Nightmare Review

Released: Jul 27, 2010
Genre: Heavy metal, alternative metal, hard rock
Label: Warner Bros.
Number Of Tracks: 11
In the wake of their drummer's tragic and untimely passing, Avenged Sevenfold rise to the occasion and make one of their strongest albums in one of the most vulnerable periods in their history.

Sound:	9
Lyrics:	8.9
Impression:	9
Overall rating:	8.7
Reviewer rating:	9
Users rating:	8.5
Votes:	702

overall: 9

Featured review by: UG Team, on july 31, 2010

Sound: Let’s get this out of the way first: "Nightmare" is Avenged Sevenfold’s first record since the tragic death of their drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. The band recruited Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy to fill in on the record (and for their upcoming tour dates). Given the fact that A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts, Portnoy fits the band perfectly and the band stays true to the same sound they’ve been crafting since the early ‘00s. Throughout their career (and their successes), many have taken to hating on the band, as they were dangerous in their image, proudly not givin’ a f--k like a modern Guns N’ Roses or, well, Eminem! Many people, namely early fans or those who like to shit talk and care about concepts more than reality, felt the band was abandoning some imagined hardcore roots, when in reality, A7X were never a hardcore band that pledged any allegiance to that scene; they were taking Iron Maiden-riffs and in turn screaming and singing over them, coming up with a modern and unheard of sound from the very beginning, so no one I quite sure how "hardcore" got thrown into the mix! That said, "Nightmare" reminds me of a mix of "Waking The Fallen", which is my favorite A7X record, and City of Evil, their commercial breakthrough which allowed them to graduate to the next level of success. "Nightmare" is crisp and clean; you could perform surgery using this record since it’s so clean-sounding. But it’s not sterile. Their is so much emotion coursing through the album and follows the A7X formula of noodly riffs and longer-than-normally-radio-friendly-songs with a melodically accessible bend. The title track is spooky and creepy with its key opening and it could easily have been used in the reboot of the "Nightmare On Elm Street" franchise, while "Buried Alive" and "Welcome The Family" will remind one of Metallica and/or Guns N’ Roses. The band mixes ballads with ragers and "God Hates Us" feels like a bit of a nod to Slayer, who have an album named "God Hates Us All" and it’s easily one of the album’s most gnarly tracks which feel like a series of kicks to the taint. A7X haven’t sounded this angry in quite some time and they have reason and right to use the vehicle of their music for that catharsis. Go ahead, guys. You deserve it. "Natural Born Killer" also kicked my ass to the curb and left me in a heaving pile with its bluster. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: Vocalist M Shadows is a triple threat and he certainly positions himself like a young, hungry James Hetfield. He can sing, scream and employ the mid-level growl that shows just enough teeth to elicit a fleeting "fight or flight" response, but in the end, you’ll stick around and listen, because while his voice asserts itself, it’s not intimidating. This quality is what made Metallica songs great – to straddle the line between aggressive and appealing without sacrificing any of the song’s heft and ferocity - and A7X have found a way to do just that. They take that formula and shape it to their sound. Shadows can sing and scream, and he mostly sings, but he’s got enough power in his voice so the heaviness is never sacrificed even when he lets his voice soar. When he sings, "God save us" and then "God hates us" in the same chorus on "God Hates Us", I can practically feel his spit hitting me in the face. He’s getting the red out and he’s never sounded stronger. All the "kids" who thought A7X were "selling out" when they chose to sing more need to be knocked off their soapboxes with a swift kick. Rare is the band that can scream less and sound heavier, but A7X does that with "Nightmare". // 9

Impression: The Tim Burton-style artwork. The darkly romantic imagery. The element of danger. The squalling guitars. The Iron Maiden influence. The groundswell of emotion from losing their drummer while writing the album. Those are all the batteries that power up "Nightmare". Much of the album reminds me of the best parts of Waking the Fallen, which in my opinion, was all great parts! It’s heavy. It’s melodic. It mixes the two without any sort of detraction from the other. It’s seamless. It’s like a modern version of Metallica and Guns N’ Roses. And those are never bad things. But lest we forget: it’s still Avenged Sevenfold doing what they’ve always done and sticking to their own musical vision. // 9

- Amy Sciarretto (c) 2013

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Shredder425, on july 31, 2010

Sound: Avenged Sevenfold is back but looking a little different. Their newest record "Nightmare" is the first one not to feature Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan on drums due to his very tragic death in December of last year. In his place, Avenged Sevenfold recruited Dream Theatre drummer Mike Portnoy to fill in on a temporary basis.

Musically this is definitely A7Xs heaviest album and under these tragic circumstances by far their most emotional.

Tracklist:

01. Nightmare: the title track begins with what sounds like bells and then explodes into a heavy intro complete with guitar, bass, and drums which is followed by M Shadows screaming NIGHTMARE. Personally, I think this was the perfect song to start off the allbum because it really gets you pumped up for the rest of the album and it is sure to be a crowd pleaser live. 10/10

02. Welcome to the Family: one of the lighter songs on the album but still a fantastic song, it sounds slightly like Blinded in Chains from their City of Evil CD. The guitar solo by Synyster is also fantastic. 9/10

03. Danger Line: the first few seconds of this song sounds almost identical to Blinded in Chains from City of Evil. Personally I think its a pretty good song but I just can't help but feel it is a little misplaced I think it sounds more like a song you would find on City of Evil. 8/10

04. Buried Alive: an interesting song, the intro is somewhat unconventional but once the drums kick in Synyster blesses us with a wonderful melodic solo that is sure to get emotions running. M Shadows really shows off his emotional side in this song with his vocal performance it really makes you want to tear up a little bit. The Solo while it is good went a little downhill for me at about 4:25, something about it just doesn't seem to fit well with the song but thats just my opinion. 9/10

05. Natural Born Killer: A7X jumps right back into heaviness with this song, its a very catchy tune that is both heavy and melodic at the same time. Synyster also shows off his shredding skills on the solo which kind of reminded me of Alexi Laiho's playing. 9/10

06. So Far Away: the first song on the album that really shows how much this band misses their fallen brother. this song was written by Synyster and really pulls on your heart strings especially the part in the chorus that goes

How do I live without the ones I love?
Time still turns the pages of the book it's burned.
Place and time always on my mind.
I have so much to say but you're so far away.

the song is made even better with the very emotional yet short solo by Gates. 10/10

07. God Hates Us: by far the heaviest and angriest track on the album this song is about wondering how such evil and pain exist if there really is a God somewhere. 10/10

08. Victim: starts off with church bells and some guitar work before a high pitched wail kicks in but don't let it put you off, this song is another emotional roller coaster that is sure to draw a few tears when listening to it. It is truly a song that expresses how the band felt emotionally after losing their drummer. 10/10

09. Tonight the World Dies: yet another fantastic and emotional song that begins with a blues like lick from gates but eventually moves into a soft ballad type song with blues licks spread out between Shadows' singing. 9/10

10. Fiction: the last song Jimmy handed in before his death and the only one to feature his vocals aside from his small part in "Save Me". Now a lot of people have criticized this song as being the worst on the album and while it may be different and unconventional I think its is the one of the best songs on the album and I think that the band did Jimmy a great honour by keeping his vocals on the track. 10/10

11. Save Me: the final and longest song on the record clocking in at just under 11 minutes, to me this was the perfect song to close off the album. its a song that says that the band is nowhere near over the loss of their drummer but can have solace knowing that they have done him a great honour by releasing this record as a tribute to his memory. 10/10 // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Lyrically this album is the darkest and most emotional of any of A7X's previous records and singer M Shadows does a wonderful job of expressing these emotions through his singing. // 10

Impression: Nightmare is a wonderful album and A7X should be commended for working though their heartbreaking loss and putting out this record in Honour of The Rev. Long-time fans of the band will really enjoy this album and will really get an emotional rush from some of the songs because of the subject matter they revolve around. If your not a hardcore fan then you may not get wrapped up in all the emotion that surrounds this album. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: SawGuru, on july 31, 2010

Sound: December 28, 2009 - The lives of four men and countless others were forever changed when Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan passed away in his home in California. Avenged Sevenfold has come together through this tragedy to cement the Rev's legacy with their latest release, 'Nightmare.' This album is a pure roller coaster ride, going up and down between the radio A7X sound ('Nightmare'), the sorrowful A7X in the loss of a brother ("So Far Away"), and everything between.

The sound of this album is a very sorrowful tone. While the Rev contributed a lot to the songwriting of this album, his passing shows in the lyrics. A7X has created an album full of hard hitting songs that hearken back to the old sound ('God Hates Us') as well as creating a new, somber mood with their ballads. Songs such as 'So Far Awa,' 'Victim,' and 'Tonight the World Dies' all have a new tone to them. While there is no doubt that it is an A7X song, they have a new feel. They have a mood altering tone to them. One of grief, and of loss. The strongest ballad on this album, as far as sound and musical prose are concerned, is 'Buried Alive.' This song delves deep into the writing styles of every band member, finding new creative outlets. The angry bridge of the song brings back thoughts of an old Metallica styled angst.

Another song that will be a fan pleaser with this album is 'God Hates Us.' Shadows cites that bands such as Pantera helped inspire this song. Upon listening, any die hard Avenged Sevenfold fan will recognize the sound. The screaming, the heavy riffs; they all point back to Waking the Fallen's signature sound that has since disappeared.

The sound of this album is beyond measure. Avenged Sevenfold have truly outdone themselves with this heart-felt approach to song writing. One listen shows that without the Rev, the band is more passionate than ever with this album, and the sorrow from losing their brother is evident in every track. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album deviate from the past few albums. Mostly due to the Rev's passing, the lyrics take a dark tone. While he did write roughly 60% of the album, Johnny Christ stated in an interview that the lyrics for the album took a dark turn when the Rev died. 'God Hates Us' is a clear cut example of how angry the lyrics can get on this album. Shadows is still at the top of his game vocally, and delivers on every song. From their signature sound on 'Nightmare' to the emotional performances on 'So Far Away' and 'Fiction,' Avenged Sevenfold's lyrics are strong, and invoke many different emotions throughout the album.

One song in particular with extraordinary storytelling is 'Danger Line.' This song touches on the life of a soldier, and how he deals with the perils of war. The song tells the story of the soldier, and how he will miss his family in death. The lyrics are brought to life with Shadows' melody.

One major song to note on this album is 'Fiction.' Originally titled 'Death,' the Rev handed this song to the band 3 days before his death, and submitted it as his final song for the album. The lyrics are a haunting call, wishing everyone the best as the narrator passes on, hoping not to hurt or displace anyone who is affected by his death. The lyrics take on a controversial meaning to some, whether it was a suicide note or merely a narration conceived by Jimmy, but regardless, it is the most original track on the album. Featuring Jimmy's voice on the chorus, the song is a piano laden track using dissonance and perfect harmonies together to create a unique sound. Listening to the Rev sing his heart out and scream on this track is one of the hardest things for an A7X fan to hear, knowing it's the last track that they will ever hear his beautiful voice on ever again.

Overall, the lyrics and singing on this album are better than past attempts, and they even will please the old school fans with 'God Hates Us.' A7X have truly stepped up their game in order to honor their fallen brother. // 10

Impression: Overall, this album is the strongest outing yet from Avenged Sevenfold. While many fans may notice their are more ballads than previous albums, this is only natural due to their situation. This album was released in order to permanently set the Rev's legacy, and to allow fans to hear his final work. With Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater stepping in to record Jimmy's tracks, the album will get every fan's approval, and will keep the Rev forever in their hearts...

James Owen Sullivan, "The Rev"
February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009

Life may fade, but the memories never will. A7X has lost a brother. The fans lost a legend. Rest in Peace, until that day when we all meet in the afterlife. // 9

overall: 9

Reviewed by: slipknot5678, on august 02, 2010

Sound: After the death of The Rev last December, many people began to question whether or not the band would contunue, record the unfinished album, and if the album was going to be good. Well the band decided to record the album and it is the strongest and most diverse album they have released. Nightmare is the ultimate tribute to their deceased friend James Owen Sullivan. Each member of the band have improved as both musicians and songwriters, resulting in the darkest and most emotional album Avenged Sevenfold have written.

Nightmare borrows elements from their previous four albums while having a unique sound of it's own. Some songs do have that typical Avenged Sevenfold sound, especailly "Welcome to the Family", the most dissapointing song on the album; however, there are many experimental tracks as well. The outro of "Danger Line" consists of piano, horns, marching drums, and even whistling. "God Hates Us" is the heaviest Avenged Sevenfold song ever released. There are more piano parts on this album than any of their past efforts, most notably on "Fiction", which is their first song to have no guitar at all. The album does a great job combining heavy riffs and clean melodies.

The band members themselves have improved. Synyster Gates guitaring has become more soulful. Although his fast, technical solos are still present (many of them are bland and overdone), there are many memorable solos ("Victim", "God Hates Us", and "Save Me" have great solos). Zacky Vengeance also plays more diverse riffs but there are still the overused groove metal riffs throughout the album. Brian Haner Sr.(Synyster Gate's father) even plays on "So Far Away", which is a nice addition. Johnny Christ continues to perform cool bass parts ("Natural Born Killer" and "Tonight the World Dies" being examples). The band asked Mike Portnoy (of Dream Theatre, who was The Rev's favorite drummer) to record the drums for the album, and does a great job filling in for The Rev while staying true to his style of drumming.

The songwriting is the strongest part of the album. Each song is well written and flow together almost perfectly. The only problem with the songwriting is that many parts feel half finished. The remaining four members tried a bit too hard to keep the songs the way The Rev left them. While that is very respectable, they would feel more complete if the band changed them or if The Rev himself could of been in the studio working with them.

Aveged Sevenfold have proved that they can perfect their sound on Nightmare, although for those who don't like their older material, some parts will be dissapointing. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: Lyrically, the band have gotten more seious and true to themselves. "Nightmare" is a bit weak, other parts are almost annoying, but the rest is well written and fits the music the way it should. Lead singer M. Shadows stated in 2009 that the lyrics were inspired by the way kids are emotionally detached from what's going on in the real world. That inspiration is still in influence on the lyrics, but most of the album is focused on the life and death of The Rev.

Synyster Gates writes his first lyrics for the band in the song "So Far Away". They aren't awe-inspiring, but are unique compared to other Avenged Sevenfold songs (they are much different than M. Shadows lyrics).

Vocally, the album is amazing. M. Shadows singing is better than ever. He even screams in "God Hates Us". The screams sound as good as they did on Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and and Waking the Fallen. The other members of the band do a good job with the backing vocals. The Rev's vocals appear on the album, including lead vocals on "Fiction". The vocals (and the entire song) are beautiful, even though a couple of the lines can be hard to understand.

This album has the most emotional and well written lyrics Avenged Sevenfold have written. // 8

Impression: Avenged Sevenfold have created their masterpeice. From the heavy riffs on "God Hates Us" to the ballads such as "Tonight the World Dies" to their longest song yet "Save Me", the album has proven to their most experimental and beautifully written album.

The only major complaint is "Save Me" should of ben track ten and "Fiction" should of been the last song. It makes more sense because it is the last song The Rev wrote and he said it was to be the last song for the album when he handed it in.

Overall, Nightmare is one of the best albums (if not the best) released this year. It is worth more than the twelve dollars spent on it. Nightmare is Avenged Sevenfold's best and is the ultimate tribut to their brother James Owen Sullivan. // 10

overall: 8.3

Reviewed by: maiden7x, on july 31, 2010

Sound: When the passing of Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan was announced back in December of 2009, I was one of the many Avenged Sevenfold fans who spent hours on end searching for news of the situation; i.e., how Sulivan passed, the status of their unfinished record, and even whether or not they would continue on as a band and finish said record. After many weeks of tense waiting, the band announced that they would, in fact, complete the album (with the help of Sullivan's favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater), but that the band's future remained in question.

While the future of the band is still somewhat uncertain, their new album, Nightmare, is not. It clearly embraces the shock and sorrow felt after Sullivan's death, with a darker sound and much more personal lyrics. While the effort put forth by the band to complete this album in Sullivan's memory is commendable, the end result was, for me, a little dissapointing.

Now, my dissapointment mainly comes from the album's production. The guitar sounds a bit too generic, especially in songs like "Buried Alive" and the beginning of "Danger Line". Johnny Christ's bass sounds very muddy in the title track "Nightmare", and in "Natural Born Killer". Drums are spot on; Mike Portnoy does an excellent job replicating Sullivan's drumming style, preserving one of the cornerstones of Avenged Sevenfold's signature sound. Vocals are also very good; the biggest complaints I have are the sections of "Fiction" (Sullivan's last song; his vocals are also in the song) where M. Shadows' voice is made to sound more like that of Sullivan, and the Death metal-like vocals in "God Hates Us", which also sound very doctored; however, this is still probably the best vocal performance by M. Shadows to date. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: Because the band decided to rewrite the lyrics of some songs after Sullivan's death, but retain the ones they felt he liked most, the lyrical themes may be confusing to some; however, this is hardly noticable. What IS noticable, however, is the trauma felt by the band in rewriting these lyrics; these are some of the most heartfelt lyrics the band has ever put out. Things get very personal in these lyrics; everything from the loss of a best friend, to waking up feeling forever alone, even anger and hostility towards God himself. Very raw, very personal, very impressive. // 10

Impression: Overall, this album is very well done and will make a very good addition to any Avenged Sevenfold fan's collection. Some of the band's best work is present here. Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance have clearly worked for hours on these guitar licks, Johnny Christ holds down a solid bass line, Mike Portnoy does incredibly on the drums, and M. Shadows wows once again vocally and lyrically. I only wish it had been produced better; perhaps next time (if indeed there is a "next time"), the band should bring back Andrew Mudrock, producer from their 2005 breakout "City of Evil" (my personal favorite album of theirs), or even self-produce, as they did on their 2007 self-titled ablum. // 8

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: HWFG1, on august 02, 2010

Sound: This album is the culmination of Avenged Sevenfold's sound; it takes a bit from each of their previous records and combines it into one seamless mixture of kick-ass. From the eerie opening of "Nightmare" to the raging "God Hates Us" to the emotional "Fiction", this album leaves little to be desired by the listener. The self-titled track opens up the album, with some driving riffs from Gates and Vengeance, and it will make your hair on your neck stand up. "Welcome to the Family" has a groove that you just can't help but bob your head to. "Danger Line" opens with Portnoy's drumming and a harmonized lead that could only come from the Sevenfold camp. It's reminiscent of "Lost", and my personal favorite part of the song is about halfway through when it cuts to just piano and Matt's vocals, and leads into a heartfelt guitar solo from Gates. "Buried Alive" has a fantastic intro; the finger picked guitar sets the mood for the rest of the song. The last half of the song definitely has a Metallica-influenced sound though. "Natural Born Killer" picks up right where "Buried Alive" ends; with a driving guitar riff. The verse riff will make you bob your head no matter what. "So Far Away" has an ominous sound to it. It's never speeds up or picks up the intensity, but it carries you through without leaving you wanting more. "God Hates Us" opens up quietly, but quickly goes from 0 to 10 and would definitely get a pit going at any metal concert. Shadows employs screaming for the first time since "Waking the Fallen", and it definitely adds to the intensity. "Victim" features a female vocalist, and is another song that carries you through without any really significant changes throughout the song until the guitar solos, which are delivered excellently. "Tonight the World Dies" has a distant Alice in Chains/Stone Temple Pilots feel to it. "Fiction", The Rev's last work, is beautifully done. The piano work is awesome, and The Rev's vocals just add to the intensity. This is definitely the most emotional song on the guitar, and features no guitar or bass. "Save Me" is Avenged Sevenfold's longest song to date and has an epic feel to, which closes out the album nicely, pushing through to the very end. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: In lieu of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan's passing, the lyrics are quite dark, and provide an interesting look into the world of Avenged Sevenfold as they deal with his passing. Matt's vocals have never been better; his singing skills heighten with each record, and his screaming in "God Hates Us" was quite refreshing. The Rev's vocals on "Fiction" are excellent, and leave us with one final memory of his life. When he sings "Let it burn!" the hairs on my neck stand up. The lyrics are superbly done, and Avenged Sevenfold have never released a more personal record. // 10

