Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold
Very rarely has a rock album been described as sexy but in this case the word sexy is the only one that comes close to describing the smooth self-titled new record from Avenged Sevenfold. Our boys have grown up and left their tales of sex, drugs and rock n roll firmly locked in their last 3 albums. The new record is mature, smooth and draws influences from almost every genre in music you can imagine. These guys could have played it safe but after the phenomenal success of ‘City Of Evil’ in 2005 the band had to show they could step it up and two years later their ascension has allowed them to make rock history. This is the album that will make Avenged Sevenfold.
I was more than eager to hear this record. In fact, I was downright exploding to hear it and in describing this album ‘disappointed’ does not enter my vocabulary. I had high expectations and the first two singles that will be taken from the album showed me that these guys had exceeded every expectation I had. ‘Critical Acclaim’ is a gutsy, mature, and strangely political rant that will cause your brain to leak out of your ears (in a good way, of course). If M Shadows’ [vocals] doesn’t have your eyes rolling into the back of your head, then guest vocals from The Rev [drums] certainly will.
This, my friends, is sex on a CD. ‘Almost Easy’ is a song that will own your soul on one listen. Jarring guitars, a solo that will make your nose bleed and a chorus that will have you crooning along almost as well as M Shadows profusely insisting ‘I’m not insane/I’m not/Not insane.’ Sure you ain’t honey.
The album smashes through your CD player never letting up on raucous drums and guitar solos that will, quite frankly melt your face off and reduce you to a quivering, but satisfied, wreck. What can I say? These guys are good.
If you’re a fan of A7x (That’s a shortened version of Avenged Sevenfold, for all you noobs) then you know that you’d be hard pushed to find a ballad, or even a slower paced song on ‘City Of Evil’. And maybe, I hear you say, this will be the same case on their new album. Think again my hard rocking amigos! Those hard asses have gone soft and now you will find at least three heart wrenchingly beautiful songs that lean a bit more to the slower side. ‘Dear God’ and ‘Gunslinger’ will have you crying into your little black handkerchiefs as the band unravel the emotional roller coaster that is being a rock star, almost acoustically! Far from being the one track minded ‘we’ll scream you to death’ artists, the guys have branched out. ‘Lost’, which starts with a church organ, is an electronic feast for the ears but not to the extent you want to strangle yourself with the synth lead. The balance is struck with the precision of musicians who have been doing this sort of thing for years and although the guys in A7x certainly aren’t spring chickens they aren’t headed for the grave just yet, so this is no mean feat. The guys obviously had to put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this album, as they aren’t on a concept level anymore. This is raw emotion at it’s finest, and boy don’t we just love it.
Lyrically, the album is genius. A7x have never been one to pull any punches when it comes to writing chorus’ that will blow your mind, accompanied by Synyster Gates’ guitar riffs that cause your socks to jump off your feet and run away screaming. The combination is disturbingly brilliant. ‘Scream’ – My personal favourite, closely followed by every other song on the album – very fittingly starts with a scream, but more to the point harbours the sexiest lyrics, albeit creepy, in the history of the world. Shadows growls ‘You know I make you wanna scream/ You know I make you wanna run from me.’ Maybe it’s just me but I have to restrain myself from tracking down Mr Shadows and…
Ahem. Moving on.
‘Brompton Cocktail’ is an astonishingly emotive song that left me reeling. It appeals on both a metaphorical and literal level. Husky vocals and grinding guitars dominate this track with a chorus so declarative and emotive that your heartstrings will be well and truly plucked. This is no half assed attempt at a song that could potentially touch a lot of people, he sings ‘I won’t struggle on/ In a world so cold/ In a world so wrong.’ Emotive, huh? This ain’t no ballad either, it’s aggressive, husky, dominant and threatens to eat your face with one false move. What’s not to like about it?
What tops this whole record off is the penultimate song on the record. It is the song, which shows Avenged Sevenfold off as true rock royalty. ‘A Little Piece Of Heaven’ is a colossal kick ass 8 minute 2 seconds ménage a trois of pain. Imagine the mentally deranged playing musical instruments and advancing on you while laughing manically and you have the track ‘A Little Piece Of Heaven’. Key changes, tempo changes, full orchestras, creepy kid choir, synthesisers and, probably, a keytar jammed in their somewhere. This is Bohemian Rhapsody with schizophrenia and Jesus of Suburbia on acid. ‘Dear God’ closes the album, and after the aggressiveness of 80% of the album, this is Avenged Sevenfold stripped of their whole hard knock façade. It almost feels as if you’re floating on air and Shadows’ voice is able to mould itself to the softness of the song while still retaining its huskiness. The guitar solo is reminiscent of Queen and Guns n Roses. Whoever said rock was dead is wrong. With artists like this around rock is very much alive and kicking.
This record shows the transformation of a band that was once good but is now becoming great. It is very fitting for the album title to be Avenged Sevenfold because it shows everything and more of what they briefly touched on in previous albums and I have a feeling that the following year for them is going to be great.
