Search - AFI :: I Heard a Voice: Live From Long Beach Arena

This is what I thought, so think me naïve

Ben | Manchester, CT | 11/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A.F.I. put out the CD version of their DVD concert, "I Heard a Voice." This album is one of the most pleasant surprises I've heard all year; too bad the concert was actually last year.



1. Prelude 12/21: 9/10. The new A.F.I. opening chant/song is one of their better ones, and it sounds great in concert.

2. Girl's Not Grey: 10/10. This is when I knew I was in store for a treat. The hit single sounds so much better in this live version. Like many of the songs on here, audience participation is the key.

3. The Leaving Song Pt. II: 9/10. Not quite as improved live as "Girl's Not Grey," but it still sounds great. Again, the audience participation works nicely for it.

4. Summer Shudder: 5/10. If I were at this concert, this is when I would get up to go to the restroom. The annoying cell phone effect from "Decemberunderground" was included and expanded upon in the concert.

5. Kill Caustic: 6/10. It was one of the better songs on "Decemberunderground," but for some reason, it doesn't sound that great live.

6. Days of the Phoenix: 10+/10. It's called "Days of the Phoenix" on "The Art of Drowning," not "The Days of the Phoenix," but that's beside the point. It's probably my favorite A.F.I. song, and it sounds absolutely amazing live. I especially like the drum solo in the beginning.

7. Endlessly, She Said: 5/10. Are you noticing a pattern? A lot of the songs on "Decemberunderground" just aren't concert material. This happens to be one of the worst songs on either album. It should just be called "Endlessly," because when you're listening to it, you keep hoping for it to finally end.

8. A Single Second: 7/10. They get props for doing an old song, but if they were going to go back, I would've preferred something from the first two albums, back when they were actually a punk band.

9. The Missing Frame: 9/10. Now we have what is probably the best song on "Decemberunderground," and it sounds really good live, but I think the album version is a little better. There's too much cheering and talking throughout this one.

10. Bleed Black: 9/10. One of my favorite songs from "Sing the Sorrow," and it sounds superb live.

11. Silver and Cold: 8/10. This version is about as good as the album version. I really wish they didn't leave in all that crap at the end.

12. Dancing Through Sunday: 6/10. Here's another song that really shouldn't have been included in the concert. It was the only filler song on "Sing the Sorrow."

13. This Time Imperfect: 9/10. With the exception of "Ever and a Day," this is the only A.F.I. song that reaches my sentimentalities. This version isn't as touching as the "Sing the Sorrow" version, but it's still good.

14. Death of Seasons: 9/10. Now here's my favorite song from "Sing the Sorrow." The screaming at the end makes it the perfect closer, by which I mean Davey loses some of his voice for the last few songs. In fact, he can't even hold his voice through the song, and that's why I'm taking a point off.

15. Totalimmortal: 6/10. I love this song, but I have mixed feelings about how it was stretched out here. The Offspring version is better anyway.

16. Love Like Winter: 6/10. I know it's a hit single and everything, and it does sound better in concert, but I still hate the poppiness of this song.

17. God Called in Sick Today: 6/10. Why does A.F.I. play this song at every concert? Really, why? Well, it does have the best title of any A.F.I. song, but you can't hear the title in concert.

18. Miss Murder: 7/10. Now this was a mistake. Never close a concert with a new song unless you're sure that it will stand the test of time. "Miss Murder" is a pandering song, not as much as "Love Like Winter," but still, it's not a song for diehard fans. Like I said, "Death of Seasons" would've been the better closer.



I understand wanting to play songs from the new album, despite how inferior some of them are, but did A.F.I. have to play seven songs from "Sing the Sorrow" on top of seven songs from "Decemberunderground," leaving only four songs from any other album? It's not like they have to pay Dexter Holland every time they play an older song... or do they? Anyway, I'm only giving it four stars because of the unbalanced song selection.



Overall, it's a good live album. A.F.I. puts on a hell of a concert, and the Despair Factor does their part to make it everything it should be. Now, does this make me want to go attend an A.F.I. concert? Nah, androgynous, black makeup, pierced and tattooed vegans aren't really my crowd, but they sing nicely."

A Fire Inside

Ryan Matthews | Clifton, NJ, USA | 12/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I could agree with the previous review that this is a holdover album.. However, AFI has been rumored to be putting out an EP at the end of 2007 or beginning of '08 with B-sides from the Decemberunderground sessions.. This album compiles the audio takes from the 'I Heard A Voice' DVD recently released by the band. This disc has a decent assortment of their recent material, mostly from 'Decemberunderground' and 'Sing The Sorrow'.. The only songs AFI played from albums prior to those two are "The Days of the Phoenix", "A Single Second", "Totalimmortal", and "God Called In Sick Today".. However, this album does have its highlights, most notably a performance of the hidden track from 'Sing The Sorrow', "This Time Imperfect".. I bought the disc primarily for that track and it did not disappoint.. The guitars in "The Leaving Song, Pt. II" are incredible, not to mention Davey's phenomenal vocals..



This disc is a solid release as the band's first live album.. However, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't a die hard AFI fan.. If you're looking to get into the band, buy their self-titled compilation of songs from the Nitro label, or 'Sing The Sorrow.'



Grade: B+"

Not AFI at their peak

Gregory Douglass | 04/25/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I was incredibly dissapointed when I heard the songs on this CD. I saw AFI at the Warped Tour in 2001, and was absolutely amazed. The band was incredible and sounded amazing. I will never forget hearing Total Immortal - the vocals and the rest of the band sounded exactly like the CD recording. Davey does a moderately decent job on the vocals for a some of the newer stuff, but older songs, and ones that feature screaming such as Death of Seasons, sound terrible in my opinion."