Avenged Sevenfold will not be too shy in talk of the new album. The one thing that frequently popped up in interviews regarding Hail on the King is when different it’s destined to be from previous releases. Talk and promises of how it’s destined to be a throwback to some with their biggest influences will be the hot topic. It’s definitely a familiar story in which a band desires to lose all tricks and stunts and write good music. It’s an admirable thing for any band to execute, especially and simply if it’s done properly.
For Avenged Sevenfold, this will mean slower tempos, simpler song structures, and catchier choruses will be prevalent from the album. Now, I am definitely a large fan of A7X and I have already been for many years, but have been among those who think we were holding losing their touch somewhat. Their previous albums have already been pretty a guessing game, leaning on the miss side. Avenged Sevenfold was too experimental due to its own good, and Nightmare, while a fitting tribute to The Rev, just fell short as a possible A7X album.
Admittedly, I do have my biases; I love Waking the Fallen and City of Evil a great deal, it’s hard to not compare newer releases with those excellent albums. But in those albums, they've definitely proven themselves as serious musicians when it’s time for you to lay down an album. Despite what folks might think, I’m positive they firmly determine what they are doing because of their careers.
Well, we certainly can’t state that they didn’t warn us. Hail for the King is definitely somewhat of a departure for A7X. It’d certainly be a pretty big stretch to label this the metalcore of City of Evil. And you understand what? It’s really not that bad. A7X has always had little taste of any little old-fashioned, and Hail to your King is defined as an amplification of the influences. Flavors of bands like Pantera, Led Zeppelin and Metallica are pretty transparent during the entire album. So again, they delivered what exactly they are actually promising for months now; a little change in their styles devoted to a more bluesy, groove-based sound without other gimmicks.
Some on the high moments are songs like “Requiem” that can bring the band to their more “evil” side. It gets underway with choir chant vocals, is later along with orchestral strings, and easily has a good dark atmosphere to search along with it. “Crimson Day” is a good slower song too, and certainly my favorite track from the album. I really enjoyed the down-tempo, more emotional songs from Nightmare, plus it’s good to listen for that the group can still knock it out on the park using the more emotional numbers.
Many with the familiar aspects which make A7X so memorable continue to be present and accounted for at the same time. They have their classic dueling guitar solos like “Coming Home”, Synester Gates gets a good amount of soloing time, M. Shadows voice leads the way in reference to his raspy charge. There’s even appearances from orchestral brass and strings. All the elements are available that happen to be present for other successful A7X albums.
But honestly, it will eventually get a bit old. While the songs are pretty memorable with an increase of catchy choruses and well defined melodies, it doesn’t mean I always need to listen to your song. “This Means War” features a simple and catchy chorus, but is additionally not exactly one of one of the best songs. It’s one on the longer songs, (clocking around 6:08), and it also’s the same thing again and again. The riff is cool, and not when I've heard a similar riff for 6 minutes.
And some on the later songs inside album, like “Coming Home” and “Heretic” just blend together which enables it to get forgotten pretty easily. The closing song, “Acid Rain” is certainly a throwaway, honestly it’s form of best to skip it. And while “Requiem” did an admirable job of providing a dark and atmospheric texture, the opener “Shepherd of Fire” and “Planets” attempt similar methods plus it ends up sounding unwarranted. Mostly, it really sounds like a brass section wandered within their studio plus they didn’t need to do a retake.
The final point here is that this rock band obviously worked very difficult on creating an album that shifted their styles a lttle bit from a hyper and quicker-paced metalcore-ish sound into a stripped down, groovier metal with flavors from the past. And they did this, but forgot to account for the lack of variety. New drummer, Arin Ilejay is defined as playing a similar drumbeat for the duration in the album; “Crimson Day” and “Acid Rain” are actually the only songs where he changes feels a tad. I might be accused of nitpicking just a little too much while using aforementioned flaws in the Hail on the King, but I prepare those together with the high moments of Hail on the King likewise.
The thing I’ve struggled together with the most is merely determining in the event the album is nice, bad or meh. Is it good given that they accomplished just what exactly they said they'd, or it can be bad given it doesn’t quite have as much of any wow factor as some in their previous releases? Or, is it a combination on the black and white, creating a meh? Well, amidst my nitpicking, I can still declare that I do no less than like this album. I would certainly rank Hail to your King above their past several releases, but it’s not likely up there in Avenged Sevenfold’s shining moments. But if you're already a lover, check it and you'll apt to be impressed. If you've never given them a go, than the could be the album to get you in.
Track Listing
1. Shepherd Of Fire
2. Hail To The King
3. Doing Time
4. This Means War
5. Requiem
6. Crimson Day
7. Heretic
8. Coming Home
9. Planets
10. Acid Rain
11. St. James
