Review Summary: One step forward, 2 steps back.
Avenged Sevenfold has always been one of my favorite bands, from Waking The Fallen to even Nightmare (Sigh, Nightmare) Of all the metalcore bands of their type (Trivium, Atreyu, etc) A7X sounded the most evolved, beginning with 2005's City Of Evil, ditching one note breakdowns in favor of blistering fast solos, shredding riffs, and of course, The Late Rev's spectacular drumming that made it hard not to bop your head to whatever song was on. With a record that gave them an award for best new artist under their belt and songs that went into heavy rotation (Beast and The Harlot and Bat Country) A band cannot possibly go back, right?
Well, that's where things go wrong.
Alright, while I've listened to City Of Evil and Waking The Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold's self titled "effort" was the first album I actually bought from them, expecting the same intensity and awe dropping moments like I heard in City of Evil. The band opens up with an organ leading into "Critical Acclaim" an awesome, heavier than the last album's, riff starts up...and never lets up. It's slow, repetitive and...lazy. Zack and Synyster chug along the same riff throughout the song and while The Rev proved he still had it, it was almost unimpressive. One highlight though of the whole album is Matt's vocals are no longer whiny, which is probably the only real highlight, honestly. Oh, and you can hear Johnny Christ's bass, twice in this song, way to bury a member before...let me avoid that pun, I loved The Rev.
And I say that because "Almost Easy" opens up in a distinguished A7X sound, the band sounds much more energetic and the musicianship is very well done, especially in The Rev's drumming, this should have properly opened up the album and put Critical Acclaim near the end of the tracklist, replacing "Dear God" I'll get back to that.
"Scream" opens up differently from previous A7X songs up to this point (meaning, before you hear the other cluster*****) It's very eerie but not in a negative way, the band still sounds energetic.
"Afterlife" is a completely different beast, it opens up in a similar but not so similar way to "Critical Acclaim" but it tackles you in a different manner, harmonized licks, thumping drums and well done vocals, the orchestra works very well if it's not over done, this is probably the most overplayed A7X song next to Bat Country, but it's not entirely bad.
Well, there goes the good songs, oh wait, "A Little Piece Of Heaven"
This song is not your standard metal fair, the guitars and drums take a back seat to other instruments, the mood is very jumpy yet mysterious, the lyrics are laughable in one moment but serious and almost sweet the next. The female guest is a well received change, and the Rev steals the show, this is one of the songs you'll enjoy multiple times.
Okay, NOW the good songs are done.
"Gunslinger" is basically "Seize The Day" but without the strong moments, good vocals or anything nearly as meaningful. "Unbound (The Wild Ride)" is basically "Let's phone in everything and throw some kids in there to sing too" "Lost" is basically that, plus autotune, Kanye would be proud. "Brompton Cocktail" is just...it's not bad but it doesn't stay with you, you won't feel like listening to it over and over again.
And that's the main problem with Avenged Sevenfold's Self Titled album, it lacks any standout moments that "City" or "Waking" had, it is wrong wanting a band to redo everything and call it a new album but there is no actual soul here, the songs are slow, the solos, while plentiful, lack any real "intensity" the band just does not seem into this album. The Rev did good in his final effort, but it's not the same.
Oh, I forgot "Dear God" Two words: Dear God.
