Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare

Words cannot fully express the emotions running through my body in the moments leading up to hearing Nightmare for the first time. Any fan would agree when I say that A7X is very much a big family and through all that's happened in the past 7 months we've only grown closer and stronger. We held onto each other as we weeped and mourned, and we tried to show as much as we possibly could that we supported the band and would be there in every step forward they took. Nightmare is not, nor did I expect it to be, an easy album to stomach. It definitely leaves horrible taste in your mouth when all is said and done. Nonetheless, the album is absolutely beautiful and will forever be a loving testimony to the life that was taken from all too soon.


"Nightmare"

The album begins with the title track, and first single. It's creepy see all the parallels this song makes with what's been going on in real life, even though it was written prior to the loss to Jimmy Sullivan for what was originally suppose to be a concept album. All the band has been through has been a "fucking nightmare." However, it's classic Avenged Sevenfold track and what you would have expected from this album if it ended up as it was originally intend.

"Welcome To The Family"

In my interpretation this song speak straight to the fans. Beginning with "Hey kid, do I have your attention?" it feels as if the band is acknowledging how much the fans have supported them and how much they appreciate it but also saying there's really nothing they or the fans can do about the situation. Being a fan of any band is so different in this day and age because you have so much access to the personal lives of the band through the twitter, facebook, fansites, interviews, and documentaries. Most fans honestly felt like they knew Jimmy and his warm, radiant personality because of all of this. And most of them couldn't help but cry over his passing because it felt like they lost someone close to them. "Details blurry, lost him too early, welcome to the family," is the band saying that they understand how the fans are feeling and they can sympathize all too well.

"Danger Line"

This song is when I began to cry. Although the song is obviously one that was written for the concept album, it yet again makes eerie parallels. The lyrics are about a man in the military who has died, and has left behind a baby girl. The song starts of very fast and heavy, and then switches tempo about half way through with this verse:

"I never meant to leave this world alone,
I never meant to hurt the ones who care,
And all this time I thought we'd just grow old
You know, no one ever said it's fair."

That verse left me with tears streaming down my face. It's absolutely phenomenal, perfectly capture the emotions of the song and the loss of Jimmy. Then the song fades to black with what sounds like a military funeral procession and the words "remind the Lord to leave his light on, for me, I'm free."

"Buried Alive"

This song as been referred to by some as greatest Avenged Sevenfold song ever written. It's such a strong, well-written song. With two choruses and the way it completely switches gears halfway through, it makes this song an epic. I love the lyric in the first chorus "I can't live in here for another day, darkness has kept the light concealed, grim as ever," it flawlessly captures that raw emotion of just feeling lost and trapped. With this chorus first half feels very depressing while the second half as the guitars pick up the pace feels very angry and vengeful.

"Natural Born Killer"

I can definitely see this song becoming a single. It's loud, angry, and powerful. This song basically says that no one could ever understand what this band is feeling, "I'm begging you to walk in my shoes anytime." The song certainly leaves you wanting to punch a hole in a wall.

"So Far Away"

This song is one of the hardest songs on the album to listen to for me, second only to Fiction. It was written by Brian (Synyster Gates) and it dedicated to Jimmy, and it is the first song he wrote both the music and lyrics too. The song basically rips your heart out of your chest and completely pulverizes it. Hysterically crying I faced with lyrics like "A light that healed a broken heart with all it could," "Will you stay away forever?," "How do I live without the ones I love?," "I have so much to say but you're so far away." Brian's guitar solo is so perfectly executed because you can hear that he's telling his story through it. You feel as if his guitar is crying and heartbroken words are going to jump of the notes. It is magnificent, one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

"God Hates Us"

For those of you that believe that Matt can't scream anymore, you can't now put that rumor to rest. His screams sound even better than on Sounding The Seventh Trumpet and Waking The Fallen. The anger stage of grievance is displayed right before our eyes with this track. Once again, boldly proclaiming that they've been through a "total nightmare." Just the title of the song shows that they're angry with God for what has happened. You can definitely taste a loss of hope and faith in this song. I think it's one of the most raw songs on the album.

"Victim"

This track is one of my favorites on this album, and another one that made me cry. It's introduced with a beautiful gospel like voice. Matt's voice is flawless in the opening verse singing such moving lyrics, "nothing is harder than waking up all alone, realize that it's not okay, it's the end of all you've known." The guitar sound so stunning, the solo almost has an angelic like quality which reminds me of the solo in "Seize The Day." The lyric "and all the speculations, save it for another time," caught my attention immediately. None of the band, nor the fans, want to have Jimmy's reputation shattered over any speculations about his cause of death. As Brian said in Kerrang!:

“Jimmy wasn’t fucking addicted to anything. He was addicted to life. He was a shooting star and those things fucking burn out quickly.”

