The Avenged Sevenfold Thread (merged)

[cramx3]

I'm planning on going to the MSG show. Probably won't get to listen to the song till tomorrow since I'm in transit today

[Ben_Jamin]

It's a fascinating song.

The strings seem to be the backbone of the song. The intro and first verse sounds sort of empty, like something is missing. This ends up giving the song an eerie, dreadful sort of tone and atmosphere. The video really describes that sound, with the colors, the skeletons, and how it's made.

[SchecterShredder]

I thought the new single was bad. Whatever the click / programmed noise in the background drove me absolutely crazy. Shadows also sounds pretty rough.

The guitar solo was cool but overall I am not optimistic after hearing this. And I enjoyed Hail to the King and The Stage.

I think that's just Brooks' hand work, and not programmed. Still a touch annoying, whatever it is. We'll need to see a live performance to know for sure.

Definitely agree about Shadows' voice. I'm wondering if this is just the new normal for him post-surgery. If so, that's unfortunate.

[PixelDream]

It sounded very messy on first listen, a touch annoying and uninspired in the beginning, even. Even so, I’m already on my fifth listen. It’s a fascinating track. Love the harmony vocal break in the middle.

M Shadows sounds a bit different indeed, but I dig the weathered vocal in this track. I also appreciate they didn’t try to make it sound more polished with FX and auto-tune. It sounds like it could be one single take without edits.

Exquisite guitar solo to top it off after the song’s climax. Overall, I’m intrigued. It’s creative stuff and I’m keeping an ear out to see what they’ve come up with.

[emtee]

Certainly is different for them and I'm cool with that. Don't immediately love it but have a feeling that within the context of the full album it might fit nicely.

[Deathless]

Certainly is different for them and I'm cool with that. Don't immediately love it but have a feeling that within the context of the full album it might fit nicely.

That is my hope as well. The speculation on Matt's voice could be as SchecterShredder mentioned (post-surgery realities) or many online have speculated he is singing to fit the song. We will see.

[SchecterShredder]

I've listened to the track a good 6 or 7 times now. There's absolutely no evidence Vengeance is playing, aside from the rhythm behind the chorus (post chorus?) sweeps Syn does. The section behind the solo is violin tremolo which could be played on guitar, but it doesn't sound recorded that way.  I sure hope this track is an outlier. And as previously posted,  it might fit well with the rest of the album,  but we won't know until June 2.

[cramx3]

First listen.... yeah this is different.  The "clicking" is a bit much, but the song is pretty solid otherwise.  Curious if this is how Shadows is going to sound going forward or if it's just this song.  It definitely sounds like him, just like without the raspiness.  I don't hate it, but it's something I'll need to get used to.  I wonder how that'll make the past songs sound if this is just how his voice sounds now.

[Zoom E]

I quite like like this song. Their sound is maturing, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I agree that Shadows voice sounds a bit worse for wear though, unfortunately.

[EPICVIEW]

New tune rocks 

[TheCountOfNYC]

I’m not a big fan of the new song, which is a shame because Avenged Sevenfold is one of my all time favorite bands and I loved The Stage.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

That "clicking" you guys are hearing is definitely just a really tight hi-hat groove. It's also definitely mixed too high.

[Ben_Jamin]

This is a very good interview with M. Shadows.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD on Ronnie Radke, new album, being an "emo band" & more (M. Shadows interview)

[devieira73]

Cool interview, thanks!
I'm glad to hear that the new album is  more in the A7X's prog camp and there's a lot of diversity on it. I liked the new song a lot!

[SchecterShredder]

Well, the new track, We Love You, is something.... different lol. Not sure how i feel about it yet. It's all over the place.

[nobloodyname]

What on earth have I just sat through?

[Awaken]

Well, the new track, We Love You, is something.... different lol. Not sure how i feel about it yet. It's all over the place.

There's so much going on, I'm gonna give it a few more tries after I rest a bit from that first spin 

[MirrorMask]

What on earth have I just sat through?

In the good sense like seeing for the first time the video for A Little Piece of Heaven, or in a bad sense? 

[Lonk]

The music is a bit, strange but not bad. The 360 video was cool though.

[cramx3]

Well, that was a journey  I don't hate it, but it's a bit much on first listen.  This album truly is shaping to be something very different.  Also, the vocals are once again a bit different and since there are screams, maybe our reaction to the first single was wrong to think he's lost the voice?  I don't know.  I'm VERY curious to check out this full album, but I'm not sure if I'll like it or not.  I'm almost getting Devin Townsend type vibes from these two songs, where it's just all over the place and diverse.

