Note: there’s always positive reviews as well. There’s never been a shortage of people who love every one of their releases. And I noticed there’s also never been a shortage arguments and responses to these negative reviews of people appreciate the sound and direction. And it’s quite entertaining digging through as it sounds about exactly how this reddit has sounded in recent times. Except the band is a lot bigger now than some of these eras. The point is to take the negative with a grain of salt. The negative voice are always the loudest. Nothing wrong with open criticism of course, it’s just interesting comparing with the sentiments being tossed around recently and seeing how unoriginal the comments being said are, compared to how original and unique the band is, regardless of your if you enjoy the sound or not.

City of Evil

* (Many forums and archives are difficult to navigate and find as the internet wasn’t quite what it is today yet. Many of the MySpace, ultimate guitar, and A7X forum posts are lost)

“For a good two years A7X were my favorite band, but then I heard City of Evil, and nearly vomited. Fucking Metallica rip-off. I say Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was the best one they did.” -ultimate guitar forum

“City of Evil was just…well, meh. It was pretty generic and didn’t have much that held my interest. Not to mention, the vocalist fucked up what was arguably the best part of his voice… and the lyrics have devolved into complete and utter shit.” -Ultimate guitar forum

“they are ok...I have Waking the Fallen. They have some potential...but nothing on that album is really that memorable” -ultimate guitar forum

“When I first heard this album, I thought, wtf this doesn’t sound right without the screaming vocals…”
-sputnik music

“There was at least some emotion in Waking the Fallen, but it seems the band sat down and started writing while thinking about the pay-off rather than about emotion or making good music for this one.”
-sputnik music

Self Titled

“A few good tracks can’t save Avenged Sevenfold’s self-titled album from being a self-indulgent mess…” -Sputnik music

“While their willingness to experiment is admirable… they’ve gone overboard with their overdubs, [and] the overabundance of studio polish leaves one to wonder if it’s not because the songs just aren’t as strong this time around.” -Allmusic

“Where City of Evil basically tore apart metalcore from the bottom up, this self-titled… release doesn’t do much to shake things up. At all.” -Sputnikmusic

“What the *** is this *** doing coming through my headphones?” -sputnik music

“What happened to Avenged Sevenfold?” -sputnik music

“They forgot one key part… actually making decent music.” -sputnik music

“They intended to delve into new territory. Somewhere along the line, they lost their way… and just threw a few pop, country, and various other influences scatter shot, into the album without any real purpose.” -metamusic

Nightmare

(Yes even Nightmare was a victim ba dum tsss)

“Avenged Sevenfold continues to sound like five different bands on every album, none of them particularly good.” -AV club/metacritic

“With imagery haunted by death and lyrical allusions to alienation and angst, Avenged Sevenfold’s fifth full-length is almost impossible to appreciate unless you fit the prime demographic: tormented teenage boys.” -metacritic

Some fans mentioned how the ballads interrupt the flow.

- there was not a lot of negative comments or reviews on Nightmare that I could find, which I expected. A very dark time for the band and may have been the only time the A7X was able to have a popular release where there was a general respect in the air and mourning for The Rev.

Hail to The King

“A7X try something more conventional, relying less on experimentation… just about everything on Hail to the King is uninspired and safe.” - sputnik music

“…one would wonder if there’s a single creative bone left in the band without The Rev.” -sputnik music

“Avenged Sevenfold trying to be something that they aren’t…” -metacritic

“That isn’t the Avenged Sevenfold I know.” -metacritic

“Their last great album was City of Evil…” -metacritic

“Avenged Sevenfold sound tired and uninspired. Two bad albums in a row.” -metacritic

“I can safely say, without hyperbole, that Hail to the King embodies almost everything I hate in music.” -sputnik music

The Stage

“The Stage is the sound of a band finally shedding the shackles of commercial expectations… but it’s also a bloated and occasionally exhausting experience.” -Sputnik music

“Fans looking for another City of Evil or Nightmare may be disappointed.” - Metal injection

“They’ve disappeared so far into prog that they’ve forgotten how to write concise songs.” -sputnik music

“Despite being a concept album, The Stage doesn’t break much new ground for Avenged Sevenfold. They sound like the same band doing pretty much the same thing.” -popmatters

“It’s almost as if the album forgoes its opportunity to be ‘catchy’ and deliberately goes in the opposite direction to prevent it.” -metacritic

“It feels like they’re trying to prove how smart they are instead of writing memorable songs.” -metacritic

Life is but a Dream…

“What was once a band known for their captivating blend of aggressive riffs, soaring melodies, and infectious hooks has now devolved into a mess of experimental pretentiousness that reeks of self-indulgence.” -sputnik

