A7X Arm Tattoo

A7X Arm Tattoo

The Album:
I'm a huge Dream Theater and Rush fan. I've never gotten into the "mainstream" metal segment, so when this project was passed along, I didn't know how I'd respond to a genre that I have such little experience with. I also knew that Dream Theater's drummer, Mike Portnoy, was filling in for The Rev in studio and on tour. I actually wondered, because of the age/genre differences between the Avenged Sevenfold guys and Mr. Portnoy, if the sound of the album would be altered or incongruous in any way.

I was very surprised.

What I found as I listened to the tracks was a very personal introspection and commentary (something purported to be in low supply for this genre). Another first listening note was how incredibly similar Portnoy's drum sound and playing were to The Rev's. Jimmy had actually recorded his parts for the album at home on an electronic drum kit, so I'm assuming Portnoy used these tracks for reference as he recorded on Nightmare. But the production team did an awesome job of making Portnoy's recordings sound like an A7X mix.

Also present for time-weathered Avenged Sevenfold fans is their classic mixture of hard rock and metal instrumentation. You'll find soaring harmonized electrics with a patina of effects, tasty and clever double bass arrangements, and M. Shadows' gritty, strained tenor that fluctuates between screamcore sections (minimal) and melodic expression.

The entire album is rife with layers, depth exuding from the instrumentation, the lyrics, and band members' musical expression. It's got the dream-esque metal "Nightmare" title track (which scored a #1 on the music charts), it's got the acoustic ballad "So Far Away" (tribute to The Rev), it's got a gospel soloist on "Victim," it's got strings, it's got some awesome piano work in "Fiction," and it's got M. Shadows' all-out screams in "God Hates Us." The entire album has so much more than I was expecting from its genre - in fact, I've been listening to it over and over in my car, not yet growing tired of the music and listening for nuances I haven't yet discovered.