Sorry I've not been on a lot recently. Trying to get my tshirt design company off the ground! So a...
Sorry I've not been on a lot recently. Trying to get my tshirt design company off the ground! So apologies if I don't get back to you straight away! H x
Member since:21.07.2004
Reviews:30
Members who trust:37
Avenged Sevenfold - Waking The Fallen
1. Waking The Fallen
The intro is a build up with what sounds like monk chanting, into guitars, drums and some growls and finally into some singing. But this track is a mere intro to the album and is only a minute and half long.
5/10
2. Unholy Confession
A nice little guitar riff starts this track. The drums sound a little tinny, and the vocals sound like a dozen singers I've heard before. Ok chorus, the vocals vary from growly to melodic, but it's the chorus that catches me. Some beautiful singing, and the guitars ain't too bad either. Shame the drumming isn't half as good as the rest. From the chorus we're into a guitar bridge before going back into the verse with more snarling vocals. And though this track is alright, I have to comment on how disappointed I am in the drumming. This isn't something I pay a lot of attention to, but it's starting to annoy me almost as much as that stupid girl in the White Stripes. It's a shame really, it could be a much better song if they had a better drummer.
6/10
3. Chapter Four
Again nice guitars, but disappointed once more by the drumming. The intro goes into a guitar bit which is alright, before going into the verse with a combination of melodic vocals and some dude growling in the background. The singing's alright, the growling could be better. The chorus seems ok, not as good as the track before. And I want to slap the drummer! He (I'm assuming it's a guy) is definitely the weakest link in the band and needs to practice a little bit more. Maybe he should listen to Martin Lopez from Opeth as inspiration. The guitars are alright, but I can't say I've been drawn into this track. Considering the hype that surrounds this band, so far I'm just a little bit disappointed. The song doesn't go anywhere, and is very very repetitive. There is a solo that lasts all of 2 seconds which sounded like it could be so much more too.
5/10
4. Reminissions
Here's hoping with this intro that we're gonna get something better from this. Guitars sounding alright again, and a nice growl before the guitars have their time. Then into the verse with more growling vocals. But I do feel these are pretty poor. Are there 2 growling vocalists in the band? I don't know, but sometimes they sound good and other times they sound very amateurish. The verse does little for me, and the bridge into the chorus sounds like something Korn would do. The chorus is very mellow but sounds like something I've heard on holiday in Spain with those guitars. Not too impressed with that. And once more the drums are terrible! "Keep away
from me" they sing, well I sure will be if this album doesn't improve dramatically. There's a good breakdown 3/4 way through, but yet again the drumming lets it down. As does the ending riff which sounds like something I could do messing around on my guitar when I first started. The solo is alright though, but then we hear these Spanish sounding guitars with melodic vocals over the top. Really doesn't do anything for me. I mean the harmonies are alright, but that doesn't make up for the fact the rest is really poor. And the outro doesn't fit with the rest of the track.
4/10
5. Desperate Through Reverence
Dark and sludgy intro into this track before a refreshing guitar riff blows it away. Then melodic vocals followed by growls from the vocalist. The guitars sound pretty good so far. Then the verse... Well it sounds ok but not really attention grabbing. I'm still hating the drumming in this track. Melodic vocals start the chorus, but I've heard voices like his before in many other bands. The growling sounds very amateurish again, and the guitars could be doing so much more. A verse, then another chorus and I'm tempted to turn this off, but there's another nice sounding solos. Shame he couldn't have used this skill throughout the track rather than saving it up from the beginning until now. From what sounded like another verse into a bridge which sounds better than the chorus. More good harmonies and melodies going on here, but the guitars aren't doing a lot and neither are the drums. Again, it could be so much more than it is.
4/10
6. Eternal Rest
Squealing guitars and a nice bass/rhythm going on (well excluding yet more rubbish drumming) which have finally caught my attention. The verse is a let down, but worse is yet to come. Do they think they're Metallica with that kind of break down? Well I certainly don't. Oh and it's slowly going further and further down hill. The vocals are definatly hit or miss with this band. A nice guitar bit before back into another dreadful verse. *sigh* And it's only half way through. Another nice guitar bit before it feels like another break down, and a bridge with a combination of vocals once more. But the song doesn't seem to be getting any better. More screaming, more nice guitar parts, then more let downs. It sounds like there's an organ in the background briefly before a synth comes in. The vocals here are better than they have been through this track, but then again that isn't too hard.
5/10
7. Second Heartbeat
I'm not impressed by the intro. It sounds like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or something. Back into the bad growling vocals and "lets see how fast I can strum my guitar". The verse was bad, the chorus was worse. Dear oh dear! Is this what metal has turned into? "Woooaaaaah woooooooooah wooooooooah" sounds a little too Offspring to me, not quite what I was looking for in A7X. The bridge is ok, and sounds a bit like a poor man's Trivium, but we're back to "woooooooooah"ing again. I'm not going to comment again on the drumming. I think we've established by now that they're not going to get any better. Another growling part followed by a brief guitar part and back into growling. I do like growling in my music, but decent growling, not this. Back into singing like Trivium/Metallica, very original... and then another guitar part. *yawn* This song like the others hasn't gone anywhere. "Woooooooooah" enough already! Though in saying that nice little guitar solo styled outro, but I would have missed that before by turning it off.
