Album Of The Week: City Of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold

Before 2005, not too many people knew who Avenged Sevenfold were and if they did it was only because of one track and that was Unholy Confessions. That was all about to change for the band when they sat down to record their third studio album which happened to be their first major label debut. On June 6, 2005, the band would release City Of Evil which saw a lot of changes. The band was still made up of M. Shadows (Vocals), Zacky Vengeance (Rhythm Guitar), Synyster Gates (Lead Guitar), Johnny Christ (Bass), and The Rev (Drums), but the sound of the band would change. The band took more of a rock sound when it came to approaching this one which even included M. Shadows training with a vocal coach Ron Anderson (he worked with Axl Rose). The changes were for the better as it reflected on their album sales as it debuted at number 30 on the Billboard Top 200 seeing the band sell over 2.5 million in a time when a lot of bands were not accomplishing that and this was as of 2015 their best selling album. Guitar World ranked it number 63 on their 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time list as well as appearing on Kerrang‘s 666 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and 50 Albums You Need To Hear Before You Die.

1. Beast And The Harlot– The third single released from the album and the opening =track featuring their sped up version of Guns N’ Roses styled hard rock chaos. The track is about the fall of Babylon, The Great. 5/5

2. Burn It Down– The first single released off of the album and a true highlight in my opinion as it starts off with The Rev’s amazing drum work before the band shows their love for power metal. I think the track is about how he is willing to fight for what is his no matter what you think. 5/5

3. Blinded In Chains-a great track musically that M. Shadows says is about, “Blinded In Chains” is about the philosophical war between Republicans and Democrats. The former are excessively closed-minded.” He also says that politicians are, “a bunch of — idiots where everyone looks at Michael Moore and does what he says.” I can’t argue with him there. 4.5/5

4. Bat Country– One of the biggest singles ever released by the band as the song was heavily influenced by Hunter S. Thompson’s book Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. The song title is actually from a line in the book. 5/5

5. Trashed and Scattered– another in your face, razor sharp guitar drive tracks that is all about the band rejecting all the hate from critics because they don’t play music for them, they play it for the fans. 4.5/5

6. Seize The Day– a ballad of sorts for the band that I would say is the band’s November Rain. The track is about someone who wasted their chance in life at happiness so he is telling you to seize the day and not look back. No more what if’s!!! This is one of the best Avenged Sevenfold tracks ever!!! 5/5

7. Sidewinder– a hard rock classic from the band that has a very Metallica Black Album sound to it. The track also features Synyster Gate’s dad providing a acoustic guitar solo for the song. 4.5/5

8. The Wicked End– I love the bass work from Johnny in the beginning before Gates and co. come in with a shred fest. I think the song is about the end of the world and how we ruined it. 4.5/5

9. Strength of the World– I love the acoustic intro to the track with it’s western flare and the orchestra on the track. It gives the song a very epic feel to it in this track that is about a man who is there to avenge the death of his family. 5/5

10. Betrayed– a very amazing tribute to the death of the great Dimebag Darrell who was taken just the year before. 5/5

11. M.I.A.- an eight minute epic that is all about a soldier who is M.I.A. in war and it could be about the Iraq war considering when the album was released, but it really could be about any war. 4.5/5

My Final Thoughts– One of their best albums in my opinion as the band showed potential in this one as far as songwriting abilities and it only become greater with every release after this one. This one established them as a heavy hitter on the scene. There really isn’t a bad track on the album, but my favorites I obviously gave a five star rating. I am going to give the album 4.8 stars out of five for a final grade.

Rock Single Of The Week: Red Cold River by Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin is one of those bands that has had it’s ups and downs which included the band taking a hiatus and not seeing new music released for six years. I have to give it to the fans of this band because they waited and they made 2015’s Dark Before Dawn a huge success for the band and now the band has a brand new album entitled Ember which will be released in 2018. To keep fans satisfied until the album is officially released the band has provided us with the first single of the album in the very atmospheric track Red Cold River. While the track may be atmospheric in nature, it has some real heavy elements to it that make it a cool track to check out. Vocalist/guitarist Benjamin Burnley’s vocals on the track can go from being intense to very melodic and I loved it. The band will be going on a month long tour with Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold and Synyster Gates talked about it saying, “We’ve been friends with these guys for a long time. Bullet for My Valentine, we’re bros. We’ve been in the trenches with those guys. My god, the fact that both bands are still around blows my fucking mind. They’re the coolest dudes and obviously we’re super fans of the music and the genres make sense. Breaking Benjamin, talk about songwriting, I mean, some of the greatest songwriters of the modern era. And, obviously it’s a little heavier. So to bring a pretty unique package you got super heavy, then there’s us and whatever the fuck that is and then really super strong songwriting through that hard rock filter.” Check out the track below:

Album Of The Week: Hail To The King by Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold released their latest album last year with a lot of ridicule and allegations that they blatantly ripped off artists like Metallica, Guns N Roses, and Megadeth to name a few. It’s the band’s sixth studio album and the fourth via Warner Brothers. It also marks the debut of new drummer Arin Ilejay and the first studio album without any contributions from their late drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. For some reason, the band changed it’s original album cover design to the one you see above. When talking about the musical style for the album, here is what Synyster Gates had to say, “I think our songwriting has improved by leaps and bounds. Sonically, this record is our biggest record by fucking far. When you turn this fucking thing on, it blasts your fucking head off.” M. Shadows talked about the music itself, “On this record, we want a very bare bones, riff-oriented approach. Because it’s really easy for us to say ‘That melody would sound great here, throw this background vocal here, here’s this harmony.’ We had to restrain ourselves from doing that just to keep it more badass and just more straightforward rock.” Despite all of the allegations, this is definitely an album worth listening to in my opinion.

Shepard Of Fire is the first track on the record and it was specially released as the theme to Call of Duty: Black Ops II zombies map Origins. The song is absolutely epic reminding me a lot of The Black Album‘s overall balls to the wall sonic attack. I am very impressed so far by one track which says a lot. Hail To The King is the next track and the first single we were all treated to about a tyrannical king who strikes the wrath of vengeance against all who oppose him. Doing Time reminds me of something that would have been of GNR’s Use Your Illusion because it’s a balls out rock song. Synyster Gates does his best to show that he’s today’s modern era Slash with an amazing solo. I’m sorry, but This Means War sounds way too much like Sad But True by Metallica except with different lyrics. Requiem‘s beginning sounds like something Ghost B.C. does until the band finally kicks with their groove laden metal. The riffs are nice and beefy almost as if the riffs are taking illegal growth hormones.

Crimson Day starts off on the softer side like we have seen Avenged do many times in their career. For example, the style of the track reminds me of Afterlife or Seize The Day proving they can turn the harder than hell switch anytime they choose to. Heretic is such an amazing hard rock song that features some nasty grooves and chunky riffs that remind mes of Megadeth’s Symphony Of Destruction. The beginning of Coming Home looks like the band took influence from Iron Maiden with the epic guitar intro that eventually explodes in the metal madness and delivery that made people love Iron Maiden. Planets is a punishing metal track that the stars have delivered to us from Avenged Sevenfold. The riffs are meaty and you won’t be able to not bang your head to this. You will be in their trance listening to this track. Believe me, I couldn’t help, but play air guitar to this when it was on in certain parts and air drums to other parts. Acid Rain is the last track on the album and it feels like the end of the adventure with the epic piano behind the band’s playing with the neat sound effects that come in. The track is pretty bluesy showing off a side of the group that not too many people realize exist. These guys are deeply rooted in metal and hard rock and they aren’t afraid to show it off especially with the bluesy guitar solo that comes in at the four minute mark. I am giving the album four stars out of five because it is truly an amazing album again despite all of the allegations. It’ll be interesting to see how they address all of their detractors as the band has announced they are working on a new album as we speak.

The 2014 Revolver Golden God Awards Review

Everyone was looking forward to performances from A Day To Remember, Guns N Roses, and even Zakk Wylde’s, but nobody saw this coming at the 2014 Revolver Golden God Awards which was Slayer opening the show as the surprise performer. One of the things people expect at this particular awards show is to see who the surprise guest performer will be, but Slayer didn’t need it as the bulldozed their way through classics South Of Heaven, War Ensemble, and the premiere of a brand new track Implode. It was especially cool to see Marilyn Manson intro the band in. Right after Slayer was done with their set, it was time to meet this year’s hosts of the show since Chris Jericho wasn’t doing it this year. Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine of VH1 Classics That Metal Show were the hosts and their intro was horrible. Then it was off to the first presenters of the show as Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park came out to present The Best Vocalist Award (see below for complete list of winners), then that was followed by Dave Navarro and Jill Janus of Huntress presenting the Best Live Band Award.