Impression: Nightmare is an amazing album. It's got ballads, straight-up metal songs, a duet, and much more. My personal favorite songs are "God Hates Us". "Tonight the World Dies", and "Fiction". It will take some listeners a few listens to accept it, but it is, in my opinion, their best work to date. // 9

Reviewed by: unregistered, on july 31, 2010

Sound: Well to start off I think this CD expands on Sevenfold's sound a lot, I think it combines all their previous stuff such as God hates us which sounds more like something off of Sounding the Seventh trumpet with the screaming M. Shadows does but also has it's softer sides such as So Far Away which is a song written specificly to Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan after his death this past year (2009). I think the biggest departure is Fiction which is a song Jimmy wrote three days before his death, his vocals are still in the song which I think fit perfectly and it's really kind of a farewell song to Jimmy, which fits very well. Synyster Gates also returns to his kind of trademark awesome guitar solos like the ones he had in City of Evil, the most notable guitar solo in my eyes is in the song Buried Alive, which starts out slow with sort of a Led Zepplin vibe then halfway through the song the guitar solo kicks in and kicks major ass, which then makes a smooth transfer to a more Metallica sounding second half. Overall I love the way the album sounds. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics to most songs are written as a memorial for Jimmy so most of the songs have to do with metaphors about death and pain and I think it fits since they lost one of their brothers and this is their way of showing him respect. M. Shadows singing skills are basiclly the same as they were on the self titled album, which isn't a bad thing at all but he does make one big departure he hasn't made since Waking The Fallen... Yes, the album has a song with screaming vocals. On the song God Hates Us M. Shadows decides to use screaming vocals to show his emotion but they aren't his usual screaming style, instead of going with a higher-pitched scream he uses a lower-pitched scream, almost like a Bullet For my Vallentine type scream, which I think suits the song very well. The lyrics are a good tribute to Jimmy and if you wanna relive the good old days listen to God Hates Us and take in all the glory. // 10

Impression: This CD doesn't really compare to their other albums, I think they were in a much darker place after the death of Jimmy which shows itself in songs like God Hates Us and Natural Borl Killers which results in it being much heavier. The songs I like the most from the disk are Nightmare, Buried Alive, Natural Born Killer, God Hates Us, Fiction, and Save Me, though I give all the songs a 10 those songs stick out the most to me. If this CD was lost or stolen I would definately buy another copy and hurt whoever stole it from me. There is nothing bad about this CD in my eyes, the A7X guys definately do Jimmy justice in this CD, if you are an A7X fan you have to get this to keep Jimmy's memory alive, and even if your not get this CD and give these guys a chance, I guarentee you will not be disappointed. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: ChayceDavis#1DD, on may 24, 2012

Sound: I can tell that A7X stepped it up on this album for Jimmy. He passed away shortly after writing the last song on the album "Fiction" (Originally titled "Death"). A7X did great in honor of Jimmy with Mike Portnoy behind his kit. Music styles range from epic ballads to the real heavy shit like "God Hates Us". Overall, this album has something for everybody. But if you're a true A7X fan, you'll like everything on it. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics can really connect to a somewhat "emotionally damaged" audience. It seems as if something tragic or something freaky has happened to Matt (Lead Vocalist). The lyrics make a lot of sense in every single song. Matt covers a large vocal range on the album. // 10

Impression: I like every song on the album, I love that it's a tribute album. If it was stolen, I would be f--king p-ssed and I would steal it back! // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: haygoe, on january 16, 2012

Sound: The sound of A7X's album "Nightmare" is much harder and heavier than that of there previous self-titled album, I think that this is a good thing. It brings back memories of the great "Waking The Fallen" album in terms of how heavy and fast paced it is, also to some extent the singing, because M. Shadows is screaming in the song "God Hates Us" but more on that in a bit. In conclusion if you enjoyed the album "Waking The Fallen" chances are that you will enjoy this one as well. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album are very dark and filled with emotion, because of course they were inspired on this album because of The Rev's untimely death. As much as it was a tragedy for A7X that The Rev pass away it is also in some sense a blessing, because if he wouldn't died they wouldn't felt compelled to write great songs like "So Far Away" and "God Hates Us" just to few. M. Shadows has an amazing voice that is easily recognizable, and that's why I think they have gained famed. His voice is in my opinion as easily recognizable as James Hetfield so that's a good thing. // 9

Impression: Overall this album just kicka-s, I would recommend this to anyone that likes Metallica, Iron Maiden or any other modern/classic metal/hard rock band. I enjoy every song off this album, but the ones that stand out to me are "Nightmare", "So Far Away", "God Hates Us" and "Buried Alive". If this CD was stolen I would buy it again with out a doubt! // 10

Reviewed by: unregistered, on june 27, 2011

Sound: Avenged Sevenfold have dedicated this album in memory of their fallen brother The Rev and its one hell of an album. The single "Nightmare" is one of the best songs in the album. The guitarplay between Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates is very gud. I also liked welcome to the family. The intro to "Buried Alive" is slighly unusual but very gud, as is the rest of the song. And the tribute to The Rev - so far away is just mindblowing. However I dint like fiction and victim. Synyster Gates has relly become one of todays finest metal guitarists. Mike Portnoy also fills in nicely for The Rev. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics on this album are soul stirring and very heartfelt. The death of The Rev has really inspired M Shadows. In so far away he writes - "how do I live without the ones I love, time still turns the pages of the book it burns". His singing on this album is amazing. He is one of the few metal singers who can scream and sing well at the same time. // 10

Impression: Overall I think this is a ver gud album let down by a few songs like "Fiction" and "God Hates Us". "Nightmare", "Buried Alive" and "Welcome To The Family" are my favourite songs. Synyster Gates shines throughout the album. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely buy it again, not least in the memory of the legend known as The Rev. // 9

overall: 10

Reviewed by: Kwyjibo2006, on january 27, 2011

Sound: After 18 months of touring in support of their self-titled album, Long Beach quintet Avenged Sevenfold began writing their next album. Described as a dark concept album, the band were weeks away from entering the studio when tragedy struck. Drummer and founding member Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead in his home, and the band were left to pick up the pieces. However, after months of turbulent emotion, the band decided to complete the album, and, along with the help of ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, record what they called their drummer's masterpiece.

The album opens with the creepy xylophone of "Nightmare". The song is classic Avenged Sevenfold, with dueling guitars throughout and a blistering solo from guitarist Synyster Gates. Next up is the first Rev piece on the album: "Welcome to the Family". The song features a pounding main riff, and will remind the listener of tracks such as "Afterlife". "Danger Line" is essentially this album's "Gunslinger", a song for the troops with a fantastic outro solo.

The album breaks some new ground for the band with "Buried Alive". Clearly inspired by Metallica tracks in the vein of "One" and "The Day that Never Comes", the song features a beautiful clean guitar passage before breaking into some soft dueling guitars. After the crushing choruses, the song changes dramatically, taking a complete right turn into metal territory, before finishing with a great solo and some fantastic vocals from singer M. Shadows.

After the uber-catchy "Natural Born Killer", the first half of the album closes with "So Far Away". Written by Synyster Gates", the song is a tribute to The Rev. Lyrics such as "I have so much to say but you're so far away" will bring tears to the listeners eyes, as well as the simply beautiful solo and powerful singing at the end of the track. Definitely an album highlight.

While the first half of "Nightmare" features more of what fans have come to expect from Avenged Sevenfold, the second half features some of the band's best work. "God Hates Us" brings the band back to the metalcore sound of their earlier albums "Waking the Fallen" and "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet" with some frantic riffs, huge breakdowns, and (what a lot of fans have been begging for) all-out screaming from M. Shadows.

Up next is "Victim". A mellow track featuring some great female guest vocals (where you can't help but think of "The Great Gig in the Sky"), the song deals with the morning after The Rev's death. It's definitely a different Avenged Sevenfold track, but with it's emotional lyrics and another great solo, it's one of their best.

"Tonight the World Dies" is a haunting, acoustic track, featuring some bluesy riffs and one of the most powerful vocal performances on the album. But it's what's up next that every Avenged Sevenfold fan is waiting for...

"Fiction". The final track written by The Rev, completed just 3 days before his death. There is no guitar on the track, just a truly haunting duet between M. Shadows and The Rev. Drums and piano dominate the song, while Jimmy sings "Now I think I understand/How this world can overcome a man". The lyrics are The Rev's goodbye to the world, almost in the sense that he knew he wasn't long for this earth. This reviewer found it very difficult not to cry when the song finishes with The Rev singing softly "I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you". The song fades with a final chord, leaving behind the legacy of a fantastic drummer, writer, and brother.

The album ends with the longest track the band has ever recorded: "Save Me". At damn near 11 minutes long, it features fantastic performances from every member of the band. Beginning with Johnny Christ's thumping bass, the track slams in to a duel solo. With The Rev growling "Skull" and whispers of "They all know", the verse only kicks off two minutes in. The harmonies are fantastic throughout, particularly when M. Shadows sings "We only (only) wake up when we sleep" and during the chorus. The song changes pace during the solo, where Synyster Gates is shredding with all his heart. The song quiets down for a truly unbelievable bridge with brilliant guitars before slamming back into the chorus. The song, and the album finish with a chorus of "Tonight we all die young". It's a true, 21 gun salute to the life of their bandmate, their friend and their brother James Sullivan. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Originally dubbed a concept album, the band ditched that idea following the death of their drummer. Lyrics for the tracks "Nightmare" and "Danger Line" were kept because, according to M. Shadows, Jimmy was a fan of the songs. The rest of the album, particularly all tracks after "Natural Born Killer" deal with the band coming to grips with the death of their friend. Vocalist M. Shadows is on top form throughout the album, with his vocal acrobatics ranging from a soft whisper on "Save Me" to the piercing screams on "Buried Alive" and "God Hates Us". The lyrics themselves are some of the most emotional lyrics the band has written, with highlights such as "So Far Away" and "Victim". The raw emotion in the singing is evident on every track, such as the final goodbye of "Tonight we all die young" on "Save Me" and especially on "Fiction". Fans will get chills when they first hear The Rev's voice, salvaged by producer Mike Elizondo from the demo completed days before The Rev's death. It's hard not to smile and cry when you hear him scream "Let it burn!" or, when you hear his last goodbye to the world: "I hope it's worth it/Out on the highway, yeah/ I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you". // 10

Impression: "Nightmare" is Avenged Sevenfold struggling to deal with the death of their drummer. It's an emotional roller coaster, featuring everything from the acoustic ballad to the full out metal that has made the band famous, without them getting lost and unfocused in the tragedy that has overwhelmed the band this last while.

Personally, almost no albums get a perfect 10 from me, only the true classics of their respective genre get the five stars from me. But there is something about this album that, just like Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, has a special place in my heart and in the hearts of Avenged Sevenfold fans all over the world. And that, I believe, is his true masterpiece. // 10

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: EddieOwen, on december 10, 2010

Sound: This is album is really something very special, the songs were written by The Rev before his death. Many of the songs are about death. The sound is something very different to what they have done before, the vocals are beautiful and the rest of the band did a brilliant job finishing off the songs for Jimmy. The Album features Mike Portnoy, who came to help them with the drums after The Revs death. He was The Revs favorite drummer and idol. The different genres for each song make it difficult to give entire album one. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The Lyrics are very strange, but not in a bad way. Most notably "Fiction" a nickname the Rev gave to himself, the song "Fiction" was written 3 days before his death, and is about his death. (Strange Much?)

Some of the Lyrics, about his own death: In the end I gave my life for you. Then: Gave you all I had to give, found a place for me to rest my head, while I may be hard to find heard there's peace just on the other side. And then: Left this life to set me free Then finally: I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you. Hidden Meaning? Did he know he was going to die? Anyway, Fiction and save me feature the revs singing while the rest have matts. Matt did a bloody good job at this. // 10

Impression: This album is awesome. The most impressive songs are: Save Me, Natural Born Killer and Fiction. I love everything about it, the way the songs are written is truly amazing. The only thing I dislike is that their aren't many songs on it. I would buy it if it were to be stolen/lost. // 9

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: Unicronus, on october 29, 2010

Sound: The Music sounds great. I feel that they changed in style. They are heavier and have more of a thrash sound. You can really see how heavy they have gotten in songs like Buried Alive and Natural Born Killer. However it is still the same great vocals and Synster Gates has his same style solos. They got a new drummer for this album because the old drummer (The Rev) sadly passed away. However I feel that Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater did a good job on this album. I believe that The Rev wrote the tracks though. This album has a nice blend of heavy and soft songs on it. Some really nice soft songs on this album are So Far Away and Fiction. Fiction has really beautiful harmonies. If I am not mistaken The Rev sings lead vocals on this track and he wrote it as well. From the first track to the last track the album sounds really good. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are good. Most of the songs are sad. It is suppose to be Avenged Sevenfold's most personal album. The music goes really well with the lyrics. M. Shadows is a great singer with a very unique style. He is not for everyone but those of you who like rock and metal should enjoy this. // 9

Impression: Overall this album is a masterpiece. If you like Avenged Sevenfold you should definitely get it. If you listen to metal ranging from Disturbed to Metallica, I would recommend you get it. I would say Avenged Sevenfold is one of best metal bands out there today. My favorite songs on this Album are Nightmare, Buried Alive, and Natural Born Killer. In Buried Alive there is a part near the end that sounds like Metallica. I love how they this album has both Avenged Sevenfold's heaviest and softest songs. I am a big fan of Thrash Metal and I feel that this album sounds a lot like Thrash. I don't really hate anything about it. If it were stolen or lost from me, I would definitely get it again. I listen to this all of the time. // 10

overall: 7

Reviewed by: boreamor, on august 23, 2010

Sound: My first review shall be about Avenged Sevenfolds new album, Nightmare. Now I know Avenged Sevenfold seems to have a stigma attached to them (“LOL u lyk that shit? fukn fag. SLAYER!�) but I don’t really get it. Sure, it’s quite “pop� in the ways it’s mixed and mastered. But the actual music being played? That is not pop. Never in pop music will these sort of harmonies and riffs be played.

The lead track of this album is, would you have guess, Nightmare.

Personally, I feel this track is very weak in comparison to some of the others. They’ve definately taken a different step this time. Instead of changing their sound nearly completely, like they did both in City of Evil and their self-titled, it seems as though they’ve gone for an album between Waking The Fallen and City of Evil. This is a good move in my opinion, and it shows in the album. It’s more creative. It’s not different genres, but it’s exploring diferrent areas of the genre they’re very good at: Metalcore.

They’ve got some amazing new songs. Here’s a list of what you need to check out:

1: Fiction. This is was the last song The Rev wrote. I personally think it’s one of the best songs they’ve ever done.

2: God Hates Us All. Very Slayer-esque in my opinion. Problem: Terrible breakdown.

3: Buried Alive. Lovely bluesy-jazz clean guitar intro.

The riffs are there, the solos are the same (technical, but melodic) and the harmonies are awesome. If there's anything Synyster and Zacky can do, it's know when who plays what and how. They work very well together, just like Slash and Izzy. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Of course I have a problem with the lyrics. I cannot like lyrics easily. Sure, Tool do it very well for me. But Avenged Sevenfold? I feel their lyrics to be very immature. But it goes with the music. If it was too deep it’d detract from the music. They’ve brought back his screaming, even if it’s weaker than they used to do it. (Thank God. If I wanted to hear cats being blended, I’d do it myself). // 4

Impression: To be honest, I’ve not got much against this album. I can see the effort was there and I can’t really fault it musically. It’s very much an Avenged Sevenfold album (if you knew them from City of Evil). It’s less technical than City of Evil, but less “brutal� than Waking The Fallen. A perfect combination.

