*Smash like and comment your thoughts on the album*

The solo in Cosmic in the middle of the song has got to be one of my favourite moments in the album. Amazing release overall

The experimental aspect is what makes it so good. A lot of bands tend to go the Imagine Dragons or butt rock route when they're this far along in their career, so I really gotta appreciate A7X for mixing it up with each album.

Nik is so genuine. He has shadows himself on a podcast and even says there are his fav band, yet gives us an honest review that isn’t dick riding. Such a phenomenal record.

This is my favorite A7X album, its literally a modern "The Wall"

This album is something else. It moves me on many levels. And it keeps growing. A bold release. Would love to experience it as a whole live

The first half of cosmic was the best guitar solo I’ve ever heard

Man I agree with what you’re saying with you undersold Cosmic so hard. Mattel is still my favorite but Cosmic is ethereal and beautiful. One of the most “feeling” songs they’ve ever written

I feel like the album is like an album that you put on when you go for a midnight drive

It’s so much more different than anything that they have ever put out. Right now I’m kinda indifferent about it. But I think it’s starting to grow on me the more I listen

This album is a trip for me. Trip to my soul to understanding, feeling, avenging, folding, feeling through and cleanse. It is introspection and self-reflection in a shape of music. This album musically is for me pure gold and I learn every part of my own self through every part, listen or sound of within this album. It is so pure for me that I am not even mad about nothing - at all. This record is really "for me" and I have bought it of course. First album I have bought of this band. I love them since this album.

All I can say is that I've been listening to these guys since 2003, got an A7X tattoo in 2005, definitely a big fan (HTTK excluded). For me this album is indescribable, I literally cannot think of a single word to describe just how amazing it truly is. I always regarded WTF and COE as their masterpiece albums (never could pick between the two) but this album has now taken that place which I didn't think was possible. If roughly 7 years is what it takes to get something of this caliber then I'm willing to wait 10 for the next one.

I saw them live at Welcome to Rockville and they played Nobody and We Love You and these songs definitely hit alot harder live, it also made me apprieciate them more!

It's okay to say it's bad, guys, it's okay to follow your heart.

When im listening to a bands new album im not hoping it sounds just like their last. Appreciate growth. Nothing stays the same

beautiful morning is my personal favorite from the album, but i genuinely have 0 complaints about the record, and man that piano solo title track is so beautiful and really ties the album together (and makes a perfect loop to the start of the album

You either love or hate this album. Me personally, I love it

Honestly it's just refreshing to hear songs' mixes sound a bit more raw, especially in 2023.

Death really hits me in a different way. The beautiful dreaminess changing keys perfectly into the heart-wrenching riff, combined with the lyrics, really makes my skin crawl.

Took me a few times, but an utter masterpiece in my opinion. I freaking love it so much. I want way more of this in rock and metal. Give me variety, do weird things, but also give us something that we expect too. Just have to balance it. Making a 13 track album of just the same song over and over is just boring. If you’re going to make an album, I’m pointing every single band to this record for inspiration. Such an awesome journey.

I'm glad you said it was worth the wait. I definitely like heavy music and I personally can't get enough of the album. I hope they give us a part 2.

This record is incredible. Like you said, it's definitely an experience of an album. I remember when Nobody came out, I thought I would hate this album, but now it's one of my favorite a7x albums, to me it's possibly better than the self-titled. I love your videos Nik! Greetings from NY!

I love it!!!! Mattel and Beautiful Morning are my favorite tracks off the record

I haven't listened to Avenged Sevenfold in a decade, except for another dive for a few months when The Stage came out. Felt like Nightmare was their send off after the Rev passed away. But from 2003 to 2013, I was hooked. Then Hail to the King came out and lost interest. Took a big dive into progressive metal after that, like Tesseract, The Contortionist, BtBaM, etc. and been ever since. The other day, I'm enjoying a day off and enjoying some herb. I pull up Spotify to listen to begin the chill sesh and see this curious album. Thought to myself "huh, wonder how they sound now". And boy I had to do several double-takes to see if I didn't accidentally select something else. As a prog fan hearing the latest release by Periphery "Djent Is Not A Genre" and a couple years ago "Colors II" by BtBaM, I couldn't be more blown away by the fact this band made this album. The transitions are fantastic, and the choices of instruments and sounds are extremely varied with pleasant levels of creativity. The weirder this album got, the better. In fact, my least favorite part was the single "Nobody". As for most, the solos were some of my favorites. However, the intro to "G" rattled my brain with unrelenting giddiness that sounded reminiscent of Rush to me. By the time the final track rolled around, felt like I was cruising on a nimbus 15,000 feet in the air. After finishing it, I realized that their traditional crowd may not enjoy it. It's not balls to the wall screaming guitars and earth-shaking drumming. It's not made to pander to a supermassive crowd, either. But I fucking love it. What a wild ride.

