Hail to the King – Avenged Sevenfold Album Review

Make way for the Kings

Hail to the King is a statement. A war cry to not only their peers but the entire music industry. Taking the number one spots on the album charts in on both sides of the atlantic shows that this is a band not to be reckoned with. Steadily building a loyal fan base over a decade and a half of blood sweat and tears has paid off in the form of a place amongst the upper echelon of modern rock bands.

Songs such as ‘Shepherd of Fire’ & ‘This Means War’ share obvious comparisons to Metallica whilst more classic rock tunes like ‘Doing Time’ seem ripped straight from the hands of Slash and pal Myles Kennedy. Despite this the band’s sound is never once lost, incorporating the best aspects of their idols music into the evolution of their own sound.

While many may not find this their personal favourite there can be no denying Hail to the King has accomplished what it set out to achieve. Already known for their theatricality both sonically and with a stunning stage show, Avenged Sevenfold have solidified their status as a stadium rock band following their contemporaries Alter Bridge, Bullet for my Valentine & even pop rockers Paramore into arenas. For better or worse, this seems to be a new milestone or trophy for rock bands, a goal which Hail to the King delivers firmly into the California rockers well deserving hands.

With the untimely death of drummer Jimmy ‘The Rev Sullivan still fresh in the hearts and minds of both fans and band me

mbers, it is fantastic to see the band carve a new sound for themselves without the sizeable influence of their former bandmate. Many aspects of the band unfortunately passed with him but with death there comes new life and new ideas. It is also an interesting look at what we could expect from a future Slipknot album. With one of their core songwriters suffering a similar fate at around the same time, this album gives hope for not only a successful next album for the metal giants but a possible evolution of sound and style similar to this.

Fans of the band will undoubtedly be picking this one up if not already, but with a renewed direction, Hail to the King is certainly something that could appeal to any fan of hard rock.