Avenged Sevenfold, Manchester Academy
Ever since I first heard ‘Second Heartbeat’ on a sampler CD, I’ve wanted to see Avenged Sevenfold play the song live, to a packed out audience, in the Manchester Academy, on a Wednesday night in February (OK, so maybe those last few bits aren’t strictly true, but close enough) and last week, I achieved that remarkable feat.
But before I could get to the juicy metal goodness of A7X, I had to bite through the schizophrenic antics of SEND MORE PARAMEDICS. If there’s a more suitable support band for this gig, I’m yet to experience them. The zombie-core thrash hardcore being peddled by the Leeds based foursome is either invigorating or tired and repetitive, depending on who you talk to, but I for one love a bit of it. True showmen in every sense of the word, the vocalist takes the stage by lurching through the crowd wielding a severed head and spitting blood over anyone who has the (mis)fortune to be stood in his destructive path. From that moment on, it’s half an hour of breakneck thrash and hilarious interludes continuing the ‘We’re not dressing up, we’re actually zombies’ theme. What more do you want? A dedicated bunch in the middle create a pit halfway through while screaming every word to the likes of ‘Zombie Crew’ and the frankly fantastic ‘Cannibal’ and by the end of their set, the room is split into approximately 20% converted SMP fans, 30% completely baffled nu-school metallers wondering whats going on, 10% fans of SMP before anyway, 20% idiots who wouldn’t know a good support band if it hit them in the face with a severed head and 20% people who walked in late and thought they’d attended a séance gone haywire. (7.5)
After a wait that seemed to last for aeons, Avenged Sevenfold then took the stage in a cloud of darkness. The crowd sensed blood, and suddenly ‘Chapter Four’ exploded from the stage and we were away. While the band refrained from throwing themselves around the stage too much, the energy exuded was somehow the same as any crazy hardcore band could muster, and with the frankly daunting M.Shadows prowling the stage like a supernatural bounty hunter surveying his latest prey (the man is huge!) the stage presence was phenomenal. I have to say, I was a little worried of how they would translate the power of ‘Waking the Fallen’ in a live arena but, despite the guitars being way too quiet, the band pulled it off admirably. The likes of ‘Remenissions’ and, in particular, the staggering ‘Eternal Rest’ both sounded absolutely gargantuan and even ‘Darkness Surrounding’, taken from first album ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’ managed to take on a life of it’s own and surpass the somewhat stodgy sound that it has on record. With a sell out crowd singing every word, even the schlock-metal ballad ‘I Won’t See You Tonight Part 1’ kept the hordes captivated and enthralled for all of it’s eight or so minutes. Finally, it’s time for ‘Second Heartbeat’ to close the show. Probably A7X’s best song by a whisker, it’s six minutes of glorious metal topped off with a killer solo that closes the set perfectly and ensures that 99% of the crowd go home with big grins on their faces. And who can ask for more? (9)
Ross
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