Life Is But A Dream
by Avenged Sevenfold

A concept I discovered with fragrances is that some things can be appreciated as art and creative, but not enjoyed. Something you are interested in smelling and evokes many thoughts, but would never wear. This album is that. I appreciate it, and there's bits I like, but overall it doesn't feel like something meant for listening enjoyment. Only the lead single is a song I've come back to.

What they're doing here they're doing well. The musicianship is excellent and the songwriting and production decisions have clear intent behind them. It's very experimental and they seem like they're having a lot of fun exploring ideas that a weird to them and weird in general. I hear a lot of Gabriel-era Genesis in here, as well as System of a Down, oddly, a combo I never would have thought to come out of this band, or any band for that matter.

But at what point do you as a listener confess that despite the good bits, they're not good enough to justify enduring all of the sections that are abrasive, discomforting, uninteresting, or just straight up sound bad? For me it was about 4 tracks in. There's no level of execution beyond what occurs here - I just wish it resonated with me more.

This is a very unique album that stands strong as an artistic piece but was not a particularly enjoyable listen. Keep doing what you're doing guys, you're clearly into it as I'm sure are plenty of other people, just not me.

It's not THAT bad, if only because you can tell they actually tried. It's clear that Avenged Sevenfold had a grand vision for this album, inspired on some level by artistry over industry. Unfortunately, they are an industry band, and they are unable to sufficiently distance themselves from that sound. A glossy hi-fi sheen is caked on top of this already shaky set of ill-informed musical ideas, making the band's performances sound dreadfully inauthentic. In addition to being held back by countless baffling production choices and unconvincing vocal performances, failure to execute an ambitious vision is this album's biggest failure.