Avenged Sevenfold, “Life is But a Dream…”

It’s been seven years since hard rockers Avenged Sevenfold last released an album. The Stage was its first dip into progressive metal, though it still sounded like A7X. The band’s new release, Life is But a Dream…, takes that blueprint and sets it on fire. This album tests the bounds of the band’s sound, with songs that shape-shift between contradicting elements. And yet, the album is cohesive.

The very nature of the exploration will have fans either on the edge of their seats or completely turned off to these songs. There’s very little middle ground.

The lead single, “Nobody,” may be the most natural bridge between The Stage and Life is But a Dream… From the driving and complex drum patterns to the the virtuosic guitar work by lead ax-man Synyster Gates, it’s anthemic, heavy, hard-driving—and jarring on first listen. The production is raw, especially on vocalist M. Shadows voice.

Album opener “Game Over” starts with a pair of Spanish-style acoustic guitars lines before the band explodes into thrash as Shadows spits light-speed lyrics over overpowering percussion and heavy guitar riffs. Mixing in unusual harmonies, spacey guitar sounds and double-bass blasts, suddenly everything fades away to Shadows singing a classical-music-inspired verse. The ground covered within about four minutes is exhaustive. Avenged Sevenfold has said in interviews that it experimented with psychedelic drugs while making the album, which may be the least surprising part about it.

“Mattell” achieves a similar stylistic clash from absolutely guttural and punishing to beautiful intricacy. It’s hardcore, operatic, punky and all over the map. The operatic and classical influences aren’t an accident. Gates orchestrated the entire album, even playing new-to-him instruments while recording.

The futuristic and industrial “We Love You” may be the most controversial track that preceded the album’s release. M. Shadows delivered a powerful scream in a verse, something he’d strayed away from on the last few albums. Any questions about his vocal range or abilities are thrown out the window on this track, which also includes a robotic cadence on the verses, over a pulsating beat.

“More power/ More pace/ More money/ More taste/ More sex/ More pills/ More skin/ More shills,” he sings.

Spacey power ballad “Cosmic” lives up to its name, challenging the norms of what otherwise could have been a fairly traditional track. The guitar work from Gates and rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance is particularly impressive, adding swaths of reverb to the blistering solos that add an unusual texture. At the halfway mark, the track turns softer yet more chaotic, adding different sounds and instruments on top of a particularly complex rhythm by drummer Brooks Wackerman.

The random interludes are memorable, with equalization is scattered all over the spectrum midway through “Beautiful Morning,” separating brutal heaviness with much softer sounds.

“Easier” gets weirder, sounding like if Daft Punk took up hard rock. It’s as confusing as it is fascinating, and difficult to ignore. “(O)ordinary” is similar but almost poppy. Shadows sings through various effects from a choppy vocoders to a chorus effect, and Gates’ guitar work mimics that of a saxophone. It’s as outrageous as it sounds.

A female vocalist sings alongside Shadows on “G,” a song that’s both heavy but deeply rooted in a slight funky groove.

“(D)eath” feels like a movie score. Shadows loses the grit and sings with a deep, warm tone and the track is filled with strings and other orchestral elements. The record closes on a straight-up classical composition.

Avenged Sevenfold should be commended for bucking the status quo and creating something that challenges the conventions of its genre. It’s a triumphant work of hard rock.

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.