Review Summary: A few good tracks can't save Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album from being a self-indulgent mess lyrically, scarred by a few very bad tracks and a complete lack of variety.
Avenged Sevenfold has gone through many phases of their career, beginning as a metalcore band, then bordering on thrash metal, and now seemingly settling on sleaze rock (think Guns N' Roses) for the moment. Led by M. Shadows' gritty, often cracking voice and Synyster Gates awesome, unique guitar riffs, Avenged Sevenfold seems to have the pieces to put together a really mind-blowing album. Unfortunately, Avenged Sevenfold haven't been able to pull this off, and their fourth attempt doesn't really change things...at all. Where City of Evil basically tore apart metalcore from the bottom up, this self-titled, (self-indulgent as well) release doesn't do much to shake things up. City of Evil proved Avenged Sevenfold was a bit different than every other metalcore act, and were much more 80s influenced then metalcore peers Killswitch Engage and Converge. There was lots of expectations for this album, many thought it would continue to push their musical boundaries and possibly make Avenged Sevenfold the next great American rock band. Unfortunately, this album does neither.
A lot of the hate regarding this album seems to be stemming from pre-conceived opinions of the album. Avenged Sevenfold have become much, much more accessible and move farther away from their metal roots, leaving many fans in dismay over this change in approach. While I didn't think City of Evil was really
that good, I think this album is a little bit better. Yes, City of Evil did more to better the band as musicians and was a nice transition album, this album seems to show what Avenged Sevenfold really wants to do. The band members seem to be most accomplished on their instrument in this album as Synyster Gates' riffs and solos are just filthy awesome, Shadows' vocals are a bit more rough and edgy but fit the music well, and the drum rhythms set by The Reverend are comparable to that of DragonForce. The biggest problems here are the well, over-used basslines. Turning the bass up as loud as Korn may have seemed like a good idea, but it gets pretty irritating by the third track. The lyrics are still very immature and very, well, corny. The tracks all sound the same (outside of Gunslinger), and the true metal-like song lengths are surprisingly absent, giving the tracks a much more mainstream appeal.
They've still got that gothic, dark, 'vampire' feel as I call it. Critical Acclaim opens up with an organ, Scream opens up with screaming followed by a very dark and heavy riff, Brompton Cocktail starts off with some creepy high-pitched noises and A Little Piece of Heaven has some opera sounding chorus tracks at the beginning. But what kills me about Avenged Sevenfold is as if they're taking a Metallica-esque route (by releasing metal to the mainstream rock radio) and are really pissing off die-hard fans. They seem really desperate for popularity, and want so bad to be Metallica, but unfortunately, they're not. While they're a talented bunch, they don't have it in them to make an awe-inspiring slow-burning track like One, even though Dear God seems as if they tried. But, unfortunately, adding a country 'twang' to your guitars isn't a good idea, as metalcore contemporaries Atreyu learned it the hard way with Lead Sails Paper Anchor's title track. You heard me right, Synyster Gates has added a bit of country to his already amazing guitar talents, but see, the thing is, Avenged Sevenfold isn't country. It's just not right for a metal band to have a country ballad, despite what Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold want you to believe.
Extreme dynamic changes are a-plenty on Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled. Gunslinger, for example, makes you think it's a slower, acoustic led ballad (that unfortunately sounds a lot like Kid Rock) before switching the amplifiers on for an all-out stereo attack courtesy of one of Synyster Gates' most impressive guitar solos. The song is surprisingly melodic and easily accessible, and really showcases Avenged Sevenfold's movement towards mainstream rock. But don't let Gunslinger fool you, there's plenty heavy metal on here for your enjoyment, most notably in Critical Acclaim. Avenged Sevenfold takes a political stance, but with a twist on it. Shadows shoots back at all the bands ripping on America in Critical Acclaim, and pulls it off in one of his best lyrical endeavors. A church organ bleeds into heavy riffs and a Bat Country-like breakdown before Gates pulls out the stops for an all-out metal assault, led by some of M. Shadows' most aggressive singing vocals. Shadows has effectively re-incorporated screaming back into his singing repetoire, but does it sparsely. It's catchy, and makes you want to headbang to the rhythm. The biggest problem here is the lack of aggressive metal tracks like Critical Acclaim. Lost is the only other heavy metal track, but it's very mediocre and forgettable.
But I like where
some of Avenged Sevenfold's more mainstream treks have landed them, starting with Almost Easy. Very melodic, very edgy and fast, and Shadows' vocals take on a very aggressive tone. They crack and break in the chorus, but somehow, the grittiness of the vocals excel, backed by always excellent guitar work. Like most of the album though, the lyrics are pretty lackluster and repetitive. Load-era Metallica is exactly what Almost Easy sounds a lot like, but that's not a bad thing, because somehow, Avenged Sevenfold make bland 'mainstream metal' (as I call it) look not so bad. Gunslinger, another instance of ultra-melodic Avenged Sevenfold, proves that they can pull of acoustic works with style. They've tried to be a bit more experimental here too, and ultimately fail. Very quickly, showcased with A Little Piece of Heaven. Too long, it drags, and at times is well, very showtune-ish. Circus-like rhythms, Nightmare Before Christmas like sections and well, really immature and childish vocals makes the song almost unlistenable. At this moment, I'm turning the track to the next one, only 2:30 in. (I've already suffered the whole way through). But what's even worse is the lyrical background to A Little Piece of Heaven, because the story it tries to tell, is well, absolutely moronic.
The lyric premises for almost every song are worse than any other album I've ever heard. Incorporating tracks about hardcore sex (Scream) and lines like "Let’s have wedding, have a wedding/Let's start the killing, start the killing" (A Little Piece of Heaven), or really cliche subjects "I don't belong here/I gotta move on dear escape from this afterlife." (Afterlife). The fact that A Little Piece of Heaven is about a man coming back from the dead to possess his former wife's body, or the fact that once again Avenged Sevenfold is singing about hell and vampires (hellfire and brimstone, all that etc.) that it gets a little old, and makes you think M. Shadows needs to start paying washed-up metal superstars to write his lyrics like every other hard rock/metal contemporary at the moment.
The biggest factor, for me with this self-titled album is that I like most of the music (vocals, guitar work, etc.), but I don't like a.) the direction Avenged Sevenfold is moving towards, and b.) the lyrical premises for almost every song other than Critical Acclaim. Four albums in, Avenged Sevenfold seem to be doing what they want, in return feeling very self-indulgent and washed up. They've lost that heavy, edgy gothic feel of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet that they once had, and they just seem rather tired and overworked. The guitar work is still excellent, and even though the tracks are fairly listenable, it's a shame that a band with this much talent is releasing material this average. The album isn't unlistenable, nor is it listenable all the way through (mostly thanks to A Little Piece of Heaven), and a few good tracks don't ultimately make a good album, especially when the worst track is basically the main track to the album, as well as clocking in at 8:02. Avenged Sevenfold's fourth, self-titled album is a move towards 'mainstream metal' that features a few really good tracks, burdended by a lack of variety, really showtunes-ish tracks, and really terrible lyrics.
