The Block Welcome to the family!

I have never been a huge metalcore fan, but a band with Mike Portnoy drumming is hard to pass up. I had known about Avenged Sevenfold’s newest album for a couple of months before I got around to getting it. I am glad that I did. I never heard The Rev play drums but I can’t imagine him being any better than Mike Portnoy. Another thing that Mike Portnoy brought to the table on this album besides his great drumming was his prog background. One of the songs that greatly benefits from this is the epic “Save Me” which is almost entirely prog metal. Another thing that drew me to this album after I had listened to it a couple of times was that besides metalcore it included other genres that I liked such as heavy metal and prog. Even though the lyrics are well written I still sometimes don’t like the metalcore/ thrash elements to M. Shadows’ singing.

For example, I absolutely love the title track, “Nightmare”, but when the song gets fast all of a sudden the vocals get gritty and are overall not that good. But, other than that the rest of the song is superb. Mike Portnoy’s drumming is great and the guitar work by Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance is good. I also like the vocal harmonies that they employ. When M. Shadows actually sings it is great and really smooth instead of jagged and short. The beginning of this song is also very much like a Dream Theater, thanks to Mike Portnoy.

The guitar work on this album is great especially in the fast sections on “Nightmare”. Synyster Gates is really good on guitars on “Save Me” which also has cool vocal harmonies and insane drumming. As I said before, this is definitely the song with the most prog influences on it. M. Shadows voice on this song is perhaps the best on this album.

Another couple of songs in need of reference are “Fiction” and “Welcome to the Family”. “Fiction”, which The Rev supposedly wrote two days before he died, has a great piano opening which carries throughout and s a much slower song than any other on the album. The vocals on it are also very cool. They sound like they are singing in harmony but I can’t tell if they are. “Welcome to the Family” has beautiful guitar work and uses two different vocal styles that really add to its density and overall sound.

My welcome into Avenged Sevenfold is one that I am glad I took the opportunity to look into. Granted, probably the only reason I picked up this album was because of Mike Portnoy, but the reason I stuck with it was not totally because of him but rather because of how good Avenged Sevenfold really is. With this half metalcore half prog album they deserve 4 stars.

UMUR Nightmare is the 5th full-length studio album by American metal act Avenged Sevenfold. The album was released in July 2010 by Warner Bros. Be warned that there are two versions of the album available. One uncensored version and one censored version where the word Fuckin´ is edited out of the title track. So I advice that you take a listen to the first song ( the title track) on the album, before buying your copy to make sure you get the uncensored version. Censorship is the enemy of freedom of speech if you ask me and I hope Avenged Sevenfold fans will join together and boycot the censored abomination. So with that little issue out of the way, let´s talk about the album ( and yes I´m lucky enough to have the uncensored version).

There´s been quite a significant lineup change since the release of the self-titled 4th studio album in 2007, as drummer The Rev passed away due to a drug overdose in December 2009. He is replaced here by session drummer Mike Portnoy ( Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, OSI, Transatlantic...etc.).

Avenged Sevenfold play melodic heavy metal on this release. The metalcore tag that are usually applied to the band´s music isn´t really that describing for their style anymore. It´s now the third album in a row without screamo vocals and the band have since City of Evil (2005) moved closer and closer to more traditional heavy metal values albeit of the most accessible and commercial kind. References to acts such as Metallica, Guns´n´Roses, and when the band are most harsh Pantera, wouldn´t be totally wrong. Add to that melodic lead work and harmonies that recall Iron Maiden and the nods toward some of the most classic metal acts are complete. In addition to that Nightmare actually holds quite a few progressive moments, which is something you´ll rarely find in music this accessible. It´s quite the achivement to incorporate progressive ideas into accessible/ commercial music without sacrificing accessibility but it´s something Avenged Sevenfold do naturally. All music ( and drum patterns) were written before Mike Portnoy entered the lineup, so the progressive tendencies are not due to his presence.

