Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil (2005)
Avenged Sevenfold began as a metalcore band in their first two albums. Their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet had more of a raw hardcore-leaning sound compared to any of their subsequent works. Vocalist M. Shadows was practically screaming his head off in almost every song. Then came a different direction in their second album Waking the Fallen. They cranked up the metal in their metalcore in the riffing, melodies, and atmosphere. Shadows' cleans became more prominent while mixed with his screaming. Some claim that the reason for the absence of screaming in this album City of Evil is because he blew his voice while performing in Warped Tour 2003 and had to go for surgery. Well that myth has been busted, as he had actually planned to abandon screaming altogether since between those first two albums.
Despite discarding all of their earlier metalcore, City of Evil is an amazing near-masterpiece of metal! Almost every track I've enjoyed and still do since revisiting this band after so many years. It's basically the classic heavy metal of Iron Maiden and 90s Metallica given a better modern twist. Shadows sounds the best when he's channeling his inner Bruce Dickinson and James Hetfield. Lead guitarist Synester Gates performs some of the greatest soloing and riffing I've heard that can almost rival DragonForce. And there are many melodic moments to adore, including orchestra in some tracks without heading too deep into symphonic metal territory.
"Beast and the Harlot" is the first track and already it can get a lot of listeners hooked. The intro includes some background screaming by Shadows that would only seldomly being used in the album. The only slight flaw is in the chorus, but the rest is a grand starting highlight. "Burn It Down" is also great, especially in the breakdown and soloing. The chorus is a bit more problematic than in the first track though, with Shadows' vocals sound a little too nasally. "Blinded in Chains" is not really the best track, though there's nothing bad about it. It continues the great speed of the previous track, but it ends up slightly draggy and out of whack. "Bat Country" makes up for the previous two tracks' mistakes by being a fun standout that many fans know. Awesome Maiden-style verses and singalong chorus there!
"Trashed and Scattered" is another fantastic song to love. The edgier vocals going well with fast melody makes the song sound like a Waking the Fallen outtake, and I mean that in a great way. The chorus is a bit rap-ish, yet enjoyable like the rest. "Seize the Day" is more of a power ballad. It's still good, but more likely to be appreciated by a ballad-loving listener. It can definitely remind some of Guns 'N' Roses' ballads. Shadows and Gates are practically the Axl Rose and Slash of this band, respectively. "Sidewinder" begins an epic trilogy of long songs that make my top 3 favorites of this album. Great chorus and Latin-sounding outro! "The Wicked End" cranks up the epicness further. The apocalyptic lyrics suit this track well. More of the heavy metal greatness comes in, leading up to beautiful orchestra cover the last third of the track to take your breath away. And as much as I would consider that track my favorite, one more would take the throne...
"Strength of the World" is the album's 9-minute ultimate epic. The spaghetti western-sounding intro sounds like the start of a Wild West cowboy's journey. Then the rest has the power metal-ish sound similar to other bands from my early days of metal, especially in the chanting chorus. Magnificent! However, there are two more tracks starting with "Betrayed". Despite being a bit draggy, it has solid guitarwork. "M.I.A." is another 9-minute epic but not as good as that other one. Still, great soloing and ending!
Avenged Sevenfold has proven themselves to be a gamechanger in the 2000s American metal scene. I can really recognizing the originality this band has. Slight problems aside, City of Evil is a classic that has aged well after 20 years!
Favorites: "Beast and the Harlot", "Bat Country", "Trashed and Scattered", "Sidewinder", "The Wicked End", "Strength of the World"