The sudden death of their drummer, the rev, was a crippling moment for both the band in their personal lives. One thing that if people don’t know about avenged sevenfold is that they grew up as a band since the beginning. They don’t just hire people to be their band mates; they all have built a strong foundation in terms of relationships with one another. That is the reason why it was very hard for them to lose the rev. He was not just an awesome drummer but he was also a loving brother.
The new album, nightmare, which is made possible because of the fans, and a voluntary effort of legendary drummer, mike Portnoy, shows the exact emotional burden, the sadness that the group is currently experiencing. From the songs, “so far away” which is of very straightforward statement, visualizing when they are currently feeling right now, up to the classic rock anthem, “victim”, you know that there’s something going on. But despite of all the motions, they never failed to still project the very essence of avenged sevenfold. The originality and the heaviness is still there reaches in my opinion a miraculous feat that they accomplished as a group. Even though the rev is not here anymore, one should listen to the album, you’ll feel like he’s lurking behind you. Try listening to the song “fiction” in the middle of the night with no lights on. That was the last song that the rev gave them and is also a prophecy of his death.
