I raced to the record store to pick up Avenged Sevenfold’s City of Evil with an almost orgasmic excitement, but by the time I listened to the first two or three tracks, I had gone limp. Fans of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and Waking the Fallen will be disappointed by City of Evil. That’s not to say that Ax7’s newest endeavor is bad, it’s just a huge change of pace.
The throat shredding screams and textured harmonic growls are completely gone, which is the main reason why City of Evil sounds so much different. It’s not the Avenged we’re used to. M. Shadows’ vocals are actually sung rather than yelled paralleling that of Axel Rose. There’s still a ton of vocal harmonies and textures, which give City of Evil that trademark Ax7 sound.
Topically, Ax7 maintain their vague lyrical assault, yet with City of Evil there seems to be a constant story line of destruction , war (“Blinded in Chains”) and the apocalypse (“The Wicked End”). Additionally, the City of Evil even shows some signs of being a concept album about the fall of the world based on biblical references, which are present, and each song somehow referencing another song. No matter what the topics are supposed to be about, the song content is intensely dark, dismal, yet very well written and executed.
Musically, Avenged didn’t hold back on City of Evil. Extremely technical guitar riffs fly all over the place on this album. Every song has demanding guitar fills that sound like a mini-solo. The drums are bone crushing and many times at warp speed. There is no denying the fact that the boys in Avenged Sevenfold are very talented musicians and composers. One thing that is extremely evident on City of Evil are the Guns and Roses and Metallica influences that Ax7 claim to.
Even though I was initially let down by City of Evil, the more I listen to it, the more I like it and the more I respect the shift. I give City of Evil an 8.5 (out of 10) because as far as overall talent and tact Avenged Sevenfold can’t be denied.
Suggested Listening: “Bat Country,” “Trashed and Scattered,” and “The Wicked End”
Release Date: OUT NOW
By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III – Senior Editor / Founder