Frankie Palmeri of Emmure came out next to present the next live band of the night which was A Day To Remember who brought something completely different than Slayer, but they pleased the crowd as the band performed hit songs such as Right Back At It Again, End Of Me, and their closer All I Want. They were the second band to perform and still no surprise guest on stage with which is unusual at this point in the show. Then there was some technical difficulties as we waited for the cameras to show us Tony Hawk and Carmen Electra who were presenting the best live band award which was won by Avenged Sevenfold. They weren’t at The Nokia Theater, but they were brought in via satellite from a gig in Minneapolis where they gave the award away to a fan from the crowd. Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and a couple of members from Memphis May Fire came out next to present the best new band award.

Then the legendary Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein along with the sexy brand new lead singer of Arch Enemy Alissa White-Gluz to intro The Pretty Reckless who were the next band to perform that night. Taylor Momsen is beautiful and very sexual on stage as most of you may know, but she has an amazing band that backs her up as they had one heck of a performance. The band performed their tracks Fucked Up World, Heaven Knows, and Going To Hell. Zakk Wylde would eventually come out to do a special Piano performance of In This River to pay tribute to all that have fallen over the years, but who was working the special video screwed up saying that Jani Lane was the singer for Motorhead. Then more technical difficulties plagued the show as we waited for Suicide Silence to take the stage to perform for the first time with their brand new singer Eddie Hermida. The band would play the tracks You Only Live Once and No Pity For A Coward, but it was their last song that was amazing. The band brought out Max Cavalera of Soulfly/Sepultura fame and they performed Roots on stage together that had me saying thank God someone finally had a guest on stage.

Alice Cooper presented The Golden God Award to Joan Jett who mentioned The Runaways. After her speech, she wanted to perform, but they nixed it so that Alice could introduce the performance. She opened up her performance with a rocking version of Bad Reputation which was tearing up the house. The next track she performed was a track that she had written with Dave Grohl called Any Weather which captured the spirit of the Blackhearts. Then Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were on fire with the next song I Hate Myself For Loving You for which she was joined onstage by Taylor Momsen. What I didn’t understand is that after the performance was done they performed it again to which Billy Gibbons would join them on stage to be the cheerleader. It was one heck of a performance anyways, but I believe they may have been shooting a version for television.

Andrew Dice Clay came out to present the video montage for Axl Rose while Nicolas Cage presented Axl Rose of  Guns N Rose with the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award. Of course from that point on, we were wondering how long it was going to take for the band to actual perform. The crowd was definitely anxiously awaiting the band to hit the stage as we also knew that Duff McKagan would be performing with the band. The band eventually came out and started rocking right away with It’s So Easy. The band would blaze through one of my all time favorite tracks Welcome To The Jungle with a killer intro by DJ Ashba. One thing I will admit is that Axl’s vocals were a little off tonight when it came to his high notes. Then for the third track of the night they would dig into their latest album Chinese Democracy with the Better. The band would then perform This I Love from Chinese Democracy. Then the band kicked into the kickass Use Your Illusion II track You Could Be Mine. The band would continue with Sweet Child Of Mine and a Babe I’m Gonna Leave You/November Rain medley after Axl introduced the whole band to the crowd. My final thoughts on the show is that I thought it could have been executed a little bit better than it had been in the past. I certainly miss having Chris Jericho hosting the show, but after a while the boys from That Metal Show did fine.

Awards:

Best Vocalist- Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age

Best Live Band- Rob Zombie

Most Dedicated Fans- Avenged Sevenfold

Best New Talent- Twelve Foot Ninja

Paul Gray Best Bassist- Chris Kael

Best Drummer- Arin Ilejay

Comeback Of The Year- Deep Purple

Best Film & Video- This Is A Wasteland by Pierce The Veil

Song Of The Year- Lift Me Up by Five Finger Death Punch

Most Metal Athlete- Josh Barnett

Golden God Award- Joan Jett

Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist- Zacky Vengeance & Synyster Gates

Album Of The Year- 13 by Black Sabbath

Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award- Axl Rose of Guns N Roses