Why just Critical Acclaim? He sang in a lot of songs. A Little Piece of Heaven, Scream, Fiction, Afterlife, Gunslinger, Brompton Coctail, Lost, Crossroads, The Art of Subconscious Illusion, Save Me, Seize the Day, Almost Easy CLA mix, Chapter Four and others. Also sang the demos of Buried Alive, Nightmare, and Eternal Rest. And don't forget his singing in Pinkly Smooth
@@botsarefriendsnotfood9323 What? 🤔😂 Most of the songs I listed were literally in this video, and part of the white album. That's why I commented what I did in the first place, because he sang all over the album, not just Critical Acclaim. You that impressed that you'd think a person couldn't possibly know that without Google? That's pretty basic knowledge to anybody who's followed the band over the years. Jimmy always wrote a lot and sang on all records to some extent, but particularly on the self titled white album. Sang for his other band Pinkly Smooth too. And anyone who really follows also knows how much he worked on Nightmare. He recorded demos and sang on them. You can find the demos on RUclips if you're interested. But I guess I'll take it as a compliment that you're so impressed that you think I Googled that. Haha. I don't even think I'm capable of copying and pasting from Google on my phone. Let alone, where I'd find a list that includes many songs from this particular video. 😂
As I said, really surprised City of Evil wasn't recommended over Avenged Sevenfold. Then I realized that some of the songs from this album were a little more palatable for listeners when compared to City of Evil, Nightmare or Hail to the King.
@@Osprey1994 I am going to be in the minority here, but I think Waking the Fallen is better than the self titled album. City of Evil, Nightmare and The Stage are also better.
Honestly Hail to the King, The Stage, Diamonds in the Rough are all enjoyable. But the albums with Rev definitely hold a special place in a lot of our hearts.
Also in case you didn't already know, the guy who plays drums on this album, and all preceding Avenged Sevenfold albums was a guy named James "Jimmy" Sullivan, aka "The Rev" sadly he passed away on 2009, several drummers have come and gone since then, including Mike Portnoy (best known as the drummer for Dream Theater), their current drummer is a guy named "Brooks Wackerman"
@@mollyesanborn brooks was honestly the perfect guy to step up. His work on the stage is some of the best drumming in their discography. He is insanely talented.
@@mollyesanborn Not just the drumming style, but the music itself. Solos and riffs used to be way more chaotic and appeal to hundreds of fast notes. However as the band matured they started to introduce more progressive metal in Hail to the King and mostly in The Stage, when they brought in Joe Barresi and took a more hands on overviewed in the producing of the album. They are spected to stick with progressive metal as a main genre for the album, as in The Stage, back in Life Is but a Dream..., releasing in June, 2023.
@@mollyesanborn The last album he worked on was Nightmare, Fiction was the last song he handed in and it's eerie once you know that. Look at the lyrics, and you realize that it was more than just a song to complete the album. Left this life to set me free Took a piece of you inside of me All this hurt can finally fade Promise me you'll never feel afraid Written 3 days before he died.
Fun fact about A Little Piece of Heaven: This song is a fan favorite not only because of its theatrical sound, but because of it it’s absurd story. The story is about a man that becomes paranoid about his relationship, so he kills his lover, keeps her body for weeks and has sex with it (I think he cannibalizes it as well), and then buries it. The woman’s soul comes back from hell, possesses the dead body, finds the man and kills him, and cannibalizes him back. Both their souls fall into hell for what they’ve done, they kiss and make up in hell, come back from the afterlife as the undead, have a demonic wedding, kill any wandering human and live happy ever after !
@smithshine4 sry I just wanted to add that: I think you're right with the songs story but one thing, I thought he wanted to marry her but she laughed at him very 'bitchy' and didnt accept his proposal, then he was going crazy and killed her and those other things. But yeah, "paranoid he is" and this or that of the rest of what you've said is all good I think😄
If you wanna take a totally wild trip, check out "The Stage" by Avenged Sevenfold. Easily my favorite album by them, and also has so much going on. It's hard to explain just how crazy good this album is
Gotta react to the Nightmare album, and the greatest metalcore album ever: Waking the Fallen. That album has had more influence on metalcore than any other in metalcore’s history
I’d argue that early devil wears Prada, hatebreed, underoath, converge, bullet for my valentine, as I lay dying, and Norma Jean were far more influential than waking the fallen. Waking the fallen is a really great album, the only A7x album I like front to back, but it’s not really all that influential
I love this band. They are always evolving. My personal favorite album is city of evil. It also was their breakthrough album. Pretty stoked to see what you think of the other albums!
@@ghosttrap5376 the nightmare album is another great one! It's unfortunate that the rev passed away before it was released. I was a 20 year old man crying that week :/
City of Evil I'm sure gained traction thanks to Guitar Hero which released in 2005 as well, and contained Beast and the Harlot. I know that's how I became aware of the band, and likely many others had the same entry point.
Holy mother of god, that opening. There should be a contest held like a vote, for the most hostile, hateful scream in all of rock, between the one on Critical Acclaim, and the ending scream of Deftones' "Royal" (track 2 on "Diamond Eyes" ) - and I'd say that would be a close vote, in favor of Chino! (Forgive my bias). "Scream" was also a very fun tune on this album. "Almost Easy" was great. As some have mentioned in the comments, "Nightmare" would be a great reaction to see. Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater recorded the drums on "Nightmare" shortly after the drummer passed. Speaking of Rev Sullivan, there IS a second vocalist - the drummer, on Critical Acclaim - he sings the chorus part. RIP Rev. "foREVer."
You made me go re-listen to Royal, haha! That song is AMAZING, hard to beat Chino's voice. But Critical Acclaim is a fantastic track as well, a really amazing opening to this record. I'll definitely be checking out more from Avenged Sevenfold now, including Nightmare. Can't wait to hear it!
this is my favorite album from Avenged Sevenfold. I love how every song has their own personality. I really wish this album was called "Afterlife" because most of lyrics speak about death. Gunslinger, Brompton Cocktail, and Dear God are the songs I really enjoy the most. Almost Easy being played on the radio is what got me into them.