I would give a rating of 7/10. Which is quite good in my opinion. // 7

overall: 9.7

Reviewed by: wolfeman85, on august 17, 2010

Sound: Nightmare is the fifth studio album by Avenged Sevenfold and the first one released without their drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sulliva, and boy-oh-boy is it a good one...I can honestly say, that it's my favorite Avenged Sevenfold album next to Waking the Fallen... in my opinion, City of Evil was as a whole somewhat annoying/difficult to listen to and their self-titled just wasn't very good in general, but Nightmare just pumped into me that same manic energy I only felt when listening to something off Waking the Fallen... now as for the songs, I'm going to review every one of them and rate them out of 10:


01. Nightmare: the first track and title track of the album, and also the first single. This song starts off with a soft, ominous playing of the song's main riff, it really does a good job setting off the song's sinisterness early on, and then it blasts off into the song's evil-sounding main riff on guitars before going into the song's extremely-thrashy verse riff. After the chorus and another playing of the verse it goes into the solo, a very evil-sounding bunch of harmonies and scales that really go with the mood of the song. Overall the song is pretty catchy and is definitely going to be a crowd favorite. One thing I didn't like about this song was the chorus, it just doesn't seem as powerful as the verse or other parts of the song. But other than that, it's an extremely catchy song and really does a good job of setting off the album. 7/10

02. Welcome to the Family: the second track of the album was definitely one of the Rev's babies, the entire song reeks of his influence and it's without question the most catchy song on the album, it pretty much goes right into the verse then to a bridge that leads to the chorus, the best part of this song. The chorus is unmistakably Rev-style, extremely catchy and very easy to get stuck in your head. The guitar solo is of course, Synyster-style shredding that kind of reminds me of Afterlife from the self-titled. Overall it's definitely one of the most catchy songs from the album, and probably the song most first-time Nightmare listeners will like the most. 8/10

03. Danger Line: when I first heard the beginning I immediately thought of Blinded in Chains, and at first this song definitely reminded me of City of Evil, it's got that sinister kind of verse, powerful chorus that I heard a lot of in CoE, but once the song passes the 2nd chorus it changes and becomes one of those new Nightmare-style songs, getting a progressive/melodic edge before going into an incredibly soulful solo from Syn before fading out in army whistle. Overall, a powerful song that gives the listener a taste of the new side of Avenged Sevenfold to come. 7/10

04. Buried Alive: an extremely powerful song and also the first to bear that new side of Avenged Sevenfold we haven't heard before, it starts with a clean,soft intro before going into a beautiful harmony, which leads into the clean verse. At first it's going all soft, then the song hardens up as Shadows sings, "HEY!" and it goes into the extremely catchy, powerful chorus. The harmony, verse and chorus repeat, and then this song takes a turn in a rather unexpected direction with a blistering solo from Gates that leads into the much-heavier 2nd part of the song. Overall this song bears much of that new side of Avenged Sevenfold that involves much more melody and catchiness, and if you don't like this new side you probably won't like this song, but I find it very good and a nice change to what they've been doing for the past two albums. 9/10

05. Natural-Born Killer: the song starts off sounding very Waking the Fallen-esque, but after a brief drum/guitar fill turns into a very thrashy, catchy verse I find it very hard not to headbang to, and then blasts off into the very melodic and catchy chorus. Then the song goes into a softer bridge/solo thing, which might temporarily fool you until the song blasts back off into an unexpected solo played over the verse, before playing the chorus again. Overall, this song is very, very in-your-face and catchy and a very nice addition to Nightmare's song list. 8/10

06. So Far Away: this song is interesting in that it's the first song completely written by our good friend Synyster Gates, lyrics and everything. And I'd say for a first time he did an amazing job... the song starts off with the soft, heartfelt verse which goes into the equally-emotional chorus. The verse and chorus repeat, then after the 2nd chorus a bridge comes along with a short but sweet guitar solo. The chorus repeats, and then fades out into the total best part of the song. Clean guitar which reminded me a lot of the Nothing Else Matters clean tone from Metallica, which leads into an extremely emotional solo/chorus to the end of the song. This is without doubt one of the best songs on the album, reeking with sadness and emotion, and the ultimate tribute Syn could pay to his lost brother Jimmy. 10/10

07. God Hates Us: if I had to compare this song to another I'd compare it to Vigil by Lamb of God. Just as in that song, don't let the soft intro fool you, because this is without question the heaviest song Avenged Sevenfold has ever done in their whole history. Not just on Nightmare, in their whole band history. If Natural Born Killer was in-your-face, God Hates Us is in-your-face-beaten-on-the-ground. The heavy chorus, the super-headbangable chorus and an insane shredding solo from Gates that puts Afterlife's solo to shame, this whole song is a definite departure from the A7X we're accustomed to and thus one of the best ones on the album. 10/10

08. Victim: another ballad, and my second favorite song on the album, the song is just stuffed with emotion from the start. The intro goes to the soft verse sung magnificently by Shadows, which blasts into the beautiful, catchy chorus. So the verses and chorus of this song are both very good, but where this song shines is the guitar solos. The first one is only a small one, but is made all the more emotional by Shadows singing over it. The second solo... probably the most heartfelt solo Gates has written since Seize the Day, and definitely fits the song like a glove. Overall, the song is extremely emotional and catchy, and one of the best from the album. 10/10

09. Tonight the World Dies: A very, very bluesy song, definitely more so than anything I've ever heard from Avenged Sevenfold, and filled with emotional from Shadows' extremely powerful vocals. Not a particularly heavy song, but made powerful by Shadows' vocals, and the excellent use of blues to make this song the monster that it is, if a little bit ordinary. 7/10

10. Fiction: a very unusual song, the last song the Rev ever wrote, and in a very creepy (coincidence?) the lyrics sound exactly like a final goodbye from someone who knows they're going to die... excellent use of piano, and the combination of The Rev and Shadows' voices give it a beautiful yet somber tone. Overall a very depressing yet very good song, and an honor to put on the album for the Rev. 9/10

11. Save Me: the final song on the album, and in my opinion the best song on the album as well. The bass intro leaves you unsuspecting of the trippy and emotional 11-minute long song to come. The song has a powerful main riff, followed by a guitar solo and a few verses and the first chorus, after the excellent guitar solo in the middle of the song it takes the turn that makes it my favorite song on the album...a clean riff with Shadows' haunting vocals, leading into the chorus once again and then at the end, the chanting of "Tonight we all die young" over and over again, before ending in a similar fashion to how it started. It's almost 11 minutes long, so some may not have the patience to listen to it all the way through, but for those of you who do you're in for an amazing song that just couldn't get any better. 11/10

Overall my favorite A7X album next to Waking the Fallen, I really don't think they could've done any better with this album even if The Rev was still alive. // 10

Lyrics and Singing: The Rev's death unquestionably influenced much of the lyrics on this album, and considering how many dark songs there are on the album it suits them well, and Shadows as always amazes me with his amazing range and vocal tone, as well as reintroducing screams on God Hates Us, he just seems to get better and better with every album, no disappointments in this section. // 9

Impression: Overall, Avenged Sevenfold definitely outdid themselves with this album. There couldn't be a greater tribute to the Rev, what with songs like So Far Away, Victim, Save Me, and of course Fiction. I don't like to call anything perfect, but I have to honestly say I thought Nightmare was perfect. No annoying, difficult to listen to songs (City of Evil) and no crappy letdowns (Self-titled), just 100 percent awesome Avenged Sevenfold style. // 10

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: reptartdf, on august 11, 2010

Sound: One word, WOW. This album is down right amazing and I want to get that out of the way first. The guitars are once again, amazing. Zacky and Synyster sound beautiful together and deffinately prove that they're some of the best guitarist today. Johnny's bass is great and Mike Portonoy really did do a good job. He is no Rev but he is great. Shadows really lets it all out on this record. He even pulls some screams and growls out again on God Hates Us and its great to hear them again. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: Most of these lyrics are very great. They really are meaningful and sensitive. Then they have brutal and tough lyrics. M. Shadows voice is great on this record and so is Jimmy's. Fiction and Save me are great but Victim really touched me. I love that song. God Hates Us and Nightmare are also great. // 9

Impression: This album really brings them back to the Bat Country days. Its great. Very different then they're last album, the self titled, Avenged Sevenfold. I basically love everything from this album. It is overall great. Theyr aren't my favorite band but I have to adnit, this album is amazing and I think you guys should all pick it up. Stand out songs are Nightmare, God Hayes Us, and Victim. // 10

overall: 7.7

Reviewed by: Weaponxclaws, on august 09, 2010

Sound: Avenged Sevenfold's fifth album, Nightmare, is easily the most mature sounding record they have released thus far. It's vocal melodies are what capture it for me. They are easily memorable upon first listening. The guitar melodies are very typical of Avenged Sevenfold but that does not mean they suck. Hell, I even liked that whistle solo on Danger Line.

Here is the breakdown of the songs:

01. Nightmare: the albums title track. Similar to their last effort, Avenged Sevenfold, the song starts off with a little bit of a difference to throw you off, I suppose. Critical Acclaim did the same but after 30 seconds or so is where you discover 'Oh, wait. There it is' when the dual guitars enter and it gets faster and heavier. It gets balls. The chorus of this song enticed me the very first time I heard it and now I can't help but sing along. Overall, good choice for an opening track.

02. Welcome to the Family: first of all... Drum solo. Synyster's familiar riffing and slightly out of tune bends sort of remind me of Avenged Sevenfold's earlier songs. This song has a huge groove and I find myself bobbing my head to the beat through no fault of my own. It is just one of those songs. Very catchy melodies with the vocals and the guitars, again. It's kinda hard to tell but it almost sounds like they added the 808 drum sound (just like they did in Scream) to give it a bigger groove feel. Interesting song.

03. Danger Line: I hate to say this but it sounds way too much like Blinded in Chains and I think that's been mentioned before... This song is probably my least favorite on the album but I still like it. Also, 12/8 time signature almost makes it awkward to listen to.

04. Buried Alive: holy shit, Stairway to Heaven anyone? The intro is not very motivated. It sounds way too similar to Stairway to Heaven then when the rest of the band kicks in it sounds like Hotel California. Nothing to impressive in this song to be honest.

05. Natural Born Killer: this song is so ridiculously heavy! I was impressed with the very quick buildup of instruments. The music is very clear in what the musicians were trying to achieve. Everything is there and is beautiful. As far as vocals go, however, again they sound too similar to previous albums and even songs on this album. I still do like this song.

06. So Far Away: here we go, a slightly different vocal part. I was instantly enticed my M. Shadows intro. I almost classified this as country-esque music when I first heard it but I am not really sure how to define this into a genre. It's Avenged Sevenfold. Although this song is rather mellow I find myself moving to the music still. The guitar solo is absolutely beautiful. Synyster Gates once again proves that you don't have to blister up and down the neck to get your message across. The acoustic interlude that leads into the heavy bridge sounds a little familiar but I love how it leads into a heavier chorus to finish out the song. Last note= Ow!

07. God Hates Us: you got me Avenged Sevenfold! I seriously didn't think the song was going to slam into this heavy riff. Shit! And there is screaming too! I never thought they would go back to that. I am actually giddy over the awesomeness of how heavy this is. Reminds me of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet without the punk element. The chorus is almost anthemic. I can see a crowd of people pumping to that PANTERA STYLE. I'm done now

08. Victim: love the ambient effects. That is always an attention grabber for me. Song probably could have done without the female vocal part, however. I don't have much to say about this song. It is what it is. I am somewhat annoyed with the fact that they can't do an entire song as mellow with clean tones. They feel they have to slam the distortion in every song and so it almost feels forced.

09. Tonight the World Dies: 1:42 is when the distortion slams in. I almost thought they were going to do the song without it. This song has some interesting melodies that build tension because of the dissonance and instrumentation. The song still feels a little dry and moves kinda slow. This song, I hate to admit, is filler. Also, it sounds almost like some of Iron Maiden's material off of their last few albums. THAT is a good thing.

10. Fiction: very nice piano intro. It sets up a tone that plays for the rest of the song. This song is rather emotional because it starts with The Rev's vocals sung along with M. Shadows part. It was a nice gesture to keep his vocals in there and believe it or not, it works very well. This song impresses me because it is a different departure of Avenged Sevenfold's sound. It is musically and lyrically beautiful. With the exception of the vocals in the beginning of the interlude. I couldn't even tell what Shadows was saying. My absolute favorite part of this song is that it has a slow dance song vibe.

11. Save Me: distorted bass? There is a little too much going on in this song. Weird effects and ridiculously loud whammy bar effects. I do like the whisper screams that start the actual song at about the 2 minute mark. This song is another different sounding song. I think the idea was to put the good songs at the beginning and ending of the CD. Oh well... This song is pretty straight forward. Once the actual song kicks in there is nothing else really special about it. This will definitely make it onto my car playlist. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: I am going to be rather brief with the lyrics, if I may. The lyrics written for this album are rather mature compared to previous efforts. They cover various topics such as love, hate, passing, living, sanity, insanity. To me it seemed like if they wrote about one subject, they wrote about the polar opposite somewhere else on the CD. This gives the album a nice contrast of feelings. It is not all about I HATE THIS or I LOVE YOU. It's a fair combination of everything. Good job Avenged Sevenfold, I shall be quoting your lyrics for time to come. // 8

Impression: Overall, this album was a hit and miss. Some songs were like 'wow, that's new and exciting' and some just made me think 'sounds too much like (song) or (album)'. My only HUGE complaint is that the songs were in all sorts of time signatures. I am not sure if that is the fault of Mike Portnoy or not but... I mean you have to understand my pointed finger considering Avenged Sevenfold (for the most part) has been a 4/4 band. Just a thought. The lead guitars also sound a bit loud. When Syn rips it up and hits some high note, it physically hurts my ears. Maybe that should have been toned down in post-production. Otherwise, great album. I will definitely give it many more listens. // 8

overall: 9.3

Reviewed by: ZachyV, on august 02, 2010

Sound: I'm going to try to keep the overall review short and to the point. The overall album sound falls between the self titled CD and Diamonds in the Rough. There are quite a few ballads and its definitely not the hard rock album Avenged Sevenfold or City of Evil was. Great instrumentals like always with great swagger but not too much head banging here. Like everyone says, if you like them you'll like their progression... If you've never liked them, you won't like it. I personally love it. // 9

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics of this album definitely stand out. The unfortunate passing of the Rev has quite obviously impacted the lyrical content and soul of this CD. I personally like Matt's rough singing. It's very distinct, unique, and you feel the passion in his words. A good amount of songs (So Far Away, Fiction, Victim, etc) are incredibly emotional but it is expected because of their terrible loss. I applaud the guys for changing up the lyrics last minute before releasing the album and really showing their emotions about the loss of a friend. // 10

Impression: Overall I like Nightmare, however, it is definitely not my favorite album they've made. I do like a lot of the songs, however, their "in-your-face" albums like City of Evil and Diamonds and even Waking the Fallen have always been my favorite. I feel I will forever find myself in a dark mood after listening to the album but I do respect their progression and ability to release a CD so quickly after their friend's passing to mark his legacy, to express the band mates emotions, and to feed their worldwide army of loyal fans who stand behind them through thick and thin. Rest in Peace Jimmy. Your fans miss you more than you imagine and can't wait to party with you in the afterlife. A7X foREVer // 9

overall: 7.3

Reviewed by: motleycruefan, on august 02, 2010

Sound: Far from the best musically speaking weve heard from A7X. The Rev will be greatly missed on the drums and for his creativeness. The lack of creativness really hurts this album. It almost seems as if the band reverted back to its influences to search for their sound again. The influences of Metallica and Guns N' Roses really stick out. You can hear it in Tonight The World Dies, Buried Alive and Nightmare.

The vocals on this album are fair. The Rev's performance on Fiction is spine tingeling. M. Shadows performance is consistently average. He shows a little of his range on Tonight The World Dies. He attempts to scream in God Hates Us, but he just doesn't sound like he use to. Best Vocal Performance: Fiction.

The guitar work on this album saves it from being totally lost. It remains the strong point for A7X. Again it wasn't the greatest work weve heard from Zacky and Synyster, though Synyster still manages some nice solos. Best guitar performance: Welcome To The Family

On to rythm and the weakest part of the album. Chemistry between a bass player and drummer is soo important to a band. The chemistry here is decent, but the music is uninspired. Johnny is almost non existant on most songs. He gets lost in the background easily. He plays a basic style most of the time, this time it was basic and watered down. He finally shows off some skill later on the album on Tonight The World Dies and Save Me. But overall a weak performance by Johnny Christ. You can't put all the blame on him, working with a new drummer is difficult. We all know why Mike Portnoy is on the album, it almost doesn't seem fair to judge him, but he does affect the music. He shows flashes of The Rev in his playing that is great to hear. But other times he just seems to go through the motions. Its not the same, thats all I'll say about the drumming.

The production of this album wasn't great, and may have taken a few songs down a notch. Better production could have deffinatly given this album a better sound. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are obviously dark and emotional for the most part, but at times are very inspirational. Some of the lyrics can get too repetative, example: Victim and Save Me. Other times, the flow of the lyrics can seem off or to much like other songs, example: Danger Line. Ballad writing for Rev was very well done.

Best lyrical song: Fiction. Reason: The emotion from M.Shodows is extremly strong. The Rev singing can send chills to anyone listening in this song. Listening to what The Rev is singing abot just adds to the emotion. So Far Away is a close second for emotional lyrics.

Honorable Mentions: Nightmare(The video sums up the writing and makes the song better.), Buried Alive.

Worst lyrical song: God Hates Us. Reason: Shadows sounds way over produced in this song. He sounds more like an alien from the movie Alien than he sounds like he's screaming. Sounds nothing like he use to. Makes the lyrics hard to understand. If you read the lyrics it is a perfetly understandable song. It just could have been done better. Which is the feeling you get from alot of songs on this album

It's not the strongest writing or singing we've had from Avenged, but you can clearly get the idea of where they wanted to go with the album, and how they feel about losing a brother and bandmate. That is whats most important for them right now, expressing how they feel. Performance wise, I would say the album here would be closer to a 7. Because of the consistency throughout the album and under the hard circumstances I think they can justify an 8. // 8

Impression: Overall its difficult to judge the album based on whats going on with the band. There were high points, and a few low points, but can we really expect them to release an album of their highest potential? With a new drummer? After this horrible tragedy? This album was a dedication to their friend and brother. It may have hurt their sound, but it was the right thing to do. // 7

overall: 7.7

Reviewed by: IAmTwisted, on july 31, 2010

Sound: "Nightmare" is the newest album to have been created by the band "Avenged Sevenfold". In December 2009 the band took the loss of James Owen Sullivan (The Rev) in their stride and decided to complete the album in his honour. They asked the drummer from Dream Theatre, Mike Portnoy, to complete the drum tracks for the album.

Soon after completing the album they released the opening song of the album: "Nightmare". The song was met with mixed reviews. Despite the mass split of opinions, the song captured all the best bits of Avenged Sevenfold's unique sound. It kept the dark, ominous feeling that surrounds most of Avenged's newer work and in captures the crunching guitar tone that is present in "City Of Evil."

The vocals were somewhat disappointing however, as a lot of Matt's singing becomes throaty and groggy at parts. The absence of Matt's screaming in "Waking the fallen" is also disappointing as the anticipation for this album has been growing increasingly since the release of their last album "Avenged Sevenfold", and alot of fans were hoping that Matt would go back to his roots at some point and scream in some form.

Many could accuse Mike Portnoy of not following the Rev's style of drumming, but this could just be the fact that fans are just wanting to pick holes in the style of his drumming, simply because they miss the rev.

Overall, the opening song definitely sets the mood for the rest of the album.=9/10

"Welcome To The Family" is the second song on the album, which is reminiscent of the "Waking The Fallen song", Remenissions and also of "Avenged Sevenfold's", critical acclaim. A very riff driven verse and a melodic chorus and a very dark and harbouring bridge. The solo kicks in at 2.14, and is once again very reminiscent of "Critical acclaim". A harmonising phrase followed by a very fast alternative picked phrase.

