UMUR "Hail to the King" is the 6th full-length studio album by US heavy metal act Avenged Sevenfold. The album was released through Warner Bros. Records in August 2013. Avenged Sevenfold have been incredibly successful almost since their inception, and every new release by the band have sold more than the previous one did, which is one hell of an achivement these days. It was an unexpected and sad bump on the road when drummer The Rev died of a drug overdose in December 2009. The Rev was not only a skilled drummer, but also one of the main composers in the band, and the remaining four members discussed calling it a day at that point. They opted to continue though and drafted former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy to play the drums on their 5th full-length studio album "Nightmare (2010)". That was only a temporary solution though and for the recording of this album Arin Ilejay has been added to the lineup as a permanent replacement for The Rev.

Since the release of "City of Evil (2005)", Avenged Sevenfold have pursued a mainstream oriented heavy rock/metal style as opposed to their original metalcore style. Acts like Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Guns´n´roses and Iron Maiden are definitely no strangers to the band. That is also true when describing the music style on "Hail to the King". Sometimes to an extent, where you can rightfully accuse Avenged Sevenfold of imitating their heroes, as they do on "Doing Time" (Guns´n´Roses), "This Means War" (the riff and the song melody in the vers sound very similar to the riff and the song melody from "Sad but True" by Metallica) and "Coming Home" (Iron Maiden). If you possess the ability to look past these very obvious worshipping tendencies, "Hail to the King" is a very strong release by Avenged Sevenfold though.

It´s one of the band´s more metal oriented releases and probably the most heavy album by the band since their metalcore days. We´re not spared a saccarine power ballad in "Crimson Day" (which is both well composed and well played, but ultimately comes off a bit calculated and predictable) and there are as always several mainstream oriented sing along choruses on the album, but while that might not appeal to more hardcore metal fans, those elements are what make Avenged Sevenfold a band that is appealing to the more mainstream metal listener and a great deal of the explanation for their commercial success. If you strip away the polished (yet powerful and suiting sound production) and the mainstream elements, there are quite a few great heavy metal moments on the album though. There is no arguing that Avenged Sevenfold are skilled composers, who know how to write effecful tunes. Add to that the fact that they are skilled musicians too, with lead vocalist M. Shadows delivering a varied and strong vocal performance throughout, a rhythm section that drives the music forward (new drummer Arin Ilejay has listened a bit too much to Lars Ulrich, but otherwise does a decent job here. He is no The Rev though) and two guitarists that compliment each other well. Especially lead guitarist Synyster Gates stands out, delivering one blazing solo after another. High quality playing/singing all around.

So all in all "Hail to the King" is yet another quality release by Avenged Sevenfold. Like it´s two predecessors "Hail to the King" doesn´t fully live up to the promise that was given on the brilliant "City of Evil (2005)" album, but I´ll settle for less and accept that the heights of that album will probably never be reached again. I´ll advice them to lose some of the most obvious worshipping tendencies though, which are especially bad on this album, and get back to a more original sound. They have all the necessary tools for it. Still a 3.5 (70%) rating is warranted.

arcane-beautiful Avenged Sevenfold are a band I've been defending for a long time. And one of the reasons I've been defending them is because I could never see what was so wrong. Granted, when these guys rose to popularity, their image was had a teenage emo girl's wet dream, but when I heard their music, I was very impressed. These guys could play, their lead singer had a great range, their guitarists where pretty much virtuosos and the rhythm section where tight...also...they had great tunes. Their first big album “City Of Evil” and their self titled follow up I absolutely love and are among my favourite albums of all time. But, ever since the passing of their drummer The Rev in 200, the band released the album “Nightmare” in his absence, and in my opinion was a bit of a step down and a twist in the wrong direction.

So now we have this album. To be honest, I was kind of looking forward to it, because the first single, the title track had heightened my attention and had me interested.

Before listening to the album, my brother describe the first half of the album to me. He said some songs sounded like other bands songs, but I didn't really believe him. Then I heard these songs and I almost laughed because my brother wasn't lying and was telling the truth.

There a lot, and I mean a lot of flaws on this album and two of the biggest flaws I can see are the obvious and almost laughable noticeable influences and the fact that some of the songs are just pretty boring. The big flaw is the influence bit, which is a shame because these guys where pretty original at one point, and now they are swimming in a sea of mediocrity.

The band also have a new drummer, now that Mike Portnoy was told to go away because he's too old for the band (that didn't happen, but it would be funny if it did). New drummer, Arin Ilejay does a pretty good job on this album, but I have to say, doesn't match up to Portnoy or The Rev.

The opener “Shepherd Of Fire” doesn't really do much for me, in fact I find it very bland, which is a shame, because usually these guys can make brilliant opening tracks.. The same with the song “Hectic”, I find these tracks to be rather filler.

The title track is an obvious choice for a single, and it's good that they went with this song. A big difference for the band, being a more stripped down metal song, it does work very well and does have a pretty catchy chorus.

Before listening to the the album, my brother told me that there was a song that is a rip off of Guns N' Roses “It's So Easy.” Yea, this pretty much is a rip off that song. It's alright I guess, but unoriginal.

“This Means War” is an obvious rip off of Metallica's “Sad But True.” Lucky enough the chorus makes the song a little bit more enjoyable, but because the song is pretty unoriginal throughout, I'm not that interested.

“Requiem” is a rather good song, if it weren't for the choir in it. Opening the song with some non sensible Latin phrases, it reminds me of a weaker Rhapsody song. The orchestra is like a distant hum in the background, but luckily the song is strong enough to carry the track through.

“Crimson Day” is the bands take on a cheesy 80's power ballad. Some of the melodies are nice, but it doesn't hold a candle to Motley Crue's “Home Sweet Home.”

The album's strongest track has to be “Coming Home,” and the reason for that is because it sounds like their earlier material. This song could have easily have been on “City Of Evil,” it may not have been the strongest track, but it would have fit really neatly. But because it's on this album, it's one of the stand out tracks.

“Planets” is definitely another highlight on the album. With a mixture of Black Sabbath meets Megadeth style of riffing, the song is pretty kick ass and rather dark at times.

“Acid Rain,” the album's closer is a rather dark and melancholic end to the album. This is something a little different and it is interesting to hear the band go in a rather

In conclusion, I am very mixed on this album. Some of the songs I really like and some of them I just think are pretty bland and very much forgetful. Instead of trying to do something different, the band have now gone around in circles, and pretty much

6.1/10

Primeval Scum The epitome of mediocrity

Avenged Sevenfold's most boring, sterilized and soulless release to date. They phoned this one in, folks.

It sounds like a C-rate Black Album fused with a Guns N Roses cover band, with none of the fun quirks and great songwriting that made Avenged Sevenfold interesting in the past. Their ambitious songwriting, taste for infectious melodies, and emotional appeal has been abandoned. The band says they have "progressed", but what they really did was take the easiest path.

The only track I legitimately enjoyed was "Planets", yet the only song I hated was the title track. Most of these songs aren't particularly terrible, they're just bland and completely unremarkable.