I also noticed those lyrical themes about death coming up a lot on this record. They utilize a lot of very angelic, heavenly sounds too which provides an interesting contrast. It's the whole duality thing, bright and dark, light and heavy... I love when bands embrace that.
Avenged Sevenfold is one of those bands that bring a completely new musical style to each album, while still being instantly recognizable and entertaining. "City of Evil" is the album that launched them into the "A list" commercially, so that might be a good one to review, but really you can't go wrong with any of them.
Loved the reaction! And I know people are throwing other various Avenged Sevenfold albums at you but I'm going to throw an absolute curveball at you, The Rev (the drummer) and Synyster Gates (the lead guitar player) had a side band called Pinkly Smooth which released an album/EP(?) called Unfortunate Snort, which I think can only really be found in its entirety on RUclips. It's very different and very fun. Shows off Jimmy (The Rev) and Brian's (Syn) talents more, as Jimmy is the singer here as opposed to him being the drummer for A7X, and gives an insight to how some weird bizarre thing like _A Little Piece Of Heaven_ can come to be.
I got really in to Avenged Sevenfold when I was a teen, but when I revisit them I can never figure out why I stopped listening to them. In the 2000s and early 2010s they were extremely popular, even outside the typical Metal circles. For many they were a gateway band in to Metal, much like Metallica was in previous decades. This album is one of their best. So many iconic songs, and most are written so well. The band really strikes a good balance between that heaviness, but making it so melodic and palatable with all the extra instrumentation and some of the quirky bits like the country themes, and all of "A Little Piece of Heaven". A very unique band in the way they bring all these elements together in a way that works and makes you want to listen again and again.
@@mollyesanborn I know your thing is whole albums, so not as a review but on your own you really need to watch the video to A Little Piece of Heaven. You love it, it has a real Halloween feel to it and very dark, spot on the wedding comment.
@@drbrankenstein I remember hearing the single Afterlife back in l around 2007(?) but Nightmare was the first album I picked up. I was like whoa! Where have I been and what have I been missing?!
Every one of their albums sound vastly different, and that's what i love about them :) The Stage is one of the most unique sounding albums i've heard in my life and also one of my all time favs :)
One of my very favorite albums of all time. There is so much going on it, like every track has their own distinct trait. A little piece of heaven, afterlife, and dear god are some of the best songs the band ever made
Soo happy to see you getting into Avenged Sevenfold, you definitely gotta check out the next album "Nightmare" cuz that album is even better imo! I've been going back through Avenged Sevenfold's discography because they just dropped a new song recently, this album and "Nightmare" are my favorite albums followed by "The Stage". Avenged Sevenfold actually has a diverse style, they go from adrenaline fueled metal to tear-jerker ballads and everything in-between. Please do a deeper dive into Avenged Sevenfold, you won't regret it! Great video as usual Molly!! 🤘🤘🤙🤙
I will definitely have to get into more of their albums, having heard just one record from them so far I can totally tell that they utilize a lot of different musical styles. There is so much variety that they implement.
@@mollyesanborn absolutely, you're correct about that. My favorite album is "Nightmare", but I think you should check out "City Of Evil" next and then continue moving forward throughout their discography. I know you're in kind of an awkward position with which album you started with, it's all good, we're just happy you're finally checking out Avenged Sevenfold!!
@@BigHomieSteveTheMetalHead I know, kind of a weird place to start with their discography but now I can go in any direction from here! Either way, I'm excited to hear more music from them :)
This was the album that I discovered the band from back when it came out. For a few years from about 2008-2013 they were my favorite band and got me into rock/metal music. On this album Almost Easy, Afterlife, Brompton Cocktail, and A Little Piece Of Heaven are my favorites. I wish it was called Afterlife, idk why I’ve never liked the idea of self titled albums lol. To me Nightmare is their best album with the darkest tone lyrically.
Love your full album reaction style. Avenged is one of my favorite bands and I would say you need to know where they started to appreciate the evolution of their sound. I would say do waking the fallen and go forward. When the Rev passed they certainly could have stopped writing and performing as a band but I am glad they didn't as they have started to become more progressive. Afterlife is my favorite song from this album. One of Synester Gates best solos ever.
while ive always interpreted dear god as someone who lost a loved one due to selfishness, it was still one of my heavily repeated songs when my ex died and to this day, hearing that guitar hit those high notes brings a tear to my eye. i always think of her smile when i ehar that song, and it brings be back to her for a moment. they've always been really good at delivering emotions through words.
Definitely my favourite album from these guys. Probably already been mentioned but the choir-like vocals are the whole band actually. The other distinct "lead" vocals are from the late drummer (he was also the main composer on 4 or 5 songs on this album, Afterlife and A Little Piece of Heaven for example). I found it quite amusing that you mentioned the theatrical nature before even getting to A Little Piece of Heaven haha.
Now my question is, as far as A7X goes, where should Molly go from here: Back to their 2005 album "City of Evil" or forward to their 2010 "Nightmare" ..Oh heck, like the little girl from the taco shell commercial once said "Why not both?!"
I know, I started in the middle with this band... not sure yet which direction to go in from here! I heard they've got a new one coming out this year too so maybe I'll have to check that one out once it drops.
@@mollyesanborn A7X started out as a metalcore band, if you wanted to see their evolution from there to where they are now, I’d start from the beginning. I’d like to see the later albums but I think that’s the best way to go about it, at lease then you will be able to hear the Revs drumming while you can 🥲
Big fan, The Rev's voice always make me want to cry, i love his voice, The Rev's voice makes the song more heavy, like Afterlife (Jimmy do the backing vocal), A little piece of heaven, Critical Acclaim, and more. And Jimmy can singing while playing drum, Jimmy make a band (Pinkly Smooth), ik i can't meet him, but Jimmy always in my heart.
Great reaction! Pretty good album. Personally really love Almost Easy, Scream and Afterlife. Can't wait for you to react to City of Evil and Nightmare, my two favorite albums of all time
Most of the backup vocals are M Shadows, the chorus of Almost Easy is all his voice for example. But the Rev also does backup vocals, like the chorus of Critical Acclaim
Actually if you look at the documentary about recording the self titled album this is the first album where the band members didn’t have to “mimic” Shadows’ voice and they could just use their own harmony vocals.
