A7X City of EvilReviewed by Paulette M. Sorenson, 2010-03-06
no gaps in high quality hard rock songs. amazing drums and awesome guitar duets. just a great album that i would recommend to all rock music fans
insaneReviewed by A.D., 2010-01-01
this album throughout is great i can't stop listening to it, it's a classic in my heart
awesomeReviewed by Bianca Long, 2009-08-20
absolutely spectacular. avenged sevenfold is one of the greatest rock/metal bands of our time. their music is different from anything ive ever heard and they just keep getting better.
"He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being
a man!"Reviewed by William Dorfer, 2009-06-10
Considering this is Avenged Sevenfold's breakthrough album, there
must be a good reason for it. In a decade where so-called metal
bands compose four-minute songs of formulaic, downtuned and
overly-melodic riffs, harsh yelling and repetitive breakdowns,
Avenged Sevenfold brings something new to the table with "City of
Evil".
This album shows them progressing with their sound. "Sounding The
Seventh Trumpet" was their fastest and rawest, but their
least-professional sounding and you could tell they were younger
when they wrote it. "Waking The Fallen" showed much better
songwriting and a bigger, more epic sound, bringing guitar solos
into the mix (including great ones such as in "Eternal Rest" or
"Second Heartbeat").
Now comes "City of Evil". What sound is presented here, you may
ask? Well, "City of Evil" sounds pretty similar to "Waking The
Fallen", however, on this album that is far less screaming, the
tempos are slowed down a little, there are more intricate riffs, an
even more epic sound and many more guitar solos. So the speed and
screaming of some of the stuff on "Waking The Fallen" HAS vanished,
but with "City of Evil", Avenged Sevenfold added some amazing, new
elements to their sound. Here are the highlights of the
album:
"Beast and the Harlot": A modern classic that starts off slow,
featuring a piano and a complex 9/8 time signature. The song picks
up with a great guitar riff, then explodes with the same riff
played one octave lower, so it gets much heavier. A melodic,
sing-a-long chorus and an amazing guitar solo, one of the greatest
around, are also featured, along with an intense bridge towards the
end that goes back into the chorus. What a classic!
"Burn It Down": A faster, even more intense song with heavier,
rawer riffs and a blistering, dual-guitar melody in the beginning.
Another melodic, sing-a-long chorus is featured here.
"Bat Country": Fast, punk-ish riffs, a blazing guitar solo, amazing
guitar duals and a catchy chorus are featured here. The verses are
also intense, and a soft section kicks in every now and again,
making for some great tension and release. That makes the song even
more interesting, AND even more professional. By the way, this song
was also written about the Johnny Depp cult film "Fear and Loathing
in Las Vegas". I highly recommend you watch that movie!
"Trashed and Scattered": One of my favorite guitar intros on the
album kicks this song off, before going into blazing speeds,
blistering shred solos and a catchy, shout-a-long chorus. Just an
overall incredible song!
"Seize The Day": A beautiful, piano-driven ballad with some
jaw-dropping guitar work, not to mention some heart-melting verses
and choruses. One of the best, metal ballads of recent years.
"Strength of the World": The longest song on the album, this is a
Middle-Eastern tinged headbanger with heavy riffs and an awesome,
shout-a-long chorus.
So while much of the screaming and metronome-pushing tempos of
"Waking The Fallen" have vanished, the scales are evenly balanced
with all that was gained with this album. It's a modern classic
that can be listened to over and over again, I know I've done that.
But for those that still haven't heard this, check it out NOW!!!
Thanks for the time, and peace.
Great AlbumReviewed by R. Morfoot, 2008-11-06
this was my intro to A7X. I bought the album after hearing Bat Country, which I was catchy and interesting in a very bland time for new music. Beast and the Harlot is probably the best song on this album. It just rocks, Gates' guitar playing is awesome. Gates is going to go down as one of the greatest players of all time. The Rev's drum playing is strong, the true backbone of the band. Shadow's singing ability has come so far since Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. This album was so good that I bought the self titled Cd the day it came out without hearing a song. Then I bought the other Sounding and Waking.