I find it funny. Like ST was wildly praised and I absolutely hated it, then this album is "its best or worst" and im like "eh". It's weird. Nothing of note, but inoffensive and not frustrating (unlike ST).
I've only listened to the album in its entirety once, but I was pleasantly surprised . I loved all the stylistic changes throughout. I'll agree with you about Shadow's voice on this record, it sounds like he's struggling - but I feel his 'clean' vocals always sounded a bit strained. Musically, I was overwhelmed with the burst of ambition and creativity this band presented. The song Cosmic actually made me feel something. My thoughts may change in 3 months like you said, but as of now this is the best new album I've heard this year so far, and I am very enthusiastic about it.
Me: 'Can we have Mr. Bungle?' Mom: 'We have Mr. Bungle at home.' Mr. Bungle at home: Also, you mentioned M. Shadows voice, and yikes, I wanna compare his vocals to late period Danzig, but I feel like that's too insulting... ...to Glenn Danzig, ofc.
On first listen, I liked this album a lot more than I thought I would. I can see exactly why many people hate it. It needs more listens, after which I will either love it or hate it.
As an A7X fan, this is personally one of their top 3 albums for me. This to me felt like a complete cohesive project that set out to not be boxed into one genre and they succeeded with that. I give it a 9/10 not flawless but far from bad or mid
Yeah I agree. I've been listening to them since Waking the Fallen and this album is so good! 🔥 It's one of those albums that will be looked back on fondly. I already know what Crash's opinion is without even watching the review 😂 he's always been a a7x hater as far back as I remember. He's described them as generic ripoffs, not true emo etc.
I will never understand why they chose to produce his vocals like this. I literally saw A7X less than a month ago and he genuinely sounded fantastic. I have no idea wtf he did here
Same, he sounds good in all the live clips I've seen. I wonder if they recorded him on a ribbon mic or something and had him sing in a quieter register, since ribbon mics tend to be sensitive. On the other hand, there's a chance his voice may have been shot after the last tour and he got vocal lessons after recording this album--since apparently the album took three years to record? IDK.
My guess is that he was singing those vocals before he got proper surgery to his vocal cords and they had no choice but to edit them or Warner would’ve gotten mad.
@@travisspaulding9540 he's never been brilliant even his vocals in early Avanged is just whiney and sounds like a emo band, avenged are trash bro listen to real metal and not pansy sh**
I'm not a huge A7X but I love this record. But I'm also a prog fan. I can understand why people don't like it but I think it's great. They do really wear their influences on their sleeve with this album.
I was quite surprised by how much I love this album. I can understand the mixed reviews but, for me, it's the most interesting and engaging album in the past couple years.
The most entertaining train wreck of an album since St. Anger. I really hope they release a behind the scenes doc on this. I need to know how this all came together.
I was just thinking St. Anger and then I saw this. Spot on, were both right.🤙Some good guitar stuff here but usually it doesn't really fit the music around it.
The thing is, if you listen to their recent live shows, his voice is in the best shape it has been in years. It was an artistic choice to sing like this. Sometimes it works, and other times it very much doesn't.
For real. The vocoder, the autotune, the reverb were all intentional choices, not making up for Shadow's voice at all. Even Syn was running his guitar through autotune to get synth effects. They all just wanted to play around and have fun this time. I don't get how people can hear Cosmic, Death or We Love You and think Matt has lost his vocal range.
I heard him describe it like this in an interview, it's like on previous albums he was constantly singing on 10 and that resulted in a more nasal and whiny sound, but through working with Seth Riggs, a legendary vocal coach that's worked with Stevie Wonder, Chester Bennington and MJ just to name a few he's learned to be a lot more dynamic in his approach. I personally appreciate this, it sounds like he's singing in a more sustainable way now and using a lot more mixed voice instead of trying to force chest voice into his upper register, and as a classically trained singer myself I will always advocate for healthy singing habits over caving into audience capture. Maybe I'm just biased but I think it's the best he's sounded in years, at least since HTTK.
Also he deliberately wanted to not sound like himself, which given how distinctive his voice is maybe wasn't the best choice but hey I can appreciate that even if it's a bit misguided at times. As much as I love him, Mike Patton he is not.
I never liked A7X, I never hated them but their music always rubbed me the wrong way and it just got 100x worse when they turned out to be NFT chuds on top of it. I gotta say though, as someone mostly on the sidelines, this new album being a dud though has been fun to see everyone lose their minds over.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, Sweetie-chan! Yeah though… Shadows voice is shredded. As a fan of these guys since middle school this sucks to see. They’re coming on tour near me, I’m not going I’d just be sad. Seeing Trivium next week anyways
Thanks for putting my feelings of this album into words. This is the first album this year that has utterly confused me. I respect the ambition and there are moments but there are so many elements that don't work for me. The genre switches are so out there that at times I'd forget I was listening to A7X if it wasn't for Shadows dying whenever he sang. What really gets me is the response. Metacritic's critic rating is insanely high and I've already seen a TON of people including non-fans heralding this as A7X's best album, but at the same time there is just as much pushback. I think you're spot on with this being a base-splitter album. I'm really curious to see how fondly this is remembered once the honeymoon phase is over. Also, I love Little Sweetie and would die for her.
Agree with you completely. It's really hard to listen to this album without either being totally befuddled, of worrying that M Shadows is a few seconds away from having the paramedics bursting into the studio. Side note: Game Over is possibly the worst A7X song I've ever listened to. I can't stand the vocal production on that one in particular.
I understand what you mean about the start of game over, but he actually CAN do it live lol! There's a video of him doing it live for the first time and he nails it. He's still doing their old live stuff great as well, so as bad as the artistic choices can be at some times, they were that - choices.
I get that this album isnt for everybody but on a deep level this album makes you question things you're afraid to question about yourself. "You walk on water but the water swallows you" isnt a weak lyric at all. Its about looking at people who think they're self righteous. People who think they are just as "perfect" and can "walk on water" just like Jesus himself. But the reality of that person is that if they try to walk on water they'll drown like the rest of us (but the water swallows you).
You can immediately tell this was a "fuck around" album that they didn't try to put real effort into, instead just pumping out something completely disjointed with bits and pieces of interesting ideas mashed up into Frankenstein's weird ass monster
(O)rdinary sounds like what happens when A7X picks up a copy of Daft Punk's Random Across Memories (RAM) and just decides to take some of the ideas in RAM without knowing the context and the structure of the songs. Rn I can't unlisten to that rhythm guitar session without thinking of Daft Punk 💀 As for (D)eath, it sounds like a Tame Impala song produced through a shoe-box lol
As a lifelong fan, I love this album. The first half is about exactly what I was expecting after The Stage. The second half is the wacky, experimental section that took a bit to grow on me. I understand why everything going on with the record would repel a lot of people, but I’m just in a spot where I put a lot of value in the unconventional. I’m happy they didn’t give me a predictable product. I also saved this video for later so I can give my thoughts at the end of the year. Will it be an album of the year contender for me? Probably not, but I think I’ll still like, if not love, the album nonetheless.
