Avenged Sevenfold is the fourth studio album by American rock band Avenged Sevenfold, released on October 30, 2007 through Warner Bros. Records. The album, originally slated for an October 16 release, was delayed by two weeks in order to provide more time to complete bonus material and production for the record, including the making of the animated music video for the heavy metal song "A Little Piece of Heaven". The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200. On September 23, 2008, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA. The band supported the album with a tour, beginning a day before the release of the album and ending in 2009.
Lead Up to Release[]
Avenged Sevenfold revealed the track listing for the upcoming album on their YouTube profile on August 9, 2007, as well as their text messaging service, A7X Mobile. The band has also posted a teaser on a recent YouTube blog featuring an excerpt of vocalist M. Shadows screaming in the studio. On August 17, 2007, a clip was posted with about 2 minutes of their first track on the new album, "Critical Acclaim" on the band's YouTube. The single was later uploaded in its entirety on YouTube and released on the iTunes Store on August 28. In the weeks leading up to the album’s release, a series of ten video clips, called "webisodes," were recorded featuring "Wolfie the Fox." The first webisode was released on August 24, 2007; a 3:41 clip that was posted on the band's YouTube channel. The clip consists of a pre-recorded phone message from "Wolfie the Fox" and a few scenes of their process of making "Critical Acclaim". Each of the subsequent webisodes was similar in content. The clips featured a short mock-interview between M. Shadows and Wolfie the Fox, various band members during the making of various tracks for “Avenged Sevenfold,” and other background videos. About eleven days before the album’s release, The Wolfie Trailer was posted on YouTube. In it, Wolfie sings "Critical Acclaim" and talks about the MVI version of the new album. The webisodes can all be viewed on the band’s MySpace and YouTube pages. By September 9, 2007, news leaked of the completion of a music video for the song "Almost Easy". It was directed by P.R. Brown, known for his collaborations with Mötley Crüe and Marilyn Manson, among many others. On September 12, 2007, the release date of the single "Almost Easy" was announced and was released six days later on September 18 to purchase via digital download. The month of October was a busy one for the upcoming album. On October 3, Kerrang! released an article in which M. Shadows and Synyster Gates were interviewed about the new album. This day also saw the release of a live performance of "Almost Easy" at the Warped Tour 2007. Originally the band intended to release this footage if viewers watched the official music video for the track on YouTube 150,000 times. Though the goal fell short at 120,000 the band still released the footage. Another live video, featuring the third track “Scream” performed in Liverpool, England was posted on YouTube on October 11. The song was also heard during a commercial for the Scream Awards on Spike TV. M. Shadows can clearly be heard singing, "You know I make you wanna scream," which is an excerpt from the chorus. "Scream" was performed live at the 2007 Spike TV Scream Awards on October 23. Also, LoveLine played the radio premiere of "Afterlife" and "Almost Easy", which was guest hosted by M. Shadows and The Rev. Three days before, the Keyclub revealed an animated music video for "A Little Piece of Heaven". To promote their new album, Avenged Sevenfold started their US tour on October 29, headlining in Los Angeles, CA at The Wiltern. Their opening acts were Black Tide and Operator. On October 30, 2007, Avenged Sevenfold was released in stores worldwide.
Reception[]
The album has received mixed reviews according to metacritic, and holds an average score of 56 out of 100 based on thirteen reviews on the website. It placed number 4 on the charts at its release. It also received mixed reactions from the Avenged Sevenfold fan-base due to the almost complete alteration of their musical style. Some fans praised the new sound as it did contain key components of their previous successes with some new elements although some fans saw it in a negative light as it differed greatly from the sound of their previous albums. The album won the Kerrang! Awards Best Album-award in 2008. In December 2008 it was announced that the USC Trojans Marching Band would perform the single "Almost Easy" at the Rose Bowl halftime show on January 1, 2009.
Track Listing[]
All songs written by Avenged Sevenfold.
"Critical Acclaim" – 5:15
"Almost Easy" – 3:54
"Scream" – 4:50
"Afterlife" – 5:51
"Gunslinger" - 4:11
"Unbound (The Wild Ride)" – 5:11
"Brompton Cocktail" – 4:12
"Lost" – 5:01
"A Little Piece of Heaven" – 8:02
"Dear God" – 6:33