All photos by Karolina E. Piwko
Huntington Beach-based Heavy Metallers Avenged Sevenfold’s popularity has grown fast. Their concert in Oslo was originally meant to take place at the venue Sentrum Scene, which can hold approximately 1750 people. The tickets were quickly sold out and the concert was moved to the much bigger venue, Oslo Spektrum, which has a maximum capacity of 9700. Live Nation had, however, limited the number of tickets to 6000, which were all sold out. Filled or not, the venue seemed packed.
To “The Sounds Of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel, Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X as they’re called) entered the stage, and soon the tones of the music box from the intro to the title-track of their latest album Nightmare (2010) could be heard. The crowd seemed for most part to consist of young teenagers, but it was an energetic crowd, and when the band started to play the entire venue started to jump in unison. A7X seems to have adopted the theatrical element to their shows, which is needed for this sized venue. The stage was set up like a scary graveyard to match the theme of the Nightmare album. Also, they included pyrotechnics for the new songs.
The band is known for their heavy songs with catchy choruses and twin guitar solos. Songs like “Critical Acclaim” off 2008’s Avenged Sevenfold and “Unholy Confessions” off 2003’s Waking The Fallen are heavy enough, but none of them got the crowd jumping like “God Hates Us” and “Buried Alive” off the new record. The young crowd in general was more familiar with the new stuff than the old.
In the middle of the set it was time for a heartfelt moment. Behind the drums they raised a giant backdrop with a picture of the band in a group hug with their late drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan. Vocalist M. Shadows held a short speech where he spoke some touching words about The Rev, how they struggled to record the new album without him, and how they were helped out by The Rev’s favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy. Afterwards, they played “So Far Away,” a song dedicated to the late drummer.
Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who played The Rev’s drum parts on Nightmare, was also the session drummer for this tour. Portnoy clearly had no problems playing to these songs, as he’s obviously used to playing more difficult stuff. At one point, he was showing off by throwing a drum stick off stage. It was quickly thrown back by a roadie, and Portnoy grabbed it and continued playing as if nothing had happened and the crowd applauded him.
One questionable thing about A7X is the constant usage of twin guitar solos. At this concert, at least two-thirds of the songs included this practice. Sometimes the perfect execution of unison playing of extremely fast solos was downright impressive, but in the end this element seemed a bit overused. It has, however, become one of A7X’s trademarks and has become something the fans will expect from the band. Therefore this element is either something you’ll love or hate; there is no middle ground.
This was A7X’s second show in Norway ever, and the last show of the European leg of the tour. M. Shadows had a surprise for the crowd:
“Imagine how great it will be when we come back in the summer!”
Judging by the way the crowd responded to the news of A7X’s return fans are most likely to see another sold-out show in six to seven months’ time.
Avenged Sevenfold setlist
Nightmare/Critical Acclaim/Welcome To The Family/Beast And The Harlot/Buried Alive/So Far Away/Afterlife/God Hates Us/Bat Country/Almost Easy
Encore: Seize The Day/Unholy Confessions
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