Pretty decent Album! The only Avenged Sevenfold album I have listened to (until I heard this recently) was City of Evil. I feel like it's time check out their discography as well.
Go listen to waking the fallen, it’s mainly a metalcore album but it’s fuckin awesome, has no weak tracks. Honestly all their albums are well worth a listen except hail to the king imo.
Avenged Sevenfold started out as a metalcore band but on city of evil they went more Alt Metal. On Hail to The King they went more hard rock like 90s metallica, Guns N Roses and even a a bit of Iron Maiden. Currently they have shifted in to a more prog rock kind of a sound. You never know what they are going to do next. Avenged Sevenfolds biggest influences are Metallica, Guns N Roses, Pantera, Iron Maiden and even Pink Floyd which you can hear on their last album and their new single. I like bands that change things up. Some time it works and some times it doesn't but better than doing the same stuff all the time. Avenged Sevenfold get shit for changing their sound to a more commercial one but they just evolved IMO.
So glad you're getting into Avenged Sevenfold, I like all of their albums especially "City of Evil" one of the songs on that album is called "Seize the Day" and it's one of my favourites from the album
Watching you react to this album makes me want to listen to the whole thing all the way through rn. Such an amazing fucking album, so so so so good. God damn best fucking album ever. Glad you liked it
I really enjoyed your concept. Full album reaction with quick stops, chill, and precise commentary. Also, only showing the relatively catchy parts of the songs makes it easier to listen to/watch your video. Keep it up, Molly!
Each album has a different vibe and feel, almost different genre. Once you appreciate their evolution of music you are gold. Waking The Fallen (second album) is one of, if not, my favorite albums of all time.
This is a fucking masterpiece. Ive been a fan whole my life and when i think about a fav song i pick one until i hear the next one. I cant make my mind about it. whole album 11/10
As they just released "Nobody", Avenged isn't a genre, it's art. I love this album - such approachable music. There's a movie about the making of this record, really cool if you're into production.
Really enjoyed this video, nice work! I feel like Nightmare is the next best step, but it’s my favorite album of there’s with tracks like Save Me being highlights.
Like your reviews, you really need to see the live Avenged Sevenfold concert at the LBC, Long Beach coliseum which was professionally filmed for DVD release. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes and can be found on RUclips. Seeing you watch the concert and review it song by song would be a true win for your channel, the band puts on a performance that is truly memorable. Seeing them live is the way to go.
theres 5 vocalist. everyone sings. synester gates sings a lot like m shadows. you should listen to the stage. its not only one of the best albums they made i consider it one of the best albums of all time. i cried listening to acid rain.😢
Hey Molly, I've asked you previously, but can you please dive into Trivium's discography? "Ascendancy" is the most popular amongst fans, but I suggest starting with their first album "From Ember To Inferno" so that you can see their evolution with each album. Trivium is a goldmine, they've evolved a lot over the years while releasing banger album after banger album. Trivium is right up your alley and they're a good fit for your audience. Thanks Molly, been following you for a couple years and I love your videos! 🤘🤘🤙🤙
@@mollyesanborn awesome, can't wait!! I think you're best off starting with their first album "From Ember To Inferno", that way you're not starting in the middle of their discography like this video with Avenged Sevenfold lol. Both bands have a very loyal fan base, much like Tool and other bands you've checked out. Thanks Molly!!
Finally ! one of my favorite bands. I hope you check all of their albums! Every albums sounds different but at the same time keeping their sound. An awesome discography !
Avenged Sevenfold is very interesting because more than most metal bands, you'll get a wide array of different answers for what their best album and period was. I have regularly seen self-titled, Nightmare, Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, and The Stage all brought up as their best album. My favorite is Nightmare (the album after Self-Titled), but I actually would recommend going backward first. Nightmare was made as a tribute to drummer Jimmy Sullivan, who died during the early writing sessions for the album. I would go back and listen to Waking the Fallen and/or City of Evil first to hear more of their work from when he was in the band. He is widely considered to be one of the sharpest metal drummers ever and the band's chemistry was on another level. All of their albums are different and interesting no matter which way you go though.
As far as I remember every member of the band at this time sang in some capacity. M. Shadows did the primary leads, The Rev (drummer RIP) did some lead vocals and backup, then both guitarists and the bassist all did backup vocals.
I highly recommend watching their making of documentary for this album! It’s super interesting and gives you a lot of insight on this album, and how much The Rev did for it
This was the beginning of the end of A7X for me. Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, Waking the Fallen and City of Evil are all fantastic, but self titled is where they started going really radio-friendly and clean sounding. Their next two albums Nightmare and Hail to the King I honestly think are terrible, but they redeemed themselves a little with The Stage. Theie new album, Life is But a Dream, comes out in June I believe. I'd love to see you check out some Converge. They are insanely good.
Interesting, I'm not sure yet which direction I'll go in their discography from here. I kinda started in the middle with their albums. There is definitely a clean sound to this record as you stated, maybe I'll jump to the beginning and see how they sounded at the start. And I LOVE Converge so much!!! One of my favorite bands. I did an album ranking video for their discography a while back on my channel if you're interested :)
@@polokus_ Nah I loved Trumpet, but then again I love metalcore. When they started releasing Five Finger Death Punch-esque radio-friendly unit shifters to make money is when they got really bad. With the epitome of that being the truly unlistenable Nightmare.
