Rabbits are Roadkill on Route 37 (Decemberunderground - AFI)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Decemberunderground - AFI
Date:	23/02/08 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some of the tracks are greatly impressive and hugely powerful.

Disadvantages: A lot of the album is quite weak and lifeless.

'Decemberunderground' is the latest album to have been released by the American rock band AFI (A Fire Inside). I had not been looking forward to its release whatsoever when it came about in 2006. 'Miss Murder' was chosen to be the albums lead single and I took an instant disliking to it. What I hated most about the single is that the opening guitar riff sounds as though it has been stolen straight from a Green Day record. Whenever I listen to the track I just can't seem to rid the Green Day association from my mind, the album on the whole however is thankfully nothing like 'Miss Murder'. When listening to 'Decemberunderground' in fact, 'Miss Murder' stands out like a sore thumb as a made for radio release. It does not sound at all like the rest of the album and my opinion is that this can be regarded only as a great positive.

The album begins with an introduction that would sound at home in a Tim Burton film. The music has a great magical feel about it and 'Prelude 12/21' certainly starts the album off in style. It is here that 'Kill Caustic' explodes into action, one of my favourite tracks from the album. The track has a great power about it, a driving force of a guitar riff which really cuts deep with great impact. Another track of similar energy and power is that of 'Summer Shudder'. There is just something about the track that makes it stand out to me, and every time I listen to it I smile. 'Summer Shudder' is complete with the most amazing of choruses, and the verses progress the track beautifully. The guitar riffs are powerfully impressive, whilst the vocals are highly refined and possess a great grace. Everything about the track seems to fit together perfectly, making for the most wonderful of listening experiences.

One thing I do not like about the 'Decemberunderground' album from AFI is that at times it actually borders on boring. At times the music is beautifully crafted, whilst at others it has no impact whatsoever and even though it is soothing to listen to, it is easily soon forgotten. Some of the tracks just seem to lack any real substance, and I feel that 'The Interview' is a prime example of this. The track is well constructed and the vocals of Davey Havok come across well, it is just not at all the AFI that I have come to know and love in the past. There are elements of great promise and yet the track just does not deliver, it falls flat and is far too lightweight an offering for my liking. AFI sound their best when they are at their most hard hitting, hearing them produce music that is devoid of any real power just does not sit right with me. 'Love Like Winter' follows on from this track and is also lacking in any real fire power. Whilst this is not true of the whole album, the fact that some of the tracks on this release are so weak does make for quite disappointing listening at times.

It should be noted that it's not all doom and gloom with this album, not all the tracks are lacklustre and some are actually greatly impressive. The aforementioned 'Summer Shudder' and 'Kill Caustic' are definitely the highlights, however the top quality of the music does not stop here. '37mm' is another excellent track and comes quite late on in the album. It is quite slow paced, however it is greatly effective and never fails to bring a smile to my face. 'Rabbits Are Roadkill on Rt. 37' is another track that springs to mind. The title is probably greater than the track, however it is quite an enjoyable number nonetheless. It is only towards the end of this track that things start looking up however, there is somewhat of a hardcore outburst that always pleases me to hear, and from then on the track has a great deal of energy and life about it. Throughout much of the track it's quite an average and unspectacular affair, the band plod through but you always feel the track is leading up to something, and of course it is.

What I never understand about this album was the decision to include 'Head Like A Hole' as a bonus track. Admittedly it's an excellent cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, but certainly sounds quite bizarre on an album that for the most part it greatly laid back and extremely low on aggression. I do greatly enjoy this cover track, it just doesn't really fit in with the general theme of this album. It is quite raw, the vocals are spat out, and the guitar riffs come thundering through at a great pace. I have no complaints with the track itself, just why the band saw it fit to include a track as a bonus that sounds so out of place and uncomfortable placed right at the back end of the album.

'Decemberunderground' is not the best album in the world, however it is a competent offering from AFI nonetheless. It is my least favourite of all the albums that the band have released, but even still there are a number of tracks here that I hold in extremely high regard. 'Kill Caustic' and 'Summer Shudder' for example are brilliant tracks that are up there amongst the best that the band have ever written, but some of the albums tracks lack any real power and are therefore soon forgotten and not at all great to listen to. This said, it is only really 'Miss Murder' that I dislike from this album, and even when the band are not particularly hard hitting here, the music still sounds pretty good even if it does make you feel a little sleepy. I feel that the only way to describe some of the tracks some this album would be as 'lullaby music', tracks that are brilliant for sending your children to sleep, but don't make for a particularly exciting listening experience. I would recommend this album in part in that there are a number of excellent tracks present, but at the same time there are just too many weak tracks here to ignore. A number of the tracks fail to ignite and in truth this detracts from the overall enjoyment that can be gained from listening to this album. Tim Burton could no doubt utilise many of the albums tracks in any one of his magically enchanting films, but as a rock album 'Decemberunderground' is not greatly effective.

Summary: Some of 'Decemberunderground' impresses, whilst most washes over you without a trace.