Very fair overview. I think this album works better and better the more diverse your past musical experiences and tastes trend toward. After a dozen or so album listens by this point, I think Easier and Nobody are my least favorite but I do still really like them. The Syn solo + Johnny doing his bass-y thing + Brooks just being on it = epic. Overall, this album is a lot better than I anticipated (I had high hopes) and I am seriously impressed with their versatility and range. We have yet another awesome and unique chapter to A7X's discography.

I love when bands change it up and evolve their sound. This new A7X album shows that for sure and it's one that I'll put on repeat. It's so different but I love it anyways. It was an experience the first time I heard it.

I like the album. I was listening to it at work yesterday. Cosmic hooked me.

Honestly I loved Mattel and Life is but a Dream, I love the piano in it!

Listening to the singles. I wasn't thrilled. But listening to the album as a whole was a very pleasant experience. Ive been a fan since City of Evil and have love all their work front to back. So much variety over the albums.

Just put down my guitar and see Nik posted. Excellent

It's a whiplash album. It's not what many were expecting it to be, but that's why I love it so much. They came back out of NOWHERE with these absolutely INSANE songs. Sure, it's a new style, but nothing stays the same forever. They are keeping things fresh.

That synth/guitar harmonization in Mattel is one of the most emotionally impactful moments for me in a damn long time.

I absolutely LOVE this album. Yeah it's not conventional, and I wouldn't exactly call it an "easy" listen. There are jarring transitions, and most of the album definitely throws you for a loop. But, after listening to countless interviews from multiple members of A7X, I think they nailed what they were going for. This album sets out to be different and progressive (in the most literal way), while still holding true to Avenged's core sound. I have massive respect for this band for trying something new, though it might not stick with everyone. I've been following these guys since Waking the Fallen, and Syn is one my main influences for guitar. Couldn't be more proud to call them my favorite band!

Matt already say in many interviews if you want another city of evil or any other album just tell AI to make it

I'm on the "this is a masterpiece" side of things, when Nobody dropped it felt so unexpected I gave it time and I warmed up to each new song I thought we love you was gonna be mid during my first listen but It has grown on me. I'd have to say that my favorite is Cosmic, when I first listened to it (mind you I was under the influence of "substances") I got close to shedding a tear, the whole album is an Experience that you just have to lock yourself in a room and listen to it at least once full blast. I wish I could've attended the live show A7X had in Vegas playing the whole album live for the first time but thankfully I got tickets for the Montreal show next month!

This entire Album was a trip. A perfect driving album for sure and an excellent experience as a whole in my opinion.

I expect it to be kinda hard to digest but was so surprised I loved it at first listen. Been into the prog realm for decades and loved A7x materials and I was blown away by the whole album. It is indeed an experience.

I had the exact same feelings and thoughts as you about We Love You when I heard it the first time and wasn't super excited about the album. I just listened to the entire album for the first time as well, and I agree with your take. I also think a lot of the songs like We Love You would be hard to digest just on their own but they fit very well while listening to the entire album as a whole. It's only been a couple hours since my first listen and I already wanna go back and listen again because there is just so much to it. I feel like it will grow on me to be one of those albums that I can't pin point why I like it so much. A great feeling none the less lol

Cosmic has to be my favourite song on this album. It has a mix of the slower songs from the Nightmare album while having the massive space-like scale of The Stage album.

The opening riff to mattel gives me classic a7x vibes when the rev was still with us, props to brooks for keeping it true to their origin

I really like this album. Heavily influenced by Alternative Metal bands like Faith No More and System Of A Down, and i dig it a lot.

I listened to the album at least five times through now and I keep finding new cool things to it. It’s very abstract, it’s very different and I really enjoyed it! It was cool to see that some of the Rev’s contributions returned in Beautiful Morning and I believe Easier is an old demo too. Overall it was a solid record!

I love how weird and experimental this album is. It's definitely an experience

I’m personally in the ‘it’s a masterpiece’ crowd. It doesn’t beat out the stage as my fav of theirs, but it’s a close second. I just love ambitious, weird, layered metal, and the philosophical musings felt truly impactful and poetic. They definitely were inspired by other avanty bands like mr bungle or primus but I think they combined all the ideas in a creative way. So much variety and it keeps you on your toes constantly. I love the quiet, pretty moments, and the heavy moments go hard. 9/10 (ordinary just ain’t it is my only complaint. No autotuned disco avenged, thanks! Lmao)

The more I listen to it. The more I like it. It's on repeat now! Love it!

