Avenged Sevenfold - Avenged Sevenfold (2007)

Avenged Sevenfold is a Heavy Metal/Metalcore (early works)/Hard Rock band from Huntington Beach, California. They formed in 1999 and consisted of M. Shadows (Vocals, real name is Matthew Sanders), Synyster Gates (Lead Guitar, real name is Brian Haner Jr.), Zacky Vengeance (Rhythm Guitar, real name is Zachary Baker), Johnny Christ (Bass, real name is Jonathan Seward), and until December 28, 2009, The Rev (Drums, real name James Sullivan). They are currently signed to Warner Brothers Records and are working on their fifth album, with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy as their drummer, as he was The Rev's favorite drummer.

Avenged Sevenfold's fourth full length album "Avenged Sevenfold" was the last album to feature The Rev. It debuted at #4 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The album consists of ten tracks which include "Critical Acclaim", "Almost Easy", "Scream", "Afterlife", "Gunslinger", "Unbound (The Wild Ride)", "Brompton Cocktail", "Lost", "A Little Piece of Heaven", and "Dear God". The album has also had three tracks released through the game Rock Band (those being "Almost Easy" as an on disc song for Rock Band 2, and "Critical Acclaim" and "Afterlife" available as downloads). The album starts off with a heavy hitter, that being "Critical Acclaim". It starts with, of all things, and Organ solo (played by M. Shadows) before Synyster comes in with short guitar introduction before Zacky Vengance comes in and harmonizes with him. The tracks themselves vary, some are slow, others fast paced, one has M. Shadows being auto-tuned (the track "Lost"), a few have orchestra sections, others have female vocals, and some sound like a country song. The album overall was quite good, not as good as Waking the Fallen or City of Evil, but still good.

Overall, the album was good from start to finish, but some of the songs seemed out of place, and the auto-tuning of M. Shadows seemed unnecessary. If you're into Guns n Roses, Pantera, Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, 36 Crazy Fists, and Atreyu, you should check the album out. The album was released on October 30, 2007 and is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Overall Rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

Buy the Album
Avenged Sevenfold's Website