My first exposure to Avenged Sevenfold was on none other than the Warped 2003 soundtrack, with the song "Darkness Surrounding" originally off the album "Waking the Fallen". The song irked me to no end—the instrumentation was great, but there was something so generically metalcore about it --the structure, the breakdowns, the forced-sounding growly vocals-- all drove me insane. So I mentally checked the song off as a “don’t like” and went on with life, and more or less forgot about Avenged Sevenfold except for when they’d come up in conversation, and I’d mumble something along the lines of “they kinda suck; not really my thing.”

Fast forward a couple years and while skimming some magazine I read an interview with A7X vocalist M.Shadows talking about the band’s new album and the fact that he would be singing (as opposed to growling) on the majority of it. Shadows then went on to use words like “ambitious” and “challenging” which was sort of a turn off because bands use those words all the time and they don’t really mean shit. But this time I didn’t totally forget about A7X, and upon downloading Napster, I paid my 99 cents and downloaded "Bat Country".

By the third listen or so, it was too late. I was converted.

"City of Evil" really is musically more ambitious than the band’s previous work, and while far from perfect, it is awesome. Shadows’ newfound singing voice is harsh and gravelly and beautiful, and guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance showoff without forgetting that the guitar is supposed to help the song, not the other way around. The Reverand on drums and Johnny Christ on bass hold down a good rhythm section. And the band has dropped the “core” half of “metalcore” without sounding like they miss the 80's too much. "Bat Country" (which is dedicated to Hunter S. Thompson) is by far the tightest song, but there are other gems here as well.

"Burn It Down" would be worth it for the melody alone, though the song also boasts beautiful guitar and excellent breakdowns at all the right moments. The lyrics, like much of the album, are fairly average, but it’s a small flaw in a good song. In "Blinded In Chains", a song about religious war, Shadows’ shows off the superb instrument his voice has become with sneering verses, mumbled rap-singing soaring choruses and straight-forward screams. "Trashed and Scattered" is full of tempo changes that leave you off balance in the best possible way, which keeps the 5:53 song from feeling repetitive. And Shadows’ channels his inner Axl Rose on the ballad "Seize the Day" which is half awesome and half cheesy GnR ripoff.

There are some low points. Opener "The Beast and the Harlot" is tight and catchy but very cartoonishly dark. "Sidewinder" and "The Wicked End" aren’t bad, but are overshadowed by the songs that come before them and "Strength of the World" is completely uninteresting aside from the orchestra part at the end, which is beautiful. And (nitpicking here) sometimes when Shadows’ sings, clearly his voice is a bit on the nasally side. You know, I’m not a metal fan. I don’t worship Iron Maiden or Alice in Chains. I can’t speak for all you diehard metal heads out there. But as just a plain old music fan, I found "City of Evil" to be thoroughly enjoyable.

Recommended if you like the singles.



Label: Warner Bros. Records
Release: June 7th, 2005

Track Listing:

01. Beast and the Harlot
02. Burn It Down
03. Blinded in Chains
04. Bat Country
05. Trashed and Scattered
06. Seize the Day
07. Sidewinder
08. Wicked End
09. Strength of the World
10. Betrayed
11. M.I.A.

Rating:



Review by: Lyndie