Review Summary: This short burst of energy marks one of the many climaxes in AFI's career.
Between 1999 and 2000, AFI was in the midst of their hardcore, punk and gothic tinged era of music. In between two of their most praised albums, Black Sails and Art of Drowning, the band hit the studio to record a few songs to show the direction the band was going in. The resulting EP turned out to be more than just a sampler of what was to come. The All Hallow’s EP is a 4 song masterpiece that is one of the greatest achievements of AFI’s career.
The EP begins with ‘Fall Children’. The song opens with slow eerie guitar then bursts into a fast explosion of noise. A characteristic strength found in this song (and the rest of the EP) is AFI’s prominent use of back up singer’s shouts and chants. This really makes for a more concert type feel, as if the crowd is yelling in response to Havok. Next on the EP is a Misfits cover of the song ‘Halloween’. Although this track is the weakest song on the EP, it is only a cover. When comparing this cover to the original Misfits version, I was very impressed by just how much AFI made the song their own. They were really able to successfully sink their fangs into this classic punk song and develop a whole different, feel to the song. Next up is the amazing ‘The Boy Who Destroyed the World’. Anyone remember Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3? If so you will most likely remember praying for this song to come on every time you played. This song is simply amazing and contains everything that made an AFI song, an AFI song. The poetic lyrics, the fast punk riffs, the ferocious drum-beats and the amazing song structure all come together to create a truly epic song. The final song of the EP is one that is still currently on their set list at many concerts, ‘Totalimmortal’. The song opens up with some great guitar work and fast drums before slowing down for the first verse where the bass is very prevalent. This song is able to effectively add and subtract instruments at the perfect times to create a feeling of building aggression before climaxing every chorus. The use of layered vocals repeating each other works great and creates a sublime mood. The breakdown of this song is exciting and makes you feel like a mob of people is responding to Havok’s yells before the song closes with the killer chorus.
This EP is a fast burst of energy that barely gives you a moment to stop for breath. It is one of AFI’s several career highpoints. In my opinion this EP, with only four songs, is profoundly better then Black Sails, Art of Drowning and possibly even Sing the Sorrow. Their catchy, fast, punk style is addicting and encourages repeated listens. The mood this EP is able to set is immense and bold. The yells from Havok, Jade and Hunter make for a truly concert type feel. AFI is a band that evolves time and time again and this stage of their evolution was definitely one of the best.
