  
This is more than just a new album for metal giants
Avenged Sevenfold; what this is to them is moving
on past the tragic death of their drummer James
“The Rev” Sullivan before the release
of 2010’s Nightmare which thereby served
as a tribute to Sullivan’s life and legacy.
After that whole Mike Portnoy saga they’ve
finally settled on a replacement in relatively
unknown drummer Arin Ilejay and choosing to push
on and make this new record is a sign of the band
moving forwards but also puts them in the firing
line as with such a big hit and change to a relatively
unchanged line up they are up for comparison not
only to competition but also their former selves.
They’ve said that with this album they’re
going for a more blues rock oriented style to
put an A7X stamp on, this could could be a smart
move to move in a different direction as it gives
them more of a chance to shine.
Now I can say without a doubt that I like this
very much, but I can also say I loved Nightmare
so much more. I mean there are some extremely
impressive songs here; like “Heretic”
which does have a noticeable similarity to Megadeth’s
“Symphony of Destruction” but not
to the extent that you would say they’ve
ripped it off more that they’ve took vast
influence from it, “Coming Home” which
really shines on that blues rock approach with
a bouncy beat and some extremely impressive vocal
work, “Hail To The King” which is
ludicrously addicted just for that chorus alone
with a demonic riff, “This Means War”
which I assume is what people are comparing to
Metallica’s “Sad But True” but
in all fairness the comparison is just as there
is a very similar riff and structure but again
it’s not so much to call it a cheap rip
off and is actually quite an enjoyable song. I
am just a bit disappointed because Avenged have
always been heavier than this not that their softer
stuff isn’t absolutely stunning work (some
of my favourite in fact) but this feels like a
completely different band which in all fairness
after everything they’ve been through for
them may not be a bad thing.
Looking at my iTunes with all of their releases
all of the tracks on City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold
and Nightmare all have near enough all 5 star
ratings with a couple of exceptions, Hail To The
King however isn’t as highly rated in my
opinion whilst I do like it and will listen to
it a fair bit as the material is catchy, it just
isn’t anything on their former selves for
me I’m afraid because whilst I can respect
the blues rock approach and more classic style
I can name hundreds of bands that I would turn
to if I wanted to listen to that kind of music
but I always turned to A7X for their unique brand
of metal which is mostly missing from this album.
3.5/5
Review by James Webb
|
