Battle of the Bands 09.15.09: AFI vs. Three Days Grace

Posted by Adam Battagello on 09.15.2009

Two veterans of the rock/hardcore scene battle it out, and Kanye's ego overshadows all.

Welcome to one and all, yes that time of the week has rolled around again. It's the ever-confrontational Battle of the Bands.

On the topic of confrontational, before we get to today's face-off let's do a little focus on someone who seems to epitomize this attitude in the modern music industry. Few people play ‘arrogance personified' to a tee quite as well as Kanye West, and, in many people's eyes, the man once again solidified his position as THE celebrity to hate, at this years Video Music Awards. In case you missed the ego tornado engulfing young award winner Taylor Swift, here's what, according to sources, led to Mr. West being forcibly removed from the VMAs…



…Now, in the past, much of what West has had to say had an entertaining, and, in the case of issues such as the Katrina benefit, even a socially relevant point. For someone who loves a musician going against the grain, these rare sorts of actions always scored big points with me. Clearly, actions such as this in the past show that he is capable of making a logical point and ruffling a few feathers for the right reasons.

However all too often, the man's Everest sized ego seems to cloud what good judgment he has shown he has. His half-hearted apology, which he later posted, shows he really doesn't regret the actions he commits. Let's be honest, despite what he said in the clip, this wasn't about Beyonce or her music video. As always, this was all about Kanye and his own issues.

Having stated the logical side to the argument, I'd be lying if I said I didn't find the incident a little entertaining, if only for the fact that the guy has such an ego that he thinks he can pull crap like that and still be respected.


Me? An ego!?

Now, onto the face-off

This Week
AFI-Medicate vs. Three Days Grace-Break




Two harder edged rock/hardcore bands this week, as AFI take on Three Days Grace. AFI have copped some criticism for the widely accused decent into more pop oriented music with the release of their last album ‘Decemberundergound'. Will their next album ‘Crash Love' and first single ‘Medicate' continue this trend? Or will it be a return to the style of old? More importantly, will it survive in today's arena against Three Days Grace and their newest single ‘Break' from the forthcoming ‘Life Starts Now'?

AFI- Medicate


Let me say straight off the bat, if you're hoping for a return to the group's earlier hardcore work, this probably isn't the place you want to look. The earlier work of AFI is really world's away from what your going to hear with 'Medicate' and, more likely than not, this is going to be indicative of the band's forthcoming album as well. That being said, for anyone short of a blind fanatic devoted only to the earlier stuff, ‘Medicate' is a more than enjoyable track.

While it is still pushing into the boundaries of the popular music scene, ‘Medicate' shows that, even after being together for nearly two decades, AFI is continuing to grow and mature in terms of their ability to write music. The latest track is catchy without being lowest common denominator, and allows for experimentation in guitar work without messing up the song's catchy undertone.

It is no surprise that AFI's fan base continues to expand and change with each new album that they release, and it would be foolish of any reviewer to say that this won't happen again with the group's next album ‘Crash Love'. Of course, this is bound to upset the aforementioned loyalists of the group's earlier work, who seem ever ready to criticize any new creative step by the band. But, like so many other groups that have to deal with this issue, AFI are an evolving group and this new track is a reflection of that evolution.

In this reviewer's opinion, the direction in which they are heading with ‘Medicate', while not groundbreaking, is certainly nothing to knock.

Moving On!

Three Days Grace- Break

Boy have I picked some bands with serious musical pedigree today. The 2007 Billboard Rock artists of the year, Three Days Grace have released two dynamite hard rock albums in the past, their self-titled debut, and the 2006 platinum release ‘One-X'. Now they're set to release their third record ‘Life Starts Now', the lead single from which is today's musical combatant.

One advantage that Three Days Grace has over AFI that will endear them in the eyes of many is that, despite gaining a considerable amount of mainstream success, the group has stuck to relatively strong lines in terms of their musical style. There's really nothing stopping their latest single 'Break' from being a track off of one of the group's former albums, let alone their new one.

Now, while I said this determination to stick to a style may be positive for many, part of my argument against these alt. metal/ hard rock bands in the past had been that, as a result of the market simply being flooded with them, it begins to become hard to tell one group from another. ‘Break' the newest track from Three Days Grace, unfortunately also falls into this already flooded category.

That's not to say the track itself isn't an enjoyable one to rock out to. Far from it. Listening to lead singer Adam Gontier scream out the ‘Take yourself to higher places' line is more than enough to get anyone's head slamming.

If this is the sort of music that you live and die by, then you are undoubtedly going to enjoy this track. It's just that from the perspective of someone looking from the outside into the genre, one may this sort of track on offer from A LOT of modern bands.


THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!

This week, I'm going to side with AFI. I know there are many vocal opponents to the new direction the band seems to be taking, and it may not make me many fans siding with them. But I say, at least the group is trying something new, they've stretched themselves in a deliberate effort to sound different- something that I don't always categorize as ‘selling out'- and it leads to a more individual sound, which is more than can be said for their competition today.

That's my decision, and bar a miracle, I'm sticking to it. What do you think? Until next week, happy battling.