Avenged sevenfold are a band who will always court controversy no matter what they do - whether it be snorting avalanches of cocaine or lewd acts with foreign prostitutes, however, with the release of their new album it seems that they are trying to lose their old sleazy goth image once and for all and instead move on up into the realms of the rock gods.

Since the release of City of Evil Ax7 have been criticised for dumbing down their vocals - the screams which were often associated with their hardcore roots on Waking the Fallen were replaced by more melodic singing - and on their self titled album this has never been more obvious, and the nasal whinings of vocalist M. Shadows were never the bands best attribute. You will be pleased to hear, however, that the dual guitar lines of guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance are still as awe inspiring as ever - even if Gates' sweeping solos of do become a little bit repetitive near the end of the album. The drumming of The Rev… more »

Avenged sevenfold are a band who will always court controversy no matter what they do - whether it be snorting avalanches of cocaine or lewd acts with foreign prostitutes, however, with the release of their new album it seems that they are trying to lose their old sleazy goth image once and for all and instead move on up into the realms of the rock gods.

Since the release of City of Evil Ax7 have been criticised for dumbing down their vocals - the screams which were often associated with their hardcore roots on Waking the Fallen were replaced by more melodic singing - and on their self titled album this has never been more obvious, and the nasal whinings of vocalist M. Shadows were never the bands best attribute. You will be pleased to hear, however, that the dual guitar lines of guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance are still as awe inspiring as ever - even if Gates' sweeping solos of do become a little bit repetitive near the end of the album. The drumming of The Rev is getting better with each album and he is now showing more than ever why he is regarded as one of metal's drumming elite.

The band have taken inspiration from many sources, but it seems that they are beginning to emulate Guns N' Roses a little too closely (which some would argue is not necessarily a bad thing), but if I wanted to hear a Guns N' Roses clone I'd wait around for Chinese Democracy or go and watch a tribute act.

Standout tracks include the single Almost Easy with it's ridiculously catchy chorus and stomping Metallica styled riffage, and the Tim Burton-esque A Little Piece of Heaven sounding as if it's been stolen from the set of The Nightmare Before Christmas. The spirit of Johnny Cash is invoked during Gunslinger, whilst Brompton Cocktail is an air guitarists wet dream come true.

This album is definitely worth a spin, but be warned you may not like it the first time round.

This is an album which on first listen, seems a bit of a let down. Being one of their harder more metalcore based fans must be very difficult at this stage because you can see the kind of comments from them (look above). But give it a day, and you start to understand why this album has been given the name of the band. You begin to see the diversity and epic nature of some of the songs. In some cases you see a slightly cheesy band take cheesiness to such a level where it actually sounds amazing. The first two songs successfully lean you into the album expecting a second 'city of evil' but as you listen on, you can see the diversity, covering everything from country to cheesy dance (lost talkbox vocals) to anthemic metal tracks. There were many times while listening to the album i closed my eyes and imagined a perfect scene out of a tim burton film (a little piece of heaven). I must admit as a longstanding A7x fan i found city of evil being their ultimate album, but in 'avenged… more »

This is an album which on first listen, seems a bit of a let down. Being one of their harder more metalcore based fans must be very difficult at this stage because you can see the kind of comments from them (look above). But give it a day, and you start to understand why this album has been given the name of the band. You begin to see the diversity and epic nature of some of the songs. In some cases you see a slightly cheesy band take cheesiness to such a level where it actually sounds amazing. The first two songs successfully lean you into the album expecting a second 'city of evil' but as you listen on, you can see the diversity, covering everything from country to cheesy dance (lost talkbox vocals) to anthemic metal tracks. There were many times while listening to the album i closed my eyes and imagined a perfect scene out of a tim burton film (a little piece of heaven). I must admit as a longstanding A7x fan i found city of evil being their ultimate album, but in 'avenged sevenfold' you see the band truly coming together. You get to see 'The rev' really showing an influence with the more dramatic congs, and his unique vocals (check out his sideproject - pinkly smooth). You get to see a bit more of the harmonic guitar parts work in scales which only avenged sevenfold can get away with. and you discover a completely new side of shadows' vocals. This album is not city of evil part II. it is the rebirth of a metalcore scene band into their very own unique genre.

having said all this the fact that the lyrics are sensored makes me dislike this version and therefore i would suggest getting another version.

Ray