Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare, 2010
After releasing what I considered their best album yet (by far), Avenged Sevenfold are back with Nightmare. Going through hard times after the untimely loss of drummer The Rev, the band picked up the pieces with Mike Portnoy hitting the skins. and, fair is fair, continuing their level with apparent ease.
So if you liked their white self titled album, this is a no brainer. Their brand of nu metal again results in an album chock full of songs that hit the mark. And the best thing is, I cannot sat it feels like they are trying to become commercially viable. I mean, opening with the title song we get over 6 minutes of moods and riffing, wrapped in a great chorus, days could be worse. Welcome To The Family is another highlight, catchy as hell and still more groove and power than the average train. And the stunning guitar solos are also still omnipresent. Danger Line has a great end section, based on piano and trumpet. amazing how they pull that off with such a double bass fuelled song.
So I wont even bother to touch upon the other tracks. We get cross genre appeal, great musicians with songs to match, variety, power, feel and melody. Love ´m!
Avenged Sevenfold, Same, 2007
The first 2 albums from Avenged Sevenfold were a bit too metalcore for me. But since their third release City Of Evil, things have been improving to these ears, with this album being some kind of chocolate cake. And hey, I just happen to really like chocolate…
Several songs from this 2007 release have been on heavy video rotation paving the way for the boys to a bigger market, and they deserve it. Despite references to Christian themes (for instance the band name relates to the Bible book of Genesis), the band deny they want to influence people, it´s all entertainment.
And entertain they do. To me the mix of excellent and powerful heavy metal guitar riffs and soloing akin to NWOBHM bands, aggressive and also soulful vocals (with that little rough edge for extra sizzle) and melodies, with that sense of urgency common to modern bands, really sets my audio system on fire. And these boys are not afraid to experiment with other moods as well as Gunslinger and album closer Dear God, so expertly disclose. The latter being one of the most beautiful tracks I have heard in recent years…
A heartily recommended album which makes curious for the new release Nightmare (which partly deals with the tragic and unexpected loss of drummer The Rev).
Personal play tips: Almost Easy, Afterlife, Dear God.
