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Nightmare (album) -

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Nightmare is the fifth studio album by American rock band Avenged Sevenfold, which was released on July 27, 2010 through Warner Bros. Records; it was produced by Mike Elizondo and mixed in New York City by noted engineer Andy Wallace.[1] Nightmare is the first Avenged Sevenfold record without James "The Rev" Sullivan performing drums due to his death in December 2009; however he wrote some of the songs before his death so this is therefore the last studio album to which he contributed, [2] for this reason The Rev's vocals are still on the album as a tribute to him.[1] Mike Portnoy, from Dream Theater, who performed as the drummer for the album in his place, will also play with the band for all upcoming tours through to the end of 2010, due to Dream Theater not touring at that time.[3] Avenged Sevenfold, along with Disturbed, will co-headline the first annual Uproar Festival.[4]

[multipage=Writing and recording]

In late 2009, two years after Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled album, and four years after they had issued their breakthrough studio set, 2005's City of Evil, the band started working on their next record, their "most personal and epic that will definitely take you on a very dark journey."[5] Around late 2009, the band worked on the album's production until the death of their drummer.

It was then on December 28, 2009 when the body of James "The Rev" Sullivan was discovered inside his home. This incident made the band suspend the work of the album for some time.[6][7] In the later months, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater (a major influence on The Rev and the rest of the band) agreed to finish recording the drumming tracks for the album:

“ Even under normal circumstances, I would've been happy to help the guys out in any way I could as I think Avenged Sevenfold are a great band; But under these incredibly sad and tragic circumstances, I must say I am truly honored to have been asked to play with them and I didn't even have to think twice about saying yes. [...] These guys are a true family and it is an incredibly emotional experience to be here with them for the first time without their lost brother. But they have welcomed me into the family with open arms and there's a real excitement to make the record they had set out to make. I am treating my participation on this album with the utmost respect for Jimmy's memory and am remaining as true as possible to the drum parts that he wrote for the songs and the record he wanted to make. [...] Although I wish I could stay on board with Avenged Sevenfold in a more permanent capacity; I will need to resume work with Dream Theater to start a new album at some point in 2011. However, I will be able to join my brothers in Avenged Sevenfold for at least the duration of their touring throughout 2010, and hopefully this will give them the time to continue to heal and get comfortable back on the road.[8][3] ”

After a couple of months, more notices about the album became available; a short message from Zacky Vengeance was posted on the official Avenged Sevenfold Twitter on April 17, 2010: "Tracking is complete. There are no words that will ever describe the feeling of listening to this album while driving home alone at 4 am."[9]

M. Shadows and Synyster Gates, in an interview with The Pulse of Radio, confirmed The Rev's special appearance in the record. According to the band members, he left a couple of vocals (to their fortune, clear and in key) before his death, which they used on the record. With his drum fills and vocals intact, the record shows itself like the band's last record with their drummer.[1] The same band members revealed some details about the new record in an interview to Hard Drive radio:

“ [...] The new album, Nightmare, is dedicated to The Rev's memory and although it's not exactly a concept album, it does center around The Rev. The eeriest thing about it is there is a song on the album called "Fiction" (a nickname The Rev gave himself) which started out with the title "Death". And it was the last song The Rev wrote for the album, and when he handed it in, he said, 'That's it, that's the last song for this record'. And then, 3 days later, he died."[10]

[multipage=Release and promotion]

The first single, "Nightmare", was released digitally on May 18, 2010.[8][11] A preview for the song was released on May 6, 2010 on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after for unknown reasons[11]; However, on May 10, 2010, a 30-second audio uncensored sample was again revealed, but this time at SoundCloud and on the band's official website. The band also posted, the same day, a video of the song on their official YouTube channel with animated lyrics, which received over 275,000 plays in 24 hours.[12][13][14]

On June 3, 2010, the band revealed a "Limited Edition" of Nightmare for pre-order available only on their website, which contains:

Full Nightmare album on CD.
Expanded booklet featuring lyric sheets from the band and exclusive artwork.
Housed in a synthetic leather bound book with special silver plated Nightmare crest.
Limited 24″ x 36″ lithograph entitled Death Bat Anatomy, featuring original artwork on special textured paper embossed with a silver colored Death Bat.
Instant download of the new single, Nightmare.[12][15][16]
Since May 27, 2010, the band revealed the album cover piece by piece like a jigsaw puzzle over a period of eighteen days, revealing the complete cover on June 15, 2010, along with the track listing.[17][18][19]

On June 29, 2010, the band made available an iTunes pre-order of the album, which contains:

Full Nightmare digital album.
Bonus track: "Lost It All"
Exclusive photos.
"Nightmare" music video.
Behind the scenes footage from "Nightmare" music video shoot.
Written treatment for "Nightmare" music video.
"Nightmare" lyric video.
Audio interview with album producer, Mike Elizondo.
Type-set lyrics with hand-written notes for bonus track, "Lost It All".
Sketches of album art concept.
[4][20]

The song "Buried Alive" was posted on the band's Facebook page on July 14, 2010, but experienced loading issues due to a large number of users trying to access the video, and was taken down momentarily. The problem was resolved on July 15, 2010, and was posted on YouTube as a lyric video which also contained a small animation.[21] On July 19, 2010, a preview of "God Hates Us" was released onto the band's official website. It could be heard by holding the cursor over the flickering deathbat logo at the top of the front page. The front page has since been redesigned and the preview can no longer be heard there.

On July 20, 2010, previews to each song on the album were released by Barnes & Noble. On July 21, 2010 the song 'So Far Away' was released by KROQ radio exclusively for one day.[22] The song "Welcome To The Family" was also leaked on July 21, 2010, and it was made available to stream by KROQ radio on July 22, 2010. KROQ stopped streaming songs daily after "Welcome To The Family" because when asked when the next song would be streamed, they replied that they had only been sent 3 tracks.

On July 22, 2010, the full album with all 11 tracks had been leaked to serval torrent sites around the internet. On July 23, 2010, a user under the name "Zacky Vengeance", possibly an impersonator, released all 11 tracks of the standard issue album onto SoundCloud. As of July 24, the tracks have been removed from Soundcloud.[23] The bonus track "Lost it All" and the original "Nightmare" demo track featuring The Rev on the drums have been leaked. The album has been uploaded to YouTube several times, but has been removed soon afterwards by WBR.

[multipage=Reception]

Nightmare received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Regardless of negative reviews, most critics praised the band for their efforts in putting out an album after the loss of their bandmate. The album currently holds a 51 on the review aggregate Metacritic, though the score is based solely on four reviews.[24]

The website Kik Axe Music.com posted an 'advance' review of the album on July 23[25], the date when the album was released in Austria and Switzerland. Reviewer James Zahn gave the album a five-out-of-five rating and commented that "Avenged Sevenfold have pulled off a feat less common than a no-hitter in baseball: a complete album that plays best when listened to in it's entirety from front to back with no filler whatsoever."

About a month and a half before the record had released, Faye Lewis of Rocksound.TV, gave the record a highly critical review saying that the title track "Nightmare" was the only highlight, which generated much criticism. Rocksound later issued an apology for the review and took it down from their site. In their letter of apology they said: "Rock Sound recently published a track-by-track guide to the forthcoming Avenged Sevenfold album. We wish to apologize wholeheartedly for any misunderstanding in the article that caused upset to both the band and their fans. This was certainly not our intention and therefore we have removed the piece from the site."[26] On the 21st of June, Faye Lewis released a second review which was much more positive than the previous. Giving it a score of 7/10. As her conclusion she said "If there’s criticism, it’s that ‘Nightmare’ still falls back on clichés, building with aggressive force to then rely on a safe melodic chorus. However, there’s enough of a change to see A7X lash out beyond their core sound, making ‘Nightmare’ their greatest achievement to date."[27]

In the August 2010 issue of Metal Hammer, Terry Bezer rated the album an eight out of ten[28]. In his review he had praised the band members for their courage despite of the death of the Rev and called it "...the ultimate tribute to a fallen friend." He also praised Mike Portnoy for his part in the album and found him a fitting replacement for the Rev.

On July 24, 2010, Chris DeLine, writer for Culturebully.com, praised the album by saying "...what puts the album over the top is that it was not only created with heart-wrenching purpose, but that it’s good. And when you combine those factors, a good album and purpose, you’ve got a recipe for something that will touch the hearts of fans and non-fans alike; and something that is ultimately going to define how people remember the band for years, if not decades, to come." [29]

Universal Rock Report highly praised the record, saying, "It sure is easier to listen to music that you can relate to than it is to listen to something happy when you’re in the middle of the same experiences that M. Shadows is singing about on this record. And it’s this that Avenged Sevenfold understands, and for creating not only the perfect tribute to one of the best drummers of the new millennium but also an album that can effectively put across those dark emotions, and for being able to make the listener feel them too, Avenged Sevenfold should be commended." They praised the songs "So Far Away", "God Hates Us", and "Fiction" in particular, stating that on "God Hates Us", "[M. Shadows is] screaming with so much rage and pure hatred that it sounds like he’s about burst into tears".[30]

