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Nightmare | 
 enlarge | Artist: Avenged Sevenfold
Label: Warner Bros.
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $8.57
You Save: $10.41 (55%)
New (45) Used (10) from $5.99
Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 58
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
UPC: 093624966555
EAN: 0093624966555
ASIN: B003OF3R0S
Release Date: July 27, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Nightmare (Explicit Album Version) | | • | Welcome To The Family (Album Version) | | • | Danger Line (Album Version) | | • | Buried Alive (Explicit Album Version) | | • | Natural Born Killer (Explicit Album Version) | | • | So Far Away (Album Version) | | • | God Hates Us (Explicit Album Version) | | • | Victim (Album Version) | | • | Tonight The World Dies (Album Version) | | • | Fiction (Album Version) | | • | Save Me (Album Version) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem) and mixed by noted engineer Andy Wallace, the new Avenged Sevenfold album, "Nightmare", draws on everything from the earliest influences and inspirations that bonded the musicians in their youth to the vast spectrum of tastes these friends have developed over the years, reaching far outside the rock and punk universes one might expect.
Album Description
2010 release, the fifth album from the Alt-Metal outfit, produced by Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, Eminem) and mixed by noted engineer Andy Wallace. The album is the first from the band without drummer James The Rev Sullivan, who passed away in December. Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy plays drums on the album. Over the years, Avenged Sevenfold has built a fanatical fanbase that includes more than one million fans on Facebook. They have also attracted 93 million plays on MySpace.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 83
 Nightmare: A journey into the heart and soul of A7X July 28, 2010
JayJay300zx
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
The central theme of Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold is emotion. Certainly with the death of a fellow member of the band and a brother, the members of Avenged Sevenfold were swimming in an ocean of emotions. This album has remorse, confusion, and pure hate among other varied emotions that enable listeners to intake a small taste of the experience these talented individuals underwent.
Nightmare (5/5): The title and opening track of Nightmare begins your journey with a bang. This track starts off with a dreamy chime before blowing you away with Shadows screaming "nightmare" leading you into a high paced experienced. This track was well chosen as the leading single. It's very catchy and it isn't long before you're singing along learning of the bands nightmare that is about to unfold before you.
Welcome To The Family (5/5): This track is probably a future single and perhaps the most accessible song on the album. After a shout out to a "Waking the Fallen" instrumental intro Shadows jumps into the melody of this very catchy track. Like Nightmare this song is also set to prepare you for what's to come. It addresses the cacophony of emotions running rampant with their minds. We see that even the members of A7X aren't sure exactly what they are feeling it's a mixture of so many raw emotions, "When our thoughts are so numb and our feelings unsure
We all have emptiness inside, We all have answers to find, But you can't win this fight." Among the catchy melody and chorus is a blazing a solo and Shadows intermixing a growl/whisper tone to conclude this track
Danger Line (3/5): This song starts off with a marching band type drum progression, before jumping into a moderately high passed jam. I enjoyed this song, but it just didn't seem to fit into the concept of the album. It's well known that Avenged Sevenfold are big supporters of the men, women, and children affected by war and the lives of soldiers, which this song exemplifies. There is an interesting surprise towards the end of the song when the melody and pace slows to almost a ballad, highly contrasting with the fairly quick pace the song initially sets. As I said before this is a pretty decent stand alone song, but just doesn't flow or mesh with the rest of the album.