Dope that u picked up on the rap influence in the verses in critical acclaim. I think that's something the band discussed themselves in the "making of" material
Thank you for checking out this album. Avenged Sevenfold has been my favourite band for a really long time, and I loved hearing from the perspective of someone checking out the band for the first time. As good as this album was, because it features a good amount of The Rev's vocals and how amazing his drumming was, I still think their next album, Nightmare, is my favourite
I’m so happy you’ve listened to this, they’ve been my number 1 band since I was a young kid and as of knowing them more musically, The Rev was my inspiration to start drumming and back up singing. Til this day I can never pick between Nightmare & City of Evil as my favourite album… at this point I’m edging towards Nightmare but I’ll say both at the same time and yet again this album is great but I have more memories with the other two albums I mentioned. But once again thank you for listening to this next album to listen to I’d say should be Nightmare or City of Evil 😊
I wasn't expecting those bongos on track 7 😄. ...Dang, you weren't kidding! 'A Little Piece Of Heaven' really threw me off with the Broadwayness too. & the closing track country song, Dear God
You absolutely NEED to do Avenged Sevenfolds album “Nightmare” it’s the album they released right after Their Drummer the Rev died in 2009. It’s their best record.
Yeeees! Love to see you start this journey. These guys really are some wild creative minds, but this is definitely as weird as it gets from them. The others are more cohesive for sure but it is that variety that makes me love this one. Have fun!
Love them, probably my favourite band. So creative and expansive in their sound. Their album The Stage would be great for you to delve into, some ridiculously layered and clever stuff on there 🤘 Subbed!
There's An Old Album They Released Called "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet", Try To Give This One A Listen, Especially My Favorite "To End The Rapture" On That Album.
Before I moved to the US a friend of mine showed me A Little Piece Of Heaven when I was only like 11. Thanks to him I fell in love with a7x and it actually helped me make some friends at my new school lol. Glad to see you react to their stuff!
I find it fun you were talking up the "theatrical/broadway" quality right from track 1, not even knowing how much further that was going to go when you got to A Little Piece of Heaven. Interested in seeing reactions to their other albums but especially City of Evil.
Nightmare is an amazing album as well. You mentioned the singer varying his vocal styles throughout. Having mentioned that, if you like variation in music and voices listen to the band Opeth. The album Blackwater Park is amazing.
you gotta check out the stage for sure, they went all out on it and its their most recent album, also their songs they wrote for call of duty, Carry On, Not Ready to Die and Mad Hatter
LET'S GO! I love this album so much, it was incredibly formative to parts of my tastes in a bunch of ways, specially how they mash a bunch of ideas in a what sounds very by-the-book metal sound, and the whole theatrical aspect of their albums. Saying this, from this album my absolute favorites are Almost Easy, Afterlife, Lost (controversial I know, and I see how some might not like it, but I actually like the autotune on the vocals, it blends really well with the Speed Metal influence of the track and builds up a more epic sound, like a journey, and it reminds me a lot of DragonForce for example), and A Little Piece of Heaven. I am looking forward to see more reactions from this band if you plan on doing so! My favorite albums fron them might be Waking the Fallen with it's more metalcore, harsh sound, and Nightmare which has Save Me, a song I cherish immensely (and is basically a perfect album). Nice reaction and thoughts as aways! I adore your insightful opinions.
RIP Jimmy Sullivan. Hearing his vocals on Critical Acclaim always makes me want to cry.
Respect
🦇💀🦇 foREVer 🦇💀🦇
Why just Critical Acclaim? He sang in a lot of songs. A Little Piece of Heaven, Scream, Fiction, Afterlife, Gunslinger, Brompton Coctail, Lost, Crossroads, The Art of Subconscious Illusion, Save Me, Seize the Day, Almost Easy CLA mix, Chapter Four and others. Also sang the demos of Buried Alive, Nightmare, and Eternal Rest. And don't forget his singing in Pinkly Smooth
@@closinginonclosure nice google copy & paste
@@botsarefriendsnotfood9323 What? 🤔😂 Most of the songs I listed were literally in this video, and part of the white album. That's why I commented what I did in the first place, because he sang all over the album, not just Critical Acclaim. You that impressed that you'd think a person couldn't possibly know that without Google? That's pretty basic knowledge to anybody who's followed the band over the years. Jimmy always wrote a lot and sang on all records to some extent, but particularly on the self titled white album. Sang for his other band Pinkly Smooth too. And anyone who really follows also knows how much he worked on Nightmare. He recorded demos and sang on them. You can find the demos on RUclips if you're interested. But I guess I'll take it as a compliment that you're so impressed that you think I Googled that. Haha. I don't even think I'm capable of copying and pasting from Google on my phone. Let alone, where I'd find a list that includes many songs from this particular video. 😂
I would definitely suggest listening to their album City of Evil.
I'll have to check that one out too!
Absolutely!
recomended...
As I said, really surprised City of Evil wasn't recommended over Avenged Sevenfold. Then I realized that some of the songs from this album were a little more palatable for listeners when compared to City of Evil, Nightmare or Hail to the King.
@@Osprey1994
I am going to be in the minority here, but I think Waking the Fallen is better than the self titled album.
City of Evil, Nightmare and The Stage are also better.
City of Evil, Self-Titled, and Nightmare is about as good of a run of albums as any band has ever had.
Waking the Fallen is awesome too
Honestly Hail to the King, The Stage, Diamonds in the Rough are all enjoyable. But the albums with Rev definitely hold a special place in a lot of our hearts.
Diamonds in the rough really was a diamond to find. hidden on a concert dvd release. Tension and A little piece of Heaven are my 2 favorite a7x songs
You forgot Waking The Fallen, probably the best of the bunch tbh
@@Mercman1010 based Tension enjoyer
Also in case you didn't already know, the guy who plays drums on this album, and all preceding Avenged Sevenfold albums was a guy named James "Jimmy" Sullivan, aka "The Rev" sadly he passed away on 2009, several drummers have come and gone since then, including Mike Portnoy (best known as the drummer for Dream Theater), their current drummer is a guy named "Brooks Wackerman"
I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the info. I'll have to see if I notice their drumming style change on the albums following this one.
🦇💀🦇 foREVer 🦇💀🦇
@@mollyesanborn brooks was honestly the perfect guy to step up. His work on the stage is some of the best drumming in their discography. He is insanely talented.
@@mollyesanborn Not just the drumming style, but the music itself. Solos and riffs used to be way more chaotic and appeal to hundreds of fast notes. However as the band matured they started to introduce more progressive metal in Hail to the King and mostly in The Stage, when they brought in Joe Barresi and took a more hands on overviewed in the producing of the album. They are spected to stick with progressive metal as a main genre for the album, as in The Stage, back in Life Is but a Dream..., releasing in June, 2023.
