2007 was a dark time for hard rock and heavy metal. Quality bands with commercial success were few and far between. Horrendous pop acts like L.M.F.A.O. were about to take off. As well as rap completely dominating the charts. But that didn’t stop the Hunting Beach natives of Avenged Sevenfold from delivering their fourth and signature self titled album.
Sevenfold were one of the only lone heavy melodic bands that had major commercial success in the 2,000s. Just a pure, old school heavy metal band. Just trying to write the best song possible. Nothing too flashy, nothing too crazy. Just solid hard rock/heavy metal all the way through. Despite their stupid ass stage names.
Their sound had evolved a bit by the time 2007 rolled around. And the band was ready to deliver their fourth and most popular album to date. This time around exploring more orchestral influences. Even going as far as to explore progressive territory. On tracks such as ‘Unbound (The Wild Ride)’ and ‘A Little Piece of Heaven.’ The album opener ‘Critical Acclaim’ also flirts with the mentality. But without sacrificing the beefy metal edge that A7X possess.
Of course, pulverizing heavy prog isn’t the only order of the day. There’s also a great deal of post grunge balladry. It’s what you had to do to make it during those times. Sevenfold is certainly no exception. Which is on display on tracks such as ‘Dear God’ and ‘Afterlife.’ With the latter providing an old school, catchy riff for the verses. ‘Almost Easy’ reigns with its seamless combination of power metal and modern pop melodies. ‘Scream’ brings in the major general riffage. A constant throughout the record. ‘Brompton Cocktail’ is another solid example of the more progressive tendencies that AX7 are exploring. The added strings bring in a maturity that hadn’t been on display with previous records. While ‘Lost’ follows with more typical old school thrash tendencies.
Upon its release, the self titled album climbed to number four on the Billboard 200 albums charts. A major major feat in 2007. Not only that, but the band had gained a larger audience. Doubters were now coming around and seeing A7X as a truly legit heavy metal act. Again, despite stupid stage names such as ‘M. Shadows’ and ‘Zacky Vengence.’ The music is good. And they perform it well live. And have grown exponentially since then. Their follow up, ‘Nightmare,’ would solidify them as one of the great modern hard rock/metal acts. Crank it, live it, love it. What are some of your favorite tracks off of the album?
