{"id":53494,"date":"2016-12-29T08:27:51","date_gmt":"2016-12-29T13:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=53494"},"modified":"2016-12-29T08:27:52","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T13:27:52","slug":"avenged-sevenfold-the-stage-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2016\/avenged-sevenfold-the-stage-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Avenged Sevenfold | The Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Cynthia Jo<\/span>
\n– Sr. Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"\u201cSurprise\u201d albums have been the norm lately by mainstream artists. At the beginning of 2016 Avenged Sevenfold was on lists of most anticipated albums of the year. <\/p>\n

In mid-October the Orange County natives released the primary single \u201cThe Stage\u201d unbeknownst to fans when the album would actually drop. <\/p>\n

The band spent most of the year teasing videos of what they were cooking up in the recording studio\u2014and out of nowhere, The Stage<\/em> was released to the masses after a performance on the roof of the historic Capitol Records in Hollywood, Calif. <\/p>\n

There are a lot first in this album. Not only is it Avenged Sevenfold\u2019s longest album (74 minutes) and the first with former Bad Religion drummer, Brooks Wackerman, it is also their first concept album\u2014touching topics such as artificial intelligence, emphasizing on the works of Carl Sagan and Elon Musk. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Stage\u201d is an epic titled-track. It definitely sets the progressive tone they experimented with for the album. Technical and fun, it is climatic and showcases Synyster Gates\u2019 impressive guitar chops not only with the solos but also with the acoustic elements. <\/p>\n

Wackerman lays out the foundation with the intensity and the kick of his instrument in \u201cParadigm.\u201d Not only in this track but the album overall, it is noticeable that Wackerman definitely got a work out with this album and executing the percussion beyond wonderfully. Not to undermine Shadows vocal ability, his distinct tone is reminiscent of Waking the Fallen<\/em> on this track, Shadows carries the emotion of every lyric with every breath. <\/p>\n

If you are familiar with Avenged Sevenfold\u2019s discography, you know they are not afraid to incorporate different elements in their songs. \u201cSunny Disposition\u201d is a lively mix of horns that are surprisingly pleasing and embodies similar sounds you can hear on the album City of Evil<\/em>. <\/p>\n

The heaviness of the album comes full force on the shortest song of the album \u201cGod Damn.\u201d It comes with such force and dynamic beats and guitar shredding from Synyster Gates accompanied rhythmically by Zacky Vengeance and bassist Johnny Christ. The group returns to their roots of Thrash, Metalcore and acoustic executed precisely and technically accurate in this track but it is not comparable to any other track ever done by them. If you listen closely, no solo is the same. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a vibration in \u201cCreating God\u201d that is sensual yet very much so hard rock. The band has experimented with Country-Rock in prior releases (\u201cDear God\u201d from self-titled) that the twang in \u201cAngels\u201d brings in a darker aura. The guitar solo here is chilling\u2014setting that dark undertone. Shadows carries this track into the true ballad that it is. Some might think his vocals are strained and forced but they still embody that Metal punch that only he can deliver. <\/p>\n

\u201cExist\u201d (a 16-minute closer), which features a Neil Grasse Tyson speech, is a beautifully calculated instrumental track that is simply out of this world. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, Avenged Sevenfold has proved to be a mainstream success with previous albums. Although, The Stage<\/em> hasn\u2019t sold the ideal number of copies as releases prior it is definitely a concept album that deserves to be celebrated. Fans will appreciate the foreign territory they just conquered. <\/p>\n

Genre: Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nM. Shadows \u2013 vocals
\nSynyster Gates \u2013 lead guitar
\nZacky Vengeance \u2013 rhythm guitar
\nJohnny Christ \u2013 bass
\nBrooks Wackerman \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. The Stage
\n2. Paradigm
\n3. Sunny Disposition
\n4. God Damn
\n5. Creating God
\n6. Angels
\n7. Simulation
\n8. Higher
\n9. Roman Sky
\n10. Fermi Paradox
\n11. Exist <\/p>\n

Label: Capitol Records <\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.avengedsevenfold.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: [usr 9 size=20]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Cynthia Jo – Sr. Columnist — \u201cSurprise\u201d albums have been the norm lately by mainstream artists. At the beginning of 2016 Avenged Sevenfold was on lists of most anticipated albums of the year. In […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":53495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13652],"tags":[8586,12974,2317,2267,12973],"class_list":{"0":"post-53494","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2016","8":"tag-avenged-sevenfold","9":"tag-capitol-records","10":"tag-cd-review","11":"tag-metal","12":"tag-the-stage"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}