I'll start this out by saying I believe Avenged Sevenfold is probably the best "new" band I have heard since I was introduced to Opeth back in 1998. They sound nothing alike, but I have the same feeling hearing this album as I did when I heard "My Arms, Your Hearse" in '98. That feeling is that I have stumbled upon something special here!
I heard a song off of this album on the Music Choice metal channel a couple months back and decided to pick up the album and hope for the best. I am obviously more than a little happy I did. They are apparently labelled as a "metalcore" band which I think is somewhat misleading.It probably has to do with the fact that their music sounds NOTHING like you would expect guys that look like them would make. That's not a cut either because I don't care what you look like if you're this good! Listen to the music, then look at a picture of them and you might see what I mean. This band is metal plain and simple.
They have a pair of guitarists who clearly worship at the altar of Maiden, judging from all of the twin leads and harmonies. These guys are absolutely FANTASTIC guitarists. I have heard they are all in their very early twenties which makes it all the more surprising that they're this good already!
The singer is another bright spot in the fact that he is very versatile and can belt out his lyrics with the best of them. He pretty much alternates between a somewhat In Flames/Strapping Young Lad like scream, and a mid-range vocal that reminds me of Chuck Billy from Testament and the guy from Sentenced at times. It actually also reminds me of my friend Ryan (who was in the bands Lorde Of All Desires and Epicurean) occasionally when he sings clean, so I guess that explains why I like his vocals so much because I always liked Ryan's clean vocals. Either way the guy can sing and definitely does have his own style which should appeal to fans of alot of different genres within metal.
Probably the biggest strength with this band is the fact that they display top notch songwriting ability.There is absolutely zero filler which is so rare from most new bands nowadays! There are standout tracks all over this album but a few I would suggest downloading (and then BUYING the album if you like them) if you would like to get a good idea what they sound like are "Unholy Confessions", "Chapter Four", "Eternal Rest", and "Clairvoyant Disease". In my opinion these are probably the best on the album, but it's a tough call because I actually love them all!
A big surprise for me was the fact that they even have a ballad on here called "I Won't See You Tonight" that kind of reminds me of "November Rain" by Guns 'N Roses in a way!?!?! It sounds nothing like it, I just think it has an epic ballad feel. Very interesting tune.
Hopefully I have described them good enough because I really think alot of metal fans are going to dig this one. Give them a chance and feel free to post positive or negative criticism here. I honestly am interested to hear what other people think since I don't know ANYONE who listens to these guys...Yet! I just hope they don't ever change their sound too drastically because if they make albums like this in the years to come they will have one very loyal fan here.
This one gets five metalguys out of five from me!
I heard a song off of this album on the Music Choice metal channel a couple months back and decided to pick up the album and hope for the best. I am obviously more than a little happy I did. They are apparently labelled as a "metalcore" band which I think is somewhat misleading.It probably has to do with the fact that their music sounds NOTHING like you would expect guys that look like them would make. That's not a cut either because I don't care what you look like if you're this good! Listen to the music, then look at a picture of them and you might see what I mean. This band is metal plain and simple.
They have a pair of guitarists who clearly worship at the altar of Maiden, judging from all of the twin leads and harmonies. These guys are absolutely FANTASTIC guitarists. I have heard they are all in their very early twenties which makes it all the more surprising that they're this good already!
The singer is another bright spot in the fact that he is very versatile and can belt out his lyrics with the best of them. He pretty much alternates between a somewhat In Flames/Strapping Young Lad like scream, and a mid-range vocal that reminds me of Chuck Billy from Testament and the guy from Sentenced at times. It actually also reminds me of my friend Ryan (who was in the bands Lorde Of All Desires and Epicurean) occasionally when he sings clean, so I guess that explains why I like his vocals so much because I always liked Ryan's clean vocals. Either way the guy can sing and definitely does have his own style which should appeal to fans of alot of different genres within metal.
Probably the biggest strength with this band is the fact that they display top notch songwriting ability.There is absolutely zero filler which is so rare from most new bands nowadays! There are standout tracks all over this album but a few I would suggest downloading (and then BUYING the album if you like them) if you would like to get a good idea what they sound like are "Unholy Confessions", "Chapter Four", "Eternal Rest", and "Clairvoyant Disease". In my opinion these are probably the best on the album, but it's a tough call because I actually love them all!
A big surprise for me was the fact that they even have a ballad on here called "I Won't See You Tonight" that kind of reminds me of "November Rain" by Guns 'N Roses in a way!?!?! It sounds nothing like it, I just think it has an epic ballad feel. Very interesting tune.
Hopefully I have described them good enough because I really think alot of metal fans are going to dig this one. Give them a chance and feel free to post positive or negative criticism here. I honestly am interested to hear what other people think since I don't know ANYONE who listens to these guys...Yet! I just hope they don't ever change their sound too drastically because if they make albums like this in the years to come they will have one very loyal fan here.
This one gets five metalguys out of five from me!