After the first two songs you can tell this album is a compilation of Avenged's best parts. = 9/10

"Danger Line" is the third song on the album. The opening is a military style drum and guitar line. The chorus is somewhat similar to the kind they incorporated in "Waking The Fallen" and "City Of Evil", fast paced with guitars playing melodically in the background. The true highlight of this song takes place from 2:40, where the softer side of the album is first explored. With meaningful lyrics and a strong guitar part to accompany, the song then goes into a soft piano interlude, which is sure to give you goosebumps. The military theme present in the song unveils itself again with a military drum beat which is followed by a melodic solo. The song is finished by again the military style drums, and a peculiar "whistle" solo. =7/10

"Buried alive" is the fourth song and is the second single to have been released. A clear influence from early Metallica is established throughout, starting off with a soft harmonising solo. The chorus is the best part of the whole song, with a strong guitar riff which heavily emphasises the lyrics of the chorus, which is altogether further emphasised by the softness of the verses. This song is the most reminiscent of "City Of Evil", due to the tone of the vocals and overall tone of the song. A very Metallica sounding riff is present in the bridge after the solo. You can almost put Kirk Hammets famous grunts and "yeahs" on the track. But this is split up by an Avenged sounding build up of octaves, but is once again hindered by a Metallica sounding solo from Gates. The outro is definitely Metallica influenced. Overall this song is disappointing, but they should get appraisal for the fact that they tried something new. =5/10

"Natural born killer" is one of the best songs on the album, beginning with a riff that is definitely influenced by Waking The Fallen. The chorus is a clear highlight of the song, with a powerful meaning behind the lyrics and a very tasteful riff played by the guitar. Both solos are also highlights, with both being similar to the kind played in the CD/DVD "Diamonds in the rough". Worth listening to. =10/10

"So Far Away" is yet another shining diamond in the album. Similar to seize the day from "City Of Evil", this song is worth listening to. With a solo that will make the hair on your neck stand on end, a soft guitar part in the background that compliments the clean vocals and meaningful lyrics this is Avenged at their best. =9/10

"God hates us" is the heaviest song Avenged have ever released. Starting off with soft guitars you think this is yet again another slow song, but you couldnt be more wrong. The song immediately goes into a heavy riff with Lamb of god style drums. This whole song is clearly influenced by Lamb of god, as all guitar tones and vocal tones sound incredibly similar. The only riff that doesn't resemble Lamb of god is the chorus riff, which is more similar to the groove orientated song "Scream" from the previous album. This signals a welcomed return to "Waking the fallen" style vocals, but with much deeper, darker, growling vocals. The heavy bridge signals an return to the even earlier album "Sounding the seventh trumpet", with a somewhat slow, heavily palm muted guitar part, which the drums and vocals compliment well. The solo is one of the best on the album that goes incredibly well with the rhythm guitar and with the song as a whole. 9/10

"Victim" begins with another soft guitar phrase which is backed by a scat singer. You can tell from the start that this is yet again another good attempt at something different for Avenged Sevenfold. Given the loss of the Rev before the album was completed, you could say this song is about the Rev, with Matt feeling as though James being taken away from him is a crime, and a crime to everyone who knew him, as a fan or personally. You can truly feel the emotional state of mind in which Avenged wrote the whole album. However, the only downside is the tone of the vocals, which remains a problem throughout the whole album. At parts Matt's voice seems hoarse and throaty, which is disappointing given the potential quality of the song.= 7/10

"Tonight the world dies" starts off with another acoustic guitar part, such as in "City of Evil." This is another song which could be considered to be about the Rev, as though the band regrets the choices made in their earlier days which they feel lead to The revs overdoes in present days. A certain empathy is created whilst listening to this song, and you can feel the evident atmosphere of regret and sorrow that the band clearly wished to define. The downside to this song is once again the tone of the vocals, and also the lyrics to the chorus. They don't seem as strong as the rest of the choruses in the album, and clearly falls away from the normal large, epic choruses that is common to Avenged Sevenfold songs.=6/10

"Fiction" is the only song Avenged Sevenfold have ever created that doesn't have any guitar part to it. And they don't need it for this song either, I'd like to point out. A truly melodic song, with a surprising presence of The Rev's singing throughout. A lot of anticipation was created for this song after The Rev claimed it was his masterpiece. The song does not fail to live up to this claim, and if you're a fan of Avenged Sevenfold, i suggest listening to this song. =10/10

"Save Me" is the longest song Avenged Sevenfold have ever created, unless you count "I won't see you tonight" part 1&2 as one entity. A good song to end an exceptional album on. Despite the frightening length, the song seems much shorter in reality, as everything is broken down into easy parts for us audiences. The guitar tone is perfect, and the backing vocals and lead vocals are balanced correctly. The drums could perhaps be different, such as in the verses where the other instruments are all playing something slow and mournful, but the drums pound ahead fearlessly. The song overall clearly shows all aspects of Avenged Sevenfold at their maximum potential. =10/10 // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Given that they lost The Rev before the album was fully completed, it is no surprise that Avenged Sevenfold have incorporated this loss into their songs. It is evident in both Victim and so So Far Away that this is exactly what they've done. The lyrics show both regret and remorse at the loss of someone close to the band. The mentality of the band whilst writing the album can clearly be seen within these two songs, they are both meaningful and deep, with the same dark unique sound that has been with Avenged Sevenfold since their beginning. The lyrics will surely appeal to both new and older fans of Avenged, as they can be applied to any loss that anyone has ever suffered, but also because older fans can relate to the loss the band has felt as they have lost a role model in the loss of The Rev.

However, incongruous to these meaningful, deep and heartfelt lyrics is the vocals themselves. The tone has regressed back to the tone heard in City Of Evil, which is all well and good given that this was the album that gave them mainstream success, but it still does not compliment the other instruments and their styles. In "Nightmare" the vocals become throaty and hoarse at parts throughout the song, and this seems to continue throughout the album. This is the major downside to the entire album. The only reprisal from these vocals is in the song "God Hates Us." The entire song is the heaviest song Avenged have ever produced, with screaming, deep vocals. Even within this song when Matt sings cleanly, the disappointing tone of the vocals can be heard. Overall, the singers skills do not compliment the quality of the songs on the album, which is sad given the potential that they could reach with a good tone = 7/10 // 7

Impression: Overall the album is a definitive statement within Avenged Sevenfold's career. It takes influences from all of Avenged's earlier albums, but unfortunately they take influence from some of the bad aspects present in their previous work. The main downside is the vocals, and some disappointing, flimsy guitar riffs, such as the verse riff for "Welcome To The Family." Even though the riff does go with the vocals and the song overall, it is still not what Avenged normally produces.

The album explores the emotional side of the band, combining meaningful lyrics to a good few slow songs. It is truly a journey throughout the album, going from the semi-heavy opener "Nightmare" to the dark melody that is "Save me." In between you have an assortment of different styles, ranging from Metallica to Lamb Of God. The softer side of Avenged can clearly be seen within this album.

Audiences can appraise the new styles attempted by Avenged, although they don't necessarily work out well with their dark hearted fare. The album clearly demonstrates their fearlessness at attempting new things whilst retaining their unique sound; their large melodic choruses and darker sounding vocals and atmosphere. There is some very impressive guitar solos, none quite holding a candle to their previous single "Afterlife", but still mind numbingly skill full all the same.

The album is good despite a few let downs, and I would definitely recommend this album to anyone.

Song to avoid = Buried Alive
Song to listen to = Fiction // 8

overall: 9

Reviewed by: Sparky-MMA, on july 31, 2010

Sound: As many people are aware, Avenged Sevenfold's Drummer The Reverend Tholemew Plague (AKA Jimmy Sullivan) died a year ago.

From that sad day for music in general Avenged have seemingly decided to mention the death at every possible opportunity in order to increase album sales (it seems). Even drafting in Mike Portnoy (one of The Rev's favourite drummers) to lay down the drum tracks on the album in question.

What does this have to do with the album itself? I'm sure you're asking this, well.

In short the album is nothing more than fairly average, it's a A7X album, end of, you could listen to the darker songs on previous albums and get roughly the same result.

The whole album is dark, very dark, centred around death, its a concept that flows throughout the entire record. As for musicality there's nothing your typical Avenged listener won't have heard before. Unless you look more into the songs themselves.

The title track Nightmare is simplistic in itself, but does what it sets out to do, set the album up, and it does so perfectly, the chromatic intro gives the song a darker feel, whilst in the bridges the guitars use minor intervals in their harmonies of this descending line to create even more unease in the song. Lyrically it seems to centre around a feeling that you can't escape. guilt possibly with the lyric (you should have known the price of evil)

The second track 'Welcome To The Family' is started with a simpler version of Dream Theatre's 'Honor Thy Father' drum fill, followed by a equally similar ossinato pattern in the guitar. (Portnoy influence maybe). After this DT reference, it follows a similar pattern to majority of the City Of Evil album, catchy vocals, pleasing guitar patterns, and a drum beat that seeks to impress as well as keep a pulse. The solo is a typical Synyster solo, fast, chromatic at times and flashy, shred in its purest form. This track is 100% radio friendly A7X.

The third track is Danger Line, the track starts with a Bolero style snare pattern (also a marching band style pattern), followed by a intro solo. the main part of the song has a very similar melody to Nothing to Say from Slash's Solo effort (which M Shadows did vocals for). The chorus has a feel of Lost from the self titled album (minus the Vocoder), the song is very reminiscent of the mainstream Avenged.

Track 4 is Buried Alive which is Avenged going back to something I personally think they do rather well, clean intro and verses and overdriven chorus' (I.E a grunge style of song). this song is obviously about how the band felt about the passing of The Rev, and there is a quiver in Shadow's voice throughout, which is understandable and also very sentimental, and adds a different side to the rather thug like persona of the Waking The Fallen Avenged Sevenfold.

Natural Born Killer, is a thrash metal style track made to fit Avenged, Shadows vocals start with a low growl, then its back to business with his shouted style of vocal from City of Evil and Avenged Sevenfold (no real screams yet). the song flows into a slower pre chorus and chorus, then back into the fast paced verse. Song works well for Shadow's style of vocal, and sounds like something Avenged should write more of, even though the mini bridge riffs are reminiscent of Almost Easy from the self titled.

So Far Away, This is another lighter song, flows rather similarly to Dear God in style, instrumentation. nothing special but a nice song nonetheless.

God Hates Us, this is the song Shadows promised screaming on, and he barely delivers, a mid growl is what you get, so unfortunately for the fans of his high pitched screams (as on Sounding The Seventh Trumpet and Waking The Fallen) you won't be disappointed in what you hear, yet you'll want him to go higher, and where it sounds as though it should. it just doesn't which is a shame. The rest of this song is filled with a fast riffs, double kick all for most and a rather impressive dual solo, which based purely on tone seems to be being lead by Zacky (who did all solos on Sounding the Seventh Trumpet [except To End The Rapture]) then Synyster takes over with some Divebombs and various other techniques.

Victim, This song is the final song that The Rev wrote (3 days after finishing this he passed away). The song is seemingly Shadow's hardest song to sing, his voice is throwing deep sadness throughout, and in the first chorus a sniff is audible. This adds to the song's nature and also allows for the song to breathe and reminisce about the band and to allow the listener to think about the various aspects of the band, which are all apparent within this one song.

Tonight The World Dies, it's one of those songs you listen to but don't really notice it, it's good but its not one you can actively listen to.

Fiction, This song has no Guitar whatsoever (shock horror) however it does have piano/strings (synthed)/drums and ... for the best part... The Rev doing the main vocal, doubled by Shadows, It's the only song on the album that seems to come from the heart. The Rev evidently wrote the song, and it seems to have been written from beyond the grave, 'I've found a place to rest my head' 'though I may be hard to find', the lyrics lend itself to the eeriness of the instrumentation. and also the voice you hear. almost a year after his death you find him singing on a track.

Save Me. This song for me is totally different from Avenged Sevenfold, and personally sounds like a track Portnoy has written for DT, everything would fit perfectly in DT's song catalogue. There is not a single part that sounds detracted from DT, with exception to the vocals.

Overall I give the Album 8, it's good but not quite as good as the previous albums. // 8

Lyrics and Singing: Shadow's has the unique ability to make anything work with anything. its amazing to listen to how he can manipulate his voice, words and melodies to make them fit over the harmony underneath.

In Fiction, The Rev having seemingly written the song, has a very good understanding of the melody, Shadows seems to be hanging back and allowing The Rev's voice to be heard over his, opting to play a backing role rather than his usual powerful style.

The lyrics all centre in some way or another to death, as was the original concept to the album, even before The Rev's passing, it was his idea to do a concept album based on that.

there is no fault with the lyrical content or the vocals. So I give it 10. // 10

Impression: If you compare the album to the past 5 albums from Avenged ( Sounding The Seventh Trumpet, Waking The Fallen, City Of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold, Diamonds in The Rough) it sits somewhere between DITR and COF in my opinion, in some respects it's different and slightly progressive of them, but every song is radio friendly and there's nothing to offend.

The best songs on this particular album are (in my opinion), Welcome To The Family, Buried Alive, Nightmare, Save Me.

If the album was stolen I probably would buy it again, not on the strength of the album, but purely because if it's not there my A7X CD's would have one missing.

Overall the album gets 9/10. its good, regardless of the bad points. // 9

overall: 6.3

Reviewed by: JayrezalJorgy, on june 07, 2011

Sound: My first impression for this album was fantastic. Avenged Sevenfold and their new drummer Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater had made their new album after The Rev's death. Their sound and music in this album is beyond expectations. Mike Portnoy uses some of The Rev's drumming skills and sound for the album. The album "Nightmare" consist of two styles of music which is from Avenged Sevenfold and Dream Theater. "Nightmare" was published after the death of The Rev. This album is to pay tributes and to remember The Rev. // 7

Lyrics and Singing: My overall impression of the lyrics in this album is great. The lyrics told a story and some part of the lyrics has a message that delivered by Avenged Sevenfold. The lyrics told a magnificient story. The singing skills for M. Shadows is better than before. Where there are loads of death metal screams. // 5

Impression: In this time, the album "Nightmare" from Avenged Sevenfold dosent compare with any album this year. The most impressive songs from the album is "Nightmare", "Welcome To The Family" and "God Hates Us". Actually, all of thier songs in this album were ridiculously out of question the most "awesome" album I had ever heard. I love the album because it pays tribute to their friend and drummer The Rev. If it was lost, I would buy it again because the music is now part of my life and it is worth the money to spend for that album. // 7

overall: 10

Reviewed by: HoverFan#1, on january 10, 2011

Sound: This album is one of the best albums I have ever heard! In spite of the tragic and untimely death of drummer The Rev at only 28 years old, A7X pulled through and produced a new album with Mike Portnoy amazingly! I mean, every song is just mind blowing.

01. Nightmare: Although highly overplayed on the radio (92.5 WKGB-FM), it's actually a great song.
02. Welcome to the Family: This is a very catchy song, and has one of my favorite guitar solos on the album.
03. Danger Line: It has this cool rhythm part to start it off, with A7X's signature dual guitars to complement it.
04. Buried Alive: The intro has a really blues-like sound to it, and the chorus is simply perfect. The end of the first solo, the drums, and the riff are pure gold! I like how it kinda goes from one song to a completely different song.
05. Natural Born Killer: A very cool riff just explodes into a solo of superhuman speed, with a pause and a little ding that always makes me laugh. Starting at about 3:20, I could swear it's The Rev singing.
06. So Far Away: The downward arpeggiated chord in the beginning is a little different, which is just the way I like it! And Papa Gates also appears.
07. God Hates Us: This one doesn't really sound like Avenged Sevenfold, but I still love it, with its blues-like intro/outro and its super cool riff and solo.
08. Victim: Now I always thought it was in standard with a capo at the third fret, but then I got the book and saw it's actually in Drop-C, but I still play it like I played it before. The beginning with the guitar and bells gives a really spooky mood.
09: Tonight the World Dies: Papa Gates' other appearance. Here's another song where it sounds like The Rev is singing. I'm playing this song on December 21, 2012!
10. Fiction: Personally, this is my favorite song on the album. Very beautiful lyrics. I know The Rev sings in this one, and I love how he sings at the end! Nice tribute to him. I heard that Fiction is actually one of his nicknames.
11. Save Me: Ah, an 11 minute Avenged song to wrap up the album! Great riffs, great lyrics, great vocals, great everything (like the rest of the album!). // 10

Lyrics and Singing: Every song has simply amazing lyrics. But let me get one thing straight with Fiction: The Rev wrote and sang this: "I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you." Three days later, he's found dead. So Far Away was Synyster Gates' first attempt and success at writing lyrics, and they sound great! Both M. Shadows and The Rev sing wonderfully! // 10

Impression: Although A7X's other albums were great, this album shows no comparison! It's just so much better! I love everything and hate nothing about it! All the songs impressed me very well, and they always will. Avenged Sevenfold is, always has been, and always will always be amazing! R.I.P. Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan! // 10

Comments

[King ofKumbucha]

The UG review is so bad it's good. So many amazingly stupid lines LMAO

Nothing new here though. My friend insists on trying to make me like this band so he keeps playing me songs in the car on the way to work. I'd say if you hated them before this album won't win you over and Portnoy is completely wasted on the sub-par riffing and overall boring songs.
The vocals are just as horrible as ever too.

[TheAbsentOne]

Saw them on the 27th, incredible show. Got to hear Nightmare, Welcome to the Family, and Buried Alive live.
Also bought this the same day, it's a good album. Reviews here are all pretty good, but in my personal opinion this is not their best work. I'd give it something like an 8/10 overall.
It'll be in my cd player for the next month or so, that's for sure.

Of course, R.I.P. Rev

[zakarai]

Fair album. Got it on the 23rd. I still prefer their old stuff though. Is it just me or do a lot of bands that make new songs and albums get worse? I mean, Iron Maidens Newest was kinda boring, BFMV was just the same really.

[IROn 5L1nKY]

I liked the last song A LOT. A7X did a good job with the longer song idea.
BTW, was the meet in the afterlife comment really necessary?

[1000101]

love the album, although there are a few too many ballads for my taste. fiction is amazing, though in an unconventional way: it's not technically amazing and the rev's vocals are a bit shaky sometimes, but the emotional appeal is overwhelming. anyone who was affected by the rev's death will definitely be moved by this album.

[Cacophonic]

Inb4 fanboys.

The album wasn't fresh, nor was it anything new. It's the same shit that Avenged Sevenfold has always done. Watered-down "shred" solos along with the inability to deal with the watered-down solos live.

6/10 due to lack of creativity.

[Alcookie1992]

"takes Iron Maiden riffs"
"like a young James Hetfield"

too comparative and not unique enough. Personally, Im not a fan of A7X, they have good ideas which they ruin with inconsistency and the same ol' widdly widdly bullshit. Plus, M Shadows' voice grates like rusty cheese.

[nimrod_hahahaha]

yup, i thought it was boring and nothing new. really disappointed as although i'm not into this sort of music, i usually love what a7x have to offer.

[Zeletros]

Thank the god I didn't read and just scrolled down to the comments to comment that I'm not gonna read because there's too much of friggin' text.

[LP94]

Cacophonic wrote:

The inability to deal with the watered-down solos live.

Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

[intothe]

I can't believe so few of the commenters liked it, this is my favourite CD by Avenged Sevenfold, I must admit though it didn't click with me the first 2-3 listens, but I feel like it grows on me and I kind of "get it" much better now. It's a great CD musically and lyrically

[fredriksoder]

I can't agree with the haters, this is my favorite album along with Waking The Fallen.

The music they've done on this is record is another step in their musical experience, they just collected some of the old work they have done and put it in their modern music.

When you say there's nothing 'new' from A7X I don't know how you think.. Every album sounds different since 2001. They've just matured in their musical minds.

I've watched a lot of live videos from Avenged and Syn plays almost every solo perfectly. I'm not saying he's the best guitarist around but you can't say he's worse live.

[strat07]

Too many balads

[Nameless742]

The new direction is not one I prefer.
But there are some good songs.
But there are too many ballads
most of my friends love the softer songs.
it's definately fresh music, but it's not as enjoyable to me.
I'll be honest in saying, if I didn't like A7X before-hand, I wouldn't really have given this album a chance.
I may have picked a couple of songs maybe.

[Pingis_Or_Death]

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts

LOL

Yeah right.

[slash.r0cks]

Arguably the best album they've produced lyrically and there's some good songs here and there, but I'm really sick of seeing "love" reviews for any band. A good review is balanced and not having everything as 10/10.

I'm a diehard A7X fan, but I wouldn't rate the album 10. There's some really good songs on here like Victim, Fiction and Save Me, but songs like Buried Alive really let the album down.

[adj209]

City of Evil was the best, this one lacked the edginess of that album. But given that it was more emotional i think this could have been achieved, i mean look at seize the day.

[Megalomaniac46]

One word: overrated.

[legend shredder]

god avenged have alot of haters.

great album, really emotional (to be expected). alot of people dont seem to like burried alive, tho i think it is a great song. best songs are so far away, god hates us, burried alive and natural born killer, altho i dont hate any of them.

Rest easy The Rev, you've outdone yourself on this one

[syn7fold]

This is the first album since Waking the Fallen that I love all the songs. It's a very emotional album, and I love how one second your listening to So Far Away ready to cry than it turns to God Hates Us and you're ready to punch the next person that says hi to you...