@@mollyesanborn The last album he worked on was Nightmare, Fiction was the last song he handed in and it's eerie once you know that. Look at the lyrics, and you realize that it was more than just a song to complete the album.
Left this life to set me free
Took a piece of you inside of me
All this hurt can finally fade
Promise me you'll never feel afraid
Written 3 days before he died.
Fun fact about A Little Piece of Heaven: This song is a fan favorite not only because of its theatrical sound, but because of it it’s absurd story.
The story is about a man that becomes paranoid about his relationship, so he kills his lover, keeps her body for weeks and has sex with it (I think he cannibalizes it as well), and then buries it. The woman’s soul comes back from hell, possesses the dead body, finds the man and kills him, and cannibalizes him back. Both their souls fall into hell for what they’ve done, they kiss and make up in hell, come back from the afterlife as the undead, have a demonic wedding, kill any wandering human and live happy ever after !
Not only that jimmy wrote it one weekend he spent at big bear... he wrote the guitar. Piano....and lyrics
Yeah definitely an absurd song, but it's a jam.
@smithshine4 sry I just wanted to add that: I think you're right with the songs story but one thing, I thought he wanted to marry her but she laughed at him very 'bitchy' and didnt accept his proposal, then he was going crazy and killed her and those other things. But yeah, "paranoid he is" and this or that of the rest of what you've said is all good I think😄
No need to be weird
If you wanna take a totally wild trip, check out "The Stage" by Avenged Sevenfold. Easily my favorite album by them, and also has so much going on. It's hard to explain just how crazy good this album is
Gotta react to the Nightmare album, and the greatest metalcore album ever: Waking the Fallen. That album has had more influence on metalcore than any other in metalcore’s history
For sure, I'll have to check both of those albums out too!
I’d argue that early devil wears Prada, hatebreed, underoath, converge, bullet for my valentine, as I lay dying, and Norma Jean were far more influential than waking the fallen. Waking the fallen is a really great album, the only A7x album I like front to back, but it’s not really all that influential
You need to learn some respect for Alive Or Just Breathing 😜
Love Waking the Fallen but you need to listen to more metalcore if you think that’s the best metalcore album. I’d say it’s in the top 20 tho
I love this band. They are always evolving. My personal favorite album is city of evil. It also was their breakthrough album. Pretty stoked to see what you think of the other albums!
I'll definitely be checking out more from them including City Of Evil! :)
@@mollyesanborn listen to the nightmare album!
@@ghosttrap5376 the nightmare album is another great one! It's unfortunate that the rev passed away before it was released. I was a 20 year old man crying that week :/
@@xXxGR33NDR3AMSxXx Im a 21 year old man right now still crying
City of Evil I'm sure gained traction thanks to Guitar Hero which released in 2005 as well, and contained Beast and the Harlot. I know that's how I became aware of the band, and likely many others had the same entry point.
Holy mother of god, that opening. There should be a contest held like a vote, for the most hostile, hateful scream in all of rock, between the one on Critical Acclaim, and the ending scream of Deftones' "Royal" (track 2 on "Diamond Eyes" ) - and I'd say that would be a close vote, in favor of Chino! (Forgive my bias). "Scream" was also a very fun tune on this album. "Almost Easy" was great. As some have mentioned in the comments, "Nightmare" would be a great reaction to see. Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater recorded the drums on "Nightmare" shortly after the drummer passed. Speaking of Rev Sullivan, there IS a second vocalist - the drummer, on Critical Acclaim - he sings the chorus part. RIP Rev. "foREVer."
You made me go re-listen to Royal, haha! That song is AMAZING, hard to beat Chino's voice. But Critical Acclaim is a fantastic track as well, a really amazing opening to this record. I'll definitely be checking out more from Avenged Sevenfold now, including Nightmare. Can't wait to hear it!
this is my favorite album from Avenged Sevenfold.
I love how every song has their own personality.
I really wish this album was called "Afterlife" because most of lyrics speak about death.
Gunslinger, Brompton Cocktail, and Dear God are the songs I really enjoy the most.
Almost Easy being played on the radio is what got me into them.
I also noticed those lyrical themes about death coming up a lot on this record. They utilize a lot of very angelic, heavenly sounds too which provides an interesting contrast. It's the whole duality thing, bright and dark, light and heavy... I love when bands embrace that.
Their new song Nobody has some MUSE vibes too
The Rev had a huge influence and the backing vocals on these tracks. It’s a shame he passed in 09 but they live on forever.
Avenged Sevenfold is one of those bands that bring a completely new musical style to each album, while still being instantly recognizable and entertaining. "City of Evil" is the album that launched them into the "A list" commercially, so that might be a good one to review, but really you can't go wrong with any of them.
Loved the reaction! And I know people are throwing other various Avenged Sevenfold albums at you but I'm going to throw an absolute curveball at you, The Rev (the drummer) and Synyster Gates (the lead guitar player) had a side band called Pinkly Smooth which released an album/EP(?) called Unfortunate Snort, which I think can only really be found in its entirety on RUclips. It's very different and very fun. Shows off Jimmy (The Rev) and Brian's (Syn) talents more, as Jimmy is the singer here as opposed to him being the drummer for A7X, and gives an insight to how some weird bizarre thing like _A Little Piece Of Heaven_ can come to be.
Man this album brings back so much nostalgia, and reminds me hiw at times I preferred The Rev's vocals over M's at times lol. RIP Mate
I highly suggest watching 'the making of' documentary they recorded and released with the album. Great to see how the songs evolved over time.
I got really in to Avenged Sevenfold when I was a teen, but when I revisit them I can never figure out why I stopped listening to them.
In the 2000s and early 2010s they were extremely popular, even outside the typical Metal circles. For many they were a gateway band in to Metal, much like Metallica was in previous decades.
This album is one of their best. So many iconic songs, and most are written so well.
The band really strikes a good balance between that heaviness, but making it so melodic and palatable with all the extra instrumentation and some of the quirky bits like the country themes, and all of "A Little Piece of Heaven".
