my hand...and I'll take everything from you." Good way to start a cd. 8/10
The Nephilim - Bass and drums to kick it off and feedbackish sound from the guitar, then it gets into the speed. This song seems to be a lot like the one before it. One of my least favorites on the cd. There's a good riff, some great singing, and some good lyrics; it just doesn't seem to stick out among the rest. 6/10
Ever and A Day - One of my favorites. Starts with distorted chords, and drums and bass follow. Then it gets really quiet, with a clean riff under Davey's whisper/singing. It slowly kicks back and they play for a while, then palm muting under Davey's great voice. He shows off his vocal talent here. Nice, sing-along bit for the chorus, and then some "oh-oh-oh's" afterwards. 10/10
Sacrafice Theory - If you're looking for a good way to make both hands useless for a few days, try playing the bass in this song. Fast as hell. It gets right into the verse and the back ups sing "go!" as Davey sings. Another nice sing-along type deal for the chorus. Same nice "whoas" by both Davey and the back ups. Then there's a palm muted, bridge where Davey sings and it goes back into the chorus and ends. 7/10
Of Greetings and Goodbyes - Distorted chords and a good drum beat. The guitar cuts out for the first part of the verse and the bass and drums play while Davey sings. Doesn't stay that way to long. The chorus is another sing along with some "whoa's." The difference with the second verse is that the guitar has a sharp riff played in the place where nothing was played before. Then a drum and bass solo for a little bit, and the guitar comes in fro the bridge with the singing. And another chorus. 7/10
Smile - The guitar slides in and has a quick riff and that continues with bass and drums. The singing is fast again and a tad bit more hardcore sounding. This is the shortest song, besides the intro. Pretty much the only one that still carries the punk roots. It doesn't really sound like it, it's just extremely short and fast, like most punk songs. 8/10
A Story At Three - Distorted chords to start, then bass and drums. Slower intro than the others so far. Then it speeds up after a while, and Davey sings really fast. The back ups shouting "sleep!" is cool. They carry a lot of the chorus, just as a few of the other songs, as well. The third chorus or so is cool because Davey is singing with the back ups as well, so his voice overlaps with his own. After that, it is my favorite part of the song, and quite possibly my favorite thing on the cd. There's only bass and drums, while Davey sings very sorrowfully. I love the lyrics in this song. There's a three note, clean guitar riff right before he sings. I love Davey's voice. The guitar comes back in and he still sings, along with the back ups and some shouted words by Davey. His voice overlaps a lot here. Then it gets quiet as his overlapping voice shouts "requiem" over the repeated bridge. And ends with a chorus. 10/10
Days Of The Phoenix - Most people know this song. Starts with another great high pitched riff and cuts out at the verse; for drums, bass and vocals. The bassline is one of the easier and most fun to play on the entire album. I find myself playing it all the time when I'm bored. His voice is quite beautiful in this song. Just as it is most. I love the lyrics as well. The guitar returns for the pre-chorus, or second verse, whatever you wish to call it. Right before the chorus he pulls out, "no one could see me." The back ups have some wonderful "oh's" and Davey's voice compliments it perfectly. The pre-chorus repeats and the chorus and then the bridge. Quiet part, low instruments, quiet speaking. The guitar kicks in and he sings the line I mentioned earlier, only this time he holds the last word and the music stops. Then chorus. A truly great song. Great video too. 10/10
Catch A Hot One - Another one of my last favorites. Begins with a few guitar chords and everything else. Fast singing for the verse, and fast playing. There's a break for a really fast bass solo, which is done quite well. The best part of this song is where the back ups sing "have you ever turned to dust." The rest of the song is basically the same format. There's a bridge, but I think it's the weakest one on the album. 6/10
Wester - Good recovery with this song. The guitar kind of...bounces up and down, it's cool. Then it stops for the verse and the bass and drums are clear as Davey sings. The lyrics always get stuck in my head.The guitar fades back in and continues with its fast pace. The back ups have another significant role in the chorus. The best part is toward the end where Davey sings over the distorted riff. "I can feel you dreaming of me." The back ups are nice there as well. 9/10
6 To 8 - Very different from anything else so far. Very quiet, clean, slow guitar riff to start. Davey whispers the first part of the song. The bass plays a few notes every now and then. Vocal overlaps as well. Drums and bass come in for a few seconds and then it's just guitar again. Then they both come back, still slow. Davey sings louder and the back ups do some "whoa-oh-oh-oh's." Then a distorted guitar flies in and the back ups sing "on the way, yeah," with Davey's singing. Then there's a lot of "whoa-oh's" again. One of the longer songs on here, and it actually feels longer as well, because it's slower. Nice breakdown toward the end before a chorus. And then a beautiful solo afterwards that ends the song. This would be the first recognizable sign of AFI's new style. It's could be compared to a lot of the songs on Sing The Sorrow. 8/10
The Despair Factor - Techno-ish intro deal. Very nice. Then drums. And then everything. A nice, fast song, especially after the last slow song. Cool lyrics and chords. The chorus is well thought out with all the overlapping vocals. Then there's a music break where the back ups do "whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh" behind Davey speaking, "my whole life is a dark room...one...big...dark...room." Can anyone say, "Beetlejuice"? But then it kicks right back into it. After verse and chorus, another breakdown. Cool, quite riff and Davey barely even whispers. This also holds some qualities of the newer stuff. Pretty good song, just not great. 7/10
Morningstar - Ah, yes. Everyone loves this song. At first, I couldn't stand it. I felt that they were trying to hard to be like "God Called In Sick Today" but also change it enough so it doesn't seem like it. True, it doesn't sound too much like, it actually sounds more like "6 To 8," but the formula is similar. Anyway, after I listened to this song more, I began to like it. Very quiet singing along with a clean guitar playing some chords. It progresses slowly and you can hear some bass notes in there. It stays like this for a while, and then after the second chorus, the guitar plays some more and sings, and the drums kick in and the distorted guitar slides in. They play the chorus a few times and then it fades out. 9/10
Battled - Hidden track time! Quick bass solo to start and then everything kicks in. A little more hardcore singing. The only song that they cuss in on this cd. The vocal trade off in the chorus is cool. "I'm battled...I'm f-cking battled, man." It plays through twice and ends quickly. Reminds me more of The Offspring than anything else. Good way to end. 8/10
Other things:
The artwork on this cd is very dark and winter-ish feeling. Frozen, gothic statues compliment the sound of the album well. It also has lyrics and more art on the inside. Not too much else. I give the cd 4/5.
I remember when I was told the story
Of crushed velvet, candle wax, and dried up flowers
The figure on the bed, all dressed up in roses, calling...
Beckoning to sleep...offering a dream
