MusicManiac: Avenged Sevenfold's Sounding The Seventh Trumpet (2001)

We've got more than a month till Gold Cobra finally comes out on 28th June.I thought maybe we should explore the origins of all the bands I've reviewed in the past.Delve into why their debut albums catapulted them to super-stardom.

Along this journey I'll be showcasing the unforgettable Hybrid Theory from Linkin Park,the revolutionary Candyass from Orgy,the hard-hitting & shocking self-titled debut by KoRn,the path-breaking,innovative Signs Of Life by Poets Of The Fall.

We start off this ride with the album that earned Avenged Sevenfold [A7x] hardcore fans and a cult following, Sounding The Seventh Trumpet, a phrase taken from the Bible referring to the end of the world.

At this point in history A7x had M.Shadows[vocals], Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan[Drums], Zacky Vengeance[Lead and Rhythm guitar] & an ever-changing bassist. Yup, no Synyster Gates & no Johnny Christ, two vital cogs which run the A7x show now.

This is a very old picture of them.Johnny featured from the second album, while Synyster was included in the re-issue of this album in 2002.

It is said that either you do something so right on your debut, that you become famous overnight or you do something so horribly wrong that it destroys your career then and there.Well, A7x treated all this as nonsense and gave us an album which THEY wanted to make, and not something the people wanted to hear.Subsequently, they have changed their sound in each album, and not just by a little bit, but huge shifts in ideology.

They must have done something right, because you may hear people, fans even, criticising City Of Evil, and Avenged Sevenfold, their self-titled 2008 release, but no one will ever complain about their debut. The main reason for their criticism is that they changed their sound!

So, while the debut was totally about Metalcore and screaming, the sophomore Waking The Fallen was melodious vocals interspersed with Heavy Metal elements.City Of Evil was pure singing & Avenged Sevenfold was Hard Rock.One can't include Nightmare in this chronology because of obvious reasons.

After a pretty long Intro, let's just dive right into it.

SOUNDING THE SEVENTH TRUMPET (2001) --------------------- ********oo [8/10]

I'll start off with honourable mentions for Zacky & The Rev.

Zacky has done a magnificent job on both Rhythm and Lead guitar.Metalcore albums like these usually feature different personnel for both, but full marks to Zacky.

Zacky Vengeance

The Rev is a prodigy.How difficult is it to sustain the classy discontinuous beats that complement Zacky's one-man show? I believe only Mike Portnoy could replicate that and no one else in the whole wide world.

R.I.P.-The Rev

Yeah, so the album starts off with To End The Rapture, a kind of Intro the record, with lyrics that lend credibility to the title.The guitars give you a hint of what's to come!

Turn The Other Way starts off with an "In your face" Metalcore.The quality of recording is exceptionally clean and the screaming rocks your world.The melodious vocals in between are a great addition to the track, though I won't say that it was M.Shadows' forte at that point. For the later albums he hired a vocal coach, the results of which you can clearly see in the Shadows of today.

Now comes probably the purest Metalcore track on the album, Darkness Surrounding.Screaming again is top-notch, but the melodious verse leaves a lot to be desired. The Rev is untouchable on this one.The lyrics talking unreservedly of death will haunt you.

The most aggressive track on Sounding.... comes now with The Art Of Subconscious Illusion.The high point in this track is the screaming vocals provided by Shadows' wife Valary at 1:44.It takes you to another level, probably provides you with a subconscious illusion of being in the heaven of Metalcore!

We Come Out At Night is pretty dark.Growling comes into the picture here more prominently.This is one track where the melodious vocals are up to the mark.The piano at the end is particualrly redeeming.

Lips Of Deceit starts off pretty strongly, with what could have become a signature guitar riff.And then Shadows lets you down with some unimaginative singing.Towards the business end of the track,A7x make up for it. with some stellar work on Drums and Guitar.

Warmness On The Soul, a wonderful track independently, but one that doesn't at all fit with the feel of Sounding.... .Shadows gets to showcase his vocals here.The high-pitched stuff is very good, but the low notes are really flat.

An Epic Of Time Wasted is a roller-coaster ride,the guitars by Zacky get your adrenaline pumping. One of my favourites along with Darkness Surrounding and The Art Of..... .The climax to this track is too good.Lyrics will make an instant connect with you.

An average track, Breaking Their Hold. Just some generic Metalcore stuff.

Forgotten Faces starts off positively and Shadows is exemplary at the end.

Thick And Thin is reminiscent of the Metal we have known over the years.The Rev and Zacky showcase their prowess over conventional Metal.

Streets is pretty unimpressive.Nothing worth mentioning.

Shattered By Broken Dreams brings us to the end of this album.It is a 7:07 long journey which starts off with some soulful guitar and lyrics.Around halfway begin the screaming vocals.Such songs remind me of the credits that roll down when a film ends.When an album like this ends,this track is an apt one to be its 'Credits' because it puts in front of you everything that A7x have done on this album.

So, all in all, noteworthy work by Zacky and The Rev.Hadn't I known better, I would have said that Shadows is a very ordinary singer.

Synyster Gates was probably the best thing that happened to A7x after this album.

SYN, with Zacky in the background.They have since formed the best partership I can remember.

I would suggest this album to those with prior knowledge and experience of some kind of Metal.Soft Rock and Pop listeners, this is not for you, and you have no idea what you are missing!

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NEWS:

* Avenged Sevenfold have released a Single they made for Call Of Dead, one of the five maps in the popular game Call Of Duty:Black Ops.It's named Not Ready To Die, and it's pretty good.You can identify elements from each of their past albums on this one.