The past seven months have been (at the very least) a diverse affair for Huntington Beach metal arrangement Avenged Sevenfold (or ‘A7X’). The final months of 2009 saw the band deeply involved in the conclusive stages of a successful and productive writing process, when they were struck down by the sudden death of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan, the band’s long-time drummer. Band members, friends and millions of fans alike were left shocked and heart-broken. Having lost their percussionist and, their best friend so unexpectedly, the remaining four musicians were periodically lost and for once, A7X was not a priority.

Following what one could only imagine were a torturous few months enveloped in the absence of The Rev, A7X came to the healthy decision of resuming their recording duties. They proceeded, with the aid of Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to record the follow-up to their hugely successful self-titled album, which has been quite aptly named "Nightmare. "


Hype has been escalating for almost half a year regarding the imminent album release, speculation and debate on the quality of the material remains furious. In order to quench the thirst of desperate fans, the album’s title track was digitally released on May 18th to a predominantly positive reception. Whilst the song, heavy and dark at first seems to lack any real ‘wow’ factor, the track grows on you as a fan until there’s a realisation that Avenged’s latest offering has the potential to be of incredible quality.

And then, almost two months later on July 15th, the band made an update to their Facebook account with a web link addressed to their fans. Upon clicking the link (and jumping through some hoops), users would be directed to a lyric video for another track from the album – entitled ‘Buried Alive’. With no official release, fans were given the chance to hear the song in its entirety before global unveiling – perhaps a testament to the rewards the utilization of developing music technology can reap.


Listeners are invited into the piece with a clean and delicate introduction of subtle guitar picking and gentle but haunting harmonics. This introductory tranquillity comes courtesy of guitarist Brian ‘Synyster Gates’ Haner, who is soon joined by the rest of the band with a slow, steady beat and melodic phrasing. You would be forgiven for thinking that this almost doesn’t sound like A7X. Where the band have done softer, slower tracks in the past, the first few minutes of ‘Buried Alive’ sounds so very different; and the song could easy be the brainchild of some prodigious blues or indie band. But this differentiation is welcomed, and it seems the group have delightfully succumbed to their more bluesy influences – and even though it’s quite a change, you just know this is Avenged Sevenfold. It’s indescribable.

After a typical Avenged-Sevenfold-style guitar harmony (the trademark sound that fans have grown to love), Matt ‘M Shadows’ Sanders throws himself into the mix as lead vocalist. At first, however, it takes time to become accustomed to his voice over the clean instrumental track. Sanders’ voice has always upheld a certain whiny quality (the use of the word ‘quality’ is obviously subjective) and even seasoned A7X fans may be thrown when his singing begins. However, it doesn’t take too long for the vocal work to grow into itself and the song begins to flow now effortlessly into its chorus.

This is where the song makes its first mark. Gritty, punchy and truly badass (for lack of a better word), the chorus could be a half-minute refrain plucked straight from "City of Evil". While the guitars are more mildly overdriven than drowned in the distortion A7X have developed as their norm, it’s a perfect fit. The melody is a catchy sample of craftsmanship, and picking faults is a difficult task. The lyrics – not exclusively in the chorus but throughout the entire track – have an ominous, virulent edge tainted with themes of damnation and abhorrence. Writing with the permanent cloud of Jimmy’s death overhead, the album is set to be a dark piece, as bassist Johnny ‘Christ’ Seward stated in a recent interview; “We wanted to have a dark concept record, sort of like The Wall or Operation: Mindcrime. Throughout all of that, the songs that came out were musically already as dark as we wanted them to be. Then lyrically it took a different turn when Jimmy passed. The lyrics then became mostly – not 100 percent – but mostly to do with his death and his life.” Thought-provoking.

However, whilst the lyricism may have some depth and certainly some intense sentiment in ‘Buried Alive’, it doesn’t seem to have any direction. With an abundance of open-ended lines, irrelevant follow-ups and generic, inconsequential deathly musings, the song’s weakness lies in its lyricism – or lack, thereof.

However, after a second verse similar to the first and another chorus, Haner turns things around masterfully with a guitar solo that easily outplays the one featured on ‘Nightmare’. He maintains the lightning fast intricacy and dexterity he’s known for, but - revolving around what could be blues scales – he’s changed things a fair bit. It’s not a 300bpm barrage of sporadic scale abuse - the solo sounds much more mature, more developed, and much less metal than anything he’s played before. Is this one of his best to date? That’s entirely a debate of opinion, but I think it could well be.

The 2005 A7X that fans have been waiting to hear again arrive - fashionably late - around the four minute mark. A filthy, crunchy distortion kicks the listener’s heart into gear and the song now revolves around two poisonous vocal lines. It’s heavy, it’s beautifully rhythmic, and it’s angry. With a final few convoluted guitar fills becoming the tip on the metal iceberg, you can feel that the five-some are luring you closer to an excitingly climatic conclusion. It’s such raw, powerful material. The chugging riffs are infectious and the vocals are so much more fitting, so much more A7X. With every member attacking their instruments with such animosity (especially Portnoy, who is wonderfully exceeding expectations) it’s hard not to smirk as you realise A7X know exactly how to keep you waiting. Four minutes of foreplay for two minutes of twisted aggression. With one last roar from Sanders of “Die buried alive!” and one last thudding note from the rest of the band, the listener is plunged into silence and the song is over.


As a whole, 'Buried Alive' is crafted like the most prestigious of paintings – precisely and expertly. While the song retains some drawbacks lyrically and vocally, they do not impede the quality to an unbearable extent. In fact, by the time the song has come to its heavy, distorted finish, you might find it in yourself to ignore the errors, or even come round to love them. The clean section is a wonderful breath of fresh air, and thankfully it’s come right at a time when the band could have just become a stale parody of themselves. Instead, they’ve simply outshone themselves. Avenged Sevenfold have whet our appetites sufficiently for their entire fanbase to wait with the knowledge that – if the upcoming album is anything like the material already released – "Nightmare" could well be the band’s best album to date. We’ll have to wait and see.

I hope you’re as excited as I am.