A very unique band in the way they bring all these elements together in a way that works and makes you want to listen again and again.
nightmare is my favourite album from them :) every single song is 10/10
Ooh I'll have to give that one a listen too!
Easily the most accessible album.
@@mollyesanborn I know your thing is whole albums, so not as a review but on your own you really need to watch the video to A Little Piece of Heaven. You love it, it has a real Halloween feel to it and very dark, spot on the wedding comment.
Yep. Nightmare album has a very special meaning as it was my intro to A7X.
@@drbrankenstein I remember hearing the single Afterlife back in l around
2007(?) but Nightmare was the first album I picked up. I was like whoa! Where have I been and what have I been missing?!
The Stage by them. It’s such a unique concept album that sounds nothing like any of their other albums.
It's currently my second favourite album by them
Every one of their albums sound vastly different, and that's what i love about them :) The Stage is one of the most unique sounding albums i've heard in my life and also one of my all time favs :)
I really like the sounds of this album. It has mid 2000’s sound to it. It has influences of other genres blended in
I agree, it's a great blend of different styles and genres.
Jimmy had so many vocal pieces on this album and it's all excellent.
One of my very favorite albums of all time. There is so much going on it, like every track has their own distinct trait. A little piece of heaven, afterlife, and dear god are some of the best songs the band ever made
Soo happy to see you getting into Avenged Sevenfold, you definitely gotta check out the next album "Nightmare" cuz that album is even better imo! I've been going back through Avenged Sevenfold's discography because they just dropped a new song recently, this album and "Nightmare" are my favorite albums followed by "The Stage".
Avenged Sevenfold actually has a diverse style, they go from adrenaline fueled metal to tear-jerker ballads and everything in-between. Please do a deeper dive into Avenged Sevenfold, you won't regret it! Great video as usual Molly!! 🤘🤘🤙🤙
I will definitely have to get into more of their albums, having heard just one record from them so far I can totally tell that they utilize a lot of different musical styles. There is so much variety that they implement.
@@mollyesanborn absolutely, you're correct about that. My favorite album is "Nightmare", but I think you should check out "City Of Evil" next and then continue moving forward throughout their discography. I know you're in kind of an awkward position with which album you started with, it's all good, we're just happy you're finally checking out Avenged Sevenfold!!
@@BigHomieSteveTheMetalHead I know, kind of a weird place to start with their discography but now I can go in any direction from here! Either way, I'm excited to hear more music from them :)
my favorite metal album ever tbh
I can see why it's your favorite, this album had soooo much diversity on it with its sound. Lots of genre blending and experimentation.
Same
This was the album that I discovered the band from back when it came out. For a few years from about 2008-2013 they were my favorite band and got me into rock/metal music. On this album Almost Easy, Afterlife, Brompton Cocktail, and A Little Piece Of Heaven are my favorites. I wish it was called Afterlife, idk why I’ve never liked the idea of self titled albums lol. To me Nightmare is their best album with the darkest tone lyrically.
I loved this album in middle school. I forgot how big they were.
Love your full album reaction style. Avenged is one of my favorite bands and I would say you need to know where they started to appreciate the evolution of their sound. I would say do waking the fallen and go forward. When the Rev passed they certainly could have stopped writing and performing as a band but I am glad they didn't as they have started to become more progressive. Afterlife is my favorite song from this album. One of Synester Gates best solos ever.
while ive always interpreted dear god as someone who lost a loved one due to selfishness, it was still one of my heavily repeated songs when my ex died and to this day, hearing that guitar hit those high notes brings a tear to my eye. i always think of her smile when i ehar that song, and it brings be back to her for a moment. they've always been really good at delivering emotions through words.
I grew up on this album as a kid! I always thought “A little Piece of Heaven” sounded very “Nightmare before christmas/ danny elfman
Definitely my favourite album from these guys. Probably already been mentioned but the choir-like vocals are the whole band actually. The other distinct "lead" vocals are from the late drummer (he was also the main composer on 4 or 5 songs on this album, Afterlife and A Little Piece of Heaven for example). I found it quite amusing that you mentioned the theatrical nature before even getting to A Little Piece of Heaven haha.
Walking the Fallen is really interesting too
Btw all of their albums are different, that's why A7x my favourite band
Now my question is, as far as A7X goes, where should Molly go from here: Back to their 2005 album "City of Evil" or forward to their 2010 "Nightmare" ..Oh heck, like the little girl from the taco shell commercial once said "Why not both?!"
I know, I started in the middle with this band... not sure yet which direction to go in from here! I heard they've got a new one coming out this year too so maybe I'll have to check that one out once it drops.
@@mollyesanborn A7X started out as a metalcore band, if you wanted to see their evolution from there to where they are now, I’d start from the beginning. I’d like to see the later albums but I think that’s the best way to go about it, at lease then you will be able to hear the Revs drumming while you can 🥲
Love this album! This and Nightmare are two of my favourite albums ever but now the new one might take the top spot! Think you’d enjoy it!
Waking the Fallen is my personal favourite album of theirs
Big fan, The Rev's voice always make me want to cry, i love his voice, The Rev's voice makes the song more heavy, like Afterlife (Jimmy do the backing vocal), A little piece of heaven, Critical Acclaim, and more. And Jimmy can singing while playing drum, Jimmy make a band (Pinkly Smooth), ik i can't meet him, but Jimmy always in my heart.
Great reaction! Pretty good album. Personally really love Almost Easy, Scream and Afterlife. Can't wait for you to react to City of Evil and Nightmare, my two favorite albums of all time
Most of the backup vocals are M Shadows, the chorus of Almost Easy is all his voice for example. But the Rev also does backup vocals, like the chorus of Critical Acclaim
Thanks for letting me know :)
The chorus of almost easy is the whole band singing
Actually if you look at the documentary about recording the self titled album this is the first album where the band members didn’t have to “mimic” Shadows’ voice and they could just use their own harmony vocals.
Pretty decent Album! The only Avenged Sevenfold album I have listened to (until I heard this recently) was City of Evil. I feel like it's time check out their discography as well.
