Pat
SS.org Regular
Thoughts?
New avenged sevenfold
- Thread starter Pat
- Start date
KentBrockman
Bite back with Kent Brockman!
I listened to it all the way through. I was not excited.
It’s good that they are doing something different to what they are known for (2000s metal), but I’m not into this.
Cool video though.
It’s good that they are doing something different to what they are known for (2000s metal), but I’m not into this.
Cool video though.
Zado
SS.org Regular
No time to give a listen now, but I'm curious. Which band are they emulating this time?
Ben Pinkus
SS.org Regular
Looks like they are continuing down the prog/experimental route.
1st listen I did not like it, 2nd listen there are definite parts I like (some of the guitar lines, and quieter sections)
1st listen I did not like it, 2nd listen there are definite parts I like (some of the guitar lines, and quieter sections)
Pat
SS.org Regular
It took me a few listens to get into it, I've played it 8 or 9 times now and really like it. Will be interesting to see how it fits in the whole album context.
M Shadows vocals did sound a bit strained at first, almost as though he's struggling. Will see how the rest pans out.
Synster Gates shreds it up as usual, such an underrated player
M Shadows vocals did sound a bit strained at first, almost as though he's struggling. Will see how the rest pans out.
Synster Gates shreds it up as usual, such an underrated player
Zado
SS.org Regular
that guy's the main reason for me not listening to the band
HeHasTheJazzHands
SS.org Regular
Dudes getting old.
Also I'm surprised he didn't convince them to sell this album as an NFT lol
chinnybob
SS.org Regular
Really digging this. I thought The Stage was a masterpiece so very keen to hear them lean into the proggy side more. The structure of this one feels a little disjointed and echo what people have said about the vocals not sounding great but overall I'm a big fan. Guitar solo is awesome. Also thank god the production is up to scratch this time around!
wheresthefbomb
SS.org Regular
Damn he sounds old.
Good for them trying to keep it fresh, not my style though.
Good for them trying to keep it fresh, not my style though.
Zado
SS.org Regular
^same here, not my style. But honestly it's the least annoying piece of metal music I've heard lately. The voice is actually more decent than i remember
NickS
Rocket Surgeon
Haven't listened to it, probably won't. I don't hate them, but they do suck.
*Please nominate this as the most useful/constructive post of the year!
*Please nominate this as the most useful/constructive post of the year!
Brayden Buckingham
SS.org Regular
- Joined
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Huge A7X fan , the first few listens I was like " what is this " but after a few spins you start to really piece things together and it blends well .
Matt's vocals are different , could be this song , could be the whole album , who knows yet . It's not bad , or better , just different . I actually enjoy seeing them try something new out , compared to releasing a Stage 2.0 . I get a sense this is more of a atmospheric , storytelling song that's on the album , and they're keeping the heavier , catcher stuff for later . Syn absolutely shreds the solo , dare I say the highlight of the song , and I really like how audible the bass is ( as a bass player primarily ) compared to previous albums where you really had to listen for it . The production is definitely more akinned to the Metallica / A7X / " thrash " masters then the ultra modern , crisp metalcore style that's super popular . I like both . I feel this album will age very , very well down the line as with all A7X discography .
I'm just glad they're making music , and did things the way they wanted too , and took their time . These guys know what they're doing , let's have some faith . After the huge Warner Bros lawsuit ( which they're back on with lol ) and how they're all fathers , no ones getting younger , we should be happy they are continuing to expand their horizons and tour .
Matt's vocals are different , could be this song , could be the whole album , who knows yet . It's not bad , or better , just different . I actually enjoy seeing them try something new out , compared to releasing a Stage 2.0 . I get a sense this is more of a atmospheric , storytelling song that's on the album , and they're keeping the heavier , catcher stuff for later . Syn absolutely shreds the solo , dare I say the highlight of the song , and I really like how audible the bass is ( as a bass player primarily ) compared to previous albums where you really had to listen for it . The production is definitely more akinned to the Metallica / A7X / " thrash " masters then the ultra modern , crisp metalcore style that's super popular . I like both . I feel this album will age very , very well down the line as with all A7X discography .
I'm just glad they're making music , and did things the way they wanted too , and took their time . These guys know what they're doing , let's have some faith . After the huge Warner Bros lawsuit ( which they're back on with lol ) and how they're all fathers , no ones getting younger , we should be happy they are continuing to expand their horizons and tour .
Albake21
Ibanez Nerd
Just took a listen now. The song is pretty interesting, and I like the concept of it. Unfortunately, Matt's vocals are the worst part of the song, but I don't really understand why he sounds so "old". The dude is only 41. Take Howard Jones for example (Killswitch Engage, Light the Torch), he's 52 and uses similar yet more extreme sounding vocals and he still absolutely kills. Hell, even slightly better than his KSE days.
The music video, however, was cool as hell. The city parts really reminded me of the Halo 3 advertising campaign "believe" back in 2007.
