Warmness on the Soul was the first release by Avenged Sevenfold. This EP contained 4 songs, all of which would be released later on their first full-length album, Sounding The Seventh Trumpet. It also included a video for the song Warmness on the Soul.
Avenged Sevenfold is:
Matt Shadows – vocals
Synyster Gates – guitar
Zacky Vengeance – guitar
Justin Sane – bass
The Reverend – drums
The first song on this EP is the title track
Warmness on the Soul. This song is mainly pianos and Shadows singing cleanly. This may seem like a “pansy” song to some, but it’s well put together. After the verse and first chorus, a guitar solo kicks in. While it’s not overly flashy (since it was written by Zacky, who isn’t as technically accomplished as Synyster), it gets the job done. At this point, the rest of the instruments kick in. The song still has a calming feeling, with acoustic guitars and a mellow bassline and drumbeat. There is also a piano interlude after the second chorus. This song doesn’t seem to work as well on here as it did on STST. On STST, it was a break of sorts from the chaos that was early A7X. Overall, it’s a good song, but it doesn’t really represent the sound of A7X at all.
Darkness Surrounding follows. It is much more characteristic of A7X’s style. It is also our first taste of Shadow’s scream. The intro is an interesting mix of screaming and choir-like background singing. The opening shriek of “Darkness coats us” is a quite a jolt from the peacefulness of the previous track. The song then progresses into a more brutal metalcore song. The song’s ending is very well done. Matt sings over a somewhat softly strummed-out chord progression. Afterwards, he screams the same lyrics over a much heavier riff. Then the two mesh together and it sounds amazing.
Darkness Surrounding features many more characteristics of early A7X than
Warmness on the Soul did. It has screaming, no apparent structure, and musical schizophrenia.
The next song on this EP is
We Come Out at Night. This is one of the weaker songs on the release. It doesn’t stand out as much as the other tracks. It starts with noises from a thunderstorm and guitar feedback. The whole song retains the feeling of pandemonium that goes along with storms. This disarray continues throughout the song until the end when the screams give way to singing. Matt then repeats himself as the piano and more sounds of thunder kick in.
To End the Rapture closes this EP. This is the opening track on STST, but it shows it can be used also as a closer. It is mainly a mind-blowing solo from Synyster Gates. The backing rhythm is also very fitting to the solo. Gates shows us that he can shred amazingly, something that would be reinforced on later albums. After the solo ends, Shadows sings of the imminent end of the world, and how nothing can change it.
To End the Rapture works better as an opener, but it is still effective as a closer.
The songs on this short release are excellent. However, they are the exact same versions of the songs that can be found on Sounding The Seventh Trumpet, although some of them are advertised as "Heavy Metal Version" and stuff like that. This seemed to be more of a sampler than anything, to get A7X’s name out before their first actual album. It isn’t practical to buy anymore, as STST can be purchased for a couple dollars more, and you get 9 more songs.
If you can find it cheap enough, I recommend WotS for anyone who wants a taste of A7X’s early sound without buying a full album. But chances are, you will have to pay almost as much for this as you will for STST.
