In 2007 Avenged Sevenfold were making it HUGE in the metal scene, coming off the tail end of the successful release and tour for their commercial breakthrough album City of Evil. That album turned them almost entirely into an overnight sensation. In order to top what they achieved in that album however, they decided to make a record that was almost entirely different and in some ways quite risky. The result was their incredibly well received and still popular to this day album Avenged Sevenfold.
Avenged Sevenfold is a rather experimental album in that while all of the songs are very distinctly Avenged Sevenfold they sound entirely different from anything the band had done up to that point. They tried all sorts of different concepts and it seemed to pay off ranging from prog rock, to heavier than the previous album metal, to pseudo-Broadway, to even a country-esque ballad that was popular with fans. It spawned many of the band's most well known hits such as: Afterlife, Dear God, Almost Easy, Scream, and quite a few more.
One of my favorite songs from this album is definitely Critical Acclaim. Despite the fact I'm not usually into political statements, I LOVE feeling the raw passion of any performance. You can DEFINITELY pick up on that vibe here with all of the things M. Shadows screams into the mic. I love the way it builds up and then is balls to the wall intense, but then in the middle gets a little bit softer followed by a burst of powerful emotion with Synyster Gates playing one hell of a melodic guitar solo. Whether you're into statement pieces or not, I still think you'll like this one.
A Little Piece of Heaven is one of the most odd, yet most fun songs I've ever heard from Avenged Sevenfold or any heavy metal/hard rock band for that matter. They manage to make a morbidly happy marriage of heavy metal and Broadway musical styles here. If you're a metal purist it might not be up your alley, but if you're looking for something entirely different then this is SO for you. It's a long song, but it tells a story (as any musical would). It transitions and blends styles seamlessly and does so at all the right moments. With a macabre libretto and wild music, I think you're in for a treat if you have never listened to this song.
One of the things I've always loved about Avenged Sevenfold is that even if I don't particularly care for some of the directions they go, they're never afraid to try something different. They never make the same record twice. Every one of their albums thus far has its own unique flavor, and such is definitely the case with Avenged Sevenfold. All of the tracks on it are extremely different from one another but you can still feel that when put together they do make a cohesive record. Definitely give this a shot. I guarantee you'll find at least a couple tracks (though probably more) that you like.
Avenged Sevenfold, by Avenged Sevenfold receives 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Track List:
1. Critical Acclaim
2. Almost Easy
3. Scream
4. Afterlife
5. Gunslinger
6. Unbound (The Wild Ride)
7. Brompton Cocktail
8. Lost
9. A Little Piece of Heaven
10. Dear God
Buy the album on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Avenged-Sevenfold-Explicit/dp/B00122HT04/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484287963&sr=8-1&keywords=Avenged+Sevenfold+Avenged+Sevenfold
No comments:
Post a Comment