[Metro]

I get the Devin Townsend vibe too.
I haven’t listened to these guys in years, mainly because I can’t stand Shadows’ voice. This new song wasn’t terrible I guess? Definitely has me interested in the new album, but I wouldn’t say I’m excited.

[Deathless]

They are definitely leaning in on the progressive side (it felt very progressive metal for a bit there). There was that uptempo section that felt almost like a nod to Slipknot? I don't know about it. I applaud them for trying something different and going all-in but I just don't know if I like it. And that's OK.

[cramx3]

They are definitely leaning in on the progressive side (it felt very progressive metal for a bit there). There was that uptempo section that felt almost like a nod to Slipknot? I don't know about it. I applaud them for trying something different and going all-in but I just don't know if I like it. And that's OK.

I thought that section was more of a nod to their first album

[ZKX-2099]

This will be my favorite album of the decade (so far) if the rest of it is as good as the 2 songs released.

[emtee]

Gonna take a few listens to determine whether I love it or hate it. Not a lot of melody to latch onto. Just craziness.

[devieira73]

https://blabbermouth.net/news/watch-avenged-sevenfold-plays-first-concert-in-five-years
Also there's a live video for another new song

[cramx3]

I'll check the song out when it's officially released, but the setlist.fm notes more songs played during sound check.  I guess that's a taste of what's to come next month when I see them.

Funny enough, I've only seen them once before, 6 years ago today... also on Mother's Day and M Shadows sang "Hail to the Queen"  https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1657870098151899139

[SchecterShredder]

I'll check the song out when it's officially released, but the setlist.fm notes more songs played during sound check.  I guess that's a taste of what's to come next month when I see them.

Funny enough, I've only seen them once before, 6 years ago today... also on Mother's Day and M Shadows sang "Hail to the Queen"  https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1657870098151899139

I gave the video about 10sec, and decided to wait on it,  too. The quality just wasn't there.

I did watch some of Unholy Confessions and Afterlife. Pretty solid, despite the poor video quality

[emtee]

Listened to the new song twice on Sunday. Not working for me. I give them props for doing what they want though.

Also, pre-order info popped up in my Amazon feed with a photo that appears to be the album cover. The cover follows suit with the strangeness of the 2 new songs. Looks like they're really trying to break new ground.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Two singles out and I can’t say I have high hopes for this upcoming album.

[SchecterShredder]

The more i listen to them,  the more the new singles fit together.  And i can hear some of the sonic similarities to the Stage album. The new album is shaping up to be another step in the same direction, but clearly more bold. Shadows has said he believes a band's sound needs to evolve, otherwise it's just the same record as every other. This is definitely an evolution.

What's interesting is that i can appreciate these 2 songs as quite different from their other material, and i have different expectations for Life is but a Dream as a result. I think the surprise release of The Stage hurt them in terms of fan expectation because nobody knew what was coming,  so i was expecting a cross of Hail to the King and Nightmare. Instead we got an inconsistent album that,  for me anyway, gets no play outside of the song The Stage (which still gets regular rotation...fantastic track!).

Don't know if I'll like the new album,  but I'll definitely give it a fair shake knowing it's not going to sound like City of Evil

[EPICVIEW]

I didnt love "we love you"    I can appreciate the band wanting to try new things and new sounds and growing.  maybe it will grow on me but first listen was kinda difficult although very unique

[Ben_Jamin]

What I find interesting about "We Love You" is the arrangement. I am enjoying the "more" verses a lot. The song also makes a lot more sense now after I watched the video. Which makes me realize these guys are going the extra mile in the experimentation. I thought it was neat. I think it'll be an amazing song live, being able to feel all the lower frequencies during those parts.

[me7]

"We love you" by itslef doesn't work for me. But I'm very excited to hear the Avenged Sevenfold album that it's part of. Maybe that was the intention behind the single choice?

[Deathless]

It's always tough to gauge fan reactions but many of those who heard the album in full said it's really, really good. I don't know. I'm in the camp where I have mad respect for them really breaking out and trying something different (evolving as they say) but I also feel that a lot of what I heard is garbage. So maybe the whole album will be much better than individual songs.

There was speculation that Shadow's voice was gone but those live clips don't seem to support that, so that is good news. Never want that to happen to a singer or someone who relies on their voice for their career.