Buried Alive (5/5): This track begins with a long, slower paced Metallica-esk intro of guitar bliss before finally jumping into the initial melody of the song. Maintaining the Thrash ballad feel the song jumps into a powerful chorus that takes you a little bit by surprise the first time you hear it. This song has a groove about it early on that will leave you feeling relaxed and intrigued before it hits the blistering solo that synyster shreds out with technical perfection. Soon after the solo, however, the song takes an adrenaline pumping twist, pounding out heavy chords and a deep base. With that we get the first real taste of Shadows screaming since Waking the fallen, which left my jaw on the floor. Lyrically, through the progression, the concept of the album is continued. While using the tracks "Nightmare" and "Welcome to the Family" as a basis for the album, Buried Alive suggest the feelings the band felt after the initial shock wore off. Without Jimmy the band felt, as the title suggests, trapped and helpless. The progression of the song also leans towards the experience of claustrophobia. At first the trapped feeling is subtle and leaves you vulnerable, but if the feeling continues to linger it doesn't take long before the feeling detonates into an overwhelming flurry of pain, as if not only were they trapped and alone but suffocating in their own hell. The final lines of this song bring Avenged Sevenfold forward to an angry acceptance of what has happened to them this past year as Shadows bellows "THIS IS NOW YOUR LIFE, DIE BURIED ALIVE"
Natural Born Killer (5/5): This track will blow your mind away the first time you hear it. This track begins at a blistering speed and only lets up a little during the chorus just so you can process the instrumental inferno that just took place and will undoubtedly continue post chorus. What stood out to me on this song was the drumming. Portnoy did a great job filling in for The Rev, but it's still very obvious that it was in fact Portnoy doing the drumming on this album, while doing his best to keep The Rev's memory alive. This track, however, just screamed The Rev in every direction. If I didn't know it was Portnoy I would have thought Jimmy was able to leave this beat behind. To me, due to the drumming, this song is the most complete. It not only has a nostalgic feel about it, seeing as how it could be a love child of "Waking the Fallen" and "City of Evil," but also the fact that you can almost sense Jimmy behind the kit.
So Far Away (4/5): This song dismisses any intro and jumps into the emotional ride. The lyrics for this song were written by Synyster as his goodbye or just his feelings for The Rev. The song begins with a very straight forward verse, a guitar, and Shadows singing his words, that's about it. This song wasn't meant to be impressive really, it was just meant to help heal. Synyster opens his heart for this song describing who Jimmy was to him and how he's felt upon losing his best friend. Even though it probably wasn't meant to impress, parts of it still deserve notice. The solo in this song is simply gorgeous. Synyster begins with an acoustic medley following a slight pause before jumping into the sweet sound of steel. It's nowhere near his most complicated piece, but it speaks to the listeners without remorse, leaving a long lasting impression. While this song can be hard to listen to without tears welling up in your eyes, you'll find yourself wanting to experience this one over and over.
God Hates us (Holy **** 5/5): After So far away this track begins with a lighthearted intro meant to settle you in for the ride. Then out of nowhere this song jumps right out of the speakers drop kicks you in the face, beats you senselessly while you are down, and leaves you feeling entirely violated, yet somehow you enjoyed it. If there was any question as to whether Shadows would pull out some screams again, this track will solidify your belief. This is the hardest song I've heard from the band and it just devours you with raw emotion. Not only is this band hurt, but they are pissed. You can hear the anger and tears behind Shadows' words and it will drive you down the same path. This song will upset and offend some people while, taking the rest as its hostage of brilliance until this song comes to and lighthearted outro, leaving as subtly as it came.
Victim (5/5): This song begins with the chiming of what I would expect to be church bells and the choral female sounds influenced by Pink Floyd before transitioning into a very touching song. The feeling I got from this song was pure confusion. Avenged Sevenfold has vented some of their anger and beginning to accept what happened to them, but they still can't be sure. "And some say this can't be real, And I've lost my power to feel, tonight we are all just victims of a crime," the fairly catchy chorus sang by Shadows reveals that although they are accepting what has happened, they just don't know why. Why did this have to happen to their brother? Why did this have to happen to them? why did this have to happen to our fans? This track touched me unlike any other. We all do feel like something was taken from us, that there's really no just cause, and that it's something that we will never get back.
Tonight The World Dies (4/5): This song took me a while to warm up to, but it's actually a great piece in itself. This track continues the concept of the album with a blues influence to it. It remains blues oriented throughout rarely deviating from the somber feeling. This track illustrates that even with their loss they will continue to hold on, perhaps frozen in place with their emotions. Although the time moves on, they will live each day, perhaps feeling as if they could have done something to prevent this tragedy, but they know it's too late now. Even though time does continue to move their world has collapsed and they will never be the same. This song will probably only be appreciated by more hardcore fans. It's unlike anything Avenged Sevenfold has done in the past and true fans will understand the feelings and emotions behind it, but casual fans will probably be left unsatisfied.
