Hail to the King - Avenged Sevenfold
Hail to the King
has been long awaited by A7X fans ever since the clues started to leak from the
band’s Facebook page and to external blog: Deathbat News. It’s the 6th
studio album by the metal/hard rock band from California, and the first without
input from their deceased drummer Jimmy ‘The Rev” Sullivan. The band
re-recruited Mike Elizondo as the producer for the album, who also produced
their last record: Nightmare.
The sound on this album is different to what A7X fans are
used to, but does ‘carry on’ in a way from some musical themes of the last
album. Hard rock/early heavy metal influences are definitely evident, such as
bands like Metallica, Sabbath and Zeppelin. Singer M. Shadows did mention he
wanted to open up the sound of the band and ‘keep it simple’ with less
overlapping vocals and more riff based songs.
The drums on this album definitely differ from previous as
well, and I get the feeling it isn’t just the newby Arin Ilejay. The double
bass drums are rarely heard on the tracks with a standard rock beat being
fairly consistent with a few variations of course. The title track and first
single of the album ‘Hail to the King’ basically
sums up the drum groove for the album. The bass drum tone itself was one I found
quite remarkable though, and it definitely packs a punch especially in those
slower tempo beats such as ‘This Means War’, and when you get to that triplet
note pulse in the chorus it just floors you.
Now to a hot topic of the album: the new guitar amps. If you
aren’t already aware, guitarist Synyster Gates has worked with A7X’s guitar
manufacturer Schecter to produce some custom amps for themselves and the
public, called the Hellwin. I think Schecter would have been equally excited as
the guys in Avenged following the production of these amps, and rightly so. These
high gain tube monsters sound fantastic on the new record and provide a classic
crisp clean tone too. The clean tone is most notable on the ballad ‘Crimson
Day’, where Syn also used a capo’d baritone guitar to achieve one of the best
clean tones I’ve ever laid ears on. The power of these amps is shown in
‘Requiem’ where you can hear that beautiful alternating palm muted to open
progression in the verse. Syn and Zacky V have continued their alliance with
Schecter and carried on using their custom guitars as well, which always have a
great addition to A7X’s sound.
The other lucky man to get some new gear for the record
also, is bassist Johnny Christ. He’s also joined the dark side and formed an
alliance with Schecter to create the Johnny Christ Signature Bass. This is a
step up from the Music Man Stingrays he’s been using up until now, with 2
active EMG pickups, one of which is actually a guitar pickup for added high
end. This bass’ great sound can be heard easily in ‘Heretic’ during a fairly
spacious verse.
Last but not least the vocals on the album have once again
lived up to Shadows’ high standard. He hasn’t brought in as much growl as
previous albums, but he still uses his diaphragm in the amazing way that has
brought him to where he is. Those ear pleasing sustained notes are still
evident in tracks such as ‘Planets’ and ‘Requiem’, with simple melodies still
being used in an attractive manner. Also, aside from Shadows and SATB choir
features on ‘Requiem’ (in Latin I’m lead to believe) which shocked me when I
first heard it. Lyrical themes on this album don’t stray much from Sevenfold’s
usual material such as struggle, warfare and sorrow.
In addition to the band themselves, brass arrangements
feature on some of the tracks such as the opener ‘Shepherd of Fire’ and
‘Planets’. This adds some of that creative metal edge that Avenged Sevenfold
likes to play with, and provides a beefy foundation when those perfect 5ths
in the lower brass appear. Other additional instruments include piano on the
closing ballad ‘Acid Rain’ which sooths the rhythm section under Syn’s wailing
solos and Shadow’s powerful vocals. Strings are also present on this track
throughout the duration and give the listener another side to music with their
close to counter-melodies.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this album in its entirety.
A7X has still included some of their key features such as L+R speaker guitar
harmonies and musical theory intuition which is what makes it a killer record. I’ve
listened to the album countless times since the day I received it in the mail
and will most likely continue to do so in anticipation of their headlining
Soundwave appearance in Australia next year which I will definitely be heading
off to.
You can buy the album on iTunes here:
Or check out the band’s new gear here:
