Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
Rating
RIYL
Guns n RosesBoston
Metallica
Iron Maiden
Misfits
Tracklist
1. Beast and the Harlot2. Burn It Down
3. Blinded in Chains
4. Bat Country
5. Trashed and Scattered
6. Seize the Day
7. Sidewinder
8. Wicked End
9. Strength of the World
10. Betrayed
11. M.I.A.
Users Rating |
Your RatingCreate an account or log in to rate this album |
Recent Ratings |
|
|
|
Coming from a person who hates everything associated with fashioncore, eye mascara, Atreyu, not to mention their first album, I totally expected Avenged Sevenfold's newest effort to be a soft pile of force-fed crap. Even after hearing that it would be an 11-track, 70-minute anti-mainstream opus, I still had many reservations. Rarely does a band joining the corporate world of major labels bring them a sudden jolt of artistic integrity. That said, the results that unfolded were shocking. If any restraints were put on this band by Warner, it was of the positive nature, to say the least. Gone are the pseudo-goth screams and what remains is an almost beautiful hairspray-laden metal album. If only they had titled this album Use Your Illusion 3 we could have had a conceptually flawless album. Instead they opted for the more dramatic City of Evil. Beggars can't be choosers, so they say.
Avenged Sevenfold went back in time nearly 20 years with this record, drawing to mind bands like Guns n Roses, Boston, and Metallica, sometimes so closely that you wouldn’t even know the difference. If you were born after 1985 or so, this may seem like a vomit-inducing statement. However, being born in 1980 myself, and totally engrossed in the culture, this album gave me nothing but a warm, gooey feeling of nostalgia. It's got it all: the rangy solos, pianos, Spanish guitars, cigarette-stained crooning, even lighter-waving ballads. This all seems like dangerous terrain, especially since this is being marketed primarily to kids who haven't seen a new studio album from Guns n Roses in their lifetime. But lo and behold, this band is popular, building mass amounts of steam and hype along the way.
So not only has the band changed style dramatically, they have also, in the process, made an exquisite record. The track "Trashed and Scattered" sounds like Axl covering Boston's "More Than A Feeling." Could you possibly ask for anything cooler? Trends and history seem to repeat and go in cycles, so maybe this will spark the resurgence of 80's ballad metal. As bad as that sounds, I suppose it could be worse. This would, however, make a heck of a landmark album. So the question begs to be asked: if Atreyu were on the side of the road with a flat tire, would Avenged Sevenfold stop to help them? Well, to quote the immortal words from Empire Records: "No way, man. They would spin the wheel, take aim, pound on the gas, and take those suckers out." I'd expect nothing less from the City of Evil.
--Adam Roncaglione
Comments
Santa Monica, CA
[IMG]http://www.denness.net/rpi/username/KingKazy[/IMG]
Minnesota
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Tucson, AZ
Atascadero, CA
Decoymusic.com (CEO/Founder)
Blue Reef Design Studios (Web Development)
http://aarontroy.tumblr.com
Budapest, Hungary
Behind you!
"I too have an uncle... come in..."
CD Collection
Greenville, SC
read the new AP, he can scream, but he doesn't want too. they made this album exactly how they wanted to.
[img]http://www.denness.net/rpi/username/thousandjulys[/img]
Atascadero, CA
he actually cant scream anymore. I was talking to his girlfriend/tourmanager at Warped Tour 2004 when she was telling me and one of the Hopeless guys that he went to a doctor and the doctor told him if he keeps screaming like he did then he would lose all speaking ability by the time he's 30yrs old.. She then proceeded to say the new album would contain mostly singing because it doesnt damage his chords. In the old songs he still screams but I assume they wont be playing a lot of the old songs live anymore for this reason.
Decoymusic.com (CEO/Founder)
Blue Reef Design Studios (Web Development)
http://aarontroy.tumblr.com
Greenville, SC
Ok, here is a a direct quote from the man himself, "my vocal coach has shown me how to do it without hurting my voice-it's just one of those things where we were sick of that style of music. It was like, Fuck it, we don't even want to do that anymore."
[img]http://www.denness.net/rpi/username/thousandjulys[/img]
The Great North Woods
Darla Farmer
RIYL:
the Beatles
Tom Waits
Murder By Death
A Whisper in the Noise
the Blood Brothers
We live as we dream- alone.
~Joseph Conrad