I knew Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) had been working on an album for a while before and during the pandemic as they did talk about it at times, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear them announce the first single and the album itself back in March.
This first single, Nobody, was weird. It started with strange guitar tones and went all over the place. I added it to my Spring 2023 playlist and it slowly grew on me.
The next single, We Love You, was released in May but I decided to just wait for the album instead. Lately bands have been pre-releasing so much music from their albums ahead of the release that it tends to spoil the first listen experience. I’ve decided for 2023 to limit the number of singles I listen to from upcoming albums so they feel fresh on release day.
On Friday morning, I brought up Life is but a Dream… on Apple Music and set it up for my morning dog walk. I got through about half of it on the walk and listened to the rest later when I was mowing the lawn. My first listen was positive overall. I knew I liked it more than The Stage (which I do like, but I don’t love).
Later that afternoon I put on the AirPods Pro 2 and listened to the album again in a quieter environment. This time the listening experience was pure bliss. I ended up listening to the album another two times in a row because I was enjoying it so much!
I like all the songs, which are musically all over the place. This is not a straight metal record like City of Evil or even Hail to the King. If anything it is more like the self-titled album in its weirdness, but an order of magnitude weirder!
I love the juxtaposition of styles within songs. I love the songs that are not metal at all, especially (0)rdinary with its Daft Punk-style beat. Even the acoustical piano piece to close out the album is mesmerizing. The song Mattel is amazing and hits hard. Cosmic is beautiful with its big sweeping sounds. Really, there’s not a bad song here.
I love it!
Thanks for featuring this. Hadn't really heard much of their stuff, but this is a fascinating album. They really cover a lot of ground. (0)rdinary doesn't just have the Daft Punk beat, it sounds like it was produced by Daft Punk! Some good stuff here. Funny, you are not the only person who just reviewed this. There is a review over on The Riff that just posted.
I was still writing about music full-time for the local daily when their self-titled album came out, and I loved it. But when "Nightmare" came out a few years later, it barely sounded like the same band. May have to listen to their subsequent stuff ...