the beginning is the middle is the end...

i first saw Avenged Sevenfold on a small stage next to the Drive-Thru Records (not metal...or good, don't click that link...i just wanted to give equal opportunity) stage at the 2002 Warped Tour in Denver, CO. i can't remember which stage it was and i've tried to find out quickly while typing this, but to no avail. My wife (girlfriend at the time) wanted to see somebody playing on the previously mentioned other stage and i had no violent objection because, although i hate to admit it, i did enjoy a couple of their things 2 years ago....but no more. anyway, we got there early and saw on this side stage a band dressed all in black with a lead singer who had slicked back black hair, playing tight, fast, and really good metal. they didn't have a huge crowd put you could tell that they were pouring everything they had into that performance....at 2.30pm on a saturday in july...i was impressed and an immediate fan. i watched, enraptured, as they played an incredible set for the conditions they were in. at one point the kids in front of the stage got into full-on destructive flail mode in front of the stage. security all of a sudden materialized out of nowhere and started to break everyone apart and haul them off, but the lead singer, M. Shadows, started yelling at the security guards to leave the kids alone and let them have their fun....needless to say he lost the verbal fight, but an honorable attempt nonetheless. (sidenote: i saw those same kids later in the day and it turns out that they were the obligatory morons who would mosh to Celine Dion if they felt so inclined...the same kind of idiots who were spit on by Hey Mercedes singer Robert Nanna while moshing at one of their shows in Denver, CO that i attended and subsequently laughed my ass off.....anyway, a story for another time.) the lyrics have a religious theme to them and some under/over-tones that some people that i know object to and proceed to dismiss them out of hand solely for this aspect of their existence as a band. disappointing, but unfortunately a reality that exists in this scene sometimes and is a result of people who are close-minded about being open minded and avoid any religiously tainted music on principle....although what principle of tolerance they follow i'm not sure. anyway, a7x (as the cool kids call them), has progressed and put out more music since i saw them and have now been asked to be a headlining act on the 2005 Warped Tour....so congrats to them. the songs themselves range from the fast and furious grindcore style to the slow and melodic opuses that slowly build upon themselves. there is quite a range here and something for the whole family... enjoy. a7x: Eternal Rest Darkness Surrounding Chapter Four An Epic of Time Wasted go here to buy their stuff and keep supporting local music...spend $5 and go and see some kids pour their hearts out... i didn't mean to write so much about one band, but i got on a roll and i enjoyed writing this...so there you have it.