Let’s not bury the lede here: I don’t like Avenged Sevenfold’s Statica EP. Having listened to it multiple times since it was surprise-released on Friday, I think it’s an overcooked misfire, burying potentially winning songs under goofy effects and enough Auto-Tune to make T-Pain go ‘bit much’. But I also respect the hell out of it.
Avenged didn’t need to make four tracks that evoke the feeling of tripping balls in a hall of mirrors. They’re Grammy-nominated Billboard 200 chart-toppers whose throwback sound – inspired by Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and SoCal hardcore – was revolutionary as nu metal ate itself. Waking The Fallen and City Of Evil are classic albums for countless millennials. They could have carried on, kept churning out pale imitations of hit singles Hail To The King and Afterlife, and they’d have kept filling arenas and headlining festivals. No problem.