3/10
8. Radiant Eclipse
Some minor sounding guitars and then oh no here come the drums. It's taking a good while to get into this track and I'm already falling asleep. It takes a minute to change and a minute and a half before the vocals come in. Again it's the bad growling and a repetitive riff that does nothing for me. Enter the mellow vocals for a few seconds before the growling comes back in. Bad verse and chorus. This could be done by a great number of bands around at the moment. The vocals are very unoriginal, and it takes a while before I actually hear something which is actually fairly decent. A nice vocal part with loads of melody and the guitars aren't too bad either. But I fear it won't be long before it goes downhill once again, and I'm not disappointed. Back into the verse again with all the growling, bad guitar riff which is played over and over, and well you can guess how the drums are. Ah now this sounds like it is the chorus, and what I mistook for the chorus before was a mere bridge. Well fair enough this chorus isn't too bad, and was the bit I was impressed with before. But once I find a bit I like the track finishes.
5/10
9. I Won't See You Tonight
Ah a nice echohy piano opens this track before all hell is let loose. Nice guitar riff and awful drumming once more. Into a mellow section with the guitar going quieter and the piano back in. Then into a mellow verse with fairly average vocals. Then into a slightly heavier chorus before going straight back into the verse. Some nice vocal harmonies in this verse, and what sounds like strings come in. Back into the chorus, but this sounds like a rock band, not the metal band they're made out to be. A nice guitar solo comes in after the chorus. Some screamy vocals come in. This isn't growling but a rock scream sing. It sounds like an 80s cock rock band, but this is a rather nice change from the rest of the album. But I wouldn't buy an album on the strength of this one track as again it could be any band. Nothing I can hear that is original from this track. Back into the piano but with strings in the background. Sounds like synth strings too rather than the real thing. Then a strummy guitar starts up and the drums enter before bursting into another chorus which is higher in vocals than it was before. My god! Some dynamics! But still nothing that strikes me as original.
6/10
10. I Won't See You Tonight Part 2
Very original title. Bad start. Straight into the bad growling and into the verse. The guitar parts are alright. "I just want to die" yeah so do I after listening to your album mate, but hey. This track is a contrast with Part 1 as it is dark and sludgy and the chorus sounds like a poor Iron Maiden wannabe idea. *shudders* another verse, then a bridge that sounds like James Hetfield being strangled. The drumming is the same as the other tracks. The guitar has some good bits. Do you really want me to suffer more of this track? Ok fine. Bad guitar solo comes in here. I'm sure my sister could do better than that. Now a mellow vocal part which sounds better than the rest of the track. "Please don't forget me" I wish I could forget you, but I'm sure I will have mental scars once I've got to the end of this album. Back into poor Iron Maiden wannabe's. Make it stop make it stop!
3/10
11. Clairvoyant Disease
Another opening that sounds like it could be a number of bands. Into a mellow verse and it sounds like the vocalist has a cold. Then into snarled vocals into growling. Shame the guitars are so quiet, they sound like the best bit going on here. Back into the verse, so I assume that was the chorus before. I have lost total interest by this point in the album. Back into that chorus idea again but it does sound like it's been done a million times before. A nice guitar part destroyed by the growling over the top, before going into a solo which to me sounds like an Ash solo. Mellow vocals come in after the guitar stops. Nice vocal melodies, but this isn't going to save yet another poor track which sounds ripped off. I'm glad to see this is the penultimate track off this album cause I don't think I could stand much more. But the outro sounds alright.
4/10
12. And All Things Will End
I like the title. The "End" bit especially appeals to me. Ah enter the acoustic guitar. But that doesn't last long before we're into an electric guitar riff and poor drumming. Mixture of vocal types in this verse. Actually the tune to this one isn't too bad. But another Metallica sounding end to the verse. The second verse appears to follow the first, surely I didn't miss the chorus! Oh I had. The Metallica sounding bit was the end of the chorus which sounded like a verse to me. Back to the ol' acoustic. Enter melodic vocals. I'm glad to stop there is no secret track on this album. Anyway back to the song. Well nothing much has happened. A guitar solo with some bloke whispering something in the background goes into a heavier bridge. Into vocal growling, fast guitar playing, fast(er) drums and then back into the so called chorus. This again could be a number of bands and really lacks originality. Another guitar solo on an electric which is alright but I've heard a lot better and it's starting to drag on and on and on. It highlights the reason I never liked 80s rock/metal. It slowly seems to stop like a chewed up tape or a walkman running out of batteries before stopping hoorah!
4/10
So what did I think to this album? It lacked real musicianship, it was dull and very unoriginal. There were some good parts, but the bad definitely out weighed them. I would advise Avenged Sevenfold to look for a new drummer or send him to get some lessons. There seems to be a lot of hype surrounding this band and that was the reason I decided to check them out. But I have to say I am utterly disappointed with what I heard and I certainly would not recommend them to anyone.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
As much as i disagree whole heartedly with your rating of only one star, i have given you an exceptional for your album review in general :) Its well written and laid out and i love how you go through each song, describing what appeals to you and what doesnt. Have to say, the guitar riffs at the end of "And all things will End" is astounding so i hold an opinion similar to yours on this song x
Vheissu 03.03.2006 16:51
haven't heard this album yet, but I love their "City of Evil" album :o)
darkangelwing 09.12.2005 18:10
I like this style of music reviewing though very easy to read,keep it up(-:
Oct 19th, 2005
exceptional by (11%):
very helpful by (78%):
helpful by (11%):
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