AFI - Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes

Media:	Audio CD
Record label:	Nitro Records
Release date:	11 November, 1997
List price:	~~$15.98~~
Our price:	$13.99 that is 12% off!

Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes

Average rating: Stars

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

When Sing the Sorrow came out, I was really happy that I wasn't that much into AFI, I mean come that was a total cheese fest. Well I did (out of curiousity) pick this album up from my cousin and *suprise* it was enjoyed in large quanities of enjoyment (read: I liked it). So one would say "Mic isn't this great, I mean the songs aren't all 4 minutes and it's got a harder punk sound to it." I'd reply "affendi, this is true." I think that this cd brings me joy becuase it is uh, uh, just good man, it's fast and the singing is out of control. I'm sure at this point in time Davey wasn't wearing eyeliner and fishnets to all his shows (they still put on one hell of a show, despite the lacking of thier current material) and I'm sure that this got the crowd moving and there were true punks in the crowd, none of these men and women had heard of Hot Topic all was good. Unfortunatley this whole goth thing ruins all good things, just as Suicide Girls ruined porno, goth ruined AFI. Now go back and give it a good listen affendi!

Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes - AFI

Angry. Raw. Hardcore.

This, if anything, is AFI's hardest release, hands down. The direction of this album compared to the last full lengh release (Very Proud of Ya) is darker, heavier, and more serious. Their attempt at this punk album bordars metal, as opposed to their earlier releases, which are closer to conventional punk. There are references to violence and death lots more on this album than any of their previous releases, the guitar is thrashing (this album has a strange resemblance to speed metal of the mid 80s), and Davey Havok evolves his singing technique by shouting 90% of the lyrics on this album. It is a step forward, but the musical achievement that is shown on Black Sails era and up isn't reconized here. This album is hard, raw, angry, loud, and sinister. Period.

They do decide to do covers on this album, and they briallantly cover The Misfit's "Last Caress" (Vinyl Only), as well as Filth's "Today Lesson." Both are brutal, more than the originals, and the emotion put out by Davey has this band deserving more than they get for this album. If you want to hear what AFI's sound is at when they do their valent attempt at Hardcore Punk, check this one out. They went one step in the right direction with this album.

AFI - Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes

Another classic, and angry too

This is a great album. After I had bought it I ripped open the packaging with trembling hands (or something) and gazed rapturously at the lyric sheet. Yeah, it was all there: references to self mutilation, references to hating humanity, references to angels - all the subject matter that I'd come to expect from AFI. This was the earliest album i'd bought of theirs and i had been sort of worried that it'd be different to what i was used to, but it looked like i was worrying about nothing.

However, when I got home and put it in the CD player I got a nasty shock. The guitar was horribly abrasive, it sounded more like metal than AFI, and Davey was screaming all the time - not tuneful at all. It was far too hardcore for me. I put it away and listened to Sing the Sorrow for the 45th time (probably)

of course, same old story: people change, so do their music tastes. I've become more tolerant of heavy music in recent times and this has wormed its way up the list and become one of my favourite AFI albums, definitely my favourite modern hardcore albums (although it's probably the only album I own of that genre). It's got some of my favourite AFI songs on it, also one of their best covers, "Today's Lesson" which is just insanely brutal. I must confess I haven't heard the original, but hell it's probably good...

As always, the album artwork is great, although there aren't any photos of the band, leaving countless people bitterly disappointed (although I think of the boy on the cover as davey, the guy with the pitchfork as hunter, the camp devil as mark, and the dude opening the locked box as adam... but that's probably just my psychotic mind huh... as for the floating kid, i guess he could be jade).

This was sort of the "crossover" album: there was dark songwriting like "Black Sails..." era AFI but the music was akin to earlier "Answer That..." AFI. It's a mix of both periods of their career that somehow manages not to really sound like either one. check it out if you like the angrier side of AFI.