[PlayFreebirdNow]

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts
LOL

Yeah right.

LOL is right. That reviewer does not know what she is talking about. But her reviews are always bad, so I wasn't surprised.

[BlisteringDDj]

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts

LOL

Yeah right.

Haha!

[Randomrings]

I love this album. I got this the day it came out because nobody in my area really LOVES Avenged Sevenfold anymore. I became a fan late. Then when i really really got into them, The Rev died.

This album just kills me. I love it. It just has this sound that you think is great at first, then grows on you. Maybe one day I'll realize liking "Fiction" is just a phase but still, really good album

[AidanTDR]

these guys really seem to love Dminor...

[slaytanic407]

The album is amazing, it really shows variety between So Far Away and God Hates Us. R.I.P. Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan

[joaonofear]

This album sucked. Even for an avenged sevenfold album it really proved to be worse than I thought.

[randyaintdead82]

People people people.....chill out. Do people like Megalomaniac46 seriously go onto band reviews and just shit talk about the band? Get a life please, this is for review of the new album. Not i-need-to-heighten-my-self-esteem-by-talking-shit-about-a-ba nd-i-don't-like time. That being said, the album is quite different from the others because of the obvious outpour of emotion. I like the songs. They're good songs. They've used different keys on this album other than D which is refreshing. I think they all stepped up as musicians as well. Good job A7X

[BrianRyan666]

The last good album was City of Evil, one of my favourite albums of all time, then they just got pish, Avenged Sevenfold had 2 good songs on it and Nightmare has 1, not even close to The Fallen of City of Evil

[wraith313]

Wasnt this whole album written and probably mostly recorded before he died? This album is not more emotional because he died, because that very likely had little to no effect on the writing process.

Before I get flamed all to hell: I like Avenged, and it sucks their drummer died.

[Element666]

Ok, i'm a fairly big fan of avenged, and after the first listen through of the album, i thought, it's alright, however after listening a few more times, i'm in love with it, i don't understand why a bunch of people who arent fans are complaining about lack of creativity, i mean honestly it sticks to the metal roots but with a modern twist, and of course there are gona be ballards on this jimmy just died for goodness sake, but some of the best A7X songs are ballards, i wont see you tonight pt. 1, and seize the day for sure.
I reckon people will come round to the feel of the new album sooner or later cos its not obvious until a few listen throughs.

peace.

[Kas99]

Great album!!! You can really feel it turns around Jimmy in every song in some way, people who didn't like it should think about that.

And fiction is just the weird kind of song The Rev would have made, i think it's awsome to hear his crazy scream for one last time.. "Let it burn" !!

[Nergal22691]

Meh it's more of the same really, Portnoy does a great job incorporating some prog ideas but for the most part it's the same dreadful vocals, uninspiring quasi-shred solos, and largely inaudible bass that make Avenged Sevenfold the band that they are.

[intothe]

wraith313 wrote:

Wasnt this whole album written and probably mostly recorded before he died? This album is not more emotional because he died, because that very likely had little to no effect on the writing process.

Before I get flamed all to hell: I like Avenged, and it sucks their drummer died.

Only the song Nightmare was written and complete prior to Jimmy's death, and no nothing was recorded yet except for some recorded demos but nothing final. All the other lyrics were written after his death, except for Fiction I think, which Jimmy completed a few days before dying.

[Distortionx100]

kick ass album all the haters have to be retarded to say these guys cant play instruments true genius!!!!!

[godisasniper]

Great album. Particularly, the songs that are a little less conventional for A7X (like Fiction) hit harder. Also, God Hates Us is by far the best, angriest song A7X has ever put out - that fast riff on the verses is killer.

[John74]

Haters gonna hate.
I wish people could feel what the band is feeling. Whether or not it's something that people are going to like, it should be said that the pain of the band members is really felt. This album is entirely in memory of their late drummer. Have a heart. If you don't like it, that's fine. Don't trash talk it.

[theczar]

LP94 wrote:

Cacophonic wrote:

The inability to deal with the watered-down solos live Overrated IMO.

Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

[Caboose911]

this album is incredible i still think they should have done more like 'God Hates Us' or made their album more like 'Waking the Fallen' but this album, even though it may not be as hardcore as 'Waking the Fallen' it's still an incredible piece of work for what kind of album it is.

[Dream Theaterr]

This album is mediocre. The only reason no one will admit it is because the rev died.

[RMachine]

"You can almost put Kirk Hammets famous grunts and "yeahs" on the track. "
wat?
Do you mean James Hetfield?

[ordinary_story]

I felt this was a pretty different album than their previous on first listen...lot of songs i really liked for what they were, but the stand out was Fiction, its weirdness was so refreshingly beautiful.

[threedaysgrace9]

Dream Theaterr wrote:

This album is mediocre. The only reason no one will admit it is because the rev died.

You underestimate. This album is perfect for all A7X fans because it mixes elements of every album in it and blends it together perfectly. I give it a definite 10/10. And it really feels like Jimmy is in it.

[Chaingarden]

King ofKumbucha wrote:

The UG review is so bad it's good. So many amazingly stupid lines LMAO

Okay, I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought there were awkward lines abound. I figured it was just too early for my brain to be processing language, haha.

The thing about the vocals is the dude had massive vocal nodules, so I'm pretty certain his doctor said screaming won't be an option for him from this point forth. It's fine to throw it in the record one time, but it's not the one time that's detrimental, but the zillions of times he's gotta scream that song at the shows once the record's out.

[Skillet_Panhead]

Great album. Takes a listen or two, but it's great nonetheless. "Save Me" is by far the best song on the album.

[ShakeMe90]

Their self titled album is still my favorite, but this was a pretty good album. The track "Nightmare" is so catchy and doesn't get old. Welcome to the Family, Natural Born Killer, So Far Away, and God Hates Us are all good too. I dig Fiction even though it's different. Portnoy did a great job as well. Hope to see them live soon; R.I.P. Rev

[swordsofplague]

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts

You just made yourself a complete f**ktard, well done sir.

On a side note, the majority of people writing things about portnoy's drumming fail as well. Yes he did the drum tracks, but The Rev had demo'd everything out before his passing, and portnoy did his best to play it note-for-note, the way The Rev had it.

[Spoonerismz]

How much did they pay you to give them a 9? I listened to this album and was incredibly disappointed. A7X helped me get into metal and now they're producing this crap and their rhyhtm guitarist keeps milking the death of their drummer. He looks a pedophile, by the way... anyone else think that?

P.S. I liked Save Me. It was cool with the leads on the chorus. Wish the rest of the album could've been like that.

[Awfulplayer]

Like their last two records, some of the tracks are good, some are just 'meh', and some are awful. They're just prone to self-indulgence, and consequently, they can't make a consistent or focused record.

[slipknot_420]

King ofKumbucha wrote:

The UG review is so bad it's good. So many amazingly stupid lines LMAO
+1

Nothing new here though. My friend insists on trying to make me like this band so he keeps playing me songs in the car on the way to work. I'd say if you hated them before this album won't win you over and Portnoy is completely wasted on the sub-par riffing and overall boring songs.
The vocals are just as horrible as ever too.

[Seither2k]

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts
LOL

Yeah right.

Well said . . .

[PowerOfGlove]

Wow, that first review was terrible.

[PowerOfGlove]

Also, the Shad man's screams on God Hates Us are nothing compared to what he did on Waking The Fallen.

[shred_wizzard]

Honestly, the albums first 3 tracks (nightmare, welcome to the family and danger line) were terrible. After that, I thought they were mostly amazing. M Shadows did some weird vocal stuff on fiction, and tonight the world dies was..odd...but otherwise this album was great from track 4 and on.

[PowerOfGlove]

threedaysgrace9 wrote:

Dream Theaterr wrote:

This album is mediocre. The only reason no one will admit it is because the rev died.

You underestimate. This album is perfect for all A7X fans because it mixes elements of every album in it and blends it together perfectly. I give it a definite 10/10. And it really feels like Jimmy is in it.

I don't hear any elements from Sounding The Seventh Trumpet. Do you?

[Mr_Cbone93]

im glad the trolls havent come to bring this rating down to 3 yet

[theogonia777]

AidanTDR wrote:

these guys really seem to love Dminor...

of course they do, it IS the saddest of all keys after all

[Agent_Shagwell]

I'm really impressed by this album, Natural Born Killer blew me away.

[bassthunder]

I haven't listened to this yet, and when I get around to it, I'll try to do it objectively, but... A7X really has me hooked for some reason. I'm generally not a huge fan of mallcore in any form, but I can't not like this band.

[Sparky-MMA]

theogonia777 wrote:

AidanTDR wrote:

these guys really seem to love Dminor...

of course they do, it IS the saddest of all keys after all

a fair amount of their back catalogue is in Dminor.. just means Synyster doesn't need to practice his scales

[Sparky-MMA]

Musically this is definitely A7Xs heaviest album

erm... no it isn't... listen to Sounding the Seventh Trumpet...

Sorry for double post

[PowerOfGlove]

Sparky-MMA wrote:

Musically this is definitely A7Xs heaviest album

erm... no it isn't... listen to Sounding the Seventh Trumpet...

Sorry for double post

People with awesomeness make me happy

[PowerOfGlove]

I think it combines all their previous stuff such as God hates us which sounds more like something off of Sounding the Seventh trumpet with the screaming M. Shadows does

Lord have mercy.

[JEM9311]

Based on the UG review I should be in love with these guys, something is either wrong with me or (more likely) the person who wrote that review.

They have good ideas, but they water it down so much, and what I've heard from them has been very unoriginal, sounded like total Megadeth/Metallica/Maiden/GNR rip offs, and not good ones.

[Echoplex]

As soon as I read the first few sentences, I knew Amy wrote this review...

[goingnowhere21]

There's really not much to say more than it's awesome. This is one of those bands that you can really show how much they've matured since they've began, in just about every aspect.

This is one of the best purchases I've ever made, CD-wise anyways haha.

[mattberg971]

How the hell did they get one of the best drummers in the world to play with them? What were you thinking Portnoy?

[Sparky-MMA]

PowerOfGlove wrote:

Sparky-MMA wrote:

Musically this is definitely A7Xs heaviest album

erm... no it isn't... listen to Sounding the Seventh Trumpet...

Sorry for double post

People with awesomeness make me happy

thats being sigged

it just makes me wonder where these people show up from... like my ex girlfriend had a 3 hour argument with me based on the fact that in her mind 'City of Evil was the first Avenged Sevenfold CD' I then proceeded to own her with various gig tickets and of course CDs from pre 2005... but she was adamant i'd photoshopped the CD's or they were fake, and the gigs were when they were unsigned :/ she made me feel more nerdy than I thought :/ but still felt awesome at the same time

[100%]

wraith313 wrote:

Wasnt this whole album written and probably mostly recorded before he died? This album is not more emotional because he died, because that very likely had little to no effect on the writing process.

Before I get flamed all to hell: I like Avenged, and it sucks their drummer died.

He died while they were writing their stuff and they revised all that they aready had when he died

[elleild]

phantom_lord586 wrote:

PlayFreebirdNow wrote:

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts
LOL

Yeah right.

LOL is right. That reviewer does not know what she is talking about. But her reviews are always bad, so I wasn't surprised.

i'd like to see you play like syn gates... just shut and go sit in bedroom and play your shitty fall out boy or whatever the **** posers like you listen to.

a7x not posers? alllow me to rofl

[Metalrocka9996]

I beleive it was a pretty fair album, but not there best. i do understand the loss of the rev did have an effect on them. but at the same time they got Mike Portnoy.who in his own right is fantastic. Overall i beleive, and this is just my opinion, that there Self titled album was there best work to date. R.I.P REV

[SGplayer1991]

I got this album personally I like it but not over the top my favorite...can't beat Waking the Fallen....A7X has gone through a lot so many people would feel it's OMG I LOVE IT! but personally it ranks 4th to me but the album has some great moments but I was kinda dissapointed at some points through out it

[SGplayer1991]

not to mention "God Hates Us" isn't their heaviest song Sounding the Seventh Trumpet has heavier songs on it

[chiefmegadeth]

i hate the singers voice...so hard to get into them...when the singer sounds like he should be in some crappy punk band...get a new vocalist!

[Gary.Blizzard]

The first two reviewers sucked, and from what I got by skimming through the others it's all the same crap.

1. I didn't like this album when I first heard it. Now I do. But it annoyed me on how commercialized this was trying to get before it even came out.
2. I don't know who said this is their heaviest album, but lay off the dope. If anything, this has to be their softest.
3. It's the same old Avenged Sevenfold. Same type of lyrics, same type of college educated written guitar work - without some of the beast drums to back it up (PORTNOY did fine however chill out)
4. I think that Jimmy died in the middle of recording the album, so it's not like all of the songs are emotionally reflective on his death like everyone is saying. He even appears in Fiction, so you know he was around for recording. They even have a Nightmare Demo track with Jimmy on the drums - sounds complete other than recording quality. So cut the 'most emotional because of Jimmy's death' stuff.

On a side not, I'm a huge Sevenfold fan. I'm just not going to bias my opinion because of it. OMGSEVENFOLDROCKS

[Gary.Blizzard]

Listen to the CD yourself to find out how it sounds. I swear these reviews are useless.

And also, as another side note, that demo track of Nightmare with Jimmy on drums - Sevenfold asked us to share it with our friends.


http://warnerbrosrecordsstore.com/store/... lDelivery.asp?oid=UPN6PR8PWKWC9GTC86AJWWM2E2&mscssid=4FD6693 A8F294AFD9EC201C55D9604A0

That came with it when I pre-ordered the Book of Nightmares. See if it works. Or find it somewhere online. Whatever.

[haz_uk]

great album

[Hells.Mascot]

I have been listening to this band since they were playing venues in Orange County in the 'Warmness on the Soul' era... and this album gets an 8/10. I can't see how anyone who is listening to this album in full, with an unbiased ear, could score it any lower than a 7; otherwise, I think you're just being hateful. Although those of you trying to give it a quick listen so that you can judge should probably skip the first four tracks.

[Hells.Mascot]

theogonia777 wrote:

AidanTDR wrote:

these guys really seem to love Dminor...

of course they do, it IS the saddest of all keys after all

Haha... Spinal Tap. I think Nigel was right, though.

[GnikNus]

chiefmegadeth wrote:

i hate the singers voice...so hard to get into them...when the singer sounds like he should be in some crappy punk band...get a new vocalist!

Please, don't insult punk bands.

[HavokStrife]

Lead guitar and drums are fantastic, but that's about it. I mean, it's pretty damn irritating to listen to the title track, be like, "WOW, what an awesome, dark lead, Portnoy's beating the shit out of the skins too!!" and then they pretty much start playing Critical Acclaim. Buried Alive is basically the same thing, garbage, with some really good drums and an awesome dueling solo. I saw some live tracks off youtube too, and it's the same deal, some part of the song has awesome guitar and drums, then you're usually stuck with a verse and chorus that's this whole A7X filler nonsense they started playing in party of City of Evil and most of their self titled. God Hates Us sounds awesome, but it's what, 3 minutes long? Kinda sucks, death of their drummer took them from mostly junk to inconsistent. I was really hoping for And Justice for All here...and I got Reload.

[Scopic]

Huh new A7x album? Oh, that's nice...

*goes back to listening to Paul Gilbert*

[iLight]

Best song: God Save Us

[iLight]

Meant God Hates Us

[stigno89]

It's a good album, but it doesn't touch their best stuff (City Of Evil and Waking The Fallen)

(whoever said this was A7xs heaviest btw probably has only listened to this album and self titled)

oh and it has too many ballads

[Astyan]

Pretty good album, and it's quite a surprise for me considering what I usually listen to. Well done, A7X.

Also, what the HELL was that first review? Cheesy lines, blatant fanboyism, utterly poor and clueless analysis... and have you ever heard of paragraphs? Damn, that was just PAINFUL to watch and I feel bad for you leaving this here, and I'm really not here to hate. Whoever wrote this, question yourself, dude. This is not worthy of a staff review, not even a mediocre guest one.

[robbie-rocks]

I've listened to the album a few times now and it's a step up from the self titled album but nothing amazing or memorable for me though. Debatable as to if that's the band being generic or my music taste changing...or both.

[axelboy666]

more stollen riffs from another useless band, i think the "rev" is in a better place so he doesn't have to hear the same shit over and over again

[mrfinkle213]

What I don't understand is why people who don't like/hate Avenged come into a review that is clearly about the band just to post hate comments and piss people off. As a long-time fan, I think this is probably their best work. Not their heaviest, but their best.

At least nobody has made some joke about The Rev being dead yet. At least there's still some sort of respect.

[GibsonMan321]

Well, I see that the user rating has gone up considerably from the 3.6 it was at this morning. It sounds like everything else they've done except with more piano and acoustic. They really can't move out of one key? Why? Can't they just try another tuning or are they robots programmed to play d minor? They're like the hardcore version of AC/DC except lame. But hardcore and lame go hand in hand so I guess that's normal.

[DvlDog07]

I have the album, listened to it several times, front to back, and while there's a few good songs on there, NOTHING on this album, or any A7X album is reminiscent of Metallica. Most certainly not the vocals either.

James Hetfield was not the first and wont be the last to growl in metal, and frankly comparing M Shadows to arguably one of the greatest frontmen in metal history, is an insult. The incessant need to compare this to Metallica is a misguided attempt to sell more copies of a mediocre album.

A7X is not metal. A7X will NEVER be on the same level as MetallicA. They have their own fans, in their own niche of the market, and thats where it should stay.

[jpnyc]

Throughout their career (and their successes), many have taken to hating on the band, as they were dangerous in their image, proudly not givin’ a f--k like a modern Guns N’ Roses or, well, Eminem!

Yeah, nothing quite says dangerous like ugly tattoos, facial piercings, and clothes from the clearance rack at Hot Topic. A7X is nu-metal boy band, and they quite certainly do give a ****, in fact, they tend to try a little too hard.

[Chronologo]

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts

You sure listen to mainstream only, go listen some European metal that's where is at regarding the new bands, well if you know what " the metal" genre is...

[XeroSnake]

Given the fact that A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments

Either she doesn't do much research, or she's VERY anal on her definition of a solo.

and yes I said anal.

[Black-2-Blue]

Buried alive + God hates us + Save me \m/

[axelboy666]

mrfinkle213 wrote:

What I don't understand is why people who don't like/hate Avenged come into a review that is clearly about the band just to post hate comments and piss people off. As a long-time fan, I think this is probably their best work. Not their heaviest, but their best.

At least nobody has made some joke about The Rev being dead yet. At
least there's still some sort of respect.

i did

[PowerOfGlove]

jpnyc wrote:

Throughout their career (and their successes), many have taken to hating on the band, as they were dangerous in their image, proudly not givin’ a f--k like a modern Guns N’ Roses or, well, Eminem!

Yeah, nothing quite says dangerous like ugly tattoos, facial piercings, and clothes from the clearance rack at Hot Topic. A7X is nu-metal boy band, and they quite certainly do give a ****, in fact, they tend to try a little too hard.

I know that the reviewer is talking out of her ass, but jheeze man, do us a favour and untwist your knickers a little bit, yeah?

[XxRustInPeacexX]

Cacophonic wrote:

Inb4 fanboys.