The music video, however, was cool as hell. The city parts really reminded me of the Halo 3 advertising campaign "believe" back in 2007.
soul_lip_mike
SS.org Regular
Awesome guitar solo.
Ben Pinkus
SS.org Regular
He has blown his voice out a few times, which must take its toll.
On the vocals, I think they sound more 'raw' than previous albums, which may be a stylistic choice so not sure if that plays a part to why people are saying he sounds strained/different. I also think the mix doesn't help as the vocals don't seem to find their place in the mix and get a bit lost sometimes too.
After a couple more listens, I still don't love it but fair play for them doing something different and doing it their own way
RevDrucifer
SS.org Regular
I love it, not so much for the song itself, but because it’s basically an anti-single. ”Here’s 6 minutes of a slow paced song without a real vocal hook for anyone to dig into that just kinda floats along with no big payoff to be found anywhere“
I’ve long appreciated these guys, don’t dig every song by any means but they’ve been doing their own thing since their 3rd record and instead of just pumping out repeats of previous albums they change it up every time. It’s pretty ballsy, IMO, to get a following like they have and then just go “Hey, whether you all stick around or not, we’re gonna go be a prog band now”
I never understood the backlash they received when they first broke. Metal at the time was pretty much Lamb Of God, Killswitch, New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, solos had all but dried up in music, classic metal fans were bitching about all the screaming in modern music and then A7X comes out with City Of Evil, clean singing, shredding guitars, harmony guitars, outstanding musicianship and were met with a resounding ”THEY’RE A BUNCH OF FUCKING POSERS!”
I also get a kick out of the speculation on Matt’s voice, which happens with EVERY album cycle, “He finally blew it out”, “It sounds tired”, “He had to stop screaming back in the day cuz he blew it out, guess it caught up with him” It never fails. Then the dude goes out on the road and sings the songs the same way he always had, night after night with little issue. I wouldn’t want that dude’s job.
His vocal tone covers up a lot of the technique, for that to make sense, compare his voice to someone like James LaBrie, who you can very clearly tell is a trained vocalist utilizing learned technique to do what he does. I’d be willing to bet Matt could pull off Rod Stewart like a motherfucker, they just have that airy/raspy tone to their voice. Dude has a killer range and outstanding control of it. I saw them back in the day on the COE tour when they were still booking 400-seat venues and he tore it up then just the same as he has on pretty much every touring cycle since.
And the mix/master on this and The Stage makes me really stoked. They said they intentionally went anti-brickwall with The Stage and while it doesn’t sound anything like a modern metal production, it sounds fucking great. The drums aren’t all sample replaced and sound like a real kit being played by a human, you can crank the stereo and it actually gets louder without distorting to shit. Not sure if they had Barresi mix this one or not, but I loved what he did on The Stage and you can never go wrong with an Andy Wallace mix.
I’ve long appreciated these guys, don’t dig every song by any means but they’ve been doing their own thing since their 3rd record and instead of just pumping out repeats of previous albums they change it up every time. It’s pretty ballsy, IMO, to get a following like they have and then just go “Hey, whether you all stick around or not, we’re gonna go be a prog band now”
I never understood the backlash they received when they first broke. Metal at the time was pretty much Lamb Of God, Killswitch, New Wave Of American Heavy Metal, solos had all but dried up in music, classic metal fans were bitching about all the screaming in modern music and then A7X comes out with City Of Evil, clean singing, shredding guitars, harmony guitars, outstanding musicianship and were met with a resounding ”THEY’RE A BUNCH OF FUCKING POSERS!”
I also get a kick out of the speculation on Matt’s voice, which happens with EVERY album cycle, “He finally blew it out”, “It sounds tired”, “He had to stop screaming back in the day cuz he blew it out, guess it caught up with him” It never fails. Then the dude goes out on the road and sings the songs the same way he always had, night after night with little issue. I wouldn’t want that dude’s job.
His vocal tone covers up a lot of the technique, for that to make sense, compare his voice to someone like James LaBrie, who you can very clearly tell is a trained vocalist utilizing learned technique to do what he does. I’d be willing to bet Matt could pull off Rod Stewart like a motherfucker, they just have that airy/raspy tone to their voice. Dude has a killer range and outstanding control of it. I saw them back in the day on the COE tour when they were still booking 400-seat venues and he tore it up then just the same as he has on pretty much every touring cycle since.
And the mix/master on this and The Stage makes me really stoked. They said they intentionally went anti-brickwall with The Stage and while it doesn’t sound anything like a modern metal production, it sounds fucking great. The drums aren’t all sample replaced and sound like a real kit being played by a human, you can crank the stereo and it actually gets louder without distorting to shit. Not sure if they had Barresi mix this one or not, but I loved what he did on The Stage and you can never go wrong with an Andy Wallace mix.
Pat
SS.org Regular
Very interesting you made that observation which is pretty much the theme of the music video, very cool observation