So I'm a huge A7X fan, I'm not into the album, but I'm glad they tried something original and failed rather than succeeding in making soulless slop, but I'm really interested to see how Shadows sounds live. Shadows got a cyst on his vocal chords that took him out of commission for a while. He says he has a new "technique" for singing, and on parts of this album we hear him screaming again which we haven't really heard since their second record even though he was supposedly still capable. I'm kind of curious what he's going to sound like in his new style. There are some parts of the album, like the chorus in G, where you can hear some of that stuff that he's known for but without the gravel, and no doubt it was that constant strained vocal fry that fucked up his throat. I'm curious how much of his vocals are a lost cause vs a bad experiment.
I think Crash got it perfect, I was seeing reviews saying like 7 or 8 out of 10 and wondering like.. I'm I missing something here, listened to it again but felt the same way, I think Nobody and Cosmic were good but yeah not crazy about this one, The Stage was just such a step up and this ones feels like such cliff dive downwards
Metalheads hate it. Musicheads Love it. I think people will love the songs more if they think of the 3 aspects: Music, Concept, Lyrics Love how they are heavily circling around Absurdism and Existentialism. Here are my short overview for each song. These can still be expounded upon. The lyrics have multiple layers to them : 1. Game Over - Meaninglessness of Life 2. Mattel - Simulation. Much like a continuation to The Stage album concept 3. Nobody - Realization that we are "one with the universe" and a "nobody" in the grand scheme of things 4. We Love You - Most say it's about capitalism. But I interpret the song as representation of human ego and the illusion of choice 5. Cosmic - Cycle of Life and Death. The idea that we are all made up of the same cosmic energy - we do not go away. We just take up a new form or has been in a different form in our past lives. Written in beautiful love song 6. Beautiful Morning - A character who faces an inner struggle and attempt to find meaning. This character they are trying to portray in this song is everyone's worst day of their life. 7. Easier - The same character who wants to Surrender. Suggesting to take the 'easy way out'. Uplifting music but sinister meaning between the lines 8. G - Referencing the story of Creation. And an irritated God is contemplating to just wants to delete what he made and restart. 9. Ordinary - Other songs talk about suicide, emptiness, meaninglessness, hopelessness, etc of human life. This song is an attempt to say that "you got a problem with life? I don't even have one and I desperately want it. you must be lucky to live" from an AI (thus the electronic vibe). This song is perfectly placed in the sequence of the album because right after it, the human in the next song commits suicide nonetheless without regard. 10. Death - The same character from 'Beautiful Morning' and 'Easier' in the end commits suicide 11. LIBAD - Closing the curtains Everything is done with intent. It's chaotically beautiful
Confusing is exactly the right word. This is FAR from Avenged's best work. Despite not being bored I can't deny the amount of confusion this album gave me.
I wasn't a fan of the direction they went with Hail to the King + The Stage, so I wasn't really excited for new material from them because I felt disappointed from those two releases. Nobody came out and I still didn't care about the band. But something drove me to check out this new release, and it motivated me and helped me deal with grief. Me personally this release came out- the perfect time in my life- For the longest time, this album was the only thing that made sense to me in my life. and I wonder if this release had an affect on others that are too dealing with loss?
I don't particularly care for any A7X album other than City of Evil, which I consider a masterpiece and one of my all-time favorite albums. With that said, when I first heard the singles off this new album I thought to myself "yet another AX7 album I wont care for." But something about the polarizing nature of the reviews got me to listen to the album in full. Gotta say, after a few listens it grew on me. Now after several listens, I consider it one of the best albums of the year.
As someone who's never had an opinion on A7X before now, I gave this album a listen out of curiosity, and... It was a fascinating listen, I'll give it that much
Are you being intentionally dense my guy? The effects on the vocals are a stylistic choice the band said so multiple times. If you listened to Matt live a couple weeks ago he sounded great.
In my opinion, this is their take on Mr Bungle’s chaotic genrebending style. Bungle has always been an influence on A7X and this album is that taken to the extreme. As a huge Mr. Bungle fan, I love LIBAD. It’s like they took the prog elements from The Stage and turned it up to 11. A lot of your criticisms are the reasons why I love it. I think the rawer production and chaotic arrangement suits them really well. Still a great review and love your stuff as always Crash!
If something interests you in this album, then it only gets better by every listen. If you´re going to hate it, then it´s just not for you. A lot songs i hated at first i have slowly started to like and after watching some interviews, i understand the concept of the album.
I’ve been an Avenged fan since the self titled era, and they are a band that I do still really love but am also painfully aware of their faults. And even in spite of this album having those faults on full display, there’s something about it that just clicked for me. Idk exactly what, but the sheer weirdness of it all I find very compelling. Hot take: I like this record more than The Stage, which I felt was well made but somewhat emotionless. I have very little desire to revisit The Stage ever, but LIBAD I’ve been relistening to a lot out of sheer fascination. Its wacky as hell, but for me it strikes a nerve
Hello I have returned. I would definitely say after a few months the honeymoon phase has worn off. I still like the record, but the novelty of the experimentation has lost its initial wow factor. I guess that’s inevitable after multiple listens but still. Cosmic, Beautiful Morning and G grew on me big time, especially the first one. I don’t agree with the Generation Swine comparison, as I think the band’s vision is fairly unified. If anything they probably got dicked over by Warner. Um but yeah I’m still digging the record’s vibe P.S. The new version of We Love You is fucking hilarious. It’s like they deliberately trolled people who dislike the original version and just amped up the weirdness. It is a beautiful disaster
I loved 'The Stage' and was excited to see that they finally released a follow-up. They had such a compelling template, and was hoping they'd make another Progressive Metal album. Sadly, 'Life Is But A Dream' is an ambitious mixed bag. There are some brilliant moments and it starts well, but the transitions feel clunky and there's a lack of stylistic cohesion, especially around the last third. I can't deny it has charm though, and it's cool to see a mainstream band go Avant-garde. Subverting genre expectations is fine, but you have to develop towards the unexpected elements so it feels natural. Tracks like '(O)rdinary' and '(D)eath' abandon their core sound entirely in favour of new elements which weren't even hinted at until this point, and the album fizzles out in a mess of undercooked ideas. Reintroducing the Thrash/Groove riffing of the first few tracks would have been a good way to finish on a strong note. Look to BTBAM, Kayo Dot and Le Grand Guginol for bands who can pull off genre-switching concept albums with compositional flair. I applaud the band for taking risks and being willing to try lots of new things. This was clearly the product of a free and enthusiastic creative process, and I have hope for the next album if they can streamline the different elements and bring back some of the Prog Metal elements (blastbeats, musical suites).
if you want some music that successfully pulls off this sort of eclecticism (and mr. bungle influence), i would suggest a band called milkcan and their only album, "make it sweet!".
I've said this many times, but this album sounds like it's AI generated. Haven't heard something this bad since that self titled Suicide Silence album, and even that isn't this bad.
You know what, I honestly liked it... Certainly not their best work but it was nice (At least for the first week). But what I am absolutely certain about: You are either gonna love it or absolutely hate it. It's a very polarizing album and I absolutely understand the negative reactions to it. It's no doubt confused and chaotic but... since the main concept of this record is death and the chaos associated with it... I sort of feel it's supposed to be that way. However it also only works as a whole... I don't think the tracks sound good on their own. It really is meant to be listened to all at once. And I admit, I am a way more casual listener so I am willing to look past how rough the vocals are. I'm honestly just glad we get to hear him sing again. I mean the dude almost lost his voice and there was a chance he would never perform again. Overall, The Stage was better but to me it wasn't awful at all. Honestly (and I know you guys are gonna hate me for this)... it felt better than the Sleep Token record? That one felt ACTUALLY confused to me.
I’ve always been aware of A7X, but never a real fan. I decided to plunge into their discography right before this came out to see if I really liked them. As soon as I heard it, I thought “Oh the fans are gonna hate this”. But honestly, it’s been my favorite one I’ve listened to. It’s got major Random Access Memory vibes, which is one of my favorite albums ever, and plenty of Dream Theater inspiration which I’m always down for. It just feels like a band that’s breaking out of the boundaries they’ve been confined to, a band that is transcending to more than a metal band. I hope they continue from here and make even better weird albums
Man, it’s one thing to come out with an album that kinda makes people hate you. It’s a whole other thing to come out with an album that makes people *worry* about you. It’s like that previous MGK album, I can’t even point and laugh, I just wanna know if the dude’s okay!
best album since self titled in 07. first time they sounded like they have given a shit since the rev passed / nightmare. hell, 'we love you' was the first time since i was like 14 since a song by them got me super excited lmaooo to each their own ig 🤷♀️
this was actually my first a7x record. i checked it out because i was curious about the polarized reception it got, and i actually ended up on the side of the people who enjoyed it. there are really strange and bad choices all throughout but the overall journey it takes you in is interesting as hell
Hey it's five months later and wow this album just gets worse every time I attempt to listen to it. I've listened to A7X for yeeeaaaars and HOO BOY I have no idea what they were even trying to do here. The whole album sounds like it was recorded by each individual band member in separate rooms, based on separate ideas, and then thrown together into a blender like a turd smoothie. It's not even so much an album as it is a collection of mashed together sounds. Y'all can get rid of all the silly anti-drug PSAs they play in schools & just show kids this album instead. It'll easily scare them away from anything stronger than a Diet Coke.
Me after hearing Nobody: "wtf this sounds like a trainwreck" Me after hearing the whole album: "omg they made it sound like a trainwreck! genius!" The Lulu apologist in me is squealing.
I love that Avenged SevenFold tried to make a Dark Side of the Moon/ Abby Road album. I believe this Album should have had more songs. I listened to it twice and ultimately only really like 2 songs. That’s that.
I totally get why some wouldn't like this album, but I personally think it's amazing. Best album I've heard in years! I also think this is the best Shadows voice has sounded.
10:52 - I think the word you're looking for, my friend, is "lost." It's pointed in 50 different directions, as you said, but it has neither the confidence nor the security of taking more than two steps in a direction before backtracking.
They took more theatrical approach, they kind of remind me of the Queen with this record (not in a musical way, but more like, taking their philosophy when approaching the song writing) Idk, I liked it, but I like your video regardless 😊
This album definitely requires of you to have a much more diverse catalogue of music in your ears before diving in. A lot of people think many things are weird, but to me, a person who listens to sooo much shit.. nothing was weird with the album, literally nothing..experimental yes, but not weird or off putting. It was fun, artistic and really interesting. A lot of people say it is bad and the same amount of people say it is one of the best albums in the past 10 years. To me that is a clear pointer to things I said above. The album is not weird, you are just not musically equipped to digest it. Expand your horizons and open your mind. It is really pathetic to me how people find everything weird, very shallow. For me personally this album hit me like nothing did in the past few years.. I was blown away both emotionally and musically.
@@lenathemaid I did..I appreciate Mr Bungle, but that sort of music doesn't do it for me. Mr. Bungle is very artistic and quirky, but to the point where it is TOO over the place FOR ME to acquire a constant groove. The songs just aren't that memorable to me because of that exact point. The type of music just doesn't grab me. I like rock and metal and I wouldn't say Mr. Bungle is very metal is it? I'd say there is very little correlation with Mr Bungle and this album as well, sonically speaking. The quirkiness goes along the similar vibe, but musically it is very different.
@@lenathemaidBungled salty tryhard-avantgarde loser in the comments, as always. Patton is officially in the trash can after this release, deal with it.
I wasnt the biggest fan of the other two albums they made in the last 10 years. I still listen to the old stuff here and there but man its really hard to see where they are going
As a fan, I think it's better than Hail to the King, which is incredibly dull and simple outside of a few tracks, but outside of that, there's not much here I'd go back to. Also, I knew this probably wasn't going to be very good when they got super into NFT's, so you got that whole thing going on. My only solace is that it most definitely could've been worse.
This new A7X record really brought me back to discovering Mr. Bungle and that band's album Disco Volante. The abrupt style shifts are REALLY Bungle/Faith No More-ish and I honestly think it makes it really fun and goofy. I do agree with you on M. Shadows, though; that guy's seen better days vocally. Overall, while I don't think it is the BEST record of the year (that still goes to Sleep Token for me), it is a fun, zany, off-kilter record that was quite the trip to listen to. MORE. MONEY. 💸BIG. MONEY.🤑BIG. POWER.🤪#googoogagametal4life
Like I said on another video... A7X was never a band I cared for, but the fact that this is different is making me want to listen to it. And it appears to check out, with the opposing reactions of fans and non-fans.
I mean to me it sounds like they are trying to be 1991 Mr. Bungle with their own brand of metal mixed in and some conceptual theme weaved into it... but yeah Shadows' vocals really can't keep up with the rest of the band. the experimentation has some cool moments, but also some bad ones.
I’m an Avid A7X fan, so much so, they have been in my top artists for hours on Apple Music well before LIBAD dropped. Up there with my 3 deathcore bands and Sevendust lol. At least a year a year ago, A7X told us this would be a wacky album, and anyone who didn’t heed that, it’s on them. I think it’s also important to note that A7X has never been the band to rest on their morals and just put something out that’s safe and universally likable. Ever. Each album is a vast departure from the previous one and each one has people saying negative things, but each album excluding the arbitrary HTTK, done for fun, had some kind of purpose. If you go in LIBAD expecting City Of Evil, Self titled, hell, even the stage as far as sound, you’re going to be greatly disappointed; based on how a lot of people have responded to the album, it’s evident that that’s exactly what people have done. M. Shadows went into full depth about what this album was about and it’s brilliant. It’s jarring sure, but it’s creative and it’s a journey. You’ve got everything on here from Spanish guitars, daft punk, to some jazz and classical elements, to literal funk and some grungy sounding elements as well. This album had EVERYTHING. Sonically I don’t have complaints, but when you have background knowledge of what the album is supposed to be about, it’s even more brilliant. That’s my take on it. I listen to basically any kind of music as long as it sounds good. Corridos, Deathcore, bachata, literally anything as long as it’s sonically pleasing. As strange as this album is, it’s still sonically pleasing to me and I love it.
First listen I didn't like it. Then over time it grew to me......then seeing them live changed the game and eventually I fell in love with it. I'm now 49 and realized bands evolve and change over time and after some time this is the best album ever as they have matured so hell yeah....I'm all in...NOW. So yeah....I'm proud of this album. Sorry to all of you out there that think this album sucks but it sucks for you...I guess we'll see you later when you grow up and mature. They are not a traditional metal band anymore so get over it.
I'm totally here for the weird prog stuff. They crammed so many sounds into this album that it's actually impressive. Front to back, you hear a lot of repeated themes and concepts flowing together in the chaos, and that sort of defines life, right?
I can see why people hate this album but I enjoyed it overall. Even the songs that I weren't fond of I can at least appreciate their attempts at trying something different. Still not a fan of (O)ordinary and (D)eath. I've come to appreciate G, though.
I love A7X and always have. Just more confused if anything. I relate it to, say, Glenn Danzig putting out a terrible Elvis album who Used to be great but dropped off the cliff and hit every rock along the way to the bottom. Was not good
i own Sleep Token an apology. i really don't like their album, but at least it's still cohesive and makes sense... Damn this album makes ST's album looks like a masterpiece.
This album is a single entity - it needs to be listened to when you're in the mood and in a single sitting. The songs make a lot more sense in that context. In a way, I'm glad they didn't try to make another city of evil or something, because it would just be a worse city of evil. Arguably that's the problem with 72 seasons. This is the best album they've released since nightmare
I think theres a million ways you can not like this album but if you want to like it youre going to like it. I think a lot of people are hung up on things they just dont understand which is why opinions are their own. I think its a wonderful album, and my second favorite after waking the fallen. I think if you get it, you get it, if you dont, you dont.
I believe shadows had some issues with his voice the past few years. Not sure if this is true but i heard that doctors told him that he might not even be able to sing anymore. The fact that he even managed to sing is incredible. Not his best preformance by a long shot but concidering the circumstances i can look past that. Though i do still think that they should have brought the vocals more to the foreground and embrace them instead of trying to over them up. Lyrics are kind of funny😂 As of now i'd give this album a solid 6.5. I enjoy it for what it is and i respect the ambition but I do think that it's a bit of a mess and that the lyrics are kind of lacking in creativity.
I liked hail to the King because it wasn't another clone that sounded like city of Evil. I like that they went simple on the drums and didn't try to copy the Rev. I just hate bands or artists stick to a formula. The new album, I've listened to that more than any other a7x album ever. And I haven't listened to them in years because I thought everything after city of evil sounded the same. You know everybody says that the new album sucks and that made me curious to listen to it and I love it
I mean I'm kinda biased as they're one of my favourite bands. So maybe I'm drinking the recency bias Kool aid but idk man I can't really explain it, I just love it and have basically been listening to it on repeat since it came out. I think it's really easy for us to over intellectualise something as semantic as music, and sometimes you just can't explain exactly why something resonates with you they way it does, just as sometimes you have no way of explaining why you dislike something, it might just not be for you and that's perfectly valid. I guess it's kinda like the absurdity of life in a way funnily enough, we ascribe meaning to the meaningless.
Everytime he just puts a small clip with no context and its like "Well its.... a choice" it feels completely useless. Too subjective vibes for a review
It's fun how the reviews are either "This is the worst album ever made" or "this is the best album ever made"
Bradley Hall vs. Anthony Fantano lol
I find it funny. Like ST was wildly praised and I absolutely hated it, then this album is "its best or worst" and im like "eh". It's weird. Nothing of note, but inoffensive and not frustrating (unlike ST).
@Gerard Anthony hey, I'd rather incomplete than actively frustrating xD
@@jeffreychandler8418 What is ST?
@@CompleteProducer84 Sleep Token
Generation Swine Flu is an INCREDIBLE term
4:05 "These synths in mattel are...." not even a synth at all but a guitar lol
I've only listened to the album in its entirety once, but I was pleasantly surprised . I loved all the stylistic changes throughout. I'll agree with you about Shadow's voice on this record, it sounds like he's struggling - but I feel his 'clean' vocals always sounded a bit strained. Musically, I was overwhelmed with the burst of ambition and creativity this band presented. The song Cosmic actually made me feel something.
My thoughts may change in 3 months like you said, but as of now this is the best new album I've heard this year so far, and I am very enthusiastic about it.
Me: 'Can we have Mr. Bungle?'
Mom: 'We have Mr. Bungle at home.'
Mr. Bungle at home:
Also, you mentioned M. Shadows voice, and yikes, I wanna compare his vocals to late period Danzig, but I feel like that's too insulting...
...to Glenn Danzig, ofc.
Positives:
Experimentation is fun
The band are fantastic musicians
Cons:
Everything else
I actually really, really love this album. I don't know, it just is really enjoyable to me, and it grows more on me with each listen
I got trashed for giving it a 3...out of FIVE
good luck 🤣
Eh, I've survived many a stan war. Bring em on. 😎
@ARTV it’s still a more positive album review score than Fantano’s NOT GOOD score at least lol.
@@ElliYeetYTOr Brad Taste's review. Poor guy got raked over the coals
@@eddiii4030
Brad gave a 4/10
I only gave it a 3-4/7, your viewers must not be that open minded
I truly do not understand why so many people hated this album, i tought it was very interesting and surprisingly good.
Same dude.
This album sucks.
🤮
I hated it, but I keep coming back. Now I'm not sure. It get better every time I listen to it.
I know, I listen to some of these reviews and I'm like, did we even listen to the same album? A lot of the complaints people have are so cool to me.
On first listen, I liked this album a lot more than I thought I would. I can see exactly why many people hate it. It needs more listens, after which I will either love it or hate it.
As an A7X fan, this is personally one of their top 3 albums for me. This to me felt like a complete cohesive project that set out to not be boxed into one genre and they succeeded with that. I give it a 9/10 not flawless but far from bad or mid
No no no just no
@@fil7276 Let people like what they like. Taste is purely subjective.
@@fil7276 go throw a tantrum somewhere else kid
You ever listen to Maximum The Hormone? Because you might like experimental metal.
Yeah I agree. I've been listening to them since Waking the Fallen and this album is so good! 🔥 It's one of those albums that will be looked back on fondly. I already know what Crash's opinion is without even watching the review 😂 he's always been a a7x hater as far back as I remember. He's described them as generic ripoffs, not true emo etc.
I will never understand why they chose to produce his vocals like this. I literally saw A7X less than a month ago and he genuinely sounded fantastic. I have no idea wtf he did here
Same, he sounds good in all the live clips I've seen. I wonder if they recorded him on a ribbon mic or something and had him sing in a quieter register, since ribbon mics tend to be sensitive. On the other hand, there's a chance his voice may have been shot after the last tour and he got vocal lessons after recording this album--since apparently the album took three years to record? IDK.
Exactly what I said - saying he can’t sing anymore is indicative that he hasn’t heard M. Shadows as of late.
My guess is that he was singing those vocals before he got proper surgery to his vocal cords and they had no choice but to edit them or Warner would’ve gotten mad.
@@ElliYeetYT he didn’t have surgery…
@@travisspaulding9540 he's never been brilliant even his vocals in early Avanged is just whiney and sounds like a emo band, avenged are trash bro listen to real metal and not pansy sh**
I'm not a huge A7X but I love this record. But I'm also a prog fan. I can understand why people don't like it but I think it's great. They do really wear their influences on their sleeve with this album.
I was quite surprised by how much I love this album. I can understand the mixed reviews but, for me, it's the most interesting and engaging album in the past couple years.
When you try to write Hemispheres but you end up with Caress of Steel…
Except none of them are going bald :(
The most entertaining train wreck of an album since St. Anger. I really hope they release a behind the scenes doc on this. I need to know how this all came together.
I was just thinking St. Anger and then I saw this. Spot on, were both right.🤙Some good guitar stuff here but usually it doesn't really fit the music around it.
The thing is, if you listen to their recent live shows, his voice is in the best shape it has been in years. It was an artistic choice to sing like this. Sometimes it works, and other times it very much doesn't.
For real. The vocoder, the autotune, the reverb were all intentional choices, not making up for Shadow's voice at all. Even Syn was running his guitar through autotune to get synth effects. They all just wanted to play around and have fun this time.
I don't get how people can hear Cosmic, Death or We Love You and think Matt has lost his vocal range.
I heard him describe it like this in an interview, it's like on previous albums he was constantly singing on 10 and that resulted in a more nasal and whiny sound, but through working with Seth Riggs, a legendary vocal coach that's worked with Stevie Wonder, Chester Bennington and MJ just to name a few he's learned to be a lot more dynamic in his approach. I personally appreciate this, it sounds like he's singing in a more sustainable way now and using a lot more mixed voice instead of trying to force chest voice into his upper register, and as a classically trained singer myself I will always advocate for healthy singing habits over caving into audience capture. Maybe I'm just biased but I think it's the best he's sounded in years, at least since HTTK.
Also he deliberately wanted to not sound like himself, which given how distinctive his voice is maybe wasn't the best choice but hey I can appreciate that even if it's a bit misguided at times. As much as I love him, Mike Patton he is not.
hearing his scream in the beginning of we love you live was a short but sweet way of saying “fuck you im back.”
That honestly just makes this even more baffling. Like, this was *on purpose.*
I'm addicted to your videos about bad records now. The way you express things is so genuine. :o
I never liked A7X, I never hated them but their music always rubbed me the wrong way and it just got 100x worse when they turned out to be NFT chuds on top of it. I gotta say though, as someone mostly on the sidelines, this new album being a dud though has been fun to see everyone lose their minds over.
I’m an A7X fan. I love all their albums… except this one😂😂 I’m already waiting for their next album and I’m just gonna ignore this one
Ahhhhhhhhhh, Sweetie-chan!
Yeah though… Shadows voice is shredded. As a fan of these guys since middle school this sucks to see. They’re coming on tour near me, I’m not going I’d just be sad. Seeing Trivium next week anyways
Thanks for putting my feelings of this album into words. This is the first album this year that has utterly confused me. I respect the ambition and there are moments but there are so many elements that don't work for me. The genre switches are so out there that at times I'd forget I was listening to A7X if it wasn't for Shadows dying whenever he sang.
What really gets me is the response. Metacritic's critic rating is insanely high and I've already seen a TON of people including non-fans heralding this as A7X's best album, but at the same time there is just as much pushback. I think you're spot on with this being a base-splitter album. I'm really curious to see how fondly this is remembered once the honeymoon phase is over.
Also, I love Little Sweetie and would die for her.
Yeah, I wonder if this will be the bands Pinkerton, or their Be Here Now?
Agree with you completely. It's really hard to listen to this album without either being totally befuddled, of worrying that M Shadows is a few seconds away from having the paramedics bursting into the studio. Side note: Game Over is possibly the worst A7X song I've ever listened to. I can't stand the vocal production on that one in particular.
I absolutely LOVE this album! It took me on an amazing trip. I appreciate your review as this album is very polarizing.
I understand what you mean about the start of game over, but he actually CAN do it live lol! There's a video of him doing it live for the first time and he nails it. He's still doing their old live stuff great as well, so as bad as the artistic choices can be at some times, they were that - choices.
I can understand why people wouldn't like this album, but I really enjoyed it! It certainly needs a fair few listens to get used to it. :)
Sounds like Stockholm Syndrome to me
Were you on drugs when listening to it by chance
@@KhaosKontroller nope :)
Any album you need to listen to more than once to understand it... It's probably not actually good, you're just listening to it for background noise.
I get that this album isnt for everybody but on a deep level this album makes you question things you're afraid to question about yourself. "You walk on water but the water swallows you" isnt a weak lyric at all. Its about looking at people who think they're self righteous. People who think they are just as "perfect" and can "walk on water" just like Jesus himself. But the reality of that person is that if they try to walk on water they'll drown like the rest of us (but the water swallows you).
You can immediately tell this was a "fuck around" album that they didn't try to put real effort into, instead just pumping out something completely disjointed with bits and pieces of interesting ideas mashed up into Frankenstein's weird ass monster
(O)rdinary sounds like what happens when A7X picks up a copy of Daft Punk's Random Across Memories (RAM) and just decides to take some of the ideas in RAM without knowing the context and the structure of the songs. Rn I can't unlisten to that rhythm guitar session without thinking of Daft Punk 💀
As for (D)eath, it sounds like a Tame Impala song produced through a shoe-box lol
As a lifelong fan, I love this album. The first half is about exactly what I was expecting after The Stage. The second half is the wacky, experimental section that took a bit to grow on me. I understand why everything going on with the record would repel a lot of people, but I’m just in a spot where I put a lot of value in the unconventional. I’m happy they didn’t give me a predictable product. I also saved this video for later so I can give my thoughts at the end of the year. Will it be an album of the year contender for me? Probably not, but I think I’ll still like, if not love, the album nonetheless.