The album wasn't fresh, nor was it anything new. It's the same shit that Avenged Sevenfold has always done. Watered-down "shred" solos along with the inability to deal with the watered-down solos live.

6/10 due to lack of creativity.

this

[ZachyV]

cant talk about Syn backing down from live solos. I sw them years ago when they played The Wicked End live and he owned it

[evil_in_you]

This is of the sort thats dissolving UG.

[JohnnyAllen93]

fredriksoder wrote:

I can't agree with the haters, this is my favorite album along with Waking The Fallen. I completely agree with you. Very CD A7X has made has been different from the last, from Seventh Trumpet all the way up to now. I can't really comment yet, cuz i havent heard the whole album, but i have heard several songs live already, and they sound great. And whoever says Synester Gates can't solo is ridiculous, i mean really.

The music they've done on this is record is another step in their musical experience, they just collected some of the old work they have done and put it in their modern music.

When you say there's nothing 'new' from A7X I don't know how you think.. Every album sounds different since 2001. They've just matured in their musical minds.

I've watched a lot of live videos from Avenged and Syn plays almost every solo perfectly. I'm not saying he's the best guitarist around but you can't say he's worse live.

[JohnnyAllen93]

Made a mistake on that comment, was supposed to put something after it lol. I completely agree with fredriksoder, every album A7X has put out since their existence has been different from the last, all the way from Seventh Trumpet to Nightmare. I can't comment honestly, cuz ive yet to listen to the whole album, but i have heard several of the songs live, and they sound amazing. And whoever says Synester Gates can't solo is ridiculous, I mean really. He's an amzing guitarist, and can pull off anything he wants too.

[qrEE]

"Given the fact that A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts"

That's an insult. First of all, the members of A7X suck, pretty badly. Secondly, there are still insanely good guitarists and drummers out there (look at Warbringer, Paul Gilbert, Buckethead, Flo Mounier). I've seen videos of sweep lessons from A7X where he actually screws up while trying to look like he's so good that you need lessons from him. A7X is no exception to the crap that's been spewed out in this modern metal age. It's the underground bands that are any good, and I think that this reviewer has never heard the term "underground" before.

[Naildown55]

i liked this one, the previous album was god awful though

[HoneyofRuin]

Why the hell does UG allow Amy to write reviews when she clearly lacks the skills to write a decent, provoking review? Gah. She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about more than half the time.

Anyways, I enjoy this album. It far exceeds their last record. I could probably say that I like it as much as Waking the Fallen.

[BassDante]

why did half of the "reviewers" try to write a story about A7X instead of reviewing.

[strat07]

AidanTDR wrote:

these guys really seem to love Dminor...

they have a song in C and A

[Maggot-4-life]

I was very impressed with this album considering that two band members weren't able to be in this album R.I.P.
A7X stayed true to there orginal sound and contenued to make good music.

[axelboy666]

strat07 wrote:

AidanTDR wrote:

these guys really seem to love Dminor...


they have a song in C and A

yea, A song in c, and A song in a XD

[mrfinkle213]

axelboy666 wrote:
i did

Wasn't really a joke at all. That was more of a stab at the band. Can't really take someone with 666 in their username seriously anyways.

[corndog97]

It was a good album. id say it comes in third in their catalog. 8.5/10

My only complaint is that it took a REALLY long time for me to get into, but now i really like it

and for the hatetrs..... you really cant say that this album is HORRIBLE without being a bit biased. Throwing the gimmicky dress/mainstream-ness aside,its solid musically. Definitely not for everyone but good none the less. Although i do agree a7x shouldn't be considered "metal" anymore. Which isn't a bad thing for those who like a wide range of music.

[lord_nosfuratu]

Half the songs are boring, half the songs are alright. Nothing really too great about the album. And i cant believe no one has mentioned the (intentionally?) laughable bad vocals near the end of the track Fiction. Dunno if its the Rev or what but it sounds like Creed's singer but way worse.

[OctoberWind]

lord_nosfuratu wrote:

Half the songs are boring, half the songs are alright. Nothing really too great about the album. And i cant believe no one has mentioned the (intentionally?) laughable bad vocals near the end of the track Fiction. Dunno if its the Rev or what but it sounds like Creed's singer but way worse.

The bad vocals near the end are the rev who was singing on a demo, probably without lyrics written so he mumbled.

[banrnon]

REALLY unimpressed with this album. cant believe it got such good reviews...

[SlashKirkSynG]

Nightmare and City of Evil are now my favorite albums by them.

[queenslander47]

wraith313 wrote:

Wasnt this whole album written and probably mostly recorded before he died? This album is not more emotional because he died, because that very likely had little to no effect on the writing process.

Before I get flamed all to hell: I like Avenged, and it sucks their drummer died.

The songs were all written before the Rev died, but most of the lyrics were re-written after. So I would say his passing definitely impacted the writing process.

[saintjimmy924]

banrnon wrote:

REALLY unimpressed with this album. cant believe it got such good reviews...

City of Evil was a masterpiece. The new album is really disappointing.

[SmittyMan90]

Not a huge fan of the band but i wish them well, i may possibly check this one out.

[RukiaTH]

It's so disappointing that The Rev died because this album is incredible. Musically, anything A7X wrote before this was just warm-up. This is the perfect combination of everything they've done in the past.

[sheppo]

Given the fact that A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts, Portnoy fits the band perfectly and the band stays true to the same sound they’ve been crafting since the early ‘00s.

worst comment i have ever read how about the UG team stops writing reviews to try and sell a record and actually be honest in their writings. This is like reading a Metallica review, (i am a massive fan. No im a die hard fan) according to this site they can do no wrong.

[sk8ertillidie]

Hmm I've read a few of the comments and I'll check this Album out.
To be honest I haven't liked anything after their City of Evil album 'cept maybe 2-3 songs. Hope I'm wrong with this one.
Oh and I saw some comments on their solos live, they were actually on the dot, not sayin' they're the best ever but at least they can pull what they put in the studio, out live.

R.I.P. Rev

[Fire-Fade]

Man... Some people are so hard to impress. Its an album, just crank the volume up and enjoy it! Nitpicking at music seems as commonplace as complaining about everything else these days. It gets tiring. Especially when like in this case, a group are complaining about an album which shouldn't be complained about. The band lost their best friend and still managed to find the strength to come together and finish this album. From the perspective of being human, from being on top of the world one day to their brother dying the next. Considering the feelings they must have felt, to have finished this album is indeed an incredible accomplishment.

[edgeyyz]

I find this to be their strongest album as a whole. I wouldn't say it has as much single material as others, but it's definitely my favorite of theirs and a great album. 9 stars. RIP Rev.

[BreckenBreen]

this record blew ass. the only song i was satisfied with was "God Hates Us" simply for the fact that they finally brought back screaming. I thought this record was gonna be a little better when they said it was going to be super dark musically and all that good stuff, when in all actuality its just a weak record that i'm probably going to have to consider to be a pop record... and stop saying "A7X". Seriously, it was never cool to say that

[kamjam7]

Someone else probably said this already, but just from hearing the 30 second sample of "God Hates Us", i am extremely... pumped up i guess. That was the most kickass 30 seconds ever!!!!!

[bdaddy89]

randyaintdead82 wrote:

People people people.....chill out. Do people like Megalomaniac46 seriously go onto band reviews and just shit talk about the band? Get a life please, this is for review of the new album. Not i-need-to-heighten-my-self-esteem-by-talking-shit-about-a-ba nd-i-don't-like time. That being said, the album is quite different from the others because of the obvious outpour of emotion. I like the songs. They're good songs. They've used different keys on this album other than D which is refreshing. I think they all stepped up as musicians as well. Good job A7X

no its honesty, i dont like this album, its not bad, but second worst one of theirs in my opinion, but i love their newer stuff more, more city of evil than their self titled, waking the fallen was badass too, i just feel like alot of people are giving this cd a better score cause they feel bad about what happened to jimmy, he was a badass dont get me wrong... but lets have an honest review, and in my opinion fiction blows, but i love jimmys voice..

[Metalingus96]

I like this band, but I would have to give it around a 3 out of 5.

There seemed to be more ballad-like tracks that weren't very interesting, compared to songs like God Hates Us or Natural Born Killer.
I wasn't really impressed by the CD as a whole.

[darkais776]

"A very Metallica sounding riff is present in the bridge after the solo. You can almost put Kirk Hammets famous grunts and "yeahs" on the track."

stupid reviewer cant even get the name right. the singer is James Hetfield dumbass

[Fendergod666]

I don't like them.
Don't like this album.
Enough said.

[Vedicardi]

they are BARELY metal on ONE track on this album.... how any one compares these pop rockers to metallica is SO beyond me! Listen to KILL EM ALL!!!!!

[a7xrox5]

this is a great album. it's just another step in the evolution of Avenged. i can understand why people hate this, because its completely different than anything else they've done. they've yet to sound the same in any given two albums, but thats why i love them. call my a die hard fan of theirs, but i love this album and my review is simple. if you really love A7X, you'll like this album. if you don't like them, you won't.

[syke5]

wraith313 wrote:

Wasnt this whole album written and probably mostly recorded before he died? This album is not more emotional because he died, because that very likely had little to no effect on the writing process.

Before I get flamed all to hell: I like Avenged, and it sucks their drummer died.

no by the time jimmy had died they only had drum demos and one song recorded with jimmy sings on.

[axelboy666]

mrfinkle213 wrote:

axelboy666 wrote:
i did

Wasn't really a joke at all. That was more of a stab at the band. Can't really take someone with 666 in their username seriously anyways.

dude, your name is mrfinkle

[Vedicardi]

a7xrox5 wrote:

this is a great album. it's just another step in the evolution of Avenged. i can understand why people hate this, because its completely different than anything else they've done. they've yet to sound the same in any given two albums, but thats why i love them. call my a die hard fan of theirs, but i love this album and my review is simple. if you really love A7X, you'll like this album. if you don't like them, you won't.

if you like good music you don't like A7X so I guess it all works out in the end!

[squewer802]

Amy Sciarretto is such a little bitch. Stopped reading her whinefest, uh i mean "review" in the first paragraph as I do with most of the bullshit she writes.

[Ants of the Sky]

I never realized A7x could "solo" or "pull off intricate parts". All I ever noticed was some douche from Jersey Shore making nails-on-chalkboard noises with his mouth

[fallen.im]

the only good thing in this album is the cd cover. and the rest is boooooring... *sigh

[fallen.im]

Vedicardi wrote:

a7xrox5 wrote:

this is a great album. it's just another step in the evolution of Avenged. i can understand why people hate this, because its completely different than anything else they've done. they've yet to sound the same in any given two albums, but thats why i love them. call my a die hard fan of theirs, but i love this album and my review is simple. if you really love A7X, you'll like this album. if you don't like them, you won't.

if you like good music you don't like A7X so I guess it all works out in the end!

^hahaha..! you got it..!

[Summerknight666]

I think it's pretty pointless about the people who have no interest whatsoever in A7X come on here just to point it out and talk about how much they apparently "suck." How many records do you guys have?

[SlashKirkSynG]

all the ppl arguing here are just crazy...
no one will win...

[Sizzleby]

I don't know what happened, but whatever A7X had that made Waking the Fallen and City of Evil so amazing they've completely lost. They should probably stop wasting their effort making more albums and go do something else because the last two albums have been complete shit (apart from a few songs here and there but they used to write complete, awesome albums). And don't call me a hater because they used to be my favorite band, that gives me immunity =)

[debo326]

intothe wrote:

I can't believe so few of the commenters liked it, this is my favourite CD by Avenged Sevenfold, I must admit though it didn't click with me the first 2-3 listens, but I feel like it grows on me and I kind of "get it" much better now. It's a great CD musically and lyrically

All of Avenged Sevenfold's music is like that for me... I have to get to know the song before i can really get into it, but once I do, I end up loving every single one of their songs... I'm not so sure about Fiction though... It's cool to hear Jimmy singing lead, but i'm not used to A7X songs with no guitar, and i have no clue what Matt was trying to do with his voice there near the end, that was just weird.

[Sizzleby]

fallen.im wrote:

the only good thing in this album is the cd cover. and the rest is boooooring... *sigh

Precisely. They used to make great music and now it's exactly that, boring

[EpiExplorer]

Man, am I late.

Oh hell, this has gotten popular o.O but this sums up A7x for me:

Sizzleby wrote:

fallen.im wrote:

the only good thing in this album is the cd cover. and the rest is boooooring... *sigh



Precisely. They used to make great music and now it's exactly that, boring

[craig-sansum]

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts
LOL

Yeah right.

+100000

[negative3825]

This CD is sic. Too many people are judging it on their older stuff and the truth is these guys know how to ****ing rock and are good at it! 10/10

[2xDead]

joaonofear wrote:

This album sucked. Even for an avenged sevenfold album it really proved to be worse than I thought.

+1. I was so disappointed.

[jimmy_neutron]

checked

[pizzanipple]

Was this album self-produced again? Because it sounds like a bunch of talented musicians who can't put together a decent ****ing song anymore.

[Guvi1231]

pizzanipple wrote:

Was this album self-produced again? Because it sounds like a bunch of talented musicians who can't put together a decent ****ing song anymore.

+1

[MetallikSH]

welcome to the family sounds like green day

[ßorn_dead]

I will never understand why people come to the review page of an artist they don't like when the article is CLEARLY about the band.

I thought the album was good, but it was hit-and-miss. Musically, I understand their near-failure. They tried to mix the intensity of Waking the Fallen, the technicality and speed of City of Evil, and the groove of the self-titled, and it just didn't quite work. The reason this CD isn't as good as the others for me is that this is kind of a re-hashing of an older sound, whereas every other album has brought a completely new feel to it. God Hates Us was very refreshing though.

Also, to anybody saying that Synyster is a bad guitarist, you're just wrong.

[loxum]

yeah, I agree with ßorn_dead
they're just amazing
syn play guitar so cool
and the lyrics have sens!
I think they have many styls and it's good
i love it!

[EpiExplorer]

loxum wrote:

yeah, I agree with ßorn_dead
they're just amazing
syn play guitar so cool
and the lyrics have sens!
I think they have many styls and it's good
i love it!

PARADOX.

[Hildesheimer]

I've probably never seen so much stupidity in reviews. So this "Synyster" guy can play some power chords and he can shred. Cool. About every decent metal guitarist can do that too.

[bearsfan092]

Not a terrible album, but not that great either. I'm scoring this a 6/10. Some of these reviews are awful.

[robarge00]

John74 wrote:

Haters gonna hate.
I wish people could feel what the band is feeling. Whether or not it's something that people are going to like, it should be said that the pain of the band members is really felt. This album is entirely in memory of their late drummer. Have a heart. If you don't like it, that's fine. Don't trash talk it.

Just because the album is heartfelt doesn't mean people should automatically like it. I could all of the sudden be in a tremendous amount of pain and play the oboe but that doesn't mean it won't still sound like shit.

Of course Avenged Sevenfold has major haters. Whenever you go from a screaming heavy band to a signing mainstream ballad style band people are going to get upset.

[JaxBOM]

Album started out awesome but after a few songs became too..."mellow" so to say

[kid3813]

There are a few things on this album that annoyed me.

1. To me the Lead guitar tone on the whole album is kinda annoying.

2. In Buried alive i don't understand why they totally change key at the 5 Minute mark, to me it seems unnecesarry and yes it does saund like Orion.

3. I'm not reall that big of a A7X fan so i don't know much about there screaming but in the break down of god hates us all those are pig squeak fails.

4. Lastly Fiction doesn't belong on the album it doesn't fit at all and to it's boring. I understand that they wanna respect The Rev but, they should've released that somewhere else, also am I the only one who thinks the The Rev wasn't really a good singer.

[fredriksoder]

Hildesheimer wrote:

I've probably never seen so much stupidity in reviews. So this "Synyster" guy can play some power chords and he can shred. Cool. About every decent metal guitarist can do that too.

Please tell me more of what a rock guitarist should do and I'm sure I'll find a song or video where Syn does that!

[leftyace]

Nightmare is crisp and clean; you could perform surgery using this record since it’s so clean-sounding. But it’s not sterile.

You are NEVER performing surgery on me. Ever. Jesus, of all the stupid things I've read, this is near the top. Perfectly clean for surgery...but not sterile? God help us all, for this person lives and walks among us.

[Spitty33]

LP94 wrote:

Cacophonic wrote:

The inability to deal with the watered-down solos live.

Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

beast and the harlot, he even said himself :p

[skylerjames13]

I don't understand why people hate them so much. Just cause they have changed their sound, doesn't mean they suck. From what i've read, Buried Alive is a song most often picked on. It's one of my favourite songs. It's soft, melodic, AND heavy.
So what if Avenged Sevenfold don't scream as much anymore? They want to explore new music. Tbh, sticking to the same kind of music forever is kind of lame. Expanding your sound is ballsy, and if you want to do it, then do it.
You guy's really gotta wrap your heads around this stuff, Jesus.

[skylerjames13]

kid3813 wrote:

There are a few things on this album that annoyed me.

1. To me the Lead guitar tone on the whole album is kinda annoying.

2. In Buried alive i don't understand why they totally change key at the 5 Minute mark, to me it seems unnecesarry and yes it does saund like Orion.

3. I'm not reall that big of a A7X fan so i don't know much about there screaming but in the break down of god hates us all those are pig squeak fails.

4. Lastly Fiction doesn't belong on the album it doesn't fit at all and to it's boring. I understand that they wanna respect The Rev but, they should've released that somewhere else, also am I the only one who thinks the The Rev wasn't really a good singer.

Here's the answer to all of that.
Style. It's their style, so they play it like that. They don't play it, so you can like it, they play it, cause that's how they want to.
You may think The Rev was a terrible singer, but it's all style, yet again. He has a different singing style. It's sort of, messy, in a way.

[Killbait06]

at first listening to it, through all songs, besides nightmare which i was already familiar with, my feelings on most of them were eh, but after listening a couple time and getting to study all parts arranged together as in the soft openings, chords, opening solos, the very familiar A7X solos, shadows amazing vocals and reintroducing the "waking the fallen" screaming, the remarkable drums, and the last recordings of The Rev's voice, i grew to love it. It's a mix of their past albums into one, now most are ballads which disappoints some, but thats how they felt emotionally when they rewrote some songs and made new songs for jimmy. To me, may not be the best album, but it is definitely a great one. They are truly one of this time and age's best bands and the fact that they aren't boasting off their success and put their heart and soul into their music just proves it, unlike a goooddd amount of bands today.

[the_burning_one]

waste of mike portnoy

[the_burning_one]

sorry about the double post but i keep hearing people say,
"These guys arent talented as musicians, listen to metallica!!"

you can even take it a step further than that metallifans. listen to Nile or Sodom.

[basshunter07]

I feel that the people flaming this album have no real issue with the album, but more with the band. If they never liked Avenged Sevenfold, they never will like Avenged Sevenfold no matter how good they will sound.

Guitar is an easy skill to learn and I admit that if you know your basic shred and sweep, you are suddenly licensed to hate bands like A7X. I get it. But you know one easier skill to have is to hate.

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.

[SawGuru]

Not that anyone cares, because they are going to hate no matter what, but to me, Avenged does sound like Metallica on ONE part of the album, in a MUSIC sense. I'm in no way saying they are Metallica in my review, cause they aren't. However, anyone who denies the similarities between the breakdown riff of 'Buried Alive' to Metallica's riffs is trying to avoid the obvious. Am I saying it's better or worse? That's for you to decide. But the musical similarity exists in that one piece of music (both in town and in music theory).

