And whoever mixed the album should be ashamed that Johnny Christ is buried so deep. The play-by-numbers metal ballad chorus of 'Buried Alive' is a letdown after a wonderful opening filled with Zeppelin melancholy. 'Danger Line' comes off as generic and uninspired and probably shouldn't have been programmed so high up in the track listing. A perfect example of this is 'Tonight the World Dies,' a dirty bayou blues rocker with some wicked slide guitar work reminiscent of a Louisiana voodoo version of STP's 'Interstate Love Song.' But the majority of riffs and rhythms throughout Nightmare rely more on blues based progressions than ever before. And these songs don't come off as bones thrown to older fans - they're very much a part of who A7X still is and probably, to some extent, always will be. Songs like 'Buried Alive' and 'God Hates Us' feature some Metallica inspired thrash that would make any metalhead proud.

Since then, the band has continued to gradually evolve into what they are today.ДЄvenged Sevenfold haven't abandoned their roots though. At this point it shouldn't really surprise anyone - the biggest stylistic change from metalcore to melodic metal happened between Waking the Fallen and City of Evil and all the 'hardcore' fans who complained about the band 'selling out' at that time are (hopefully) long gone. And while also containing more than a few moments of metal brilliance, Nightmare is, in fact, very much a hard rock album. While it starts out with an almost grindcore passage of metal brutality, 'Natural Born Killer' is, for all intents and purposes, a hard rock song. The rocker is also indicative of the album as a whole and most likely predictive of A7X's future. 'Natural Born Killer' is classic Portnoy with an extreme double bass section punctuated by his single signature splash hit. That's not to say his mark isn't on it however. Considered by many (and also The Rev) to be one of the greatest living drummers in the world, Portnoy shows admirable restraint and respect for his late predecessor, remaining as true as possible to The Rev's written parts from the demo versions of the album's tracks. In his place is Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who along with the always capable Johnny Christ on bass make up the backbone of A7X on Nightmare and the subsequent tour. With such familiarity emanating from the speakers, it's easy to forget that The Rev isn't holding it all together, as he always had before. Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance can arguably be called the greatest guitar duo since the turn of the century and certainly have earned the right to be named among such stalwarts as Downing/Tipton, Murray/Smith, and Degarmo/Wilton. (Shadows? Perhaps, if A7X continues on the path they seem to be destined for.)ДЄs Virgil led Dante through Hell, so Shadows leads us through the band's own descent into darkness, greeting us on the album opening title track, 'Now your nightmare comes to life!' What follows is vintage Sevenfold: tight, syncopated guitars over a steady and churning rhythm section that veer off into chaotic but melodically fluid harmony guitar leads and blistering technical solos. Long gone is the blood curdling screamer from Waking the Fallen what remains in his stead is a hard rock voice with a strength and tone no less unique than the icons known only by one name: Ozzy. The sonic maturation that A7X has shown on every disc continues not only instrumentally but also in the vocal timbre of singer M. Musically, Nightmare picks up where 2007's self titled release left off. On Tuesday, A7X will release that record, now called Nightmare, which is not only the last physical recording of The Rev's legacy, but also his tribute. 'On Christmas 2009, Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan handed in a demo for a song he had written entitled 'Death' and proclaimed, 'That's it, that's the last song for this record.' Three days later, the Avenged Sevenfold drummer was found in his home, dead from a lethal mix of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Avenged sevenfold so far away listen