City of Evil is a Change for Avenged Sevenfold

In June of 2005, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) released their third album, City of Evil. This album steers away from their previous two albums, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001) and Waking the Fallen (2003) because vocalist M. Shadows stopped screaming the lyrics and began singing them with a gritty voice. The change in vocals alone makes City of Evil a heavy metal album rather than a metalcore album like A7X’s first two albums. The album debuted as number 30 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 30,000 copies. M. Shadows (vocals), Synyster Gates (lead guitar), Zacky Vengeance (rhythm guitar), Johnny Christ (bass), and the Rev (drums) created 11 tracks for this album, four of which had music videos created for them.

            “Burn it Down” is the album’s first single and begins with heavy percussion and squealing guitars. The guitarists then begin to play with their frantic skills. M. Shadows fervently sings about the inability to trust others as well as the need for revenge. The song’s chorus is memorable and easy to be sung along to by listeners. The song has a number of heavier breakdowns, which makes this track one of the album’s best. M. Shadows new way of singing shines in this track; his ability to sing the lyrics with melody as well as with the gritty coloring that makes it truly heavy metal. The song ends in a softer light with the lyrics “Falling away can’t buy back time / Burn it down anyway.”

“Bat Country” is one of the songs that had a music video created for it, and it became a bit hit; it also brought noteworthy attention to the album. It is the fourth track on the album, but the band members’ performances for every track are impressive. “Bat Country” is full of technical and complex guitar riffs that novice guitarists can only imagine playing. The song begins with a quote from 18^th century English writer Dr. Samuel Johnson, which Shadows menacingly recites, “He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.” Johnson’s quote is also included in Hunter S. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971). This novel inspired the song “Bat Country,” and this A7X song pays tribute to the novel as well as Thompson, who died a few months before the album’s release.

The first track on City of Evil is “Beast and the Harlot,” which is another one of the album’s hits. The song commences with the Rev double pedaling on his drum set and a sultry guitar solo followed by a melodic scream from M. Shadows. The song is about the fall of Babylon, which is a Bible story from Revelations. The song directly quotes the Bible with lines such as the “seven headed beast [with] ten horns raised from its head.” This song makes anyone who sings along or plays air guitar to it feel like a rock star. The Rev’s percussion skills are the cornerstone of the song because it holds the beat for the guitarists and bassists to follow along. The only downfall of the song is that the one of the end components has a video game-esque sound to it, but it stops quickly enough for it to end powerfully to astound any rock music fan. A7X admires the famous ‘80’s band Guns N’ Roses and is heavily influenced by their music, and this is evident in A7X’s own music. M. Shadows has many moments where Axl Rose’s unique style of singing is utilized, and Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance see Slash as their guitar idol. “Beast and the Harlot,” like “Bat Country,” made City of Evil the success it became. The album title came from “Beast and the Harlot,” so this proves that it must be a significant track for the album.

“Seize the Day” is the other hit from City of Evil (track 7 on the album), but this track differs notably from the rest on the album. It serves as a “breather” song because it begins with acoustic guitars rather than electric. The song is also slower paced, which shows the song’s serious meaning. Throughout “Seize the Day,” Avenged Sevenfold is urging listeners to never take anything in life for granted, especially loved ones. One never knows when a loved one’s life will end. The song is very similar to Guns N’ Roses’ ballad “November Rain” because both are about love and the brevity of life; however, it still has enough originality to stand on its own and to be credible.

City of Evil is one of Avenged Sevenfold’s strongest albums, which is evident in its popularity as well as the band’s proving its ability to create new music. The album’s tracks are melded with both new and classic guitar styles. It pays tribute to authors such as Hunter S. Thompson and to Avenged Sevenfold’s favorite influential band, Guns N’ Roses. M. Shadows’ vocals transform Avenged Sevenfold from an Orange County screamo/metalcore band to a heavy metal band known globally. Although Avenged Sevenfold have created two albums after City of Evil, it still remains as one of their best. The band’s drummer, the Rev, passed away in December 2009, but he still lives on through the music he created with Avenged Sevenfold as well as in the memory of fans.