Fiction (2.5/5 or 5/5): This song is what will be remembered as Jimmy's last legacy. It was originally entitled "Death" when Jimmy presented it mere days before his death. It was almost as if he knew his time was up and that he wanted us all to be ok without him. "Left this life to set me free, took a piece of you inside of me. All this hurt can finally fade ,promise me you'll never feel afraid." While listening to this song I was almost brought to tears. It's haunting hearing this song which is the only song to include Jimmy's vocals. The lyrics for this song are so appropriate considering the situation we are all in. Perhaps, with time, we can all learn to move on and celebrate his life properly, but for now we will continue to mourn. I gave this song two ratings, because of the perspective it can have. To hardcore A7X fans, this song is as much a blessing as it is a curse. We absorb as much of Jimmy as we can and this is a wonderful tribute to Jimmy's memory. To the casual fan, however, this song will not be satisfying. The gothic piano melody can be intoxicating, but as the band wanted it, the rest remained fairly untouched. The vocals from Jimmy were demos, though done very well, it's easy to think that they would be cleaner had Jimmy had the time to properly record them, especially during a few of the spoken parts where the quality is not what it could have been. Also, while the band could have probably altered this song with other instruments and melodic adjustments, they felt that would tarnish The Rev's memory. So for the hardcore fans this song is a masterpiece and something that will have a lasting effect on us. For the casual fan this song will just fade away as a memory of a song that just didn't seem finished.
Save Me (5/5): This song shows that perhaps Mike Portnoy and Dream Theater may have had a little bit of influence on Avenged Sevenfold much as they influenced him. This song is an epic progressive metal adventure with a catchy melody and haunting lyrics. This song moves through progression changes and melody shifts, with brilliant instrumental technicality over the 11min track. This track puts a wonderful conclusion to this concept album. The lyrics suggest that A7X knows they can't go back to a time where they can be with Jimmy again, but that's not to say they have seen the last of their fallen brother. In this song it sounds like the band is trying to speak directly to Jimmy hoping he can hear their plea. They wanted him to stay, but they want him to know that although they will walk this path without him that they will soon join their brother in internal life. As they march through the days alone, they are praying for the day when they can reunite with him once again. This song is a masterpiece, even those who are not huge fans can appreciate everything that went into making this song an epic journey.
Closing thoughts:
Hardcore Fans: Album (9.3/10)
This album is an amazing treat for hardcore fans. The band said that it was not a concept album, but the album very much plays as a concept album directed at the loss of Jimmy. With everything that has happened in the A7X family this album hits every emotion and directs us through the bands journey. We should all be happy that we got an album at all, much less one of amazing quality and delivery.
Win: Fiction - Getting to hear the Rev's voice and brilliance one more time.
Fail: Danger Line - Not a horrible track, but didn't mesh with the rest of the album at all.
Casual Fans: Album (7.5/10)*as well as I can think about it objectively.
Casual fans will find great interest in the albums heavier tracks such as God Hates Us, Natural Born Killer, Nightmare, and Welcome to the Family, but the rest of the album may be lacking for them. This album has a much darker mood and a generally slower pace than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, leaving something to be desired from casual fans, who enjoyed the party rock of Beast and the Harlot and Bat Country.
Win: Welcome to the Family - A high paced, very catchy, thrilling song that will make just about everybody who enjoys music bounce with approval.
Fail: Fiction - This track just can't be appreciated if you don't understand the meaning behind the album.
One last thing, this review was simply my personal perspective of the meaning behind the songs and the album as whole.
Great On Many Levels. August 2, 2010
J. Schneider (Mosinee, WI United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This album is pretty incredible, achieving greatness on many different levels...
Musically... the songs are well constructed, interesting in both lyrical content as well as progression and instrumentation throughout.
Feel... the dark nature of the material goes well with the obvious pervading presence (or lack) of The Rev.... COE had amazing feel and they lacked a bit on their last release (just my opinion), but this album is packed with gut wrenching emotion.
Guitars... I'm beginning to get that feeling where I think they can do pretty much anything their imagination comes up with... only the very best fall into that category, and these guys are knocking on that door... in spots it's like the guitars just fill in the sonic space with, you get the impression, of exactly what some maestro was imaging... beautiful work here!
Most of the songs are typical of recent A7X offerings: slightly more progressive/metal and less thrash/grind, which some fans like and others don't... but a few songs pack an extra punch based on knowledge of the band's loss of the Rev: So Far Away; Fiction; and the final track. In particular Fiction is pure haunting, with the band using the Rev's own scratch track vocals (with Shadows harmonizing most of the way). A piano line in this song fits very well with the haunting: I had goose bumps on first listen. If they do this song well live, there won't be a dry eye in the arena...
