AVENGED SEVENFOLD are undoubtedly one of the hottest buzz bands in the scene right now. They’ve returned with a new album, Waking the Fallen, which proves that there is certainly substance to back up the hype. Not unlike SHADOWS FALL, the band incorporate a plethora of styles such as 80’s hard rock, thrash metal, Swedish melodic death metal (i.e. IN FLAMES, SOILWORK), metalcore, punk, and 80’s/90’s heavy metal. It’s impressive as to how they are successfully able to meld these influences into one catchy, cohesive monster. As diverse as the riffing is, vocalist M. Shadows is just as diverse. Not only can he do the high SOILWORK-esque screams, he can outsing much of the competition. You’re bound to have some of his vocal lines stuck in your head after a listen. Lead guitarist Synyster Gates deserves props for his tasteful, smoking leads. Mr. Gates demonstrates that he has definitely studied all sorts of different soloing techniques in good fashion. IRON MAIDEN fans will surely recognize the pure MAIDEN-esque melodic riffs on this album. The biggest criticism of Waking the Fallen is that there are a few songs that could’ve been excluded from the record because they are not on par with the rest of the material. This could’ve allowed for a 100% solid record. But the strong songs kick enough ass that the inclusion of these “lesser” songs seems forgivable. There are no repeated listens (or much thinking) necessary to get what they’re doing. When AVENGED SEVENFOLD are firing on all cylinders, it’s a beautiful thing. (Hopeless Records)