The album "Nightmare" by the band Avenged Sevenfold was released on July 27, 2010 !!
It is an album that was born into a huge tragedy and is considered by the fans as well as by the band itself, to be one of its darker and more emotional albums. This is the story of "Nightmare."
In December 2009, drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan was found dead in his home. At first, the cause of his death was unknown and investigators were unable to reach an unequivocal determination. But a year later it was announced that his death was the result of the use of a large number and variety of drugs and dangerous substances at once. It is not known if the drug use was done intentionally, as a suicide attempt, or simply excessive consumption.
After The Rev's death, the band considered breaking up and did not know how to move forward. They had already started working on the fifth album when The Rev was alive and even recorded several demos with him, but did not know what to do with it. A few months later and after receiving a lot of love and support from their fans, Avenged decided not to disappoint them and continue working on the album. Avenged fans are the kind of fans that are part of the band members. They are total! They love! They are imbued with passion !! Clear evidence of that we saw during the band's performance in Israel in 2019, even the band was shocked by the amount of love, and the audience's support and knowledge of the song's lyrics.
The band described the album as:
"Most personal and epic that will definitely take you on a very dark journey."
(Photo: IMDB)
The album was originally intended to be a dark and heavy concept album, but given the circumstances, it has changed slightly and deviated from its trajectory. The dark atmosphere did not have to be created, it was born of itself. After the tragedy, most of the lyrics on the album hovered around the life and death of REV.
The huge drummer Mike Portnoy who was then a member of the "Dream Theater", whom the band members adored, did not hesitate for a moment when the band members asked him to get into REV's shoes. He entered a family that welcomed him with open arms and he in return gave respect and appreciation to the late drummer. Mike said he did his best to stick to the demos The Rev recorded and stick to his playing style in songs he did not record. REV still gets a presence here on the album, in the writing of the drum roles and in backing vocals that are not foreign to Portnoy in the songs "Nightmare" and "Fiction".
The first single from the album was "Nightmare", it is one of two songs (the second "Danger Side") in which the lyrics remained as they were in the work on the album before the death of The Rev. The song refers to a man who has committed evil deeds in his life and is doomed to hell, M. Shadows sings the song from the point of view of the one who stays in hell. This song and "Buried Alive" are the only songs on the album that were not written on The Rev.
The second single released from the album is "Welcome to the Family", the lyrics were mostly written by The Rev, and when the band recorded the song, Shadow finished writing the lyrics.
The emotional ballad "So Far Away" was written entirely by guitarist Synyster Gates, originally the song was supposed to be written as a tribute to Syn's grandfather but in practice, after REV's death he changed the lyrics and dedicated the song to the legendary and beloved drummer. The video clip was shot at Huntington Beach where the band formed and from there, it moves to a studio where the rest of the band plays the song, with pictures and videos of REV appearing in the background.
The song "Victim" is actually a lament on The Rev, there is nothing to say but read the sad and moving words:
House full of roses
A letter on the stairs
A tape full of messages
For anyone who cares
Collage of broken words
And stories full of tears
Remembering your life
'Cause we wish that you were here
The song "Fiction" was written by The Rev just three days before his death. The song was originally named "Death", but the band changed it during the recordings. As we wrote, the song contains backing vocals performed by the drummer. The last sentence he wrote in the song and is also the last he wrote before his death, is simply chilling:
"I know you'll find your own way when I'm not with you"
The song that seals the album "The Rev" is a mourning song, in which the band members take out their grief and pain after the death of their friend. Is one of the band's longest songs.
The album cover has a tribute to the legendary drummer, while on the tombstone that appears on the front cover, there is the caption of the word FOREVER with the letters REV highlighted and prominent.
Hope we did not depress you too much but we tried to convey the feelings and emotions we believe that enveloped the band during the creation of this album, for a moment do not think that this album consists of crying ballads. On the contrary, it combines anger, vent, aggression, and a whole storm of emotions.
Now that you understand the content, listen to the music on: Spotify, Apple Music