Two years ago I saw Avenged Sevenfold at the Long Beach Arena and they put on the best concert I have ever been too. Avenged Sevenfold came out with the works, fire,strippers, killer opening acts oh yeah and the entire concert was filmed it was a incredible concert and every fan really had to be their. Little did I know that The Rev would pass away not to long after so r.i.p The Rev but I am going to base this review as unbiased as I can. Lets see if this album is one you want to fall asleep to and experience Nightmare.
Avenged Sevenfold attempts to take all of the elements that have made them successful in prior albums and combine in under one album, similar to Atreyu with Congregation of the Damned. It has been way to long since M. Shadows has screamed and I am happy to say on the tracks “God Hates Us”, and “Natural Born Killer”he screams and the vocals sound just as good from Waking The Fallen. It is refreshing to hear the music reach that level again and I can only hope the fans welcome it. Portnoy does a good job filling in as the drummer and feels like a natural part of Avenged Sevenfold. The only down side of Portnoy is he can't sing like The Rev, but he can definitely drum hard.
For those of you who appreciate the new Avenged Sevenfold style then “Nightmare” and “Buried Alive” are continuable of their mainstream rock style and will receive much playtime on the radio. “Buried Alive” has a very Metallica style, the song starts off slow then crescendos into a metal ballet. “Fiction” is another good listen as M. Shadows and The Rev sound great, and the piano part mixes well and adds a lot of emotion. Welcome To The Family is enjoyable because its Portnoy's best work on the album, and the chorus line is catchy.
The problem with this album is it is plagued by to many ballads and songs that don't live up to Avenged Sevenfold's potential. “Save Me” is a ten minute track when it doesn't need to be, and “So Far Away” is to slow and reminiscent of “Dear God”.However this album is a little above good and of course I am sure The Rev would be very proud. Overall this album does a good job of combining contemporary rock with their old metal roots. The album is not enjoyable as a whole but still a solid effort from Avenged Sevenfold.
