Avenged Sevenfold have hardly lacked for ambition across their 24-year career. Plucky metalcore upstarts at the turn of the millennium, the Orange County band have since become leading lights in 21st Century metal, topping the charts at home with 2009's Nightmare and 2013's Hail To The King before unveiling a prog-flavoured masterpiece with 2016's The Stage.
The seven-year wait for a follow-up finally ended with the arrival of the gonzo epic Life Is But A Dream..., an album the band had been teasing as "influenced by Kanye West" and promised no shortage of twists and turns as A7X pushed the boat out stylistically and challenged themselves like never before.
