Review: Avenged Sevenfold
Matt McRae
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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Avenged Sevenfold
Sevenfold is back with their fourth full-length album. The self-titled album is the follow-up to their mainstream hit City of Evil. This album marked M. Shadows's first album in which he really started focusing on singing and not the screaming of the first two albums. And, it worked.
CoE gave them the push they needed to really get their name out into the mainstream world of music. It spawned several hits, including "The Beast and the Harlot" and "Bat Country." "The Beast and the Harlot" even gained enough attention to be included on the second installment of the hit video game series Guitar Hero, and "Bat Country" appeared on Madden '06.
After headlining on both the Warped Tour and Ozzfest in 2006, A7X began work on Avenged Sevenfold. They eventually used Myspace as a way of tiding over their fans who were eagerly awaiting the new album. They released a clip of the opening track, "Critical Acclaim," in mid-August and later released it on iTunes on Aug. 28. Finally, they released their first official single off of Avenged Sevenfold, "Almost Easy." The full album arrived on Oct. 30.
The album is fairly decent overall. They show off their 80s-style riffs with flawless ease. It has some high points, but, for the most part, it is not as exciting as CoE. The strangest and, yet possibly the most interesting, song on the album is "A Little Piece of Heaven." This song feels like it could be part of a gothic musical. Though it comes off as a very odd piece in the total feel of Avenged Sevenfold, it is possibly the most original song on the entire album. "Dear God" holds its own charm in the album with its almost country tinge. It is also a very welcome ballad among the rest of the songs, showing the diversity of their talent. "Afterlife," "Scream" and "Critical Acclaim" are also good listens on Avenged.
B-
An avid music and game enthusiast, Matt McRae is the photography editor of The Chanticleer. He can be reached at (256) 782-8521 or at chantyphoto@gmail.com. You can read his weekly music blog at mattonanisland.blogspot.com.
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