Avenged Sevenfold is one of the slew of metalcore bands that broke out in the last few years. But after their last release, Waking the Fallen, they clearly were leaps and bounds ahead of most others of the genre. The album was solid metalcore with a punk vibe, Swedish metal elements, excellent vocals and memorable songs.

If you have heard Avenged Sevenfold before then City of Evil will be somewhat of a shock on first listen. The band has abandoned most of its old sound in favor of a cross between Guns N’ Roses, old-school metal and punk rock. This is dirty, in-your-face rock n’ roll. Don't worry, there's still plenty of double-bass and lightning-fast riffing. The vocals however sound almost nothing like those of Waking the Fallen or other past material. It's been widely reported that lead vocalist M. Shadows had major damage to his vocal chords and that is the reason for the new clean singing style. Every song has the band harmonizing and the songs contain actual bridges and choruses. The guitar work is amazing. It almost sounds like it could be Slash playing at many points. There are solos everywhere. This release longs for the days when bands had mascots, wore leather and skulls, and dragons and fantasy were primary themes for albums. You'll be reminded at times of classic metal bands like Iron Maiden, Overkill, Judas Priest and maybe even Grim Reaper.

Avenged Sevenfold has created something original and fresh in this day and age of metalcore, rap metal, and generic punk rock bands. Songs take off in different directions and you never know what will happen next. The disc is epic in sound and there is even an opera-like orchestra on "The Wicked End." The first single, "Bat Country," is what this album is all about. You hear elements of that metalcore sound but it’s raw and dirty punk, with bad-ass guitars and a catchy-as-hell chorus. "Trashed and Scattered" and "Blinded in Chains" are dirty rock n' rollers, while "Strength of the World" has a western intro that could have been in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," clocking in at more than nine minutes. The song ranges from Metallica-like riffing to a Faith No More-style chorus. "Seize the Day" is a beautiful, heartfelt ballad reminiscent of GNR’s Use You Illusion era. "Sidewinder" is a heavy mid-paced rocker and ends with an awesome Spanish guitar duel unlike anything you'll hear another metal or rock band try.

This disc had me replaying tracks over and over for the first time in a long time. Hearing this album makes me want to jump on that horse with that skeleton guy on the album cover and spread evil across the country.