Review: Jack Price
Photos: Luke Petty
Avenged Sevenfold. The band I have waited over two decades to see live. Hooked on their infatuating guitars from Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, thunderous and droning bass from Johnny Christ, and soaring vocals from M. Shadows. While Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan may have passed away in 2009, his legend lives on through the numerous drummers that have graciously held his place. With little more than their “Live at LBC” DVD to go off, I eagerly counted down the hours until I experienced A7X live for the first time.
Not only was I experiencing Avenged Sevenfold live for the first time, but also my favourite prog and concept band, Coheed and Cambria for a double whammy of firsts! The lore weaving quartet had been high on my list of Must See’s which made the night at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre even more so exciting.
Unfortunately, as great as the production is at BEC, the traffic and parking situation was difficult to navigate, So Melbournites Thornhill, I sincerely regret missing the majority of your set, catchy all but a few tracks of what sounded like a huge, immersive set. Even for the local support act, the mosh pit was easily 80 percent full and surging with excitement. The last track, “nerv,” was a big finish and the crowd interaction from frontman Jacob Charlton was perfectly executed.
And so it was on, the countdown between Thornhill and Coheed. The memories of my discovering Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness back when Sanity was a thing, and sharing “Welcome Home” and “10 Speed” with my mates, the hard times The Colour Before the Sun helped me get through, reviewing their more recent albums, the killer music videos, all of this flooded my mind in preparation for what I was to witness.
As amber lights dimly lit the stage, the band opened with “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3,” frontman Claudio Sanchez springing to life and bouncing around the stage in a fashion I was not expecting. From my knowing of the very private, reserved artist, to see him perform is another thing. With a quick guitar change for the frontman, a four-beat countdown from Josh Eppard on drums, they burst into “10 Speed (of God’s Blood and Burial),” perfectly nailing the track, rivalling the studio version.
The set was a walkthrough the band’s lore and discography, including tracks from Good Apollo, The Afterman: Descension, Vaxis II, and last year’s The Father of Make Believe, skilfully selected to showcase both fan favs and guaranteed hits for new listeners with tracks like “Shoulders,” “Liars Club,” “Blind Side Johnny,” and “Blood Red Summer.”
But “A Favor House Atlantic” really stirred the nostalgia up to 11, the intro ringing through the BEC. If there were ever a Coheed and Cambria song that deserved re-recording, this is it. The classic studio version is amazing, but with the band’s maturity added into the mix, the song live is perfected. But it wouldn’t be a Coheed and Cambria set without the song that started it all for me — “Welcome Home.” Armed with his signature double guitar, Claudio leads the charge at the front of the stage, pinch harmonics wavering through the air as the battle march of a track thunders through the amphitheatre.
This was not enough Coheed for me, I need a headlining tour. I was left selfishly wanting more yet knowing what was coming next, I accepted the gift of finally experiencing Coheed and Cambria live for the first time. And they were unequivocally amazing.
Playing an entire EP while the stage is being set is an interesting choice, but honestly, it actually works through the BEC PA! Maybe this is how the STATICA EP was meant to be experienced? With as much negative feedback as it received, I genuinely didn’t dislike it. I could see what they were going for. But as the EP played, the stage widened to reveal a grey backdrop either side of the stage, with the centrepiece being a QR code surrounded by shadowed humanoid beings, the words “Avenged Sevenfold Light Show” above. Ominous.
Zacky and Synyster took the stage first, kicking off the set with “Nightmare” as Johnny followed suit, before Shadows took his place upon the stage. Brooks Wackerman took the mantle behind the drums, which sat behind bars in the centre of the backdrop. The boys were full of energy, delivering a tight, practiced opening track, which was followed by “Game Over.” This is when things got interesting — the mobile phones of those who scanned the QR code had become part of the lighting! Mobile torches lit up and flashed through the venue with the house lighting! A creative and interactive touch.
The show was not only musical, it was a visual experience too. The ever changing backdrop of the stage shifted and altered throughout the set, depicting stone columns and ceilings as lasers from the sound desk etched runes across them that faded during “Afterlife,” grotesque faces locked in expressions of agony and woe manifested and faded while a depiction of death filled the centre. The drum riser was also part of the experience, moving vertically throughout the set, sometimes above the lower display, sometimes hidden behind the bars of the clear displays.
While the visual experience was amazing, the music is what we came for. And the boys from Orange County, California did provide. There were some heartfelt moments with samples of The Rev’s vocals in “Afterlife,” and “Seize the Day” (which had been exchanged for “So Far Away” from Sydney’s set list) being dedicated to their fallen brother. The set included some more recent material but the band definitely leaned onto the more memorable tracks, a strong choice but disregarding the newer songs. “Nobody” from 2023’s Life Is But a Dream… was a great balance of visual and audible experience, as the laser and light show blazed as if it was part of the band itself.
“You guys are fucking quite but here’s the thing, we’re gonna play another song we didn’t play in Sydney because we love you a lot,” called Shadows to the crowd, “This songs of City of Evil, and if you don’t know it, we’re never playing it again.” “M.I.A.” is an absolute crowd pleasure, but as the track winds down, Shadows gets down to the barrier and calls on a member of the crowd to close the song up as he mingles and shakes the hands of the fans lucky enough to be at the front.
“Gunslinger” and “Hail to the King” are up next, with the entire crowd cheering “HAIL” in the latter track. “We’ve all got shit to do tomorrow but right now is our fucking time!” announces Shadows before stating they had three back to back tracks to close the set, starting with the massive “Bat Country,” followed by the even bigger “Unholy Confessions,” followed by a drum solo by Brooks Wackerman.
Avenged Sevenfold saved the best for last, the super cringey, campy, ludicrous and obscenely obscure “A Little Piece of Heaven,” complete with The Rev’s haunting vocals because they couldn’t do this track without Jimmy! The song about necrophilia and possession that we all banged back in the late 2000s because it was catchy as hell and we never batted an eyelid? It may still be creepy, cringey and campy, but fuck it’s still a banger!
After the band leave the stage, they are called back for an encore which felt more like a farewell with the super trippy, very artistic “Cosmic.” The visuals are absolutely stunning and while the track wouldn’t have been my choice for an encore, it’s definitely entertaining. I was expecting something like “Beast and the Harlot” but hey, not my gig!
Tonight ticked many a box. Thornhill, I owe you a redo so please come back soon! From what I caught, your spot on the bill was well deserved. Coheed and Cambria, and Avenged Sevenfold — thank you all for an evening of awesomeness on so many levels. In the words of M. Shadows, “Brisbane! Tonight was amazing and we’d love to do it again”
– GALLERY –
