lambchops's Full Review: Waking the Fallen by Avenged Sevenfold
There was a time eight or ten years ago that I listened to heavy metal exclusively. I’d laugh in the face of pop and scoff at the thought of anything even modestly “different.” My idea of entertaining music was more often than not something along the lines of Avenged Sevenfold—loud, melodic, and chock full of electric guitars.
On most levels, the young California band delivers in spades. I can’t but be impressed by the restraint they show—they could have just yelped and screamed and banged on their instruments as loud as possible. Instead, Avenged Sevenfold takes into account the idea that heavy metal should set listeners on the edge of their seat in addition to sounding great. Producer Andrew Murdock (Godsmack, Puya, Pillar) does a fine job on Waking the Fallen at wrangling in the band’s precise and multi-faceted sound. That sound, which walks the tightrope heavy metal tightrope with seamless ease, is what makes Avenged Sevenfold something bigger and better than many of their contemporary counterparts.
Waking the Fallen is the band’s sophomore album after receiving praise for their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. And while they haven’t made great strides in the two years between the albums, it is still clear that they love and understand their craft. Keep in mind that this is from five guys barely out of high school. Some people may consider Waking the Fallen to be overlong with the twelve songs clocking in usually somewhere at five or more minutes (save for a few selections). Not everything is perfect and not everything is brilliant, but I must admit that Avenged Sevenfold is on to something musically meaningful and all-too-rare today amongst metal and rock bands.
Though M. Shadows is most obvious with his bold, guttural vocal it is important to note that the duels guitars provided by Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates are what make this album something different. Adding to the mix are bassist Johnny Christ and drummer The Reverand. Before I go much further I want to say that I find their aliases to be incredibly annoying (not to mention the various misspellings of song names and words). That little bit of nonsense aside; I am often amused, sometimes impressed, and rarely turned off by Waking the Fallen. Keep in mind that my tastes in the last eight or ten years have developed in a much different direction than heavy metal…
So ignoring the fact that Avenged Sevenfold used the same “goth” dictionary for names, used the same pitch black hair dye before their promo shots, and forgot the purpose of a spell check my overall feeling is still mostly positive which is a testament to their music. Songs Unholy Confessions, Desecrate Through Reverance, Second Heartbeat, and the epic I Won’t See You Tonight, Pt. 1 are the best examples of what this band has to offer.
I Won’t See You Tonight, Pt. 1 in particularly interesting despite clocking in at nearly nine minutes. It is here that listeners will completely understand that the band borders on progressive, melodic metal. The song sounds perfect with alternative soft and heavy parts. M. Shadow’s vocals paint landscape which Vengeance and Gates have planted. They sound much older and much more emotionally mature than their age—plus, I find their ability to transcend today’s artificiality in music to be incredibly refreshing.
Desecrate Through Reverance is another surprisingly thoughtful song that begins innocently enough but when it is said and done it actually has something of a “catchy” melody. Of course when you consider M. Shadows’ unintelligible lyrics this will all come as something of a shock. There are of course the other highpoints I mentioned above, but what is most important is that Avenged Sevenfold is consistently good. They have managed to take and intelligently exploit ideas originally presented by classic (not new) Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and The Misfits. Their influences are apt and their music reflects these choices. Other songs like the uncharacteristically brief Waking the Fallen, Remenissions, Radiant Eclipse and Clairvoyant Disease are also worth mentioning but are mere shadows of the excellence of those songs mentioned above.
In any case, I can’t say I’ve heard anything like Avenged Sevenfold recently. The vast majority of “heavy metal” I’m exposed to today is actually rooted in pop and intended for MTV audiences. There are of course exceptions, but my usual exposure is via radio—and we all know how diverse radio is (cough-cough). This band seems to have no such aspirations and for that they command respect. Waking the Fallen is a good, but not quite excellent album. There’s too much that blends together and too little that really highlights their talent. Based on a few offerings (Desecrate Through Reverance and I Won’t See You Tonight, Pt. 1 in particular) it will be fascinating to see what their next move will be.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Waking the Fallen
02. Unholy Confessions
03. Chapter Four
04. Remenissions
05. Desecrate Through Reverance
06. Eternal Rest
07. Second Heartbeat
08. Radiant Eclipse
09. I Won’t See You Tonight, Pt. 1
10. I Won’t See You Tonight, Pt. 2
11. Clairvoyant Disease
12. And All Things Will End
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