Friday, 6 September 2013

Hail To The King

Or hail to Avenged Sevenfold.

Back in the summer, Avenged Sevenfold dropped the bomb that they would be releasing a new album at the end of August. The artwork was released along with the first single 'Hail to the King'. There were hints at Download with a fake news round up including Avenged Sevenfold songs and video clips being shown on the big screens between bands. That all seems like a long, long time ago, because the album is finally here.

I wasn't sure what to expect with 'Hail to the King'. Avenged Sevenfold are a band I've loved since I heard the self titled album a few years ago, I preferred the softer, less screamo sound. Then came 'Nightmare' which I found really difficult to get my head around. It was a tough listen and I didn't immediately love it. With 'Hail to the King' that is simply not the case.

Opening track 'Shepherd of Fire' is what you'd expect with an Avenged song. It's big, it's epic, there's more than just the guitars, bass and drums. It's a typical opening song from them and is reminiscent of 'City of Evil' and the heavier moments of 'Nightmare'. M Shadows' vocal is perfect throughout the whole album, his voice carrying anger and aggression with ease. The guitars are still complex, but I think it's less 'in-your-face' and slots in with the rest of the instruments better. The most notable change is the drums. Of course after the passing of The Rev in 2009, the band's immediate thoughts weren't to replace him. Where 'Nightmare' was kind of a memorial with Mike Portnoy playing the drums exactly the same way, 'Hail to the King' is the baby steps of Avenged Sevenfold moving on.

As far as the songs go, there's lot of themes about war and a few nods towards biblical themes. 'Doing Time' and 'This Means War' sound a bit Metallica-esque. They're two of the heavier tracks on the album. 'Acid Rain' is a perfectly dramatic closer on the album. The songs are very 'City of Evil', heavier, stronger, but they're not as catchy as the choruses of self titled tracks, 'Almost Easy' or 'Afterlife'.

Will this be the album that pushes Avenged Sevenfold into the stratosphere? Maybe. It hit number one last weekend in the album charts and with a UK headline arena tour this winter and rumours of a Download 2014 headline slot, the future is looking incredibly strong for Avenged Sevenfold.

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