The song then comes to a close with the gospel like voice reappearing, leaving you with a heavenly feeling.

"Tonight The World Dies"

The title of this song leaves a lump down in my throat, it's just a perfect fit for this song. You can hear the hurt in Matt's voice, which make that lump grow even more. The way he screams out "mother cries" has so much anguish behind it, it kills me. The solo in this song was magnificently played by Papa Gates (Brian Haner Sr.) and is his glorious tribute to his fallen son.

"Fiction"

I don't think any amount of mental anticipation could have fully prepared me for what I was about to hear. Believe me when I say I lost all control of my emotions upon hearing this song, hysterical tears. I could never put into word how beautiful this song truly is. The song was written by Jimmy just days before his passing and he recorded the vocals in a garage so perfectly clear that they were able to be put on the final tracking. The song is so clairvoyant it scares me. It's almost as if he was saying goodbye on this track, and maybe he was. It opens with this eerie, apocalyptic piano piece Then immediately you're face with Jimmy's ever-unique voice. The song almost has a feeling of him crossing into the light. The way Jimmy chokes out the lyrics "I hope it's worth it, here on the highway, I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you" is so painful to hear because it sounds as if those last lines he ever sang were with his last breath. The song is heartwrenching and by far the hardest song to even bare to listen to, but it is the most magnificent and beautiful song on the entire album. Possibly one of the most beautiful ever written, and absolutely the greatest Avenged Sevenfold song. I cannot even fathom how Rocksound could've said it was "by far the worst song." This is the ultimate tribute to his life.

"Save Me"

At almost eleven minutes long, this epic of a track is a personal favorite of several of the boys. The song is really speaking out to God and asking him why all this happened and where do they go from here? I love the drumming in this song, Mike captures perfectly Jimmy's style with the fast bass beats. The guitar duos are fabulous, classic Zacky and Brian. The final lines of the song and of the album "Tonight we all die young," perfectly concluded the emotional roller coaster that is Nightmare.

This album is a glorious tribute so a man that was truly a beautiful person as well as an amazing artist. I hope this album serves as a way to keep his memory and legacy alive.

In loving memory of James Owen Sullivan, foREVer in our hearts.

Automatic Loveletter

One of the main reasons I did not attend Warped Tour this year was because I was not impressed with the lineup. However, if your Warped Tour date has yet to roll around and you are attending make sure you see Automatic Loveletter who have been playing mainly the Kevin Says and the Ernie Ball stages.

Don't let the fact that they are female-fronted have you mistake them for another Paramore because they are far from it. Juliet Simms' raspy voice is something fresh in the current scene and the band is much more rock-oriented as opposed to artists like Paramore and Hey Monday.

Their debut album Truth or Dare was released just last month and has thus far been my favorite album of the summer. It starts out with "Heart Song," a song that's boldly proves how hard this chick can rock. Then it slows down into the ballad "Hush" which displays Simms' immense talent as a vocalist. Hitting it's climax with "Story Of My Life," we are shown the struggle this band has been through to get to this point in their career as a result of the Payola Scandal. The line "eight years, I'm a warrior" is by far my favorite line of the entire album. As the album reaches it's close you have "Butterflies" which is my favorite song, opening with "Here I go I'm gonna start and anthem!" It's emotional and raw with lines like "I was so f*cking heartless." The finale comes in the form of "Back To Life" which couldn't be more fitting. It starts off slow gradually building momentum, showing off the range of Simms' voice.

So, if you've yet to here Automatic Loveletter, I highly recommend this album and be sure to catch them on Warped. Also, if you had the chance to catch them at your Warped date, leave a comment on your opinions of their live performance.

**Be on the look out for a track-by-track review of Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare in the next few days.**

Matthew Leone

I'm here now to tell you of a story that has brought me great sadness along with hope and inspiration. Three weeks ago, Nathan Leone of Madina Lake broke "worst news that has ever hit [his] life." Upon witnessing a woman being brutally attacked by her husband, Matthew rushed to her aid. Matthew obviously knew that his small stature was not going to be any match against the man but was able to fight until the woman escaped to call the police. The injuries Matthew received are heartbreaking, he was left beaten and unconscious on the side of the road - not the reward his heroism deserved.

Matthew has undergone two brain surgeries at this point. The first in which a third of his skull was removed to reduce the brain swelling and two days ago he underwent another surgery to reapply the portion of the skull that was removed. He has be in and out of consciousness and has been in excruciating pain.

