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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Five 18-year-olds release non-pretentious heavy metal .., 7 May 2005
AVENGED SEVENFOLD - SOUNDING THE SEVENTH TRUMPETAvenged Sevenfold are a band which completely took me by surprise. My friend said he had missed a show in which they were being supported by 'Funeral for a Friend'; a band I hold in high regard who have next to nothing in common with 'A7X'. They use the familiar metal five piece of dual guitarists, bassist, drummer and vocals. The vocals here are the most striking thing though; M. Shadows can display not only note perfect soft singing such as in the boring piano ballad 'Warmness on the Soul' but a roaring screaming voice that can goes from dangerously deep to piercingly high in seconds. Although not always easy to hear what he's saying this outstanding voice is without a doubt the trademark of the band. Their debut release holds no faults. The one minute introduction immediately introduces you to what the whole record is about: intricate and powerful guitar work coupled with epic lyrics: "Nothing you say and nothing you try can change time .. human race prepare to die". After this relatively soft introduction is over we zoom into the real meat of the album; chords and drums so fast they are described as punk, yet heavy enough to put any 'Death Metal' band to shame. On first listen you may mistake the band for a generic scream-along outfit like 'The Haunted' or 'Chimera', but if you give it the time it deserves you'll be very pleasantly surprised. The riffs are all note perfect, and there is basically nothing in the way of repetition. Of course there is a general verse-chorus structure (this is not exactly a prog band) but there are many variants on the theme, and you'll find it very hard to predict where a song is going next until you've listened to it several times. On 'An Epic of Time Wasted' the song stops without warning near the end, and after a few lines of Shadow's whispering it ends in a triumphant new riff. The songs also hold a lot of variation. The heavier songs are mostly towards the start, before the softest song 'Warmness on the Soul', which acts as a brief interlude. After that things are more experimental, with 'The Streets' showing off Shadow's non screaming vocal skills, and final track 'Shattered By Broken Dreams' clocking up seven minutes, progressing slowly throughout. The lyrics vary from what most stereotypical young metal bands sing about. There is some mention of unrequited and painful love, but also philosophical songs about life, standing up for yourself and in 'Darkness Surrounding' .. graveyards. The darkness inherent in the songs is truly chilling, and as their website states it is based on the phrase "What goes around comes around" - whether it be a bad girlfriend or the system, they will get their comeuppance. Sevenfold.
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~ Avenged Sevenfold
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![Avenged Sevenfold - All Excess [DVD] [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gI3RNNIqL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ M. Shadows