[SawGuru]

*in tone, not town

[Sean-Man]

Modern Day Metallica and GNR? Those bands are still around!

[skylerjames13]

basshunter07 wrote:

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.

+100000

[TheReverend724]

I don't understand the universal love for this album

I thought it was shit

[Obama FTW]

Alcookie1992 wrote:

"takes Iron Maiden riffs"
"like a young James Hetfield"

too comparative and not unique enough. Personally, Im not a fan of A7X, they have good ideas which they ruin with inconsistency and the same ol' widdly widdly bullshit. Plus, M Shadows' voice grates like rusty cheese.

How dare you say that about M. Shadows! You sir, are vocally deaf.

[LP94]

Spitty33 wrote:

LP94 wrote:

Cacophonic wrote:

The inability to deal with the watered-down solos live.

Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.
beast and the harlot, he even said himself :p

ture=related
Does he not nail that solo quite very good? Or is it just me?

[ciadude2]

If Avenged Sevenfold were an instrumental band I might listen to them.

M Shadows however is possibly one of the worst professional singers in my opinion(that doesn't use autotune). In b4 "U JUST CANT UNDERSTAND HOW DEEP AND MEANINGFUL THE SONGS ARE AND THATS WHY U HATE HIS VOICE FAG AND U PROBABLY LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER".

I'm really picky about my vocals, and I hate his style of singing. No need to hate on anyone who doesn't like them.

[cs21]

basshunter07 wrote:

I feel that the people flaming this album have no real issue with the album, but more with the band. If they never liked Avenged Sevenfold, they never will like Avenged Sevenfold no matter how good they will sound.

Guitar is an easy skill to learn and I admit that if you know your basic shred and sweep, you are suddenly licensed to hate bands like A7X. I get it. But you know one easier skill to have is to hate.

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.

+1

[intothe]

ciadude2 wrote:

If Avenged Sevenfold were an instrumental band I might listen to them.

M Shadows however is possibly one of the worst professional singers in my opinion(that doesn't use autotune). In b4 "U JUST CANT UNDERSTAND HOW DEEP AND MEANINGFUL THE SONGS ARE AND THATS WHY U HATE HIS VOICE FAG AND U PROBABLY LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER".

I'm really picky about my vocals, and I hate his style of singing. No need to hate on anyone who doesn't like them.

I can actually completely understand that his way of singing doesn't not suit everyone, I for one like it, but I still respect your opinion.

[Caboose911]

i ****ing love his voice...

intothe wrote:

ciadude2 wrote:

If Avenged Sevenfold were an instrumental band I might listen to them.

M Shadows however is possibly one of the worst professional singers in my opinion(that doesn't use autotune). In b4 "U JUST CANT UNDERSTAND HOW DEEP AND MEANINGFUL THE SONGS ARE AND THATS WHY U HATE HIS VOICE FAG AND U PROBABLY LIKE JUSTIN BIEBER".

I'm really picky about my vocals, and I hate his style of singing. No need to hate on anyone who doesn't like them.
I can actually completely understand that his way of singing doesn't not suit everyone, I for one like it, but I still respect your opinion.

man you gots to be on crack or some shit.... sure his voice may not suit some songs but you get over that and realize that he is actually ****in amazing...

[Guitar Skater]

I have been a die hard Avenged Sevenfold fan for MANY years and i rank this as my favorite album by them.

[VeNgeaNce_4444]

All you haters gotta listen with your ears and not your eyes. Nightmare is an amazing album. Don't like it? Your loss.

[Obama FTW]

Guitar Skater wrote:

I have been a die hard Avenged Sevenfold fan for MANY years and i rank this as my favorite album by them.

Dude, I am right there with you. This album was alot different than the other albums but I love it.

[atfguitarist1]

This album was beast. Plain and simple. "Fiction" rules. RIP Jimmy Sullivan.

[djcody]

i loved it. best record by a7x so far. when i first heard nightmare and buried alive i didn't like them, but only because it was so unclear. then i got the album and i loved all of it, especially the slow songs.

[Distortionx100]

This album is better then city of evil and city of evil was god-like! these guys have raNGE LIKE no other take victims intro or the trumpets the paino the strings the choirs these guys are tru-genius shadows has original amazing voice these guitarist can shred slow it down they put emotion in there music i hate these people who talk down if you love music you should appreciate what these guys do!

[BwareDWare94]

I love punctuation and HATE what you do.

[McMetal]

super mediocre album. Some good songs but theyve made better. Fiction could possibly be the worst song theyve ever written

[grungerag13]

1. "hey let's make an album called "the nightmare"!" "yeah that's never been done before, we're so creative, what a concept, and now that our drummer is dead, it will be even better."

2. typical drop-d chugga chugga (that's so 2003, we tune to ****ing drop A now-a-days...) combined with dream theater drumming (nice touch, mike) with james hetfield/axl rose wanna-be vocals... a cacophonous experience.

3. cheap rhymes i.e. lie and die.

wow. genius.

5/10 for guitar work

[James116]

slash.r0cks wrote:

Arguably the best album they've produced lyrically and there's some good songs here and there, but I'm really sick of seeing "love" reviews for any band. A good review is balanced and not having everything as 10/10.

I'm a diehard A7X fan, but I wouldn't rate the album 10. There's some really good songs on here like Victim, Fiction and Save Me, but songs like Buried Alive really let the album down.

This.

Pretty fed up of seeing all this 'wahhh why doesn't he scream like he used to' bullshit again. Just listen to the old album if thats what you wanna hear.

Anyone else wonder if it'dve had the kick it needs if The Rev had been playing the drums, or if the songs would've been this divisive/hit and miss anyway?

[skylerjames13]

grungerag13 wrote:

1. "hey let's make an album called "the nightmare"!" "yeah that's never been done before, we're so creative, what a concept, and now that our drummer is dead, it will be even better."

2. typical drop-d chugga chugga (that's so 2003, we tune to ****ing drop A now-a-days...) combined with dream theater drumming (nice touch, mike) with james hetfield/axl rose wanna-be vocals... a cacophonous experience.

3. cheap rhymes i.e. lie and die.

wow. genius.

5/10 for guitar work

1. It's nightmare retard. It's in plain bold letters up top.
2. Drop D is what they play in. It suits the singers range. They don't have to tune to Drop A. And all drums were written before recorded, he just learned and played 'em. And vocal wise.. are you stupid? That's been his style of singing since he started. Some of it is a bit more aggressive, so what? It's called influence.
3. That doesn't make it a cheap rhyme. If it suits the song, it works.

[queenslander47]

Got the album today. Had a few listens now and I like it. Agree with some comments saying that there are too many ballads, but they are good ballads and there are some good rockers as well. Just about fell over when I heard a blast beat in Natural Born Killer haha. The emotion in this album, particularly lyrically. is the real strength. No doubt.

Also I can't understand where the hate towards Buried Alive is coming from. It could be my favourite song on the album. That chorus has been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it.

[F I C T I O N]

So many of you are retarded. You make comments on the band with no knowledge on details of the album or the band. This album is a beautiful tribute to a fallen bandmate, but some of you look so deep to find little, nit-picky things that you don't like. If you're gonna' hate a band, hate them, but quite frankly, no one wants to hear your garbage complaints.

[TheDissident]

im sorry if Im just slow to notice things, but on Wikipedia, under professional ratings, UG is shown... interesting

[skilletfan17]

I think some people let their emotions get in the way of giving an un-biased review, especially in the case of the Rev's death. As unfortunate as that is, that should have nothing to do with the musical review of this album. Having said that, I thought it was a good album mayb 8/10 or so, but everyone's entitled to their opinion. Amazing band overall, it's hard to top city of evil and their self-titled so I am happy with Nightmare. The upcoming album I can't wait for is Trivium's new album...after hearing "shattering the skies above" it makes me think back to ascendancy which is my all-time favorite metal album so i'm really excited!

[Metalingus96]

pizzanipple wrote:

Was this album self-produced again? Because it sounds like a bunch of talented musicians who can't put together a decent ****ing song anymore.

I thought there was some weird stuff goin' on...
Some stuff just sounded off production wise

[SOADbeast]

First of all, i dont think 3/4ths of the people posting bad comments here have listened to the whole album froim strat to finish... probably only heard nightmare on the radio. this is an excellent album , they be trollin'

[SmileOfHavok]

SOADbeast wrote:

First of all, i dont think 3/4ths of the people posting bad comments here have listened to the whole album froim strat to finish... probably only heard nightmare on the radio. this is an excellent album , they be trollin'

haha, couldn't agree with you more. Love the album, screw the haters.

[ABR Is Ear Rape]

Natural Born Killer made this album for me, ill give it a 8/10 prob be a 9 with another banger or two like the track i mentioned...

[trendkill-]

everyone getting so defensive because someone has a different opinion then them is entertaining.

chill out who cares if some one hates a band you like, it doesnt make your view on them any different so why fuel the haters?

[Revell]

Shitty review. Way too many irrelevant comparisons to Metallica etc. M. Shadows is far from being positioned as "a young James Hetfield", goddamn... A modern version of Metallica and Guns N' Roses? Give me a ****ing break.

A mediocre album from a mediocre band, and in following the trend a mediocre review.

[nghtslyr]

Finally tabbed natural born killer please go review it.
i hated tabbing the crazy part at the start

[LP94]

This album actually dissapointed me a bit. It was meant to be "dark" and sure, I guess I can agree with that.
But it's boring for me to listen to. The whole album sounds quite the same except for when you get to "God hates us". When that song comes, you get that "HELL YEA" type of feeling cause something finally happens.
So.. Yea, thats my opinion.

[TheGoob]

Solid album from start to finish, God Hates Us, Natural Born Killer and So Far Away are great.

[RIP_PaulGray]

Great Album...bottom line

[RIP_PaulGray]

Great Album

[Caboose911]

RIP_PaulGray wrote:

Great Album...bottom line

i completely agree.
its pissing me off, all these cannibal corpse fanboys tearing this apart saying "this isnt metal, this isnt metal!"
its not metal. its hard rock. its soft rock. its rock.
not deathcore, not thrash, not emo.
you want that. look somewhere else. dont hate on an album you've never listened to.

[Nuketheduke69]

This album is pretty badass. waaayy betteer than "avenged Sevenfold (white)"

[TheReverend724]

So much fanboyism in here :p

I listened to the album five times after getting it yesterday. It's still a big pile of meh :/

[santanic]

i guess if ur not happy with the album then its your own opinion.. and i respect it but stop coming up with irrelevant statements saying that 'syn cant pull off live solos!, m.shadows is the worst vocalist!'

IMO.. each of them are talented in their own way and it makes them sound original..

8/10 for the album..

[gibsonlespaul26]

Alrite to all the genre nazis and whiney bitches: Don't like the album? Don't listen to it. Crying about how synyster "sucks" and how it isn't "metal" enough isn't gonna change the fact that their making more money then you could ever dream of. This cd was awesome, and jimmy singing fiction was heart wrenching. I love this album. Screw you.

[metalfr3ak666]

jesus christ, i've read too many comments about how 'this is my fav album other than

[metalfr3ak666]

metalfr3ak666 wrote:

jesus christ, i've read too many comments about how 'this is my fav album other than

???? srry i don't know what happened o_O

[//babz//]

sketchy album...

[kgranlund]

This album was amazing and ballads fit the album perfect for how its so memorial to the rev... This is the 2nd best album but you cant beat the self titled bc the rev is what that album what it was.

[theft92]

amazing album

[arcwarrior]

this album is an average. mike portnoy did a good job. fiction, the best song from the album.

warmness on the soul and second heartbeat are my all-time favorites from this band

[basshunter07]

F I C T I O N wrote:

So many of you are retarded. You make comments on the band with no knowledge on details of the album or the band. This album is a beautiful tribute to a fallen bandmate, but some of you look so deep to find little, nit-picky things that you don't like. If you're gonna' hate a band, hate them, but quite frankly, no one wants to hear your garbage complaints.

+1

[blackdevil99999]

Too soft for me !!!

[Lion_Slicer]

Why do so many of the reviews suck? And why do so many people who don't like Avenged Sevenfold post? When you think your own musical opinion is fact then we're not going to take you seriously...

Anyway, this album is amazing. At first I felt it was too soft, with Victim, TTWD, and Fiction all in a row, but I've changed my mind. Fiction is kind of beyond criticism for me--I don't know how to react to it, it's not really "good" or "bad" but it is emotional--I'm surprised Shadows can keep it together long enough to sing his parts.

Natural Born Killer and God Hates Us bring the great heavy songs back anyway, and So Far Away is by far their best ballad-style song ever. And then Save Me... in my view their best song ever, all-around awesomeness. Making an 11-minute song that doesn't overstay its welcome is EXTREMELY hard (and something even Dream Theater can't pull off all the time) and Save Me is absolutely enthralling to me from start to finish. Lyrics, riffs, solos, and the way they structure the song are all chillingly good.

Their self-titled was hugely disappointing to me, I was just annoyed with most of the songs. This one is one or their best works, up there with WTF and COE, and it actually has more songs that I absolutely LOVE than any others.

[BreckenBreen]

it still hasn't gotten less gay since to say "A7X" kids...

[duncang]

Checked.

[col50]

Completely awful album. A7X is to mainstream pop metal for me. They're so average and bland bringing no talent to the table.

[synestershadows]

A7X has sucked ever since they released City of Evil. This album is no exception.

[guitaroojay]

A7X new album I'll admit isn't as good as I thought it was gonna be, their are some tracks that have captured my ear, tracks like "God Hates Us" and "Natural Born Killer." "God Hates Us" is somewhat reminiscent of Slayer at least to my ear, but I enjoyed some of the slow intros to some of the songs, but other than that I say this album is maybe a 8.3.

[ThePushMan]

good if you like them.

[SIRRON_KCUHC]

cs21 wrote:

basshunter07 wrote:

I feel that the people flaming this album have no real issue with the album, but more with the band. If they never liked Avenged Sevenfold, they never will like Avenged Sevenfold no matter how good they will sound.

Guitar is an easy skill to learn and I admit that if you know your basic shred and sweep, you are suddenly licensed to hate bands like A7X. I get it. But you know one easier skill to have is to hate.

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.


+1

AMEN
one thing to say
if you dont like the band to begin with DONT FUCKIN COMMENT
i dont go flaming KISS and their bullshit
i hate them but wont do that to them because I am not a have and have the decency to let the fans decide what they want about their crap
so back off
iff you dont like them then get off now, listen to a band YOU like, and if your up for the challenge try to learn one of their songs if you think their so bad
not so easy huh?

[indyrock91]

Album cover: absolutely amazing.
Now that I got that out of the way, I'm not a huge A7X fan (hated Bat Country), but I was so curious about this album, so I bought it. It was definitely worth it. Nightmare is a great start, and I personally loved Welcome to the Family. pounding riffs, great drumwork a la Mike Portnoy, and I love the vocals. Wherever he is the Rev must be smiling. Well done A7X, you now have a new fan.

[Seth Shadows]

Dream Theaterr wrote:

This album is mediocre. The only reason no one will admit it is because the rev died.

This, absolutely this.

Noone gives a shit anymore, A7X, you milked it too much.

[Seth Shadows]

SIRRON_KCUHC wrote:

cs21 wrote:

basshunter07 wrote:

I feel that the people flaming this album have no real issue with the album, but more with the band. If they never liked Avenged Sevenfold, they never will like Avenged Sevenfold no matter how good they will sound.

Guitar is an easy skill to learn and I admit that if you know your basic shred and sweep, you are suddenly licensed to hate bands like A7X. I get it. But you know one easier skill to have is to hate.

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.


+1
AMEN
one thing to say
if you dont like the band to begin with DONT FUCKIN COMMENT
i dont go flaming KISS and their bullshit
i hate them but wont do that to them because I am not a have and have the decency to let the fans decide what they want about their crap
so back off
iff you dont like them then get off now, listen to a band YOU like, and if your up for the challenge try to learn one of their songs if you think their so bad
not so easy huh?

We're allowed to comment, it's the point of a site like this, moron. It's not www.a7xfandom.com or www.a7xrocksmysocks.com, we're allowed to comment.

The album sucks, deal with it.
The Rev died, who cares anymore? countless musicians and people have died throughout the years, get over it.

[James_Het_Rules]

I loved this album. One of my favorites, and Fiction is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've heard. Granted after the bridge Shadows' little vocal bit is kind of iffy, but Jimmy's part is amazing. There was a few songs I didn't like at first, but it's grown on me tremendously. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, A7X haters will continue to hate them, the fans will like them. That's life.

Anywho, overall, I'd give it a 9/10.

[a7xb4d]

Hildesheimer wrote:

I've probably never seen so much stupidity in reviews. So this "Synyster" guy can play some power chords and he can shred. Cool. About every decent metal guitarist can do that too.

Evidently, you've never heard his playing. He doesn't just "shred" like a crappy Dragonforce guitarist, he actually puts thought and emotion into his work. Listen to the solo of Seize the Day. Syn doesn't just play really fast the whole time, he actually only plays fast at one part during it, but the rest is well-thought-out, emotional music. It's not the hardest to play solo ever, but I think that it is one of his best.

[theflyingapple]

@Shredder425
Musically this is definitely A7Xs heaviest album

how is this the heaviest album?
what about waking the fallen and sounding the seventh trumpet?

[h3nriqu3]

I'd give this album a 9/10. It has a lot of variety and gets the best elements the band has to offer. If you don't like A7X you probably won't like this album or any album they will ever make in the future, if you do like them then you will enjoy Nightmare.

Also I kind of felt that it lacked a bit of Syn's awesome solos (although Save Me has a very nice one).

[boreamor]

This album is one of the best they've done I feel. The album was mostly written before the Rev died, but very little of it recorded. Portnoy does a good job on the drums here, but of course it's still not the Rev.

Unfortunately, people just look at Bands fanbases and then tar them with the same brush. And that's because they lack an IQ of above 75. Also, most of them will think Slayer is a brutal band, when I personally don't think so.

Riffs on this album aren't as good as previous albums, especially like City of Evil, but over all the music is better.

[\m/A7X\m/]

Riffs on this album aren't as good as previous albums, especially like City of Evil, but over all the music is better.

I disagree, This album has some great riffs, eg Buried alive, welcome to the Family, Natural born killer. City of Evil in my personal opinion was the least riffy album bar Beast and the Harlot, (simple riffs are the most effective, ('Walk' anyone) . I love the screaming Shadows did on Waking the Fallen and it was very refreshing to hear God Hates us but his screaming was just not as appealing :/ However that song and the album in general kicks ass well done guys 9/10

[fuzzymunkee]

Sounding of the Seventh Trumpet was pretty cool but other than that, I don't really care for these guys. The raspy vocals are painful and unpleasant to listen to and it just gets old.

[auburn_december]

Love these guys. Enough said.

[the_thief]

SIRRON_KCUHC wrote:

cs21 wrote:

basshunter07 wrote:

I feel that the people flaming this album have no real issue with the album, but more with the band. If they never liked Avenged Sevenfold, they never will like Avenged Sevenfold no matter how good they will sound.