This is my favourite album 😅 i fking love it. Even after my first listen i just wanted to start again… so glad they went this route.

great video. hard to find people who like the album! it’s a whole trip, and it just goes hard in places (guitar and drums specifically). def different but every song gets stuck in my head. cheers!!

Been waiting for this vid since June 2nd, cant wait!

I thought the singles were weird at first. Listening to the album tho puts it all into perspective. The album is a masterpiece. Guitars were top tier. Matt was great as always. Drums were massive. 10/10

I like it , its weird its like a faith no more album. I like how it covers a lot of experimental ground without being too long. Edit: a little too stoppy starty at points. Really cool production with lots of great sounds and the drums sound really natural and spacey when they need to.

If you like the oddly bright parts with a variety of instruments, I would suggest checking out The Dear Hunter.

Personally, my fav song from the album is cosmic, the whole vibes it gives off is just beautiful, but as a whole I loved the album

Never in my life have I been more happily confused by a song. Looking at you "We Love You".

My fav album in such a long time.. haven’t listened to an album front to back so much so quick.. in a day when no one makes full albums to be listened to in order anymore.

Probably avoiding this one. Thanks for the review :)

i love it. there are songs, like G, that sound like they're just high jam sessions, but it's fun and filled with soul

Este álbum sin duda es arte. Mi canción favorita es "Cosmic", dios amé mucho este álbum.

The interview you had with Matt really helped me get the vibe and reason for this album. And gave the raw sound and different genres a better feel mentally. Loved All of the GOD tracks the most, they hit hard and are something different and nice for the band. Plus they transisition so well together. Wasnt expecting to like it after not enjoying the singles, but now I like the singles more lol.

Sincere ty for the sparksnotes

The piano reminded me of the sounding of the 7th trumpet piano song.. pretty cool

the more i listen to this album the more i like it. its actually probably one of my top 3 albums by them. Waking the fallen is probably my first but between this and nightmare i would call it almost a tie. the one thing i will say is the album can very easily be listened to over and over due to just how different every song is. it doesn't feel as repetitive as other albums do because not one song is remotely similar to the next which is one of the reasons i really like it

This album is amazing! I love it so much

i love the daftpunk, zappa influense in this, and even hear a sparkle of the grateful dead, i dont know i just loved the album, maybe some songs are weak to me but man what a trip...

The solo at 0:48 was truly life changing when I first heard it. Great video! 👍

I've never been a fan of theirs but I really loved this album. It's beautiful

This album is a work of art. It really shows how much they have matured musically. I wasn’t a fan of “The Stage” but this album really got me back into A7X. It’s fresh, new and It’s honestly a breath of fresh air from everything else on the radio nowadays.

syn sings in beautiful morning and i really really enjoy it

I really like how the whole thing feels. Energetic at the start, bursts of slowing down, till you get to this tense calm sound. Definitely feels like an allegory for life. It's very artful, in a good way.

I wasn’t sure at first but the more I listen to it the more I see that it is a compositional masterpiece

Absolutely Love libad! I totally Agree with you that Mattel is the most awesome song, cant get it out of my head. Worth the wait!!

I personally love this album and was completely blown away on first listen. I'm a big prog fan and was really surprised at A7X's ability to make amazing prog tracks one after the other. Cosmic in my opinion is the best song on the album, also the duo of (O)rdinary and (D)eath were another massive high point on the album for me. the only thing stopping me from giving this album a 10/10 and having to leave it at a 9 or 9.5 is We Love You. Though it is a good song, i just find the "more" parts can get pretty old pretty quickly. Still, an excellent album and my favorite by A7X so far.

Everybody was so thrown off from the last song being so stripped down. Personally i found it to be a great opportunity to reflect on the rest on the album and relax, like the closing titles of a huge movie. Really interesting stuff throughout, artists bold like this remind me how fun music can be!

You couldn’t of portrayed a more accurate review.. great job.. I love it though.. like you I’ve always been a big avenged fan.. for the last couple decades.. I love all there albums.. they seem to of stuck to their roots.. even with this album.. the roots have just kinda developed in a way we can’t understand.. the rev was half the foundation though.. the rest of the roots just done their thing and are still here.. and I appreciate them still doing it.. I enjoy all their albums..

I LOVED this album front to back. I hadnt listened to A7x in years as I fell in love with prog rock and prog metal. I am so happy they went this direction, its one of my favorite modern albums ive ever listened to!

