An in depth review and recap of Avenged Sevenfold’s new album and tour, ‘Life Is But a Dream…’

Avenged Sevenfold have quite possibly proven themselves to be the most eclectic metal band in today’s music scene. While this statement is somewhat of an oxymoron provided that metal music is often singularly derivative of rock, Avenged Sevenfold’s latest album Life Is But a Dream… is a full realization of just how deep the band’s musical taste and styles have stretched since their last musical endeavor. And that’s the particular beauty with Avenged Sevenfold as they stand in today’s scene. Their latest work brilliantly ties together their metal roots with a variety of progressive and popular music elements, which ultimately pushes the boundaries as far as what sonic concoctions are possible between both heavy and popular music genres. That’s not to say the band’s latest evolution has been solely limited to their sound, but rather, it has impacted every aspect and aesthetic they’ve come to establish themselves by over the last 20 years.

After witnessing Avenged Sevenfold’s sold out performance at Los Angeles’s KIA Forum, it’s safe to say the band has almost completely done away with their typical ‘rockstar’ attire in favor of a far more modern wardrobe and stage design. Gone was the pyro and gothic stage production reminiscent of a life size DND campaign, much of which has been a staple within the band for the last decade. Instead, A7X have re-upped their stage with highly sophisticated yet simplistic video panels, similar to something one would expect at a Nine Inch Nails or Tool show.

To say the least, the production A7X has on display for this album cycle is some of the most awe-inspiring visuals of any rock show right now, and it’s easily the best of the band’s career. Nearly every song had it’s own intricately tailored immersive stage design and video elements to go along with it. Every video wall including the stage floor (which also acted as a massive video panel) was filled with choreographed lighting and visuals, so much so that you could feel a stronger sense of intent behind A7X’s setlist for this album cycle, much of which featured tracks from the band’s latest record.

To that point, Life Is But a Dream…is undoubtedly the main focus when it comes to the band’s upcoming shows. A7X pulled no punches and performed nearly all of their new record that night from opening with “Game Over” and “Mattel,” and later ending the show with the interlocked quadruple masterpiece, “G,” “(O)rdinary,” “(D)eath,” and “Life Is But a Dream.” Of course they played classics “A Little Piece Of Heaven” and “Hail To The King,” which had some remarkably stand out visuals during the night as well, however, it’s clear A7X are going for something wildly different from just a performance standpoint on this record cycle. It takes some bold artistic risk for a band like A7x to not only come out with a record like Life Is But a Dream…,which is possibly the greatest sonic and stylistic change from a modern metal band, but furthermore end their concert with no proper ‘goodbye,’ no encore, and with arguably the four least ‘Avenged Sevenfold-like’ songs of their career. It was absolutely stupendous.

LIBAD has definitely divided Avenged Sevenfold’s fanbase in many ways provided it’s a stark contrast from anything the band has previously done. However, as someone who’s always been a more distant A7X fan, I found LIBAD to be the most moving body of work the band has ever produced. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the one of the single best rock albums of this decade, possibly even this century. With that, it was fairly easy for someone like myself to get behind all of the band’s sharp twists and turns seen at their new live show, but I can completely understand why a longtime fan may feel somewhat alienated or left behind on this latest album cycle. Avenged Sevenfold are clearly going for something that’s ‘high art’ and innovative above all else with LIBAD, and based off how they concluded their show that night I don’t think that A7X are losing any sleep pondering if people are loving or hating this new era of the band.

With that in mind I think it’s worth noting that whether or not people are a fan of Avenged Sevenfold in this new era, it’s essential to realize that art doesn’t have to be polite or fit any sort of agenda. If anything at all, art is simply to express one’s self with the hopes of whoever’s consuming it to feel something. In that respect, A7X have already accomplished far more than many of their rock and metal contemporaries with Life Is But A Dream…