There are two songs I don’t like on Nightmare (“God Hates Us” and “Natural Born Killer”), but other than those “Nightmare” is the worst track (and it’s still a good song). The title track is certainly the most well-known song on the album, and is always played at concerts, but it is actually one of my least favorite tracks on the record. Something that I think makes Nightmare special is the depth of good songs on the record. I especially love the bridge in this song, which harmonizes vocals and includes some cool little riffs. “Welcome to the Family” may not include the most intense drumming of any A7X song, it includes a lot of tough drumming elements while staying within the melodic framework of the track. While “Welcome to the Family” does employ some of the vocal elements seen in the band’s previous album, Avenged Sevenfold, the track is certainly different. “Welcome to the Family” is A7X’s best drumming song. Moving to lighter material: “Welcome to the Family.” While The Rev did not record any drums for Nightmare (Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy stepped in to record the drum tracks), he did write all of the drum arrangements (and recorded his backing vocals on several tracks and piano on “Fiction”). I feel the same way about The Rev, my favorite drummer of all time. There are many musicians whom I wish I could have seen, like John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley, and others. Here are those lyrics: “Never meant to leave this world alone I never meant to hurt the ones who cared And though this time I thought we’d just grow old You know, no one said it’s fair Tell my baby girl that it’s alright, I’ve sung my last song today Remind the Lord to leave his light on for me I’m free.” It’s so sad and depressing what happened to Sullivan, and it highlights the issues of mental illness and drug addiction that are far too common in music. Then, the song becomes more like a ballad, and the lyrics reflect a person who is no longer happy in his life. “Danger Line,” which is a relatively obscure track on the record, plays much like other Avenged Sevenfold songs until the fourth minute. I think, however, that another song from Nightmare provides the best interpretation of The Rev from that time. This song is regularly played at Avenged Sevenfold concerts as a tribute to The Rev, and when I saw the band last summer they played a recording of The Rev’s vocals from the song (along with his piano recording), with a light concentrated on an empty microphone. The song from Nightmare that has most often been used to exemplify The Rev in his final months is “ Fiction,” which he finished writing three days before he died. Regardless, it seemed that The Rev had saddening thoughts for years (like in the lyrics to “Brompton Cocktail,” from A7X’s 2007 self-titled album). There is one rumor that I haven’t seen any proof about that Sullivan was diagnosed with an enlarged heart at a young age, and was told that he would not live a long life. He had committed a drug-induced suicide, and some of the lyrics off Nightmare reflect his thoughts at the end of his life. He had independently written four of the songs that made their way onto Nightmare, along with four other tracks that he wrote with Shadows or Gates. He passed away a month into recording for Nightmare, at the end of 2009. In fact, The Rev was the primary songwriter for A7X. Original Avenged Sevenfold drummer Jimmy Sullivan helped form the band when he was 18 years old, and became one of a limited number of drummers who wrote more than drum tracks for songs. I personally like the first section best, but the song hits on so many difficult rock themes that every part is memorable. Shadows, is followed by a cool guitar solo, and then a heavier, more headbanging beat. If I had one wish to improve my limited guitar-playing skills enough to play any one song ever written, it would be “Buried Alive.” The slower tempo of the first four minutes of the track, which highlights vocalist M. Gates and Vengeance combine in the track “Buried Alive” from Nightmare to produce an incredible guitar song. Gates is one of my all-time favorite guitarists (along with the likes of Mark Tremonti and Slash), and his lengthy riffs and melodic solos are the best part of many A7X songs. The band employs two guitarists, Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance (the original members of Avenged Sevenfold all took on fake names), who share lead and rhythm guitar sections. Nightmare is my favorite album by Avenged Sevenfold, and it includes some of the best work by several phenomenal instrumentalists.īefore talking about The Rev, I’d like to focus on A7X’s guitarists. It is also one of the most disheartening records, due to the death of drummer Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan early in the recording process. Avenged Sevenfold’s 2010 album, Nightmare, is one of the best records of the 21st century.