So I'm a huge A7X fan, I'm not into the album, but I'm glad they tried something original and failed rather than succeeding in making soulless slop, but I'm really interested to see how Shadows sounds live. Shadows got a cyst on his vocal chords that took him out of commission for a while. He says he has a new "technique" for singing, and on parts of this album we hear him screaming again which we haven't really heard since their second record even though he was supposedly still capable. I'm kind of curious what he's going to sound like in his new style. There are some parts of the album, like the chorus in G, where you can hear some of that stuff that he's known for but without the gravel, and no doubt it was that constant strained vocal fry that fucked up his throat. I'm curious how much of his vocals are a lost cause vs a bad experiment.
I think Crash got it perfect, I was seeing reviews saying like 7 or 8 out of 10 and wondering like.. I'm I missing something here, listened to it again but felt the same way, I think Nobody and Cosmic were good but yeah not crazy about this one, The Stage was just such a step up and this ones feels like such cliff dive downwards
Metalheads hate it. Musicheads Love it.
I think people will love the songs more if they think of the 3 aspects: Music, Concept, Lyrics
Love how they are heavily circling around Absurdism and Existentialism. Here are my short overview for each song. These can still be expounded upon. The lyrics have multiple layers to them :
1. Game Over - Meaninglessness of Life
2. Mattel - Simulation. Much like a continuation to The Stage album concept
3. Nobody - Realization that we are "one with the universe" and a "nobody" in the grand scheme of things
4. We Love You - Most say it's about capitalism. But I interpret the song as representation of human ego and the illusion of choice
5. Cosmic - Cycle of Life and Death. The idea that we are all made up of the same cosmic energy - we do not go away. We just take up a new form or has been in a different form in our past lives. Written in beautiful love song
6. Beautiful Morning - A character who faces an inner struggle and attempt to find meaning. This character they are trying to portray in this song is everyone's worst day of their life.
7. Easier - The same character who wants to Surrender. Suggesting to take the 'easy way out'. Uplifting music but sinister meaning between the lines
8. G - Referencing the story of Creation. And an irritated God is contemplating to just wants to delete what he made and restart.
9. Ordinary - Other songs talk about suicide, emptiness, meaninglessness, hopelessness, etc of human life. This song is an attempt to say that "you got a problem with life? I don't even have one and I desperately want it. you must be lucky to live" from an AI (thus the electronic vibe). This song is perfectly placed in the sequence of the album because right after it, the human in the next song commits suicide nonetheless without regard.
10. Death - The same character from 'Beautiful Morning' and 'Easier' in the end commits suicide
11. LIBAD - Closing the curtains
Everything is done with intent. It's chaotically beautiful
Confusing is exactly the right word. This is FAR from Avenged's best work. Despite not being bored I can't deny the amount of confusion this album gave me.
I wasn't a fan of the direction they went with Hail to the King + The Stage,
so I wasn't really excited for new material from them because I felt disappointed from those two releases.
Nobody came out and I still didn't care about the band.
But something drove me to check out this new release, and it motivated me and helped me deal with grief.
Me personally this release came out- the perfect time in my life-
For the longest time, this album was the only thing that made sense to me in my life.
and I wonder if this release had an affect on others that are too dealing with loss?
M Shadows sings about walking on water, but going by the title, I'd have thought he would have considered row, row, rowing his boat.
I don't particularly care for any A7X album other than City of Evil, which I consider a masterpiece and one of my all-time favorite albums. With that said, when I first heard the singles off this new album I thought to myself "yet another AX7 album I wont care for." But something about the polarizing nature of the reviews got me to listen to the album in full. Gotta say, after a few listens it grew on me. Now after several listens, I consider it one of the best albums of the year.
As someone who's never had an opinion on A7X before now, I gave this album a listen out of curiosity, and...
It was a fascinating listen, I'll give it that much
Are you being intentionally dense my guy? The effects on the vocals are a stylistic choice the band said so multiple times. If you listened to Matt live a couple weeks ago he sounded great.
In my opinion, this is their take on Mr Bungle’s chaotic genrebending style. Bungle has always been an influence on A7X and this album is that taken to the extreme. As a huge Mr. Bungle fan, I love LIBAD. It’s like they took the prog elements from The Stage and turned it up to 11. A lot of your criticisms are the reasons why I love it. I think the rawer production and chaotic arrangement suits them really well. Still a great review and love your stuff as always Crash!
If something interests you in this album, then it only gets better by every listen. If you´re going to hate it, then it´s just not for you. A lot songs i hated at first i have slowly started to like and after watching some interviews, i understand the concept of the album.
I’ve been an Avenged fan since the self titled era, and they are a band that I do still really love but am also painfully aware of their faults.
And even in spite of this album having those faults on full display, there’s something about it that just clicked for me. Idk exactly what, but the sheer weirdness of it all I find very compelling.
Hot take: I like this record more than The Stage, which I felt was well made but somewhat emotionless. I have very little desire to revisit The Stage ever, but LIBAD I’ve been relistening to a lot out of sheer fascination. Its wacky as hell, but for me it strikes a nerve
Hello I have returned. I would definitely say after a few months the honeymoon phase has worn off. I still like the record, but the novelty of the experimentation has lost its initial wow factor. I guess that’s inevitable after multiple listens but still.
Cosmic, Beautiful Morning and G grew on me big time, especially the first one. I don’t agree with the Generation Swine comparison, as I think the band’s vision is fairly unified. If anything they probably got dicked over by Warner.
Um but yeah I’m still digging the record’s vibe
P.S. The new version of We Love You is fucking hilarious. It’s like they deliberately trolled people who dislike the original version and just amped up the weirdness. It is a beautiful disaster
Don’t even know how we’re gonna begin to review this one
God, best of luck y'all. You're in for a ride. 🫨🫨🫨
@@CrashThompson 🫡🫡🫡
I loved 'The Stage' and was excited to see that they finally released a follow-up. They had such a compelling template, and was hoping they'd make another Progressive Metal album. Sadly, 'Life Is But A Dream' is an ambitious mixed bag. There are some brilliant moments and it starts well, but the transitions feel clunky and there's a lack of stylistic cohesion, especially around the last third. I can't deny it has charm though, and it's cool to see a mainstream band go Avant-garde.
Subverting genre expectations is fine, but you have to develop towards the unexpected elements so it feels natural. Tracks like '(O)rdinary' and '(D)eath' abandon their core sound entirely in favour of new elements which weren't even hinted at until this point, and the album fizzles out in a mess of undercooked ideas. Reintroducing the Thrash/Groove riffing of the first few tracks would have been a good way to finish on a strong note. Look to BTBAM, Kayo Dot and Le Grand Guginol for bands who can pull off genre-switching concept albums with compositional flair.