Guitar is an easy skill to learn and I admit that if you know your basic shred and sweep, you are suddenly licensed to hate bands like A7X. I get it. But you know one easier skill to have is to hate.

You can't please a hater, so I'm not even going to try to defend this album. I like it. And that's enough.


+1
AMEN
one thing to say
if you dont like the band to begin with DONT FUCKIN COMMENT
i dont go flaming KISS and their bullshit
i hate them but wont do that to them because I am not a have and have the decency to let the fans decide what they want about their crap
so back off
iff you dont like them then get off now, listen to a band YOU like, and if your up for the challenge try to learn one of their songs if you think their so bad
not so easy huh?

You're right, I've never seen so many eighth notes and tremolo picking in my life! OT, I think these guys are ok but their new album didn't do anything for me. Sure their self titled album didn't really work but at least they tried to do something different with it.

[Timo9500]

a7xb4d wrote:

Hildesheimer wrote:

I've probably never seen so much stupidity in reviews. So this "Synyster" guy can play some power chords and he can shred. Cool. About every decent metal guitarist can do that too.

Evidently, you've never heard his playing. He doesn't just "shred" like a crappy Dragonforce guitarist, he actually puts thought and emotion into his work. Listen to the solo of Seize the Day. Syn doesn't just play really fast the whole time, he actually only plays fast at one part during it, but the rest is well-thought-out, emotional music. It's not the hardest to play solo ever, but I think that it is one of his best.

Half of that solo was trill or sweep picking. Wheres the emotion in that?

[Smeghead777]

Timo9500 wrote:

a7xb4d wrote:

Hildesheimer wrote:

I've probably never seen so much stupidity in reviews. So this "Synyster" guy can play some power chords and he can shred. Cool. About every decent metal guitarist can do that too.

Evidently, you've never heard his playing. He doesn't just "shred" like a crappy Dragonforce guitarist, he actually puts thought and emotion into his work. Listen to the solo of Seize the Day. Syn doesn't just play really fast the whole time, he actually only plays fast at one part during it, but the rest is well-thought-out, emotional music. It's not the hardest to play solo ever, but I think that it is one of his best.

Half of that solo was trill or sweep picking. Wheres the emotion in that?

How can using a specific guitar technique automatically negates the emotion of it? Thats like saying writing left handed makes you a bad writer. Aren't fast solos suppose to evoke a kind of emotion that you get from something from speed or fury. I swear anyone can become a genius if they truly understand exactly the purpose of music. Then all thats left to learn is technique.

[SG-Burchett]

MetallikSH wrote:

welcome to the family sounds like green day

WTF????? you have obviously heard neither of these bands to come to that conclusion.

and i hate how how hardly anone looks at this band without a pre-decided idea about them either being shit or saying they are the best band in the world (neither of which are true by a long way)

[Snowman388]

these reviews suck.

[drug.me.2.hell]

Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

Unbound (The Wild Ride) is the only song they have never played live so the immense Shred-Fest by Syn on the record may have something to do with it

But im a big fan of A7X Synyster is very talented but people like Rhoads and Murray eclipse him !

[Plan009]

drug.me.2.hell wrote:


Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

Unbound (The Wild Ride) is the only song they have never played live so the immense Shred-Fest by Syn on the record may have something to do with it

But im a big fan of A7X Synyster is very talented but
people like Rhoads and Murray eclipse him !

He has much faster material than that on their album Walking The Fallen. The reasons they don't play Unbound is because 1: There's mainly a piano lead which was played by them in the studio, but don't have enough time to put down a guitar on stage and play it in between and 2: Matt's girlfriend sings again in that album for the first time in like 10 years and it would be a pain to get her mic checked for a huge show with her only having a combined stage time of 5 minutes.

[jrk_beast]

okay, people need to stop dissing this album, people, you are OVER REACTIONG, okay, he doesn't scream as much as sounding the seventh trumpet or waking the fallen, but what he does is great, stop being so caught up in how heavy the reviews say it is, compared to what it is, its heavy no doubt, but screaming isn't the only aspect that makes something heavy, i love this album, and its is great! 100/10

[Metalfighter]

Can't understand why people like this album. Sick riffs and solos. The only normal song is Natural Born Killer. Very disappointed.

[kameleus]

I don't like this release only Nightmare and Welcome to the family are good. I reckon their self produced album (Avenged Sevenfold) was much better.

But this is just my opinion.

[seemeel]

Given the fact that A7X were always some of the most skilled players

hahaha, nice joke!

[FearOfTheDuck]

Well, i'm not a huge A7X fan, but you don't have to be to see that they are one of the few mainstream metal bands that experiment and haven't released the same album five times. I'm looking at you Disturbed.

[Quoteman]

FearOfTheDuck wrote:

Well, i'm not a huge A7X fan, but you don't have to be to see that they are one of the few mainstream metal bands that experiment and haven't released the same album five times. I'm looking at you Disturbed.

This. I get it, the guitarist is a liiiiittle bit better, how about some variety now? A7X blew them out of the water at the show I saw, in all fairness Disturbed couldn't get a soundcheck though.

[MetalManic 666]

Plan009 wrote:

drug.me.2.hell wrote:


Name a song Syn can't play the solo for live? He's awesome, and no, I'm not one of those who thinks he's god and I'm not going to start defend him. Just curious.

Unbound (The Wild Ride) is the only song they have never played live so the immense Shred-Fest by Syn on the record may have something to do with it

But im a big fan of A7X Synyster is very talented but
people like Rhoads and Murray eclipse him !

He has much faster material than that on their album Walking The Fallen. The reasons they don't play Unbound is because 1: There's mainly a piano lead which was played by them in the studio, but don't have enough time to put down a guitar on stage and play it in between and 2: Matt's girlfriend sings again in that album for the first time in like 10 years and it would be a pain to get her mic checked for a huge show with her only having a combined stage time of 5 minutes.

erm you know they could just play the actually song for the piano part? same with the girl singing. It would be difficult. good album

[MetalManic 666]

ughh spelling f*** ups. i mean 'actual' and 'wouldnt'

[ggstarwizzrd]

i do enjoy this album. the songs are fun to play and i thk each song has its own uniqueness. i give props

[1000101]

maaaaan some of these reviews are so fanboy-tastic. i mean i love the band and thought the cd is pretty good, but write a real review. not "zomg, they're so cool! wowie i love a7x foREVer!"

[pandacorn]

I love how people that don't like Avenged go out of their way to put the band down, as if it's going to sway anyones opinion. And listing off players or and you think are better gets you just as far.

[thenewguy2]

This album sounds the same as every other other a7x album. Surprisingly the only difference in this album is the drumming. But seriously, you wold think with a new member they could change things up a bit, but no, apparently not.

[MegadethFan18]

Love Avenged saw them live in Glasgow. Not only did they bring it but they set it on the table then opened it all over my face. Nightmare is great but WtF>CoE>Nightmare. Also Guns N' Roses is as heavy as "Hard Rock" gets A7X are a straight up Heavy Metal band. So **** "alt metal" and "hard rock" Also 1000101 shut the **** up and back the **** up. Want a real review? Write one yourself.

[LightxGrenade]

Don't know how to feel about this record. I love A7X but I just can't get into this album. I actually like the self-titled album more than Nightmare. Something about the sound, (and it's not just the absence of The Rev) it just doesn't hit me like their other material does. It feels kind of toned down and as if they're going through the motions. But that's just my opinion, I still support them.

[Nameless742]

Definately not their best album but, the other factors: The Rev dying, the possibilty of the band splitting has made this emotional and ballad approach relevant and hugely successful.
The New material would be way too soft for my standards. but it's more than just music, it's a special tribute to Jimmy.
I saw them at Glasgow on the 26th there, and It was certainly one of the most emotional gigs I'll see.
The music is relevant to the fans.

[slipknot_420]

MegadethFan18 wrote:

Love Avenged saw them live in Glasgow. Not only did they bring it but they set it on the table then opened it all over my face. Nightmare is great but WtF>CoE>Nightmare. Also Guns N' Roses is as heavy as "Hard Rock" gets A7X are a straight up Heavy Metal band. So **** "alt metal" and "hard rock" Also 1000101 shut the **** up and back the **** up. Want a real review? Write one yourself.

I lold def not a straight up heavy metal band alt rock or hard rock fits them nicely!

[metalinyourass]

i got through part of the first review and it lost all credibility by stating "...felt the band was abandoning some imagined hardcore roots, when in reality, A7X were never a hardcore band that pledged any allegiance to that scene; they were taking Iron Maiden-riffs and in turn screaming and singing over them, coming up with a modern and unheard of sound from the very beginning, so no one I quite sure how “hardcore” got thrown into the mix!"

all i have to say is.

they had breakdowns.

which is why they were first considered metalcore. Breakdowns. Hardcore=breakdowns. which means. they had hardcore roots. suck my chode.

[IPlaySynth]

Of course, anybody posting a negative review gets the sh*t beaten out of them. Typical pseudo-hardcore fanboyism.

[Andy81]

slash.r0cks wrote:

Arguably the best album they've produced lyrically and there's some good songs here and there, but I'm really sick of seeing "love" reviews for any band. A good review is balanced and not having everything as 10/10.

I'm a diehard A7X fan, but I wouldn't rate the album 10. There's some really good songs on here like Victim, Fiction and Save Me, but songs like Buried Alive really let the album down.

Buried Alive + Natural born killers are my fav songs on the album

[lalalaPoOFzz]

welcome to the family and fiction

[snakesson]

The reviews are not objective, nor can they be expected to be objective if written by an idiotic metal-head who claims trveness to be the root of all. But an Avenged Sevenfold should not get 8.9.

[Ibanezbass4life]

Personally, my favorite album by A7x since Waking the Fallen!

[K!!LsWiTcH]

albums a six at best considering 5 is average. its nothing that great. the last song on the album sets up a great vibe that is murdered only 10 seconds later with a crappy melodic line. this album is also overflowing with cheese. lots of the riffs or guitar lines sounds pretty generic and its difficult listening to synyster try and make a solo in every ballad here because he pretty much pulls apart the seize the day solo and scraps in crap for the rest. best songs are fiction, danger line (solo blows though), and if it wasnt so cheesy sounding and forcibly macho god hates us

[KoK_Guitarist]

mattberg971 wrote:

How the hell did they get one of the best drummers in the world to play with them? What were you thinking Portnoy?

Thats like having Gene Hoglan drumming for Trivium which would be a horrible idea. Avenged Sevenfold sucks what a bunch of emo posers. you people need to listen to real heavy shit. We need more Lamb of God,Acrassicauda,Chimaira,Hatebreed etc reviews. I'm soo sick of this poser band

[SweepSDMF]

KoK_Guitarist wrote:

mattberg971 wrote:

How the hell did they get one of the best drummers in the world to play with them? What were you thinking Portnoy? Thats like having Gene Hoglan drumming for Trivium which would be a horrible idea. Avenged Sevenfold sucks what a bunch of emo posers. you people need to listen to real heavy shit. We need more Lamb of God,Acrassicauda,Chimaira,Hatebreed etc reviews. I'm soo sick of this poser band

THIS^

although did you have to say hatebreed? i could let you off with acrassicauda, even though he needs to stop wearing that ****ing pretentious scarf thing, their music is outstanding. but hatebreed?

BORN TO BLEED, FIGHTING TO SUCCEED, BUILT TO ENDURE WHAT THIS WORLD THROWS AT ME .

JK haha, actually i see alot of machinehead in those guys.

[DCBA25]

My favourites from the album were Danger Line, specifically the intro, Buried Alive, specifically the outro, and Save Me, and I enjoyed the other songs, I felt like I heard something new with each listen of the album. The one thing I didn't like actually was Portnoy's drumming. His drumming is spectacular but nothing will be like The Rev's The album was meant to have The Rev.. Portnoy really was the only suitable one to fill his shoes though. Overall I can say I am very happy with this album's release, it gave me some new avenged sevenfold to listen to. While I wouldn't say it will keep your attention the whole way through like the best classics, its got really good musicianship..

[TRH]

I'm sorry, but this band is to metal what Taylor Swift is to country music; so stale and mediocre. This album is the epitome of cheese. It's like a bunch of teenagers got together and put the damn thing together. From the sweep solos to the very predictable lyrics, it just does nothing for me. I say predictable lyrics because if you here a line, you can pretty much guess what's coming next. This album is the afterbirth from the infected womb that is Guitar Center.

[ridinglightning]

skylerjames13 wrote:

I don't understand why people hate them so much. Just cause they have changed their sound, doesn't mean they suck. From what i've read, Buried Alive is a song most often picked on. It's one of my favourite songs. It's soft, melodic, AND heavy.
So what if Avenged Sevenfold don't scream as much anymore? They want to explore new music. Tbh, sticking to the same kind of music forever is kind of lame. Expanding your sound is ballsy, and if you want to do it, then do it.
You guy's really gotta wrap your heads around this stuff, Jesus.

Bingo.

[ridinglightning]

TRH wrote:

I'm sorry, but this band is to metal what Taylor Swift is to country music; so stale and mediocre. This album is the epitome of cheese. It's like a bunch of teenagers got together and put the damn thing together. From the sweep solos to the very predictable lyrics, it just does nothing for me. I say predictable lyrics because if you here a line, you can pretty much guess what's coming next. This album is the afterbirth from the infected womb that is Guitar Center.

I'm sorry, but does a chain music store have to do with anything by A7X?

[caroesu11]

King ofKumbucha wrote:

The UG review is so bad it's good. So many amazingly stupid lines LMAO

Nothing new here though. My friend insists on trying to make me like this band so he keeps playing me songs in the car on the way to work. I'd say if you hated them before this album won't win you over and Portnoy is completely wasted on the sub-par riffing and overall boring songs.
The vocals are just as horrible as ever too.

if you don't like them, don't comment, no one really cares about what you have to say.

[caroesu11]

the first time i listened to the album i didn't really like it, then i listened again and i loved it. the whole album is dedicated to The Rev, that's why its more easy going then, for example, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. and Syn's solos are amazing. and he plays them spot on live. Matt's vocals are awesome, and whoever questions Mike's skills is plain stupid. if you don't like them stay the **** away from their reviews and articles. they made an amazing album and it has a meaning. They lost their drummer and they still made an amazing album. i'd like to see you people do that.

[shredheadted]

My only complaints were the album generaly being softer thann I like my sevenfold (its understandable tho), and the chorus on natural born killer. Kills me everytime I here it. Overall good album though.

[blooddrunk]

tragic death? he was a druggie. nothing tragic about a junkie. stop kissing his ass simply because he died. he didnt do a thing for music. Dio did. Pete Steele did. rev was a junkie and a boring drummer to begin with.

[tristan_deity]

the end of buried alive is RIDE THE LIGHTING by metallica!!!!! Please tell me other people hear that!!!

[tristan_deity]

The end of buried alive is RIDE THE LIGHTNIG BY METALLICA!!!!!

[A7X_For_Life92]

liam_gal wrote:

OctoberWind wrote:

So basically they're kicking out one of the most respected and talented drummers because they don't want his reputation coming before theirs?

yep, they thought he was going to overshadow them. Cause, let's be real, nobody knows the name of any member of A7X

M. Shadows
Synyster Gates
Zacky Vengance
Johnny Christ
The Rev

do i get a cookie?

[Refluxed]

Good Album, I like it. They portrey their emotion into the music very well.

[TRH]

ridinglightning wrote:

TRH wrote:

I'm sorry, but this band is to metal what Taylor Swift is to country music; so stale and mediocre. This album is the epitome of cheese. It's like a bunch of teenagers got together and put the damn thing together. From the sweep solos to the very predictable lyrics, it just does nothing for me. I say predictable lyrics because if you here a line, you can pretty much guess what's coming next. This album is the afterbirth from the infected womb that is Guitar Center.


I'm sorry, but does a chain music store have to do with anything by A7X?

I was referring to all the random noodling guitar solos and chaos that ensues in GC.

[Ne0Assass1n]

I love this band but I can't seem to like the album at all.
Vocals: Can't complain, Shadows keeps on improving.
Guitars: Horrible. I'm sorry but really, it sounds overproduced (dual lead parts sound like that of Dragonforce, tone-wise), and the riffs are just lame.
Bass: Not a bass guy, so no comment.
Drums: Eh... I really love the triggered snare + bass from CoE which I don't seem to hear anymore
Songs: Nightmare is most definitely the best song in this album. The rest are just so mediocre, except for Save Me.

Sorry, but I have to say this is my least favorite album, post-WtF days.

[ballinnick23]

GREAT, GREAT CD!!!!! I recommend it!!

[Tim the Rocker]

Well, it IS a fans album, not an album for new listeners, that is for sure.

[seven92]

A7x from worst to best.
5. Sounding the Seventh Trumpet

4. Nightmare

3. Avenged Sevenfold

2. City of Evil

1. Waking the Fallen

This is just my opion.

[iRawrz]

well, this is one of my favorite albums ever to be released so far. And im not gonna try to stop the hate comments because people have their own opinions(although they don't have to be so mean about it... >.>)
and its kinda weird how these haters probably don't like A7X, but still go on the album review... it just doesnt make sense... >

[Sparky-MMA]

A7X_For_Life92 wrote:

liam_gal wrote:

OctoberWind wrote:

So basically they're kicking out one of the most respected and talented drummers because they don't want his reputation coming before theirs?

yep, they thought he was going to overshadow them. Cause, let's be real, nobody knows the name of any member of A7X

M. Shadows
Synyster Gates
Zacky Vengance
Johnny Christ
The Rev

do i get a cookie?

actually
Matthew Sanders
Brian Haner
Zachary Baker
Johnathan Seward
James (Jimmy) Sullivan (R.I.P)

supporting members since The Revs Passing

Mike Portnoy
Richard Arin Ilejay

so no... no cookie for you.

and i'm not even a massive fan anymore

[phantom_lord586]

BlisteringDDj wrote:

Pingis_Or_Death wrote:

A7X were always some of the most skilled players who came up in an era when metal bands didn’t know how to play their instruments, much less solo or pull off intricate parts

LOL

Yeah right.

Haha!

They are definately skilled musicians in a7x, but there are still lots of bands that are more technically skilled than them and they dont stand on their own in that sense

[robtm1911]

Is there anything that anyone can really agree on here? Music is just like anything else. I might love a song while you think its the worst shit you've ever heard. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion but the only way to judge this album is to hear it for yourself instead of just reading other's opinions.

[dj695]

Avenged are all incredibly skilled musicians. **** what anyone else ever says. I dare anyone one here to write a better song than them. post it below. I DARE YOU.

[stage4saiyan]

Avenged Sevenfold will polarize people because the metal industry itself is split into 2 groups: those who love true metal and those who love the squealing-like-a-pig, buzzsaw guitars metal. IMO, and a lot of others, that second type isn't true metal. I'm hard pressed to call it music, even.

Long story short, if you love the classics like Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, etc. you'll like Avenged Sevenfold. If you don't, you won't. It's that simple.

[KutoBass]

Hate is hate....you can't really fight it. I try not to waste my breath. But sometimes I just smile and ask..."is that all you got?"

[jacetine29]

before i heard a7x, i usually listen to slipknot and bands alike. I managed to listen to the band after i had a classmate (a drummer whose favorite is the rev) and told me that the said band was great. I suddenly liked Syn's playing and this was the first album i heard from them. Really great in my opinion. But of course my opinion will be be different to others. \m/