Very rarely has a rock album been described as sexy but in this case the word sexy is the only one that comes close to describing the smooth self-titled new record from Avenged Sevenfold. Our boys have grown up and left their tales of sex, drugs and rock n roll firmly locked in their last 3 albums. The new record is mature, smooth and draws influences from almost every genre in music you can imagine. These guys could have played it safe but after the phenomenal success of ‘City Of Evil’ in 2005 the band had to show they could step it up and two years later their ascension has allowed them to make rock history. This is the album that will make Avenged Sevenfold.
I was more than eager to hear this record. In fact, I was downright exploding to hear it and in describing this album ‘disappointed’ does not enter my vocabulary. I had high expectations and the first two singles that will be taken from the album showed me that these guys had exceeded every expectation I had. ‘Critical Acclaim’ is a gutsy, mature, and strangely political rant that will cause your brain to leak out of your ears (in a good way, of course). If M Shadows’ [vocals] doesn’t have your eyes rolling into the back of your head, then guest vocals from The Rev [drums] certainly will.
This, my friends, is sex on a CD. ‘Almost Easy’ is a song that will own your soul on one listen. Jarring guitars, a solo that will make your nose bleed and a chorus that will have you crooning along almost as well as M Shadows profusely insisting ‘I’m not insane/I’m not/Not insane.’ Sure you ain’t honey.
The album smashes through your CD player never letting up on raucous drums and guitar solos that will, quite frankly melt your face off and reduce you to a quivering, but satisfied, wreck. What can I say? These guys are good.
If you’re a fan of A7x (That’s a shortened version of Avenged Sevenfold, for all you noobs) then you know that you’d be hard pushed to find a ballad, or even a slower paced song on ‘City Of Evil’. And maybe, I hear you say, this will be the same case on their new album. Think again my hard rocking amigos! Those hard asses have gone soft and now you will find at least three heart wrenchingly beautiful songs that lean a bit more to the slower side. ‘Dear God’ and ‘Gunslinger’ will have you crying into your little black handkerchiefs as the band unravel the emotional roller coaster that is being a rock star, almost acoustically! Far from being the one track minded ‘we’ll scream you to death’ artists, the guys have branched out. ‘Lost’, which starts with a church organ, is an electronic feast for the ears but not to the extent you want to strangle yourself with the synth lead. The balance is struck with the precision of musicians who have been doing this sort of thing for years and although the guys in A7x certainly aren’t spring chickens they aren’t headed for the grave just yet, so this is no mean feat. The guys obviously had to put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this album, as they aren’t on a concept level anymore. This is raw emotion at it’s finest, and boy don’t we just love it.
Lyrically, the album is genius. A7x have never been one to pull any punches when it comes to writing chorus’ that will blow your mind, accompanied by Synyster Gates’ guitar riffs that cause your socks to jump off your feet and run away screaming. The combination is disturbingly brilliant. ‘Scream’ – My personal favourite, closely followed by every other song on the album – very fittingly starts with a scream, but more to the point harbours the sexiest lyrics, albeit creepy, in the history of the world. Shadows growls ‘You know I make you wanna scream/ You know I make you wanna run from me.’ Maybe it’s just me but I have to restrain myself from tracking down Mr Shadows and…
Ahem. Moving on.
‘Brompton Cocktail’ is an astonishingly emotive song that left me reeling. It appeals on both a metaphorical and literal level. Husky vocals and grinding guitars dominate this track with a chorus so declarative and emotive that your heartstrings will be well and truly plucked. This is no half assed attempt at a song that could potentially touch a lot of people, he sings ‘I won’t struggle on/ In a world so cold/ In a world so wrong.’ Emotive, huh? This ain’t no ballad either, it’s aggressive, husky, dominant and threatens to eat your face with one false move. What’s not to like about it?
What tops this whole record off is the penultimate song on the record. It is the song, which shows Avenged Sevenfold off as true rock royalty. ‘A Little Piece Of Heaven’ is a colossal kick ass 8 minute 2 seconds ménage a trois of pain. Imagine the mentally deranged playing musical instruments and advancing on you while laughing manically and you have the track ‘A Little Piece Of Heaven’. Key changes, tempo changes, full orchestras, creepy kid choir, synthesisers and, probably, a keytar jammed in their somewhere. This is Bohemian Rhapsody with schizophrenia and Jesus of Suburbia on acid. ‘Dear God’ closes the album, and after the aggressiveness of 80% of the album, this is Avenged Sevenfold stripped of their whole hard knock façade. It almost feels as if you’re floating on air and Shadows’ voice is able to mould itself to the softness of the song while still retaining its huskiness. The guitar solo is reminiscent of Queen and Guns n Roses. Whoever said rock was dead is wrong. With artists like this around rock is very much alive and kicking.
This record shows the transformation of a band that was once good but is now becoming great. It is very fitting for the album title to be Avenged Sevenfold because it shows everything and more of what they briefly touched on in previous albums and I have a feeling that the following year for them is going to be great.