I applaud the band for taking risks and being willing to try lots of new things. This was clearly the product of a free and enthusiastic creative process, and I have hope for the next album if they can streamline the different elements and bring back some of the Prog Metal elements (blastbeats, musical suites).
if you want some music that successfully pulls off this sort of eclecticism (and mr. bungle influence), i would suggest a band called milkcan and their only album, "make it sweet!".
I've said this many times, but this album sounds like it's AI generated. Haven't heard something this bad since that self titled Suicide Silence album, and even that isn't this bad.
You know what, I honestly liked it... Certainly not their best work but it was nice (At least for the first week). But what I am absolutely certain about: You are either gonna love it or absolutely hate it. It's a very polarizing album and I absolutely understand the negative reactions to it.
It's no doubt confused and chaotic but... since the main concept of this record is death and the chaos associated with it... I sort of feel it's supposed to be that way. However it also only works as a whole... I don't think the tracks sound good on their own. It really is meant to be listened to all at once.
And I admit, I am a way more casual listener so I am willing to look past how rough the vocals are. I'm honestly just glad we get to hear him sing again. I mean the dude almost lost his voice and there was a chance he would never perform again.
Overall, The Stage was better but to me it wasn't awful at all. Honestly (and I know you guys are gonna hate me for this)... it felt better than the Sleep Token record? That one felt ACTUALLY confused to me.
Yeah many doctors told him he'd never be able to sing again so yeah I'd say he's doing pretty well all things considered.
I’ve always been aware of A7X, but never a real fan. I decided to plunge into their discography right before this came out to see if I really liked them. As soon as I heard it, I thought “Oh the fans are gonna hate this”. But honestly, it’s been my favorite one I’ve listened to. It’s got major Random Access Memory vibes, which is one of my favorite albums ever, and plenty of Dream Theater inspiration which I’m always down for. It just feels like a band that’s breaking out of the boundaries they’ve been confined to, a band that is transcending to more than a metal band. I hope they continue from here and make even better weird albums
Man, it’s one thing to come out with an album that kinda makes people hate you. It’s a whole other thing to come out with an album that makes people *worry* about you. It’s like that previous MGK album, I can’t even point and laugh, I just wanna know if the dude’s okay!
best album since self titled in 07. first time they sounded like they have given a shit since the rev passed / nightmare. hell, 'we love you' was the first time since i was like 14 since a song by them got me super excited lmaooo to each their own ig 🤷♀️
I would say it’s a 5/10 and I’ve never had another 5/10 give me so much to say. That said I don’t see myself revisiting this in the near future.
this was actually my first a7x record. i checked it out because i was curious about the polarized reception it got, and i actually ended up on the side of the people who enjoyed it. there are really strange and bad choices all throughout but the overall journey it takes you in is interesting as hell
Thought it was okay first listen….now, I LOVE IT! Can’t stop listening to it
This album can (in this case literally) be summed up in 3 Words:
“Drugs Were Involved.”
Or just one: "Drugs"
How about, drugs are bad, m'kay?
3 words. DMT.
some of these snippets sound more like SOAD if they huffed paint
and that's saying something knowing SOAD
Hey it's five months later and wow this album just gets worse every time I attempt to listen to it.
I've listened to A7X for yeeeaaaars and HOO BOY I have no idea what they were even trying to do here. The whole album sounds like it was recorded by each individual band member in separate rooms, based on separate ideas, and then thrown together into a blender like a turd smoothie. It's not even so much an album as it is a collection of mashed together sounds.
Y'all can get rid of all the silly anti-drug PSAs they play in schools & just show kids this album instead. It'll easily scare them away from anything stronger than a Diet Coke.
9:36
Why does this sound like Super Smash Bros. Brawl stage music where they couldn’t get the rights to cover an IP?
''oh you fuckers with the lounge shit'' this made my day,,
I get the feeling Crash doesn't like lounge nusic
Man all these positive comments are confusing… I know music is subjective but I’m just confused
Me after hearing Nobody: "wtf this sounds like a trainwreck"
Me after hearing the whole album: "omg they made it sound like a trainwreck! genius!"
The Lulu apologist in me is squealing.
I love that Avenged SevenFold tried to make a Dark Side of the Moon/ Abby Road album.
I believe this Album should have had more songs. I listened to it twice and ultimately only really like 2 songs. That’s that.
I totally get why some wouldn't like this album, but I personally think it's amazing. Best album I've heard in years! I also think this is the best Shadows voice has sounded.
10:52 - I think the word you're looking for, my friend, is "lost." It's pointed in 50 different directions, as you said, but it has neither the confidence nor the security of taking more than two steps in a direction before backtracking.
this album was a chore to make it through
They took more theatrical approach, they kind of remind me of the Queen with this record (not in a musical way, but more like, taking their philosophy when approaching the song writing)
Idk, I liked it, but I like your video regardless 😊
It’s okay to be wrong sometimes
I'm loving this album, super weird, and wild all through it. So sick hahaha
This album definitely requires of you to have a much more diverse catalogue of music in your ears before diving in. A lot of people think many things are weird, but to me, a person who listens to sooo much shit.. nothing was weird with the album, literally nothing..experimental yes, but not weird or off putting. It was fun, artistic and really interesting.
A lot of people say it is bad and the same amount of people say it is one of the best albums in the past 10 years. To me that is a clear pointer to things I said above. The album is not weird, you are just not musically equipped to digest it. Expand your horizons and open your mind. It is really pathetic to me how people find everything weird, very shallow.
For me personally this album hit me like nothing did in the past few years.. I was blown away both emotionally and musically.
Or u can listen to Mr bungle which does this whole thing but better
@@lenathemaid I did..I appreciate Mr Bungle, but that sort of music doesn't do it for me. Mr. Bungle is very artistic and quirky, but to the point where it is TOO over the place FOR ME to acquire a constant groove. The songs just aren't that memorable to me because of that exact point.
The type of music just doesn't grab me. I like rock and metal and I wouldn't say Mr. Bungle is very metal is it?
I'd say there is very little correlation with Mr Bungle and this album as well, sonically speaking. The quirkiness goes along the similar vibe, but musically it is very different.
@@ShounenN ah so you like it when it's watered down for ur dumb brain because u have a shallow love of music
@@lenathemaidBungled salty tryhard-avantgarde loser in the comments, as always.
Patton is officially in the trash can after this release, deal with it.
lol, having a wider palette makes this album more unimpressive and derivative
I wasnt the biggest fan of the other two albums they made in the last 10 years. I still listen to the old stuff here and there but man its really hard to see where they are going
As a fan, I think it's better than Hail to the King, which is incredibly dull and simple outside of a few tracks, but outside of that, there's not much here I'd go back to. Also, I knew this probably wasn't going to be very good when they got super into NFT's, so you got that whole thing going on. My only solace is that it most definitely could've been worse.