Yeah I'll definitely plan on doing more Avenged Sevenfold videos. I'm really intrigued to hear their entire discography now.
Go listen to waking the fallen, it’s mainly a metalcore album but it’s fuckin awesome, has no weak tracks. Honestly all their albums are well worth a listen except hail to the king imo.
It's definitely worth listening to more of their stuff!
You'll notice that every album has a very distinct sound.
Your channel intro is what I'm here for. I can't have enough of it.
Their older stuff is amazing but their album The Stage is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it
I vote for City of Evil so I can hear your thoughts on my favorite A7X song Blinded in Chains.
I'll definitely have to give that album a listen too!
Avenged Sevenfold started out as a metalcore band but on city of evil they went more Alt Metal. On Hail to The King they went more hard rock like 90s metallica, Guns N Roses and even a a bit of Iron Maiden. Currently they have shifted in to a more prog rock kind of a sound. You never know what they are going to do next. Avenged Sevenfolds biggest influences are Metallica, Guns N Roses, Pantera, Iron Maiden and even Pink Floyd which you can hear on their last album and their new single. I like bands that change things up. Some time it works and some times it doesn't but better than doing the same stuff all the time. Avenged Sevenfold get shit for changing their sound to a more commercial one but they just evolved IMO.
So glad you're getting into Avenged Sevenfold, I like all of their albums especially "City of Evil" one of the songs on that album is called "Seize the Day" and it's one of my favourites from the album
This just came up in my recommended. Love it. I could watch you react and analyze songs all day haha
Watching you react to this album makes me want to listen to the whole thing all the way through rn. Such an amazing fucking album, so so so so good. God damn best fucking album ever. Glad you liked it
One of the best self titled albums of all time, front to back!
Been waiting for this! Love to see you check out more of their projects
The solo on Dear God might be the most underrated of their discography. So so good
I really enjoyed your concept. Full album reaction with quick stops, chill, and precise commentary. Also, only showing the relatively catchy parts of the songs makes it easier to listen to/watch your video. Keep it up, Molly!
Each album has a different vibe and feel, almost different genre. Once you appreciate their evolution of music you are gold. Waking The Fallen (second album) is one of, if not, my favorite albums of all time.
Finally... I hope you make more albums! X))
Each album brings new elements and sounds.
This is a fucking masterpiece. Ive been a fan whole my life and when i think about a fav song i pick one until i hear the next one. I cant make my mind about it. whole album 11/10
As they just released "Nobody", Avenged isn't a genre, it's art. I love this album - such approachable music. There's a movie about the making of this record, really cool if you're into production.
Avenged sound really good. I like the different blends of sounds and style
Me too! I love how many sounds they utilize on this album, it's full of variety.
Hell yeah!!! I was just wondering earlier when you were gonna upload!!! And you’re reacting to one of my favorites 😮😮 hell yeah!!! 🥰🥰
Yeah Avenged Sevenfold are great! This album really intrigued me, I'll definitely have to hear more of their albums now.
@@mollyesanborn Can’t wait for you to react to Nightmare!!! Have a great night Molly 😊
Really enjoyed this video, nice work!
I feel like Nightmare is the next best step, but it’s my favorite album of there’s with tracks like Save Me being highlights.
As always...👍
Really enjoyed the drums on "Critical Acclaim"
You reminded me how great this band is.
effing loved it so much. alpha tier sonic material. keep up the content please 🔥🔥🔥
Avenged Sevenfold is my most favorite band since I'm in the highschool 🤘
Yeah, they do have a great sound! Can't wait to hear more albums from them now.
Like your reviews, you really need to see the live Avenged Sevenfold concert at the LBC, Long Beach coliseum which was professionally filmed for DVD release. It's about 1 hour 20 minutes and can be found on RUclips. Seeing you watch the concert and review it song by song would be a true win for your channel, the band puts on a performance that is truly memorable. Seeing them live is the way to go.
2am from where I'm from and the way you react to my fav band esp from this album is way better than most music reactors out there
theres 5 vocalist. everyone sings. synester gates sings a lot like m shadows. you should listen to the stage. its not only one of the best albums they made i consider it one of the best albums of all time. i cried listening to acid rain.😢
Hey Molly, I've asked you previously, but can you please dive into Trivium's discography? "Ascendancy" is the most popular amongst fans, but I suggest starting with their first album "From Ember To Inferno" so that you can see their evolution with each album.
Trivium is a goldmine, they've evolved a lot over the years while releasing banger album after banger album. Trivium is right up your alley and they're a good fit for your audience. Thanks Molly, been following you for a couple years and I love your videos! 🤘🤘🤙🤙
I've got Trivium on my list for sure! Can't wait to hear their music :)
@@mollyesanborn awesome, can't wait!! I think you're best off starting with their first album "From Ember To Inferno", that way you're not starting in the middle of their discography like this video with Avenged Sevenfold lol. Both bands have a very loyal fan base, much like Tool and other bands you've checked out. Thanks Molly!!
YES! I've been so excited for this one!! This is my childhood band, I've been listening to them my whole life. 🤘
Always enjoy your reviews. Your love for music comes through clearly.
Really enjoyed this reaction, thank you ❤ this is also the first album i've heard from them back in 2008. Never stop listening to them since
Another great reaction from Molly. ^^
Aw thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video :)
I definitely didn't expect this reaction, Thank you for taking the time to listen a7x
The other vocals you hear is the Rev. drummer. Sadly passed away before the nightmare album came out. Brompton cocktail. He had an enlarged heart.
Finally ! one of my favorite bands. I hope you check all of their albums! Every albums sounds different but at the same time keeping their sound. An awesome discography !
freakin loved that a ton. epic and super unique. 😍😍😍
Avenged Sevenfold is very interesting because more than most metal bands, you'll get a wide array of different answers for what their best album and period was. I have regularly seen self-titled, Nightmare, Waking the Fallen, City of Evil, and The Stage all brought up as their best album. My favorite is Nightmare (the album after Self-Titled), but I actually would recommend going backward first.
