Avenged Sevenfold - Hail To The King

[ThunderGod]

My friend, Suzi, reviewed this album for my review column... Where to start with this one? I think its worth saying I love Avenged Sevenfold and the news of a new album and me jumping with excitement. They promised us something new and different with this album and I want to tell you that I loved it, and that you should listen to it immediately. I really want to tell you that it capitalises on the sheer excellence that M.Shadows and the boys have previously demonstrated with Waking the Fallen and City of Evil…. But I can’t. I honestly can’t. Hail to the King sounds like a re-make of Metallica’s self-titled album with entire riffs seemingly lifted from Guns N’ Roses‘ Use Your Illusion II album with the odd detectable hint of Megadeth. It is, in fairness, a reasonably solid album- there’s nothing actually *wrong* with it, and if it were their first album I’d instantly recommend it for fans of the aforementioned heavyweights of the genre as a band to watch. It starts with shades of Metallica and Shepherd of Fire. It’s not a bad track but it definitely lacks the punch I was expecting and hoping for. Lyrically it’s interesting and continues on the same dark themes we’ve come to expect from the band. Moving onto the title track Hail to the King and things look up – the riffs sound reasonably original, and it’s got a headbanging, fist-pumping chorus, with a fantastic guitar solo in the middle. Things look up some more from there, though as you move onto Doing Time and hear M.Shadows do some traditional screaming… and then he moves onto doing his best Axl Rose impression and you’re left feeling slightly robbed. The album progresses through This Means War which I actually sang Sad but True too under my breath all the way though when I first listened to it, and then into Reqiem, an interesting number, with orchestral backing and the odd bit of a ranty choir. The riffs are unusual, and it swoops up and down painting a picture of desolate misery. Requiem is a great track which demonstrates the best that Hail to the King has to offer. It all comes crashing back down again with Crimson Day, which is a bizarre cross between GN’R’s Don’t Cry and Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters with some traditional A7X riffs thrown in. Heretic is the second track from the album that I like and manages to demonstrate all of the great things A7X have done over the years with some interesting new elements. It’s fast paced and punchy with catchy lyrics and a good stompy guitar line and hints and the potential for great things to follow. Great things do then follow with Coming Home, another track that rescues the album from being “terrible” into “mediocre, wouldn’t see a live tour”. Planets, the penultimate track, is one I found myself itching to skip through on my first listen through of the album, and the finale Acid Rain is an irritatingly cheesy-sounding power ballad-esque song as sickly as jellied sweets on a dream topping trifle. Overall, this is an album that feels unfinished, and badly experimental. Bands change over time and their sound develops- but for many A7X fans this album won’t be a happy listening experience, especially not if you’re also a fan of 80’s Metallica and Gun’s N Roses. Rating: **/5

[emprorzurg]

I had listened to 1 Avenged Sevenfold song before this album, and hated it, as I hate all metalcore-esque shit. So I picked this up, hearing it was more straightforward metal. I actually quite enjoy just putting it on in the background while I'm doing something, so I don't have to actually look too much into the music/lyrics and I can just enjoy it. 3/5 I think is my rating, as I was quite pleasantly surprised by it

[RelentlessOblivion]

I've had the extreme displeasure of hearing a song from this record. One song was all I needed to convince me it is no different to anything else in the catalogue of sins they call a discography. In fact it may be worse. The band started out awful metalcore, turned into a guns n roses worship band and now they're some kind of hybrid of the two it's just about the worst thing I can imagine. Any spark of creativity they may ever have had has long since abandoned the band and if you need proof just look at this new record.

[ThunderGod]

Don't sit on the fence, Relentless! Tell us what you REALLY think! A7x are certainly a band that divides opinion. Kind of in a Marmite sort of way.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Pantera is a band that divides opinion, avenged sevenfold just flat out suck, they suck so badly I can't even be bothered explaining why they suck.

[emprorzurg]

I think talentless and overrated is the phrase I use when talking about them, but I must admit, although I still don't like them, I kinda enjoy this album and think it could be great is someone else had recorded it and put their own creative spins on the songs, they all do lack a little something (possibly talent)

[RelentlessOblivion]

Think I summed them up in my first comment Now if you excuse me I'm going to cleanse myself with the purifying power of Immolation

[Manowarrior]

A7X are terrible. The worst thing about them is the vocals.

[thecolossus]

I seriously enjoyed "nightmare" album, imo some songs there were quite original and creative, both music- and lyric-wise. But HTTK was honestly rubbish, I was badly disappointed when first heard it. Didn't even bother going further than first couple of minutes of the first song, switched the shit off. Lucky i didn't waste money buying the cd

[jerometwain]

I think it's easy to come to the conclusion that "Hail to the King" is a Black Album rip-off. Tracks like "This means war" and "Shepherd of fire" seem to be paint-by-number copies of Metallica songs. But, if you listen to some of the interviews they did before the album came out, they stressed that they wanted to pay homage to nineties metal bands. Personally, I enjoy this album and don't see anythng scandalous about it. I think nowadays we need somebody to make albums like this in order for younger generations to discover some great bands from the past. At least it's better than One Direction.....

[BlutAusNerd]

I think it's easy to come to the conclusion that "Hail to the King" is a Black Album rip-off. Tracks like "This means war" and "Shepherd of fire" seem to be paint-by-number copies of Metallica songs. But, if you listen to some of the interviews they did before the album came out, they stressed that they wanted to pay homage to nineties metal bands. Personally, I enjoy this album and don't see anythng scandalous about it. I think nowadays we need somebody to make albums like this in order for younger generations to discover some great bands from the past. At least it's better than One Direction.....

I disagree. One Direction is a pop band through and through, and are marketed thusly. Bands like Avenged Sevenfold are pop bands too, but are masquerading as hard rock/heavy metal bands to appeal to a different side of the market. Both are atrocious, but only one is deceptive. Also, there have always been and will always be newer bands paying homage to older bands, and in many cases those older bands are still around waving their own flags anyway.

[GratuitousTK]

I don't think that they divide opinion much. I think that they are just a load of lame awfulness. The number one example of the Hot Topicification of American Metal.

[GratuitousTK]

Actually I just think its the prepackaged musicianship of the whole that's the worst. Painted fingernails and all, its like they were a something that was created by some metal version of Lou Pearlman to make money, sell t-shirts, and titillate angsty teenage girls. And I wish that someone would make that no talent doofus Synyster Gates actually learn to play his instrument at a passable level. Just a terrible, rotten, pussing sore on the ass of mall metal. They did this with punk in the mid 90's with Green Day(who at least have become something of a serious act in the last ten years) and Blink 182, and now they've done it to metal.