This new A7X record really brought me back to discovering Mr. Bungle and that band's album Disco Volante. The abrupt style shifts are REALLY Bungle/Faith No More-ish and I honestly think it makes it really fun and goofy. I do agree with you on M. Shadows, though; that guy's seen better days vocally. Overall, while I don't think it is the BEST record of the year (that still goes to Sleep Token for me), it is a fun, zany, off-kilter record that was quite the trip to listen to.
MORE. MONEY. 💸BIG. MONEY.🤑BIG. POWER.🤪#googoogagametal4life
I've enjoyed it quite a lot, though I see exactly where you're coming from. It's a bizarre trip that, to me, has grown on me with every listen.
Maybe we should get the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold with Glen Danzig and let them record an album.
I really love this album it’s easily one of my favorites from them.
No just no
Well this album surprised me as I truly loved it and I'm far from being a A7X stan. Been on heavy rotation here since it came out
So the last good song from them was Hail to the King then? Also will this be a Trainerecord episode in the makeing?
Like I said on another video... A7X was never a band I cared for, but the fact that this is different is making me want to listen to it.
And it appears to check out, with the opposing reactions of fans and non-fans.
Saying things like when they let brooks play, he delivered. He’s always had that freedom. Love to know what you thought about the stage.
I mean to me it sounds like they are trying to be 1991 Mr. Bungle with their own brand of metal mixed in and some conceptual theme weaved into it... but yeah Shadows' vocals really can't keep up with the rest of the band. the experimentation has some cool moments, but also some bad ones.
I’m an Avid A7X fan, so much so, they have been in my top artists for hours on Apple Music well before LIBAD dropped. Up there with my 3 deathcore bands and Sevendust lol.
At least a year a year ago, A7X told us this would be a wacky album, and anyone who didn’t heed that, it’s on them. I think it’s also important to note that A7X has never been the band to rest on their morals and just put something out that’s safe and universally likable. Ever. Each album is a vast departure from the previous one and each one has people saying negative things, but each album excluding the arbitrary HTTK, done for fun, had some kind of purpose.
If you go in LIBAD expecting City Of Evil, Self titled, hell, even the stage as far as sound, you’re going to be greatly disappointed; based on how a lot of people have responded to the album, it’s evident that that’s exactly what people have done.
M. Shadows went into full depth about what this album was about and it’s brilliant. It’s jarring sure, but it’s creative and it’s a journey. You’ve got everything on here from Spanish guitars, daft punk, to some jazz and classical elements, to literal funk and some grungy sounding elements as well. This album had EVERYTHING. Sonically I don’t have complaints, but when you have background knowledge of what the album is supposed to be about, it’s even more brilliant. That’s my take on it.
I listen to basically any kind of music as long as it sounds good. Corridos, Deathcore, bachata, literally anything as long as it’s sonically pleasing.
As strange as this album is, it’s still sonically pleasing to me and I love it.
And the rough mixing was 100% deliberate, per M. Shadows.
First listen I didn't like it. Then over time it grew to me......then seeing them live changed the game and eventually I fell in love with it. I'm now 49 and realized bands evolve and change over time and after some time this is the best album ever as they have matured so hell yeah....I'm all in...NOW. So yeah....I'm proud of this album. Sorry to all of you out there that think this album sucks but it sucks for you...I guess we'll see you later when you grow up and mature. They are not a traditional metal band anymore so get over it.
BUZZING BEEES - M Shadows
Overall I didn't care for the album but I did like cosmic
I'm totally here for the weird prog stuff. They crammed so many sounds into this album that it's actually impressive. Front to back, you hear a lot of repeated themes and concepts flowing together in the chaos, and that sort of defines life, right?
I can see why people hate this album but I enjoyed it overall. Even the songs that I weren't fond of I can at least appreciate their attempts at trying something different. Still not a fan of (O)ordinary and (D)eath. I've come to appreciate G, though.
I love A7X and always have. Just more confused if anything. I relate it to, say, Glenn Danzig putting out a terrible Elvis album who Used to be great but dropped off the cliff and hit every rock along the way to the bottom. Was not good
i own Sleep Token an apology. i really don't like their album, but at least it's still cohesive and makes sense... Damn this album makes ST's album looks like a masterpiece.
Gotta disagree. Warts & all, this record bothers to say something interesting, beyond 'I'm thirsty af, lemme make a good girl bad.'
This album is a single entity - it needs to be listened to when you're in the mood and in a single sitting. The songs make a lot more sense in that context.
In a way, I'm glad they didn't try to make another city of evil or something, because it would just be a worse city of evil. Arguably that's the problem with 72 seasons.
This is the best album they've released since nightmare
Is this our first Worst Album of the Year contender?
Whats your opinion on the song Cosmic? I think M Shadows sounds very good on that song. Cheers from Daniel in Sweden.
yeah I did not like this record. Pretty much agree with everything you said
Hello, Lil' Sweetie! Long time, no see!
This album is a masterpiece!! Not a fan of the band!! But its absolutely a masterpiece!!! Soooo.
I think theres a million ways you can not like this album but if you want to like it youre going to like it. I think a lot of people are hung up on things they just dont understand which is why opinions are their own. I think its a wonderful album, and my second favorite after waking the fallen. I think if you get it, you get it, if you dont, you dont.
I believe shadows had some issues with his voice the past few years. Not sure if this is true but i heard that doctors told him that he might not even be able to sing anymore. The fact that he even managed to sing is incredible. Not his best preformance by a long shot but concidering the circumstances i can look past that. Though i do still think that they should have brought the vocals more to the foreground and embrace them instead of trying to over them up.
Lyrics are kind of funny😂
As of now i'd give this album a solid 6.5. I enjoy it for what it is and i respect the ambition but I do think that it's a bit of a mess and that the lyrics are kind of lacking in creativity.
The new Foo Fighters album tho 👀
To be fair at least it isnt a generic commercial album like hail to the king
I liked hail to the King because it wasn't another clone that sounded like city of Evil. I like that they went simple on the drums and didn't try to copy the Rev. I just hate bands or artists stick to a formula. The new album, I've listened to that more than any other a7x album ever. And I haven't listened to them in years because I thought everything after city of evil sounded the same. You know everybody says that the new album sucks and that made me curious to listen to it and I love it
I mean I'm kinda biased as they're one of my favourite bands. So maybe I'm drinking the recency bias Kool aid but idk man I can't really explain it, I just love it and have basically been listening to it on repeat since it came out. I think it's really easy for us to over intellectualise something as semantic as music, and sometimes you just can't explain exactly why something resonates with you they way it does, just as sometimes you have no way of explaining why you dislike something, it might just not be for you and that's perfectly valid. I guess it's kinda like the absurdity of life in a way funnily enough, we ascribe meaning to the meaningless.
why are people so obsessed lately with trying to make it seem like a7x rip off other bands??? the game over/stairway to heaven comparison was so wack
Everytime he just puts a small clip with no context and its like "Well its.... a choice" it feels completely useless. Too subjective vibes for a review
I endorse Li'l Sweetie for red flannel stand-in