Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes

by

AFI

Edit

AFI's third effort, 1997's "Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes", still remains my favorite piece of music from the band (besides the "All Hallows" EP) despite it's age and significant difference from the band now adays. If you're a first time listener to the cd, there's going to be a lot of noticable differences from the AFI on this disc, and the AFI on "Art Of Drowning" or "Sing The Sorrow". Despite the differences however, "Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes" provides you with the complete listening experience, and will undoubtably leave you coming back for more every time.

I would say this cd is when AFI was transitioning from their punk stage to their hardcore stage. Not that this cd is "hardcore", but it's considerably heavier than anything the band had done prior (and actually considerably heavier than most of the material the band has done now adays, well maybe except "Black Sails in The Sunset"). The heaviness of the record is what really gives it the edge though. "Keeping Out of Direct Sunlight", the album opener is a foreshadowing of what is to come on the record, before quickly jumping into one of my all time favorite AFI songs "Three Reasons". Davey's vocals are very different on this record, more of an old-school hardcore shout, mixed with some melodic singing more reminiscant of later AFI. The screaming/shouting does wonders for the album though. Songs like "Let It Be Broke" and "Coin Return" wouldn't have been as outstanding as they are if they hadn't had this give/take relationship of screaming and singing. There's plenty of great ones to choose from on here including the fan favorite "Third Season", my personal favorite "Triple Zero" and a cover of Filth's "Today's Lesson". Start to finish it really provides a great listen, mainly because the album doesn't have any filler or lagging. Totaling out at 14 songs and 28 minutes, there's just the right amount of music to keep you satisfied, enough to make you want to come back, and the right amount to make sure you don't get bored. Musically the band is far inferior to anything they are now (at this time Jade Puget was not with the band), but the music is still just as memorable, despite not being all that technical. There's really not a thing on this album I can complain about.

I absolutely urge you to give this cd a listen, especially if you're an AFI fan. It is definitely the most listened to AFI cd in my collection, and provides me with the most overall satisfaction. If you are more familiar with their new material ("Art Of Drowning", "Sing The Sorrow", ect...) then this is a great way for you to take a trip into the band's past. It definitely has the most unique sound of any AFI record, mainly because they were in a transition state. That's probably why it's the only one that has this raw sound to it. While their previous two albums were more on the punk side, and starting with "Black Sails In The Sunset" they moved more into goth territory, "Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes" remains the only album that truely warrants the tag of "hardcore-punk", making it a unique addition to your AFI collection. Pick it up today, and fully appreciate what this one has to offer.