Categories : Hard Rock + Metal, Music Reviews.
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Rating: 2/5 Released: October 30, 2007 Reviewer: Suzanne Goldman |
The first 45 seconds of the latest offering from Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X, as they’ve become known to fans) holds great promise. But that first track, ‘Critical Acclaim,’ descends so quickly into something so unspectacular that one has to wonder how many original fans this group has managed to retain since the impressive 2003 effort Waking the Fallen first catapulted them into mainstream popularity.
Fans from the early days have been witnessing the deterioration of this explosive and cohesive unit ever since, and this self-titled disc won’t reverse the downward spiral. For speed-metal punks like A7X, satisfying a broader audience translated into bringing a more extreme, heavy sound closer to the middle – making it more palatable to the average listener. But in doing so, the group stripped itself of what made it great – the dual onslaught of guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance pounding out the heartbeat for the searing wails of vocalist M. Shadows, which has now evolved into something far too pop-metal.
It’s obvious the group is trying to retain their trademark elements – the evidence is in every song. Four minutes into ‘Afterlife,’ an otherwise unremarkable track will begin to remind fans of the slick, speed-driven guitar solos that defined much of the group’s earlier work. But the overall sound has transformed into a less complex, unsophisticated jumble. A clear example would be the final number on this disc, ‘Dear God,’ which delivers the overly dramatic power ballad that is all drama and country-heartache – and it may induce the gag factor.
The aftertaste will leave the bitter sense that A7X is just churning out music and the original angst and steel growl has unraveled in the effort to be more mainstream. When M. Shadows declares “Like me motherfucker / you’ve been at it for too long†on the opening track, listeners are likely to agree with him.