Haven’t listened to this album, but that first actual track sounded straight up like SOAD from that little snippet I heard. Not a huge fan of theirs since City of Evil, but that really made me wanna listen to this album lol

I know I won’t be the first to bring it up but Avenged Sevenfold has always been an experimental band that has never been scared to try new things. The important part is to not judge the music but to listen with an open mind. Some/Most songs are about a message and not the flow

You definitely hit the nail on the head on most of this with how I am feeling about it as well. When I first heard Nobody the day it came out, listening the first couple minutes had me confused and wondering why they would do something like this, but the second half of it tied it together (Definitely took a couple more listens to love it, banger btw) and then stewing on that song, giving it probably 50+ listens and a 2 week failed attempt to learn the solo, to understand what more they are going to throw at us, they released "We Love You". Funny enough I listened to this a day later because I thought it was apart of the live stream they did for Nobody before they played the song where they were talking about how Avenged got their start to now and it was all for the fans and how they loved us, anyways, that song had me realize that this album is going to be a mesh of different things considering "We Love You" and "Nobody" were TOTALLY different vibes. I thought the album was going to be more centered around EDM tone with dark electronic sounds (like the last part of "More and Build" beat). I got an email that said there was a listening party for the album online and I was instantly excited, I sat and listened through the whole album and pretty much thought "This was confusing in a good way" because I knew it was going to be confusing on how they set up each song with how it transitions into the next song and so forth, I knew it was going to take a couple of more listens to fully grasp love for the songs... these albums they are creating is insanely huge because just like "The Stage" each listen you can pick something new to focus on and it makes it more fresh, which is smart for replay ability and attachment to each song for the Avenged Sevenfold fans. It's also funny to see people complain about the album calling it every trash name in the book, but in my opinion, the blood sweat and tears are in this album 100% and it always leaves a "How can they top this album?" Especially how each first song on their albums are their opening set song, it will only get more challenging and challenging. The stress was probably insanely high for them in this album with all the complex parts that each of the members had to do, not even going to get into playing the songs live or Syn doing Nobody solo live "Did not think they would attempt that" Sheeeeesh!. TLDR, The Album is a 15/10 and people who complain probably do not understand, but it's okay because in the end we are all Nobody and Life Is But A Dream anyways... Mattel for President!

I love music like this. Not just fast food music but something to deal with. Not for everyone but for me.

I know almost nothing about genres and music in professional way. And I am happy for this. I know that I just want to listen this album again and again😊💙

Cosmic is a masterpiece. I came away super impressed with this album. I have so much praise to give it.

A7X hail to the king and on ward has been 50/50 but I still love em just the same

I haven't been a fan since Waking The Fallen so wasn't expecting anything from the new album. But after giving a few tracks a spin I really like it. It's like the soundtrack to a 70's or 80's movie or something. It's a trip.

The album is pure art!

I think the fact that literally everyone is meticulously reviewing this album online and trying to wrap their heads around it means that it's a huge success. Even the large portion of people that don't like it seem to be giving it attention.

I’m wasn’t much of a fan at first but after a few listens I really like this album. And one of my favourite songs is Death. Sound absolutely beautiful

Mattel and the G O D songs are my favorites by far. I love the entire album tho 🥳 I kinda look at G, Ordinary, Death and life us but a dream as one song

Avenged Sevenfold is so talented. And this album sounds so raw and real. Many bands should take inspiration. It’s a very moving album. ❤

So I'm probably the nerd at the party here, but i have never liked Avenged. I love metal, but I just could not get into their style for some reason. I'm not saying that I thought they were bad, they just weren't for me. HOWEVER, this album is one of the best albums that i have listened to in a long time. I probably will not ever listen to just one song off of the album, or put 1 song off of this album on a playlist. I will listen to this album front to back though. I feel like thats the way its meant to be listened to. You made me a fan, Avenged. Bravo.

They added all the music subgenres in one album and its ridiculously mindblowing

I’m digging the songs so far.

To be honest i love this album! Its pretty interesting, at first i was definitely very confused but its avenged, i feel like they're one of the more kooky bands i listen to and that's kinda why i love them! This record was amazing tbh lol

Been a fan of A7X since like 09/10 and I like the new album. Don't know if I'll grow to love it like all of their other ones. I prefer songs 1-7 over the last 4.

You did nothing to prepare me for "Cosmic", and the tears I would shed during my first listen. This song does things to me, and I've listened only twice.

The album is definitely a trip for sure. You put that right. Like rowing your boat down a stream.

Someone should show Anthony FATano this video. It’s someone who actually has talent and knows what they’re talking about

I’m not familiar with the a7x discography but to me this album is a masterpiece… it’s phenomenal

Mattel has some major dr seus "The Lorax" vibes with the lyrics and i love it

I love how he changes into a hoodie for the sub reminder

I think the album was great but way too sad for me to listen to again

I can't stop listening to it. It's amazing. Cosmic, Death and G are incredible.