Review Summary: Yup. You read that right.
Before we begin, let's get a few things out of the way.
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. By one of my favorite bands of all time. Without getting into the finer details of the rise and fall of my sophomore year of high school, this album has a great emotional importance to me as a human being.
But, in this instance, I am not a person. I am a critic. Thus, I'll try to not be too fanboy-ish. Just want you to see where I'm coming from.
*deep breath*
Here we go.
The album begins with the piercing drone of an organ, chillingly playing its tinny tune until it becomes overcome by pulverizing guitars that nevertheless keep the melody going. Before things get too pretty, however, pounding drums and a deep scream take the reigns. Yup, this one is definitely metal. In fact, one might go as far to say that the incredibly (almost frustratingly) right-wing opener "Critical Acclaim" is the only truly metal song on the entire album. The whole set appears to purposefully and dramatically distance itself from the sound of its predecessor, which, if you know Avenged Sevenfold, isn't particularly surprising. From
Sounding the Seventh Trumpet to
Waking the Fallen to
City of Evil, each album directly takes a leap in a different direction from the last. And this one isn't any different.
It's hard to say if it's any genre in particular, but if anything,
Avenged Sevenfold leans toward some strange type of hard rock. Yet each song is so significantly different than the previous, it's ridiculous to even try to label it. That's not to say that every song is uncharted territory, however. "Almost Easy" is as straightforward an Avenged Sevenfold song you can get, with a simple structure and a dare I say unnecessary guitar solo (look up the "Jam-Along Version" without it, it's much better). That being said, the emphasis on pianos in the rhythm section, the fantastic forward drive of the song, and lyrics with actual emotional relevance compared to other metal bands make this an overall winner. Another song that sounds similar to their earlier repertoire is the hazy "Brompton Cocktail." The track deftly switches between gorgeous strings and roaring guitars, which really balance the emotion and frustration in the song to create an effective piece on physician-assisted suicide. It's not a highlight, but it's pretty damn powerful.
The really strange tracks on here are brilliantly placed back-to-back in one of the most confusing genre-switches I've heard on a single album. You've probably all heard "A Little Piece of Heaven," an orchestral Danny Elfman-esque broadway inspired black comedy romance about necrophilia. And if you haven't, you really should. It equates to an entire rated-R Tim Burton film condensed into an 8-minute long epic, fit with exaggerated dialogue and hysterical laughter to boot. It might not sit well with everyone, but it's a pretty gosh-darn brilliant experience no matter how overblown and nauseating it can be at times. Paired with that monster of a track is the downright pretty country-ballad "Dear God." That's right. It works surprisingly well, and the band finds more creative instrumentation with their steel guitars and banjos than the majority of country bands everywhere. Lyrically penned by all five members of the band, you can at tell that a lot of heart went into it even if you don't agree with the musical direction. And that being said, the instrumental outro of the song might just be most flat-out gorgeous blend of country and metal to exist on the green Earth.
Filling out the middle of the album are a mix unconventional but still recognizably Avenged Sevenfold-y songs and a few more straight-up weirdos. "Scream" and "Afterlife" make up the former, "Scream" delivering some heavy swagger and groove-oriented metal to what sounds like something born to be part of an 80s horror soundtrack, while "Afterlife" assumes the title of what could be the only so-called "fan favorite" from this album. It's a beautiful, haunting track with hellish verses and heavenly choruses that establish the difference from the expectation to the reality of a young man's attempt to escape the spirit realm. "Afterlife" blends flowing strings with incredible power that allows the song to pack both an emotional and technical punch with the listener.
The remaining oddballs on the album themselves are a mixed bag. On one hand, they contain "Gunslinger," the best song on the album, which begins with a slow-burn acoustic western-styled opener before tearing into a heart-wrenching power-ballad about war and love. It's at once beautiful and terrifying, and you never once doubt the sincerity in the music and Shadow's vocals, even when venturing dangerously close to cheese in the bridge. On the other, there's "Lost," which while I do thoroughly enjoy the song due to some fantastic guitar work, the admirable experimentation with auto-tune doesn't quite work well, and the song is ultimately the weakest link in an otherwise marvelous album. "Unbound (The Wild Ride)" is probably the closest the album comes to filler, but ultimately triumphs with some crazy-ass piano work and an appropriately eerie outro which features only a child singing the chorus with only chilling instrumentation backing her up.
While it's hard to look at the album as more than a collection of various pieces, the work as a whole does come up to be more than the sum of its parts. Perhaps what makes the album so memorable and important to me is the band's willingness absolutely anything, and do it well. Perhaps it's the lyrics that always manage to find some sort of emotional relevance rather than succumb to generic metal fantasy lyrics. Perhaps the album came to me at the right time just when I needed it.
I know I'm one of the few who really enjoy
Avenged Sevenfold, and one of fewer still who love it with such a passion. All I can say is that it is what it is, and these are the reasons I love it so.
Avenged Sevenfold: 10
Critical Acclaim: 9
Almost Easy: 8
Scream: 9.5
Afterlife: 9.5
Gunslinger: 10
Unbound (The Wild Ride): 8
Brompton Cocktail: 8.5
Lost: 7.5
A Little Piece of Heaven: 9.5
Dear God: 9