As is the case with many musicians, Matthew does not have health insurance. The hospital bills he'll be faced with in return for his inspiring courage will be more than I could even imagine. It has been heartwarming to see the community of fellow musicians and fans that are coming together to help Matthew. Donations can be made at sweetrelief.org, even the smallest donation is appreciated. Also, series of benefit concerts will be taking place featuring artists like Smashing Pumpkins, Kill Hannah, and Madina Lake. For more information on that please visit: throughthepain.org.

Matthew is one of the sweetest people I've ever had the honor of meeting and talking to and his courage and heroism should serve as an inspiration for everyone out there. Not every person would have helped this woman, many would have just walked by. All of my prayers and thoughts go out to Matthew as well as Nathan, their family, friends, and fellow band mates. They are extremely grateful for all the love and support.

Black Veil Brides

Yesterday, at twelve in the morning I was downloading the debut album We Stitch These Wounds from Black Veil Brides. Words cannot fully express how excited I am about it.

I'm a new "bridesmaid," happily converted by my friend not too long ago. However, I had known of Andy Six thanks to his status on Myspace. I am so grateful to have found them. I love finding musicians out there that hungrily want to conquer the rock scene and bring something different to the table and this is exactly what BVB is doing with this debut album.

The introduction to the album, "The Outcasts (Call To Arms)," sums up everything you're about to heard in three short sentences: "This record is for the outcasts. The following are stories of love, life, and never giving in. We are the Black Veil Brides." What I love about this album is that Andy and the band are speaking directly to the fans. They're saying being true to yourself is hard. It's easier to give into other people and let them break you down and let them mold you into the person they want you to be. However, you can't give in; you need to stay strong. They're basically telling you that your never alone in feeling like life is all too much. They are 5 people who've got your back because they've also been through heartbreak and the pains of life. Through their music they want to help you. I'm personally a strong believer in music being able to save lives, and I think this album could be that life-saving album for some teenage kid out there.

We Stitch These Wounds is very much a fresh return to hard, aggressive rock that's been missing in this sea of pop-punk band after pop-punk band. It's got a Motley Crue feel to it, while still being very modern. Instrumentally, Sandra proves that chicks can play the shit out of the drums and the guitars are beautifully loud and angry. Andy's vocals are phenomenal. Honestly, it surprises me that such a deep, powerful voice comes out of such a skinny guy. And his screams give me chills, especially the first scream in "Perfect Weapon."

It's loud. It's angry. It's glorious.

David Bowie & Ziggy Stardust.

In my last blog about Metallica, I wrote that you have to respect them as artist because they have been influential to so many artists that are popular today. The case is the same with David Bowie. Even if you hate Bowie, you have to have appreciation for his work because he has left such an incredible legacy on music.

The reason I love Bowie is because for one he is an incredible performer and two he writes concept albums. You look at someone like Gaga and some people think she’s a freak; however, she’s not doing something that hasn’t been done before. She wears ridiculous costumes and makes odd videos because she’s an artist and a performer, not just a musician. This was what Bowie did decades ago. He was androgynous to say the least, but he put a show from every angle. It takes unbelievable talent to be able to do what he did, what artist like Gaga are continuing to do. It’s a step above and beyond what is necessary of a musician.

With his amazing abilities as an artist he was able to bring the story of Ziggy Stardust to life. I am a sucker for concept albums as a person who appreciates good music. To write a concept album you need the skills of a storyteller in addition to the skills of a lyricist and I bow down to those that have succeeded. Ziggy in my personal opinion may be the greatest concept album of all time, it brought it to a whole new level (I know I’ll have some Beatles fans screaming “SGT. PEPPER’S !” at me). For those of you unfamiliar with Ziggy,(first I must ask “WHY?!”) in short, it tells the story of the world, destined to end in five years times, and Ziggy is the ultimate rockstar. Ziggy has dreams of starmen coming to save the planet and believes he is some sort of prophet. When these starmen come to earth they are invisible and must use Ziggy’s body to make themselves visible. They ultimate tear apart Ziggy’s body on stage and he dies. Bowie would dress up and portray Ziggy on stage, and created an impressive visual adaptation of the album. The only thing I can compare it to in present terms is My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade and how they had costumes for the stage performances (which was an incredible show if you had a chance to see The Black Parade tour a few years back) and you better believe Gerard Way was listening to some Ziggy went writing that album.

Respect your elders, children! Even Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong said Ziggy was one of greatest albums of all time.

So what are your thoughts and opinions?

Metallica

This post is sure to spark some controversy. Seeing as I have already written about a band I love, now I’m going to flip the table a write about a band I have a strong distaste for. Metallica.

