I think this is where I am too. Glad they really went for it and it's different sounding, but I can't imagine coming back to it.
So... these guys were one of my absolute favorite bands from the ages of 12-15, to the point where I was obsessed and listened to them constantly. However, uncharacteristically of myself, I COMPLETELY fell off of listening to them after Nightmare (which I loved) and I still have no idea why. I think I listened to Hail to the King once and it really wasn't what I was into anymore at the time so I just totally checked out The buzz this album was getting made me go back and listen to their discography again and while some of it has aged pretty cheesily like I expected, I have no idea why I completely dropped them, when these guys are at their best there is nobody who does this sound better than them. City of Evil is 10/10 and the highs of Nightmare and s/t are still incredible. Once I started moving into the stuff I had never heard before I was blown away. The Stage, which I just listened to for the first time yesterday, is incredible, very possibly their best work, and it's not easy for quality to outshine nostalgia for me but that album impressed me so much that I was literally mad that I had never bothered to listen to it. Now I've also listened to this new one (why does it not have its own thread) and I also love it, I respect so much that they never play it safe and always change it up every album. I actually think I fell off of them because HTTK was so derivative (a thought I still had on my revisit the other day) but these last two made me so happy, I think I'm fully back on the A7X train for now COE>Stage>LIBAD>Nightmare>S/T>WTF>HTTK>STST (I never connected with WTF like most people did, wasn't a fan of music with mostly screaming vocals when I was a teen)
I don't like this trend. I get that it might make sense from a financial perspective, but I love getting a collection of songs to chew on. Single songs don't feel the same, they wear out faster, and every time an artist has claimed it would mean faster turnaround, it never happens.
After a few spins on the latest City of Evil Waking The Fallen The Stage Self-Titled Life Is but a Dream... Nightmare Sounding the Seventh Trumpet Hail to the King I could see Life overtaking S/T but I have a lot of nostalgia for that record.
waking the fallen city of evil self titled the stage life is but a dream diamonds in the rough sounding the seventh trumpet nightmare hail to the king
The Stage City Of Evil Life Is But A Dream... Nightmare Avenged Sevenfold Hail To The King I haven't listened to DIamonds In The Rough all the way through, I don't remember anything about Waking The Fallen, and I've never listened to Sounding The Seventh Trumpet at all.