Life Is But A Dream…

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Death is right there and it’s not supposed to be a sad thing”Shadows explains. “You’re here now I’m reminding you that you need to shape up. You need to live your life and do what you want to do. And if you take the record too seriously lyrically, then you are not doing that. We’re having fun making music and it’s our art and there is a message but we can have fun doing it as well.” When I think of a Quentin Tarantino movie and how serious those movies are but they are funny as hell. There are so many funny things that go on.”

No matter what you may think you know about Life Is But a Dream, listening to it from start to finish creates a brand-new world for the listener — one that is far from devoid of chaos and conflict, but one that is clearly of incredible interest to Avenged Sevenfold. That aside, there’s a deftness to AVENGED SEVENFOLD ’s musicality. They’ve been a successful unit since 1999 and pipped to be a generation’s METALLICA for a reason. The shred on display is undeniable and we aren’t going to dispute that. When set against the contrasting flutes and violins of the mid-section, we hear what the band is trying to do. “ I don’t belong here ” could refer to the mundanity of life this song surrounds, or AVENGED SEVENFOLD’ s standpoint of wanting to transcend genres. Their 2016 followup, “The Stage”, was much more interesting, as it saw the band journey into progressive metal, but I honestly think my enjoyment of it came more from the novelty of them doing something less commercial than it being that good - in hindsight, compared to other prog acts, it feels rather limp. Despite this, however, I was was actually kind of interested to for when they would drop something new, even looking forward to it. It’s been a long time since that album, and because of covid and as well as of how that album came and went due to it not being that commercial it feels even longer. Even if what they had up their sleeve wasn’t great, I was still planning on having a fun time listening to new music from a band I loved as a kid. And the way they talked about it sounded really cool - apparently this new album was greatly inspired by Kanye West of all people ~I wouldn’t admit that in 2023~ but still, it’s a pretty interesting place for this band especially to be pulling from musically. Needless to say, I came into “Life Is But a Dream…” in good spirits, not looking to review it since I’m working on other stuff that needs to get done first, but looking to have a fun hour and to have a good time. Avenged Sevenfold Completes Mixing Long-Awaited New Album". Blabbermouth.net. September 29, 2022 . Retrieved March 15, 2023.Enis, Eli (May 13, 2023). "Avenged Sevenfold's First Show in 5 Years: See Videos and Setlist". Revolver . Retrieved May 16, 2023. Life Is But a Dream... received acclaim from music critics for its themes, experimental approach, and blend of influences and genres. Despite the critical praise, the album was less commercially successful than the band's previous albums. Billboard Japan Hot Albums: Week of June 7, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese) . Retrieved June 7, 2023. But they’re both stoked about where Avenged Sevenfold are at in 2023. Down the road from Syn, sat in his bright house with a scruffy mohawk-mullet and casual white T-shirt, M. Shadows radiates just as much positive energy as his bandmate. These days they take the approach to “not sweat the small stuff” where possible, and while their new music was treated with absolute seriousness, they have a healthy outlook on life and their career.

And on the brink of releasing their most experimental and wide-reaching record yet, it is that connection that is most important to him. Shadows cites records like ‘Kid A’ and ‘Pinkerton’ that were somewhat written off at the time but now are celebrated as modern classics. Half expecting ‘Life Is But A Dream…’ to be similarly unappreciated, he has thus far been pleasantly surprised. OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 02.06.2023–08.06.2023 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved June 16, 2023. Over the past two years, frontman M. Shadows has hinted that the upcoming release will be the band’s most experimental and daring release to date. According to the singer, the album is also set to feature the unlikely influence of Kanye West. After his existential crisis, Shadows is eager to establish just how much Avenged Sevenfold have evolved since that commercial peak. For a band that are used to headlining arenas, Life Is But a Dream is a particularly radical and mischievous piece of work. Citing the likes of Radiohead’s Kid A, Kanye West’s Yeezus and Weezer’s Pinkerton as benchmarks, Shadows says he is perfectly happy to alienate swathes of his band’s audience with the new record’s most jarring, juxtaposed moments.

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Years later, Lang began sending him new art pieces inspired by their music, saying he just simply had to do it this time.

Nobody was released as one of the lead ‘singles’ and it does stand up on its own. When listened too as part of the album, it fits so much better. The arc of the story of the album talks about our path towards the end. From the suicidal end of Game Over, through Mattel and Nobody, it is a bleak start but one that speaks of truth. The experimental " Nobody" was the first bit of the new album fans got to hear in mid-March, followed by the manic " We Love You" about two months later. Now that the full set of songs is out, fans haveshared a mix of reactions online.We know what we want it to sound like but it’s not traditional” says Shadows. “We want the bow to be sharper here, the mic to be further down the tuba because we want to hear the breath instead of the softer sound. Whatever it was, we were able to get with a team that allowed us to do that.” Scarlett, Liz (May 12, 2023). "Avenged Sevenfold's new single We Love You is a wild genre-clashing cosmic ride". Metal Hammer . Retrieved June 2, 2023. a b Wearn, Justin (June 2, 2023). "Album Review: Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is but a Dream..." This Day In Metal . Retrieved June 7, 2023. That’s another thing from our childhood, we would always sing growing up. There’s something that’s very creepy about it. It just seemed like a nice juxtaposition in that song which is one of the more standard on the record.”

Opening with Game Over, a demented metal banger which sounds like Avenged channelling System Of A Down via Danny Elfman, things don’t fly too far off the handle at first: sprinkled around the noise are some delicate acoustic flourishes, a light bit of orchestral mischief, some nice crooning from Shadows to break up the mayhem. Mattel, lead-off single Nobody and We Love You also at least flirt with familiar territory, lurching from driving groove metal to droning doom to spiky thrash, layered with lush strings, tinkly piano, woozy sci-fi effects, ominous horns and subversive choir calls. Enis, Eli (May 13, 2022). "Avenged Sevenfold in Las Vegas: See Wild Photos of First Show in 5 Years". Revolver . Retrieved May 16, 2023. Spanishcharts.com – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream...". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 12, 2023.Dutchcharts.nl – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2023.