All Hail to the King for Avenged Sevenfold has returned to touring and with the most highly anticipated album of the year, “Hail to the King” which will be released August 23rd.

After missing their Lacrosse, WI date due to the venue not being able to handle the massive Death Bat and stage setup, Rock USA became the opening night for A7X. With temperatures reaching a heat index of over 110 degrees, the skies opened up and drenched the Rock USA grounds creating a mud bath, but this did not stop the fans from coming out.

After a 45-minute delay, A7X came out playing Nightmare, along with the blistering guitar work of Critical Acclaim. During Critical Acclaim, Zacky Vengeance & Synyster Gates came together for some fret work acrobatics. Playing a 10 song set and for only 1 hour (due to ROCK USA rules), they made sure to give the crowd their all with hits like Welcome to the Family, Almost Easy, and Buried Alive.

M. Shadows told the crowd they were a little rusty but the crowd did not care even as Gates played the opening notes of Hail to the King and you could hear a note missed. Love seeing a band not worry or have backing tracks to clean up mistakes, a live show is meant to be live and uncensored.

The whole crowd chanted along, “Hail” and raised their fist in the air. While there has been some question on the direction of the new song, I have no doubt this new album will be taking A7X to the next tier in rock that very few bands get to. Shadows asked the crowd, “Who plays Call of Duty?” and that they have a track on there called Carry On, which they played live for the first time. Drummer, Arin IIejay has been officially named as A7X’s drummer after touring with them since 2011 and has proven to be force on the drums that distinguish A7X sound.

Combining the drumming with Johnny Christ on Bass, you get that in-your-face pounding that snaps necks when head banging.

The night ended with Bat Country and Unholy Confessions that left fans chanting for more but that would be all for tonight. Fans will have to wait for the Headlining tour in October that kicks off in Chicago with the Deftones and Ghost B.C.

Review & Photos by Peter Lizano

 

 

 

 

 

 

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