I have discussed my dislike for Metallica several times on my personal Tumblr account and have gotten a mix of people agreeing with my opinions and people being utterly outraged. Now don’t get me wrong, I have immense respect for Metallica as artists and I feel like everyone that likes metal music at all has to have respect for them. Bands like Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, and Godsmack would probably not even exist if it wasn’t for Metallica, so I salute them for that.

However, my aversion towards Metallica remains purely on a musically level. Recently, VH1 Classic aired a documentary about metal music and one person stated that Metallica diverted itself from the hair-metal scene because they were “raw” and their music cut out all the fluff. This confuses me, does Metallic not have these long, and in my opinion obnoxiously long, intros in many of their songs? Now, add the guitar solos to this mix. I fail to see how this cuts out the fluff. When I think of raw music I think of The Ramones with fast, aggressive two minute tracks like Blitzkrieg Bop (but I obviously know to compare Metallica and The Ramones would be to compare an apple to an orange but you get my point).

As I’m writing this I’m listening to Black Flag and I hear this voice just full just intense anger and emotion and I find that James’ voices just lack this emotion. I mean sure he has the deep, “metal” voice but I just can’t seem to make that emotional connection with it. Listening to Avenged Sevenfold, which is a band that has been hugely effected by Metallica, I can just feel the passionate and energy that radiates from Matthew’s voice.

All in all, I just cannot get through a Metallica song. Honestly, just find myself bored between the length of the song, the guitar solos, and the vocals.

Any hardcore Metallica fans reading this, I’d love to hear your opinions.

The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010

I didn’t anticipate much going to the Bamboozle Roadshow because I’d already been to Bamboozle in New Jersey and Warped but it completely exceeded my expectations.

First off, I want to talk about the venue. I’d never been to the NC Music Factory in Charlotte before, but let me tell you it’s now my favorite venue. It’s literally an old mill that was divided into bars, music clubs, and the Fillmore Ballroom with an amphitheatre in the back. The Fillmore is actually a pretty decent size while still having that intimate feeling. The first half of the festival was in there (which was great because I was able to escape the brutal heat outside), then it moved outside in the late afternoon to the amphitheatre which is was a lot smaller than the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Charlotte but I enjoyed it a lot more.

The band that opened the festival was the California-based Drive A. I’d never listen to them prior to their performance but they were fantastic, the best band to play that stage in my opinion. Going back to some true punk roots with songs like “Take a Side” and “Can’t Sleep It Off.” I highly recommend if you like hard and loud punk to check them out (drivearocks.com). They’ve also opened for HIM, one of my all time favorite artists, so that just makes me like them even more.

Upon leaving the ballroom to move out to the amphitheatre I bumped into former-My Chemical Romance drummer, Bob Bryar, and he was just a delight. I’m assuming that he is back working in sound tech now that he’s left My Chem because he said he was “working.” I got an autograph and a blurry picture but I was content.

Despite not being familiar with Forever the Sickest Kids latest album they definitely gave the best performance out of the three times that I’ve seen them. They’re so energetic, and I love how Jonathan swings his mic around in a very Adam Lazzara-esque fashion. They’ll be putting out their next album The Weekend: Saturday at some point this summer and maybe by that time I’ll have picked up a copy of The Weekend: Friday.

While trying to get a drink and avoid the heat I met Good Charlotte’s Benji Madden. I thought it was very cool that a celebrity of his status was simply walking around the venue passing out Good Charlotte stickers to kids. It just goes to show you that there really are bands that are still in it for the music and the kids and not just the fame and money.

Good Charlotte. Amazing. I’d never had the opportunity to see them before and they completely blew me away. They played a pretty great setlist in just 40 minutes consisting of some of my favorites like Girls & Boys, and I Just Wanna Live.

Benji then came out and played with All Time Low. I’ve always ended up missing All Time Low’s sets at other festivals, though I did catch Alex singing with Sing It Loud at Warped last summer. I thought they were fantastic, even though they talked way too much and as a result had to shorten their set. Jack at one point got up and walked all the way out to the lawn with his guitar. I would love to see them again. By the way, if you have yet to see their dvd which just came out recently, I suggest you do so because it’s freakin’ hilarious!

Boys Like Girls was great despite the fact that I was not impressed with their second album. I saw them last year at Bamboozle in New Jersey and let me tell you (and don’t laugh), that was the roughest crowd I’d ever been in! I actually fell and couldn’t get back up because of the masses of teenage girls pushing, someone had to pick me up and put me on the barricade. Anyway, this performance was a far better experience than the last. We all bombarded the GA section for the final song, The Great Escape, although it took some people jumping over the fence to convince the security to let us down there. All in all it was a terrific show, and if your date hasn’t already passed I hope you’ll go because I had a wonderful time, and I would go as far as to rate it better than Warped Tour. If you went to the show, leave a comment and tell me about your experience.