Avenged Sevenfold Discuss New Songs, Vaguely Acknowledge Influences

I like Hail to the King, the new album from Avenged Sevenfold — but I don’t think it’s good. I know that’s a weird distinction to make. The album shamelessly “borrows” from a plethora of early-90s metal releases, and does such a good job of it that it’s hard to fathom any fan of that era not enjoying it. It would be like saying, “I love Pantera’s music, but I can’t stand Throwdown’s music,” or “I love Sabbath’s music, but I can’t stand The Sword’s music.” Since Throwdown and The Sword have aped Pantera and Sabbath with startling accuracy, you can give them shit about a lack of originality, but to say you actually think their music isn’t fun is to clog your ears with context in place of the actual music.

That being said — ALL of these bands should be totally open about who they’re stealing from. Because it’s just SO obvious… so why even try to play coy?

And yet, that’s exactly what the members of A7X do in this new series of “commentary” videos about the tracks on King. Guns N’ Roses and Aerosmith each get one very brief mention, but that’s it. They somehow discuss “This Means War,” a song which sounds EXACTLY like “Sad But True,” without ever so much as uttering Metallica’s name. In fact, guitarist Synyster Gates appears to have slept through most of these interviews, awakening only briefly to congratulate himself for the awesome riff in “War.” It doesn’t really make me like King any less, but it does make me wonder if the fellas in Avenged Sevenfold have somehow convinced themselves that The Black Album never  happened. Actually, that wouldn’t make them so different from a lot of Metallica fans I know.

[via The PRP]