Change is a term not often associated with the hardcore genre. Most of these bands seem content to simply scream as loud as humanly possible over a pool of bruising guitar riffs, sludgy bass lines, and furious drumming. For those listeners, like me, who grow weary of this incessant racket, mistakenly labeled as 'music', Avenged Sevenfold appears ready to make the leap from mindless hardcore wailing to intelligent, focused, and enjoyable metal music. Unfortunately, even with a drastic left turn in the vocal department and some truly mind blowing songs, the lack of consistently engaging material ultimately dooms City of Evil.

Long time fans may be wondering where all the ferocious screaming went to on this album. According to various reports, vocalist M. Shadows had throat surgery before they recorded City of Evil. This forced him to all but eliminate the high pitched shrieking that wrecked havoc on the band’s previous album, Waking the Fallen. As a result, the bulk of the new record is built around an Axl Rose-like screech and Shadows’ strong harmonizing passages. The problem lies not with the vocals on this outing, but rather, the overblown song lengths and spells of utter tedium in the music. It’s a shame, considering how terrific A7X can be when they’re on their game. For the most part of City of Evil, that doesn’t happen, leading to an uneven and disjointed album.

Shadows’ vocals highlight the opener, The Beast and the Harlot. The song puts its head down and charges forward with a punishing guitar riff from Synyster Gates (the band still thinks the use of fake names is cool). Shadows explores the upper ranks of his range in the chorus, while the rest of the band beats their respective instruments to pulp for five plus minutes. Things really pick up when Burn It Down comes crashing in. The Rev dominates on the kit and sets a blazing tempo for Gates and Zarky Vengeance to lay down a host of ferocious riffs. Clearly A7X is on the track with these two fine songs, but like all good things, it doesn’t last.

On the heels of two of the album’s better cuts comes Blinded in Chains, a slow, lumbering number that never regains the intensity of it’s snappy intro. Bat Country, which is tailor-made to be the next single, with it’s melody-infected verses and a heavy chorus, is repetitious and tiresome. Both of these tracks showcase one of the album’s serious flaws: length. Each song feels much longer than it actually is, due in part to the seemingly endless solos and plodding pace. Trashed and Scattered offers no real improvement, with a steady dose of recycled guitar hooks shoved down the listener’s throat. Johnny Christ at last makes an appearance with a bass sound as thick as mud. It’s all for naught though, when Shadows goes overboard with his breakneck vocals. The effect leaves me zealously grasping for the stop button.

A major surprise comes in the form of the sixth entry, Seize the Day. A touching power-ballad with just the right balance of soulful grace and powerful punch, this is proof positive that A7X is growing as a band. Strength of the World is a nine-minute epic, with beautiful string sections opening and closing out the song. The middle, though, leaves something to be desired, with periods of lame chanting and predictable guitar licks failing to amount to anything special. The finale, M.I.A. is another monstrous composition, but with nary a memorable hook or remarkable lyric to speak of, the album arrives at its long overdue conclusion to rescue the listener from perpetual boredom.

As much as I wanted to give this album my endorsement, it simply underwhelms far too frequently. With Shadows almost completely eradicating his silly screaming that destroyed Waking the Fallen, it’s a shame the music couldn’t match his excellence on this album. Avenged Sevenfold took a promising step forward because of his more melodious approach, even though it was more than likely due to throat surgery than any real desire to change his style. If that’s the case, the front men of Killswitch Engage and Mudvayne should consider booking their operations immediately. In the end, City of Evil is an album that is unbearably long-winded, and without an intriguing musical platform to back it up it’s ridiculous run time, it becomes an absolute chore to listen to.

Recommended: No