I’d like to start by saying I AM an Avenged fan. I own everything they’ve released in the past in some form or another, and I rated City of Evil very highly (well, for the most part anyhow). This meant that when the new album rolled around, I approached it with a mix of excitement and nausea, just incase they’d fucked it up like so easily could happen.
In many ways I can imagine following City of Evil to be somewhat of a challenge, due to that records identity crisis. At times they seemed to be aiming for the sensational, overblown aspect, and at others they showed more mellow sides to their music. It could have gone in any direction from this point, and no one could have been too surprised.
Unfortunately, it is just more of the same. This doesn’t automatically put the album down, but it does suffer from an increased lack of identity. A showing of too many ideas (some well thought out, some not) and no clear style to the album.
There are (again) overblown songs, powerful songs, fast songs and softer tracks to break up the album, seemingly placed at random in a track listing. It is for this reason, that the album is best tackled song by song, rather than in its entirety.
Critical Acclaim – They start the album with a cocky title, an organ solo followed by guitars that Slash might feel he’s heard before…then they ‘fuck shit up’. Musically, the song is very strong, with suitably crazy noises coming from all directions, which most would approve of. Lyrically, it falls down. This is mainly through the use of a shouty-verse style Mr M Shadows (Real name Mat Sanders) uses, to try and convey his dismay at the war in Iraq (It seems).Though the necessary anger is present to make it work, stricter inspection of the lyrics reveal he isn’t actually saying much at all. Basically a “war sucks and we don’t like it very much” speech, dragged out and shouted to make it macho and worth saying. Unfortunately, it comes across like he has very little to say on the subject and so has written it so it sounds good. Kinda like reading an anti-war forum post from a 13 year old who hasn’t really got an opinion, but has been told its a bit shitty. Elsewhere, the lyrics are bland, forgettable, or both. But the music is good, so the song isn’t a total disaster.
Almost Easy – The first single taken from the album, and it shows. The only track on the album to clock in at under than 4 minutes, with a nice bouncy chorus ‘the kids’ will go nuts for, it is the obvious lead-single track. Though not exactly a bad song, it’s hard to shake the feeling it was written with these exact intentions. Like most songs on this album (infact, most songs in A7X’s back catalogue) the lyrics mean shit all, but anyone interested in the band will be used to that, and no one is expecting them to pen a lyrical masterpiece, they’re just expected to rock in a flamboyant manner…and they do, mostly.
Scream – Kicking off the track with…well, a scream before launching into a big chunky riff and steady vocals, it starts off well. It also continues well, and ends in a well-done manner. I like this song, and so should you. There’s very little fancy to most of it, which means there’s very little to distract you. One of the strongest on the album, it shows A7X can pen a good tune when they just tone down the daftness for a bit. Sure, experimenting with your sound should always be encouraged, but not experimenting for the sake of it. This is as close to the album gets to a ‘Bat Country’, from City of Evil. Which was fucking fantastic, so no bad thing.
Afterlife – One of the better efforts on the album this. Nice, chunky guitar and straight forward vocals, for the most part. The crazy-fast, played to impress guitar solo included is one of the best on the album, simply because it makes you wanna dive about the place, which is the main point, really. It even has a singalong, soaring chorus which will no doubt make it a favourite of rock clubs everywhere. As with most songs on this album, it slightly overstays its welcome but that’s nothing that the skip button around the 5 minute mark won’t fix.
Gunslinger – Erm, well, now it’s a country song. With stupidly contrived lyrics. Starting off like an acoustic country-ish song, not far away from Dustin Kensrues solo album. the intro last for about a minute after which a more Avenged-alike sound pops up. The stupidly contrived lyrics are present throughout. Avoid, lots.
Unbound, The Wild Ride – This is more what’s expected from a band like Avenged, and it’s a welcome return to form after the ghastly ‘Gunslinger’ (Sorry, I hate it). Although the lyrics are mostly full of bullshit, they take a backseat to the music again. I feel like I’m being hard on Mr M, because his writing is woeful, but for the most part his vocal style is spot on. This song is a perfect example of how best to use his voice, it’s just a pity he has very little to say. Also, there is a choir and a female vocalist present towards the end, but this is no bad thing. For once, a bit of changing around with the style has paid off and actually helps to create a uniqueness to the track…it’s just a pity it was thrown on at the end. Maybe M popped out for a coffee, and they forced a passing female singer to finish it for him, I don’t know.
Brompton Cocktail – Starting off with what sounds inexplicably like a bongo solo and a cat being squeezed, it soon throws itself into a ‘Beast and the Harlot’-alike sound. His vocals are impressive, the music is loud and dramatic enough, and it all adds up to a good, solid track that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Lost – Typical Avenged sound this, harking back to Waking The Fallen (albeit with mellower vocals). Consequently, there’s little to comment about. It’s a solid track, and a fairly obvious attempt to please the existing fanbase whilst not leaving newer fans disillusioned. Still, it’s difficult to see why they bothered to drag it out to the 5 minute mark. It would have benefited from being shorter, to avoid it getting a bit stale.
Little Piece of heaven – This track is almost impossible to pin down, and it will divide opinion greatly. Fans of the band may fall in love with its quirkyness, or they may disagree with its playful vibe and see it as too much of a departure from the band. Personally, I think they owe Danny Elfman a rather large cheque in the much the same way this track owes him a debt of gratitude. From the strings in the background, to the beat…even the vocals sound like they’ve been ripped from a Nightmare before Christmas-alike. (Although maybe not so surprising…when they played live in Manchester in 06, they came to the stage to the Beetlejuice theme tune). The lyrics themselves seem to be documenting absolutely nothing dressed up as a tribute to a failed relationship, but very little notice needs to be taken to enjoy the song, provided the music is to your taste. Personally I’m still torn, it could be the best song on the album or it could be one of the most preposterous things they could have done. Ultimately, it just feels a little out of place and goes on about 3 minutes longer than it deserves to.
Dear God – The final song on the album, and clocking in at 6 min 35 secs, the second longest. Similar in sound to the start of Gunslinger, it’s not QUITE as bad as that song. A possible attempt to show depth and diversity for the band, it falls short by being not much more than a grown man whinging over a slow, countryfied layer of ill-fitting music. The lyrics haven’t improved, which is more noticeable on the slower track. Overall, it’s a poor way to end the album. Going out with a bang this is not, it’s more like going out quietly, closing the door behind you to make sure it doesn’t slam and wake the now-sleeping listeners. Cheap, contrived and pointless. Avoid.
Summary – As a follow up to City of Evil, it works just about. It has expanded on certain things but some ideas don’t feel fully formed. The production feels far too clean, which leaves the album lacking in harsh, heavy riffs of the Waking the Fallen era. Their strengths are speed and loudness, they should stick to them. All in all, a decent effort, but I for one won’t be looking forward to their next album as much as I was this one. Although, if they can make all this work in a live setting, with some of the more grandeur aspects toned down, I’d be very interested to see that.
Oh, and ‘The Revs’ drumming is still shit.
Songs to look out for: Little piece of heaven (?), Scream, Afterlife
Songs to skip over: Little piece of heaven (?), Gunslinger
Rating: 
