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Avenged Sevenfold - Selftitled - Warner Bros.
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by Courtney Campbell
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After reading the bits & tidbits released from Avenged Sevenfold while they were preparing for the release of their upcoming self-titled, I was afraid they were going back to the style of Waking the Fallen with the screaming and such. I remember reading about how M.Shadows had said this album was to be their heaviest to date. I think I need to get his definition of heavy. Whereas their previous release City of Evil was an epic album, this one is eclectic as it comes. The tracks range from ones that could have been part of City of Evil to ones that show their country music influences, "Dear God", to the Danny Elfman/Mr. Bungle influenced "A Little Piece of Heaven"; for a music fan, this album has it all. As fans of music in general, we listen to many diverse genres and Avenged Sevenfold have shows with this album that they aren't to be pigeonhold into one sound or genre.
In listening to this album over and over, there were a few things that I felt weren't especially necessary such as having the last minute of "Dear God" just instrumental and to me, it was mainly repetitive. I just felt it took away from the song. The use of female vocals - I think in some instances, the additions could have been put to better use. I loved the layering of a female voice in "A Little Piece of Heaven" but in other instances like in "Dear God" it comes across as an afterthought to have it on the song in parts. Those things being said, my favorite tracks on the album were "Afterlife", "A Little Piece of Heaven", "Critical Acclaim" and "Gunslinger".
The band took a chance with self production with this album. If they fail there isn't anyone to be used as a scapegoat. Will this come back to bite them in the ass? I don't think so. I'm not an expert on production but I can say that overall I like what I hear on this album. The album still has the guitar playing that drew me into listening to them. The things that I have listed that I didn't particularly like, well those are just my opinion. The next person listening to the album might not agree.
As with any time a band changes they lose and gain fans and certainly this will happen here with A7X. Hopefully with this album the focus will be on them as musicians and not on their antics of the past.
Tracklisting:
01. Critical Acclaim
02. Almost Easy
03. Scream
04. Afterlife
05. Gunslinger
06. Unbound (The Wild Ride)
07. Brompton Cocktail
08. Lost
09. A Little Piece of Heaven
10. Dear God
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8.5/10
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