Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An outstanding progression - Recommended Listening., 4 Mar 2008
I must admit, I really enjoyed City of Evil (the precursor to this newest A7X album) but at times it did sound a bit, well, stale. However, I'm sure glad that I kept the faith and (eventually) bought this album. For my money, it's a long way beyond City of Evil.
A7X have clearly had the freedom with is record to do exactly what the heck they liked, and this shows strongly in pretty much every song. The production is of a higher quality, Matt Shadows' vocal range has improved meteorically and the whole band sounds even tighter - quite some achievement when you take into account the very highly polished production on "City..."
Still, we are not here to review the old album! On with the new...
The opener, "Critical Acclaim" is OK, not the best, but is immediately followed by "Almost Easy", the first single from teh album, which is rife with top notch riffs and some fantastic drumming, coupled with a big anthemic chorus - what's not to like? Scream and Afterlife follow the trend and call to mind classic-era Metallica in some moments, then "Gunslinger" slows it all down with a kind of wild-west themed ballad showcasing the band's Country leanings but does it well. Next standout track is "Little Piece Of Heaven" which conveys an overwhelming sense of Danny Elfman - a very progressive track even so, with some really great flourishes and catchy choruses - could work very well live, or could die on it's butt. But I like it anyway. Album closer, "Dear God" is an unashamed country power ballad in the classic bay-area sleaze style but it works really well.
If anything, this record is slight more immediate than City Of Evil, but I can attest that it stands up very well to repeat listening. It's been on constant rotation on my iPod since I bought it and I'm still not getting bored with it.
Overall then, this is a great record from an increasingly great band. Sounds brilliant on first listen and then sounds amazing on repeat. Not so much recommended listening as Required then - but of course that's only my opinion. Buy the record, form your own. I don't expect you'll be disappointed.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very impressive, 17 Jul 2008
I didn't think I liked metal, but I have been proven very wrong by this album. A7X have just the right balance of heavy guitars, awesome solos and epic choruses to merit this album being put on repeat for a week. M Shadows has a powerful voice that fits the music perfectly and the music itself is brilliant. It's nice to listen to something that doesn't just use a few power chords, but is actually impressive musically.
Afterlife has to be my favourite track with that melodic chorus, but none of the tracks on this album are weak. I notice that some people have pointed out A Little Piece of Heaven. It's the sort of song that you know you shouldn't like, sounding like a cross between gaming music, a power ballad and an orchestral piece, but there's no denying that it's as catchy as hell and that you love it really.
In short, whether you're a fan of metal or not, give this album a go because it's pretty damn amazing.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A welcome discovery for me, 20 Oct 2008
Having no prior experience of A7X, I bought this album on the strength of the single, "Almost Easy" and I wasn't disappointed. It is full of great tracks with strong, aggressive melodies, inventive guitar work and the production is crisp and clear. I think the crital comparisons with previous albums are very unfair. I subsequently bought Waking the Fallen on the strength of the A7X brand and I immediately saw the huge progression that the band has made. M. Shadows learned to sing somewhere between these records and all that silly screaming so beloved of 14 year old boys has stopped. Yes, the band has gone a lot more commercial and stadium orientated but if they hadn't, I would never have heard of them. This is one to play in the car, nice and loud. Enjoy it for what it is.
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