Mike Portnoy... deserves special mention in any review - he amazingly channels the Rev to a T. Only occasionally can you tell it's Mike, and that's only when he's really working the cymbals as only he can, and perhaps on an especially blistering run towards the end of the final track... mostly though he does just as you'd expect to hear done on an A7X album. I'd really like to see them live just to witness Portnoy playing some of their back catalog... another notch in Portnoy's long list of mind-boggling achievements.
Depth... finally, as with all truly great albums, this album will require many, many listenings to really settle in.
(PS... who are these people who don't like the song "Danger Line"? Cool tune if you ask me.)
Simply Fantastic! July 28, 2010
Maley
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Going into this album, I had very high expectations for it being that I have been an Avenged Sevenfold since 2003, Waking the Fallen. I for one found their change to singing as a giant leap in the right direction. It of course didn't always work but did show thier maturity as a band. This album is nothing short of amazing. The first seven songs, with the exception of so far away, really set the mood for the album and are some of the heaviest songs avenged has done. My particular favorites from the first seven are Nightmare, Buried Alive, and Natural Born Killers. God Hates us sees a return to screaming, but done in a much closer style to Pantera and it is pulled off splendidly.
After song seven some folks will say that the album turns into a collection of ballads and that's where I disagree. Song 8 victim is just a phenomenal slow metal/hard rock jam. Tonight the world dies is the best song stone temple pilots never wrote, has a harder big empty feel. Song 10 Fiction is probably the strangest song on the album, my least favorite, but still a good haunting duet with piano, (shadows & the rev). Song 11 Save me is classic City of evil A7X 11 minutes long, thundering drums, and blistering guitars. Sensational way to end the CD.
I know that I am biased as I have been a fan for a long time, this album is truely right up there with this years greats. It is a return to City of evil style A7X, and a departure from the more straight forward rockers on the self titled album.
Also, to everyone that says this album only appeals to teenagers, that is simply not a true statement. I am 28 and have enjoyed them for years and not one bit of their subject matter is whiney or EMO. I also enjoy all the heavy metal regulars (lamb of god, pantera, mastodon, high on fire, etc.) The talent and sound of A7X just continues to draw me to their music more often than the screaming metal bands of today. Give the cd an open minded honest listen and you will not be disappointed. For fans of Iron Maiden, Metallica, Guns N Roses, basically any good singing metal/hard rock band.
A record The Rev would have been proud of August 2, 2010
Michael (FL United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It was certainly shocking to find out that Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan had died in December 2009. Not content with quitting on the spot especially when they were finishing up a new record, the remaining members of Avenged Sevenfold managed to put together what they had along with some finishing up, and even hired Jimmy's hero Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater) to record the drums. Thus, the result is Nightmare, the band's darkest album since Waking The Fallen. To start, Mike is an incredible drummer. It is Jimmy's drum arrangements, but Mike makes it more interesting by not only playing it in the style of the band, but also adding his own flair. Second, Jimmy is all over this record. His death has certainly influenced some of the writing even with the track "Fiction," which is basically a song about death and just letting go. It's been said by the band members that this was actually the last song he finished and had handed over before his death. To keep it true to what it originally could have been, they used Jimmy's vocals from the demo version due to the lack of bleed-over on the mic which made it perfect. It's a beautiful and haunting track that will leave some feeling emotional, I'm sure. Now, not to get some too excited because it's not a lot, but the extreme vocal style M. Shadows used on the earlier records makes a return on two tracks, "God Hates Us" and "Save Me." Anybody expecting a whole lot of screaming will likely be disappointed. Like I said, it's two tracks. As a whole, the album is amazing. It's a fitting tribute not only to their late drummer, but also to how far this band has gone. At first, I wasn't crazy about City Of evil after first listening to Waking The fallen, and the self-titled album wore thin on me after a while. I can say now that this is one album that I can continue to listen to and not get tired of. I'm sure that the band will likely continue to evolve their sound with every record they make, but if they can continue like this, I'll most certainly enjoy hearing them for years to come.
Awesome July 27, 2010
Hex
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great album
the songs are dark and haunting and have great rhythm
this album is better then their last one
RIP THE REV
Showing reviews 1-5 of 83
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