Lead vocalist M. Shadows is a skilled and versatile singer and while the rest of the band are very well playing, and the instrumental side of the music is generally very interesting, it´s M. Shadows voice that defines the sound of Avenged Sevenfold. His nasal delivery is personal, distinct, intense and powerful. He is one of those rare cases of vocalists who are instantly recognisable.

There are 11 tracks on the 66:47 minute long album and while I usually think albums that long have an unfortunate tendency to overstay their welcome I find that I´m well entertained throughout the full playing time of Nightmare. That spells quality IMO. Tracks like Welcome to the Family, Nightmare, Danger Line, the strongly Pantera influenced God Hates Us and the 10:56 progressive closing track Save Me are among the highlights. Even the more power ballad type tracks aren´t that bad, and I´m usually not that fond of ballads.

Nightmare is a better album than the self-titled album from 2007 but not quite as unique and innovative as City of Evil, but overall it´s a high quality metal album deserving a 4 star rating. It´s great to hear an act with a personal sound that understands and masters the balance between accessibility and writing interesting music.

J-Man My Welcome into the Family

Avenged Sevenfold was a band that I wrongfully avoided for such a long time. Their popstar image and emo-kid fanbase wasn’t something that I really wanted to be involved in, so I never gave them a fair listen. Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan’s death didn’t give me any added interest in the band, though I was curious as to who would be filling his shoes. When it was announced that Mike Portnoy would be playing the drums on Nightmare, my interest was officially piqued. Being the huge Dream Theater and Mike Portnoy fanboy that I am, I knew I had to get Nightmare when it came out. After having the album on heavy rotation for a decent chunk of time, it’s safe to say that my initial ignorance was a huge mistake. These guys are fantastic! Their mix of traditional heavy metal, thrash metal, progressive hard rock, and some metalcore bursts works perfectly. The songwriting is memorable, the arrangements are perfect, and the musicianship is spot-on. There’s really not much more to ask for from a modern metal album. Although there are definitely a few highlights that tend to overshadow some of the more average tracks, the album as a whole is a shining achievement for Avenged Sevenfold. May The Rev rest in peace; he would have been proud of this album.

The decision to include Mike Portnoy as their guest drummer was surely no coincidence on A7X’s part - this is a very progressive album. Songs like the 11-minute epic, Save Me, are almost pure prog metal. There are also some ballads like So Far Away and the first half of Buried Alive. Add in a heavy metalcore tune like God Hates Us, a heavy rock song like Welcome to the Family, and a unique opus such as Fiction, and you have quite a diverse album. The highlight on the album is the title track for me, though So Far Away and Save Me are quite close. As a whole, the album is amazingly consistent, despite the occasional dull moment. The musicianship is generally one of the best things about the album. Avenged Sevenfold is an extremely talented group, and Mike Portnoy has a plethora of talent on his own. One of the best things about Nightmare are the terrific vocals from M. Shadows. His somewhat strained style is highly distinguishable, not to mention some of the breathtaking vocal melodies that he delivers on the album. The guitar and bass department is terrific as well.

The production is perfectly suited for the music. It’s professional and clean, yet still organic.

Conclusion:

I was really taken by surprise with Nightmare. This is one of those cases where my preconceptions about the band were extremely misleading, considering this is one of the best metal albums of 2010. If you are curious what this band is really about, pick this up as soon as possible. I was hugely impressed by Nightmare, and it’s hard to imagine a rock or metal fan that doesn’t at least moderately enjoy this album. 4 stars are well-deserved. Let’s hope these guys keep making great music!

arcane-beautiful This album was made at quite a turbulent time during the bands career and it can be heard.

I was sad and quite shocked to hear the death of The Rev, although in the past 2 years their have been a lot of weird deaths.

This album is still a pretty good album, when it comes to the matters in which it was made, but some people may say that the album was rushed, but I disagree. Their was a lot of effort, and what may appear to be rushed compared to their other efforts could be viewed as confused.