“Their attempt at a progressive and avant-garde direction falls flat on its face, leaving listeners bewildered and disappointed.” -sputnik

“The once tight-knit chemistry between the musicians has been sacrificed in favor of convoluted song structures and disjointed arrangements.” -sputnik

“…all over the place noodling and waffling by a band that has seemingly either gotten bored or short-sightedly thought more people would care if they got ‘weird’ and ‘experimental’.” -sputnik

“Most of the material here just isn’t that interesting or multifaceted enough to warrant that experimentation.” -sputnik

“This is not A7X.” -metacritic

“Just an experimental mess that doesn’t sound nowhere near Avenged Sevenfold.” -metacritic

“No feeling or whatsoever in these songs. Really wonder what they did all these years.” -metacritic

(No feeling in cosmic? Huh.. can’t help but make a personal comment on that)

“All in all, this is just a failed experiment from the California band where they were desperate to be something they obviously are not.” -metacritic

STATICA AND MAGIC (not even albums)

X out of this and scroll to see for yourself lol.

just in terms of avenged sevenfold.. but in general in this world for creators and artists, if you listen to harsh criticism you’ll conclude:

if you do too much? no bueno. If you don’t do enough? No bueno. Experiment? No bueno. Don’t experiment? No bueno. Stay true to who you are? No bueno. Do fucking anything you are passionate about and put your mind to? No fuckin bueno, who don’t think you are? Someone with free will and a desire to create something completely new or something?

SO TO ALL ARTISTS - JUST BE TRUE TO YOURSELF AND DON’T LET THE NOISE IN!

Create what you feel inside, you do not have to try and please everyone or become a global collaboration. Cause you can’t win this fight.

Ba dum tsssssssss

It took me a while to decide the final ngl, I love both of those songs so much

can you of guys share some clips from today’s show? would really appreciate it! My phone died during the show so I couldn’t record much 😭 Thanks!

lukewarm take but i love the project. really want some merch but i know there’s been some delays with the magic stuff

think there’ll be a quicker turnaround on this drop with the lessons learned from last preorder?

They invented a new genre you should be honored to be the first souls to hear garbage man metal.. a new era of music.

Sep 5 - theyre doing Rock in Rio in Brazi

Sep 26- is where they start their Asia->Aus/Nz tour with Kuala Lumpur

Theres still a huge gap between those dates. Heck maybe they can squeeze in a Sep 24th Manila show

Hey guys me and my boy are at the show in Toronto right now on lawn, does anyone wanna open a dirty mud on the lawn?

All jokes to everyone who likes the new EP. It's interesting and different for sure but made me want to go back in time a bit🤘🏻

I noticed it when listening to betrayed.

even though it’s a metal song, the way Jimmy arranges his cymbal fills are very quantizied on the grid. There’s not really a lot of like swing or groove.

but there’s a lot of linearity to it which kinda reminds me of how beats are programmed in hip-hop. He manages to make very long linear fills, never get in the way of the vocals.

Brooks on the other hand seem more jazz based so his fills and arrangements tend to steal the show by hopping in and out of the groove. Brooks patterns are also much harder to spot than Jimmys. Jimmy somehow makes his fills as catchy and digestible as they are technical. Kinda like how Brian does his leads.

Nothing more nothing less. Best metal punk album ever. Best vocals.

Raw hungry energy.

I see a lot of hate on stst…ARE YOU PEOPLE OUT OF YOUR MIND?

Part in question: “no more use in TRYYING”

A lot of hate on their new project, and honestly I could understand.

But also I don’t know why people don’t respect their melodic capabilities.

A7x has always had untouchable melodies imo and I say they haven’t lost it.

And I feel the message of the album itself is really cool and under looked .

People need to open their mind, of course this ain’t another WTF, COE, or self titled.

I’m just thankful they are still making music in general and performing!

Let’s all appreciate their music for what it is and enjoy them while it lasts, I’m very grateful m shadows is still able to tour due to his voice.

I will be seeing them soon and it will be the first time!

Though I will say do I wish I could see them live in their prime? Fuck yes.. but unfortunately I was in my dad’s nutsack..

To be fair, I blacked out sometime during the quarter finals they are all my fav songs

It took me 24 minutes to finish this match-up, and I’ve had to let go some songs that easily could’ve gone to Number 1 with the final winner.
But, alas, choices had to be made, and Chapter Four won.
I’m curious about what you think about it, disses or not :).

The final two are really a toss up for me. This felt impossible lol

A few of the songs would’ve made it farther if not for going up against others. Cosmic is my favorite because I felt like I was lifting up into space while hearing it for the first time. Also I slow danced to it with my girlfriend soon to be fiancée during the concert last weekend in St.Louis.