Nightmare was made as a tribute to drummer Jimmy Sullivan, who died during the early writing sessions for the album. I would go back and listen to Waking the Fallen and/or City of Evil first to hear more of their work from when he was in the band. He is widely considered to be one of the sharpest metal drummers ever and the band's chemistry was on another level. All of their albums are different and interesting no matter which way you go though.
Welcome to the Avenged Sevenfold family.
🦇💀🦇 foREVer 🦇💀🦇
Glad I've finally checked out their music! I'm looking forward to hearing more.
As far as I remember every member of the band at this time sang in some capacity. M. Shadows did the primary leads, The Rev (drummer RIP) did some lead vocals and backup, then both guitarists and the bassist all did backup vocals.
I highly recommend watching their making of documentary for this album! It’s super interesting and gives you a lot of insight on this album, and how much The Rev did for it
This was the beginning of the end of A7X for me. Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, Waking the Fallen and City of Evil are all fantastic, but self titled is where they started going really radio-friendly and clean sounding. Their next two albums Nightmare and Hail to the King I honestly think are terrible, but they redeemed themselves a little with The Stage.
Theie new album, Life is But a Dream, comes out in June I believe.
I'd love to see you check out some Converge. They are insanely good.
Interesting, I'm not sure yet which direction I'll go in their discography from here. I kinda started in the middle with their albums. There is definitely a clean sound to this record as you stated, maybe I'll jump to the beginning and see how they sounded at the start. And I LOVE Converge so much!!! One of my favorite bands. I did an album ranking video for their discography a while back on my channel if you're interested :)
Same, City of Evil is their peak for me.
Sounding the seventh trumpet was by far the worst. Their first two albums were metalcore and i'm personally less of a fan of that era of their music
@@mollyesanborn every Avenged Sevenfood album is a different sub-genre of metal
@@polokus_ Nah I loved Trumpet, but then again I love metalcore. When they started releasing Five Finger Death Punch-esque radio-friendly unit shifters to make money is when they got really bad. With the epitome of that being the truly unlistenable Nightmare.
Dope that u picked up on the rap influence in the verses in critical acclaim. I think that's something the band discussed themselves in the "making of" material
Thank you for checking out this album. Avenged Sevenfold has been my favourite band for a really long time, and I loved hearing from the perspective of someone checking out the band for the first time.
As good as this album was, because it features a good amount of The Rev's vocals and how amazing his drumming was, I still think their next album, Nightmare, is my favourite
I’m so happy you’ve listened to this, they’ve been my number 1 band since I was a young kid and as of knowing them more musically, The Rev was my inspiration to start drumming and back up singing. Til this day I can never pick between Nightmare & City of Evil as my favourite album… at this point I’m edging towards Nightmare but I’ll say both at the same time and yet again this album is great but I have more memories with the other two albums I mentioned. But once again thank you for listening to this next album to listen to I’d say should be Nightmare or City of Evil 😊
They really went experimental on this album, and yet it sounds so assured, so measured.
I wasn't expecting those bongos on track 7 😄.
...Dang, you weren't kidding! 'A Little Piece Of Heaven' really threw me off with the Broadwayness too. & the closing track country song, Dear God
You absolutely NEED to do Avenged Sevenfolds album “Nightmare” it’s the album they released right after Their Drummer the Rev died in 2009. It’s their best record.
cant wait for a city of evil or the stage album reaction!
City of Evil... Nightmare.. The Stage.. and the long awaited "Life is but a Dream" this June!! Dive in!
Yeeees! Love to see you start this journey. These guys really are some wild creative minds, but this is definitely as weird as it gets from them. The others are more cohesive for sure but it is that variety that makes me love this one. Have fun!
Love them, probably my favourite band. So creative and expansive in their sound. Their album The Stage would be great for you to delve into, some ridiculously layered and clever stuff on there 🤘 Subbed!
Miss M. Shadows’ voice on this album. Was in his prime back then.
There's An Old Album They Released Called "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet", Try To Give This One A Listen, Especially My Favorite "To End The Rapture" On That Album.
RELATIONSHIP OF COMMAND BY AT THE DRIVE IN
Before I moved to the US a friend of mine showed me A Little Piece Of Heaven when I was only like 11. Thanks to him I fell in love with a7x and it actually helped me make some friends at my new school lol. Glad to see you react to their stuff!
I find it fun you were talking up the "theatrical/broadway" quality right from track 1, not even knowing how much further that was going to go when you got to A Little Piece of Heaven. Interested in seeing reactions to their other albums but especially City of Evil.
Nightmare is an amazing album as well.
You mentioned the singer varying his vocal styles throughout. Having mentioned that, if you like variation in music and voices listen to the band Opeth. The album Blackwater Park is amazing.
you gotta check out the stage for sure, they went all out on it and its their most recent album, also their songs they wrote for call of duty, Carry On, Not Ready to Die and Mad Hatter
Afterlife is my favorite. Rev's scream and Synester's solo give me goosebumps every time
keep creating and dig deeper about AVENGED SEVENFOLD
we'll see you will love or hate it because theire music is unique but interesting
The band had a documentary on the making of this album which dives into al line different sounds they used and inspiration. You should check it out!
LET'S GO! I love this album so much, it was incredibly formative to parts of my tastes in a bunch of ways, specially how they mash a bunch of ideas in a what sounds very by-the-book metal sound, and the whole theatrical aspect of their albums.
Saying this, from this album my absolute favorites are Almost Easy, Afterlife, Lost (controversial I know, and I see how some might not like it, but I actually like the autotune on the vocals, it blends really well with the Speed Metal influence of the track and builds up a more epic sound, like a journey, and it reminds me a lot of DragonForce for example), and A Little Piece of Heaven.
I am looking forward to see more reactions from this band if you plan on doing so! My favorite albums fron them might be Waking the Fallen with it's more metalcore, harsh sound, and Nightmare which has Save Me, a song I cherish immensely (and is basically a perfect album).
Nice reaction and thoughts as aways! I adore your insightful opinions.
Scream aim fire album from bullet from my valentine is absolutely incredible or as daylight dies from killswitch engaged is really good as well!
My all time favorite band!! Cool stuff