Avenged Sevenfold has been through a lot in the past 3 years starting with their drummer The Rev dying from a drug overdose. After that they released “Nightmare” with drummer Mike Portnoy stepping in for the band. Eventually Avenged Sevenfold found their new drummer Arin IIejay who is now their permanent drummer. With Hail to the King which was released on Aug 27, 2013 they tried going for a classic heavy metal/hard rock sound which is what they achieved. Hail to the King is the first album written without the help of past drummer The Rev, this can be heard throughout the album as the drumming is simpler than before.
The CD opens up with the song Shepard of Fire which will be included in the new Black Ops 2 DLC. Shepard of Fire starts with an upbeat tempo played on the drums then swings into that classic Avenged sound which we all love. The next song Hail to the King which was the first single released from the new album sounds like something Metallica would of written from the early nineties. Coming Home kicks up the speed a little but keeps it heavy while also creating that catchy vibe that can be heard throughout the album. And for those who bought it the deluxe edition features a song dedicated to their past drummer The Rev entitled St. James. The song starts with the sound that would come from a bar but then instantly kicks it into full gears with very catchy guitar riffs. This song should have been put on the original album and shouldn’t have been a bonus track just because of how good it is. Hail to the King is defiantly an album to go out and buy, while many may say that Avenged Sevenfold has lost its touch this album surely proves all the critics wrong. I’ll give this album 9.5 out of 10 just because not all songs are my favorites but are still really good in general.