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 Not. Good. Jan 08, 2009
I'm not a die hard Avenged fan, but Waking the Fallen was a solid album with melodic hardcore roots and got quite a few plays from me. I even warmed up to the 80s inspired sound of City of Evil. I usually can't stand those guys that always say "I like their old stuff", but in this case I gotta be that guy. This self titled effort is like slogging through a swamp of uninspired nu metal. You can't wait for it to be over. It comes to a point where the cheesy lyrics and vocals just seem to drone on and on with riffs that simply fall flat.
Maybe they will turn it around with their next album, or better yet they'll ditch the lead singer. For that reason I can't completely write off this band yet and Almost Easy is a pretty good track. 2 Stars.
 best album i bought in a long time Dec 20, 2008
the first thing i heard off this cd was "a little piece of heaven" and i was just like "wtf is this??" it sounds like a little bit of system of a down and a lot of theatrical sounding background music that could be on a score to a tim burton flick. i bought the cd after a friend recommended it and i've been hooked on it since. the last cds i listened to this many times the first month i owned them was pearl jam's vs. or pantera's vulgar display of power and they came out a long time ago! this album has that special something that could and should put these guys on the map like they never imagined.
the songs are arranged really well. the guitar work is sick. the drumming is awesome. and unlike other cds i've bought recently every song is different. i can listen to the whole cd without skipping a single track. you can hear their influences yet they retain an original sound.
don't listen to the haters that bash this cd...give it a shot. if you're hoping for a metalcore/punk cd like these guys started out doing, forget it. if you own their other albums, you already know A7X tends to reinvent their sound a little with every one they release. you can hear a little bit of every previous album's style, yet this one is really different.
as for the shmucks that say this is a pro iraq war cd they have no idea what their talking about. if they would just shut their mouths and read the lyrics you can see the band doesn't take a stance for or against the war, they are just giving a sick shoutout to the brave men and women that fight for our freedom. the only thing they bash is people that talk so much smack against the war, they forget to think about the soldiers that die for our freedom and give us the right to have an unfavorable opinion of a war (an action many nations punish their citizens for.) you can see they obviously have people they care about in the service and are dedicating some really good tracks to them.
i personally like every song on this album. some more than others, some i loved the first time i heard them and others grew on me. to sum it up, buy this cd!!!
Keep Em' Coming! Nov 18, 2008
Whats to say? It's an A7X Cd. You know what to expect: Excellent Lyrics, Killer Riffs, and some of Syn's God-Like guitar work.
The CD arrived in excellent condition in about 2 days (MUCH sooner than expected). If your a die-hard Sevenfold fan, or just someone who likes a few of there songs, get this CD. All of the songs are easy to remmember, and hard to forget (And Believe me, thats a Great thing).
Full of both Establishment and New Ideas Nov 13, 2008
Avenged Sevenfold (A7x) have become the titans of metalcore along with acts like All That Remains, Trivium, and lastly Atreyu (as Killswitch Engaged could be considered the pioneers). "Avenged Sevenfold" is the bands 2007 self entitled album, that shifts the group into a more accessible hard rock angle. They even make way for much softer material.
While still heavy they bridged more the melodic qualities of 2005's "City of Evil" to encompass the album, then say their 2001 debut "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet". With "City of Evil" we saw the band attempt a more orchestral layered sound. Sweeping away any thoughts this band was a novelty act cashing in on the hardcore scene. 'True' metalheads may still disagree. We also saw an ever more engrossing use of harmonizing guitar riffs and intricacy of solos. Even when progressing though, we can still tell it's the band we all got into. Atreyu's latest release 2007's "Lead Sails Paper Anchor" departed the band so heavily from past material it was hard to beleive it was the same band. Trivium gave up screaming for a majority of 2006's "Crusade", and rooted them selves into the thrash metal niche.
We now find A7x shooting off a striking militant "Critical Acclaim". Starting off as triumphantly as the later vocals suggest, A7x is back. The dual vocals are just as interesting as the dual symphonic guitar intro. Next in line is the obvious single "Almost Easy". Quick to hit the commercial cues, but relentlessly catchy. Most of the song maintains a hard hitting chug of triplets, while the other side is more built on the
easier going chorus. It finds enough room to fit in a few piano notes (in the intro and bridge), and a fair solo. "Scream" has just become another regularly circulated radio tune. Resonating a scream, and a hair raising guitar that climbs...the track feels much like filler afterwards. Not to say it's a bad track, but becomes a bit too repetitive. Not magnetic enough to hit replay and avoid the next few tracks, yet catchy enough to not skip though.
"Afterlife" and "Lost" may not be side by side (track #4 & track #8 respectively ), but are an amazing combo. The first is a thick thick tune, progressive enough to avoid becoming stagnant catchy enough to be a single. "Lost" sounds like an attempt to pick up the pieces after being beat down, a look back ribboned in regret. Confused, but clairvoyant.
Moving on "Gunslinger" could be considered A7x's swing at country. Similar to Atreyu's swing on well swing, with "Falling Down" (third single off Lead Sails, second for U.S. listeners). The soft intro last for over a minute and a half, and remains very mild there after. Still enough kick to not feel displaced. "Dear God" is very similar and could even be considered more so the country experimental track, as it dilutes much of the rock qualities (in favor of the country manorisms). Again these two tracks don't reach any level of brutality, but manage a mild flavorful variety.
"Unbound (The Wild Ride)" and "Brompton Cocktail" in my opinion range as the filler tracks. Amazingly not bad, but not as potent as the other tracks. Unbound is as the name may prompt, pretty unbound and fast. Brompton features woozy violins, but struggles to maintain fluidity and serves as the midpace track of the album. "A Little Piece of Heaven" think of a corrupt fairytale tune. Now lets add in some vulgarity, splice in some obscenities and dose up the rage. What do you get? INSANITY! This is the longest track of the album docking in at eight minutes. Its epic length helps enable it to be the most intriguing track of the album. The most fun could be a coin toss between "Almost Easy" and "Critical Acclaim".
So while not as powerful as "City of Evil", it's also not as one sided. Not as raw as the bands 2003 milestone "Waking The Fallen", but more dynamic. While not as youthful as "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet", it's more thought out. Songs that only jam sessions can't craft. While many A7x fans are ready to gouge the bands eyes out with this release, many hard rockers will enjoy it. Anyone open to change will hopefully see this as a continuation of a band not ready to paraphrase itself (Though City has accomplished that, I'm referring to another distinct album knock off of previous work). Easily a recommendable album, much replay value can be obtained from this. Congrats A7x, hope to see you guys this December at 'The Next Big Thing'.
Good all the way through Nov 06, 2008
This album is good all the way through. There is not a bad song on the album. A lot of people are mad cause Shadows doesn't scream anymore, but how many screaming songs could one band make. If they stayed screaming they'd be a one or two album band. The growth of this band musically and lyrically is amazing, with every album they get better. The guitar playing is awesome, the drums are thunderous, and the whole package is great. I can't wait for the next one.
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