Circle Six Magazine gave the album an overwhelmingly positive review. Editor-in-Chief Erick Bieger concluded, "Nightmare can only be judged in light of the tragic events that preceded it. Because of that, it’s hard to critique an album where the listener transcends the musical experience to become a voyeuristic observer of the bands grief and recovery process. But while uncomfortable at times, it is ultimately hopeful, and needs to be recognized as not only an important addition to the A7X discography but also a powerful statement about losing the ones we love and living in the aftermath." [31]

Arwa Haider of Metro London gave the album an average review by giving it 3 out of 5 stars. Haider stated "Nightmare is a testimony to immaculately crafted Pop-Metal, from the quiet/loud contrasts to the high drama tempo shifts on numbers such as Buried Alive;unfortunately, it's slickness generally comes out of its edginess".[32]

DistortedNews gave the album a 10/10 saying, "Nightmare is an amazing album, simple as that. Equal parts intense and beautiful, melodic and brutal. The perfect way to honour The Rev’s memory."[33]

411Mania.com gave the record a lengthy but highly positive review by giving it a score of 9.0/10. As a conclusion they said "If you’re a fan of Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare is a must-have for you, and immediately! If you didn’t like this band before, this one MAY change your mind, but you’ve gotta’ come into the listening experience with an open opinion about A7X. As a fan of this band, I loved this album and feel it is their best work to date. If Avenged Sevenfold can continue to heal and find a permanent drummer sometime down the line – Mike Portnoy is a great choice if that stars can align for that to happen – I see them becoming one of the elite hard rock/metal (what’s in a label anyways?) acts of this era. This album is incredibly moving and is better than any tribute to the late Rev I could have possibly imagined. I gave this album a very high rating because of how moved I was by its content, songwriting, and just the truly amazing performances of everyone in the band. I will hold this album dear to my heart for a long time and think many other fans will as well."[34]

Kirk Miller of Metromix gave the record much praise saying "While lyrically dark and seemingly more introspective, Avenged Sevenfold still keep the pedal to the floor when it comes to the music. “Nightmare” isn’t about reinventing the wheel—the new record is a feisty hybrid of Guns N' Roses and “Black Album”-era Metallica (especially on the “Enter Sandman”-ish title track)—but the band succeeds because their music has the right mix of hooks, heft and aggression, with some grander vision lurking in the shadows (see the marching drums, pianos, horns and whistles throughout “Danger Line”). Their best record, and, in its own punishing way, a nice tribute."[35]

Kerrang! Magazine gave the album 4 K's out of 5 concluding: "Where Avenged go from here is till in the lap of the gods. Whatever their future, though, Nightmare marks the point at which the Huntington Beach crew put away childish things and became men. Wherever he is now, their brother must be immensely proud" [36]

USA Today's Brian Mansfield gave the album 3 out of 4 stars

Sergio Pereira of Musicreview.co.za praised the album for it's bravery to experiment with their sound and gave it a score of 97/100. "While the album might be titled Nightmare, it really is just a piece of heaven. It’s the album of the year for me. I wish that more bands would overstep boundaries and create genre-transcending albums such as this. Buy it now!"[37]

Eric Stuckart of Primaryignition.com gave the record a highly positive review by giving it a rating of 9/10 "Overall, Nightmare is a pretty sad album, but this is the type of album that would have never existed were it not for the loss of The Rev. Avenged Sevenfold stepped up to the plate and delivered the most mature, developed album of their careers, and while it’s likely not going to sway the detractors, Nightmare definitely serves as fine tribute to a fallen friend"[38] He even praised the evolution of lead guitarist Synyster Gates' playing, "Synyster Gates also has truly come into his own as lead guitarist on this album. His playing has slowly over the past few albums evolved from all flash to actual soulful phrasing. That’s not to say he doesn’t shred; his soloing has also improved exponentially, but his playing is just more evocative." [39]

There have, however, been criticisms:

Keith Anderson of Thenewreview.net gave the album an average review, saying that "Fiction" "plays as the album’s worst." As his final conclusion he said. "Now the album does have its moments. “Nightmare”, “Natural Born Killer”, and “God Hates Us” are actually great songs. While these songs don’t have the lyrical depth contained within previous Avenged Sevenfold albums, these three songs are keepers. “God Hates Us” is especially powerful and is what I wanted the whole album to be."[40]

[multipage=Track listing]

All songs written and composed by Avenged Sevenfold.

Standard Single Disc Edition[18][19] No. Title Length
1. "Nightmare" 6:14
2. "Welcome to the Family" 4:07
3. "Danger Line" 5:30
4. "Buried Alive" 6:43
5. "Natural Born Killer" 5:17
6. "So Far Away" 5:29
7. "God Hates Us" 5:21
8. "Victim" 7:31
9. "Tonight the World Dies" 4:43
10. "Fiction" 5:14
11. "Save Me" 10:56
Total length: 66:47