At times the influences come off to strong, there is some odd experimentation and at the odd times, a loss of identity, which is sad, because it took them about 4 years to build up an amazing sound, which at times is lost.

This album is still pretty good, and it did come off really well in my first hearing of it, and some songs may have to grow on me, but it just still proves that these guys get a lot of hard time for being a bit too popular.

And Mike Portnoy’s drumming is pretty amazing at times.

1. Nightmare – Good start. It’s obvious who the influences where. Progresses well throughout. 9/10

2. Welcome To The Family – I love the chorus. Pretty kick ass. Very reminiscent of their last album. 10/10

3. Danger Line – Not their best lyrics. But pretty interesting. 8/10

4. Buried Alive – Fade To Black intro? Sounds a bit like if some of the songs off of Death Magnetic where to be really good. The ending sounds way too much like This Was My Life by Megadeth. 9/10

5. Natural Born Killer – Loving the blastbeats. Great vocals. Pretty amazing. 10/10

6. So Far Away – Good pop acousticy song. It does build up well throughout. 9/10

7. God Hates Us – A bit too testoesterony. Quite random at times. At times quite good, but overall the weakest song. 7/10

8. Victim - Intro sounds a bit too much like Pink Floyd. Great arrangement. I love the chord changes throughout. 9/10

9. Tonight The World Dies – Quite a dark pop song. Some interesting vocals. 8/10

10. Fiction – Amazing intro and build up. The Revs vocals are pretty good in this. Quite an odd arrangement. Best song the album. 10/10

11. Save Us – Pretty interesting song with some cool twists and turns and some killer vocals in the chorus. Great ending. 9/10

CONCLUSION: Not their best, but you have to give them some credit for the matter in which it was made.

RIP The Rev

arcane-beautiful This album was released around the same time I had gotten into this band.

I seen the video for Bat County, and I was impressed (although they did look a little odd). Then more videos came out (one in particular that made me laugh).

This was my second buy from them, because I wasn’t too impressed from the singles, but I still liked them. And yes, the album versions of the songs are amazing and way better, and in my opinion shouldn’t have been edited.

I do think Avenged do excel at longer songs, but on this album, they did seem at times a wee bit forced, just to be a wee bit too long.

1. Beast & The Harlot - Amazing intro. It’s a bit like if the book Of Revelations had a pop vibe about it (lyrically I mean, dealing with references to Babylon and beasts). Overall, a classic composition. 10/10

2. Burn It Down - Great chorus. Love the vocal harmonies throughout and the odd key changes. 10/10

3. Blinded In Chains - Why do all these songs begin with B (well the first few do). Obvious Metallica influence. Some pretty kick ass moments. 8/10

4. Bat Country - Love the odd key changes. Great progression throughout. Synyster’s best solo in my opinion. 10/10

5. Trashed & Scattered - Quite frantic. But in a good way. Some amazing changes and odd vocals. 10/10

6. Seize The Day - Way too cheesy (and the video is hilarious, because it seems too forced to be serious). It is really well written though. 9/10

7. Sidewinder - Steely Dan metal? Best song on the album. Phenomenal instrumental and vocal work. 10/10

8. The Wicked End - Love the chorus. Pretty good, and some quite anti theist lyrics. Beautiful middle section. Very epic. 9/10

9. Strength Of The World - Intro sounds like something from a Quentin Tarentino movie. Very nice though. Very well arranged. But to too long to be honest, but still pretty impressive. 9/10

10. Betrayed - Whenever tribute songs come out, they are always very cheesy and too farfetched. But when it comes to the murder of a well respected person, and it’s from the killers perspective, but it’s a still a tribute, then that is an achievement well earned. Really well done, with a good song behind it. 9/10

11. M.I.A. - Good chorus, but a bit too cheesy for my liking. I really don’t like the lyrics. 8/10

CONCLUSION: This album is a perfect example of a band finding and progressing their sound. I think it’s perfected in the next album, but this album does show a lot of potential.