December not a month worth remembering

Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure what happened. Yet again, one of my favorite bands has been kidnapped to the dark side: major-label success. Not that being on a major label is bad; Nine Inch Nails (another one of my favs) is on this very same label (Interscope). But AFI's newest outing, Decemberunderground, just has me shaking my head the same way I did when Green Day came out with American Idiot two years ago. This is AFI's 10th release (7 full-lengths, 2 EPs, and a compilation). Three years have passed since Sing the Sorrow, and as I anticipated another great album, I was let down, and embarrassed by Decemberunderground.\nNow, don't get me wrong. I loved Sing The Sorrow, and it was all over MTV, Hot Topic and anywhere where 13-year-olds could get their hands on it. But this album is just plain hideous. It starts out like some cheesy '80s Depeche Mode song. In fact, the whole disc has a very 80's feel to it. I liked AFI when they were more punk and sounded like the Misfits rather than the Cure. "December" is way overproduced, and the gothy synth and the cheesy morbid lyrics are just laughable. "Miss Murder", the first single, makes me want to punch babies. That's right, punch babies. On "Summer Shudder", the phrase "Under the summer rain I burnt away. Under the summer rain (burn!) we burnt away", is repeated over and over and over and over again. As if this were supposed to be important. \nThe only songs on the CD that I found to be any good whatsoever were the ones where Davey Havok screamed. So that would be "Kill Caustic", "Affliction" and "Endlessly, She Said". But most of the songs are a lot slower than what AFI is known for (those that listened to them back when they were on Nitro Records). What made Sing the Sorrow great was the combination of the fast punk, hardcore screaming and melodic soberness. Davey Havok has a great voice, both screaming and singing. But on Decemberunderground, screaming takes a back seat and the balance is toppled by singing, and it would be OK if it weren't for the horrendous lyrics. This album is the soundtrack to the lives of kids that get dropped off by their parents at the mall and loiter in Hot Topic, then proceed to play Dance Dance Revolution in the arcade.\nYes, this is a change for AFI. No, I'm not opposed to change, but it's obvious that they are trying to write songs for the 13 year old crowd. When I was 13 I was listening to Rage Against The Machine and Nine Inch Nails. It's only a matter of time before AFI puts out another album of garbage. I think I'm going to retire from AFI, and go listen to Black Sails in the Sunset and remember the good old days when punk was punk.