50 Most Underrated Albums of the 2000's (So Far): #26

26.Avenged Sevenfold-City of Evil (2005)

City of Evil is widely known as the record that launched Avenged Sevenfold into super-stardom, in large part due to the mainstream success of single "Bat Country". What City of Evil should be known for is being one of the best pure heavy metal/hard rock records to come out since the dawn of the new millennium. City of Evil saw Avenged Sevenfold pretty much abandoning the metalcore sound they favored on their first two records for a more old-school heavy metal/hard rock approach. The change in sound worked out beautifully for them as the subpar harsh vocals from M. Shadows are no longer in the equation and the unbelievable strength of their instrumentation is pushed into the spotlight. While the first half has some great fast-paced ragers including "Beast and the Harlot" and "Burn it Down", its the complexity of the seven-minute plus epics on the second half of this record that ultimately make City of Evil such an exhilarating listen. The last five tracks are simply astonishing with an abundance of great guitar leads, wild drumming and prominent bass lines that should silence anyone that believes that Avenged Sevenfold lacks talent as a band. City of Evil was a successful reinvention of sound for Avenged Sevenfold and as of right now, is the last consistently great record they put out.


Standout Tracks
1.Sidewinder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9lKttA3K5o
2.Beast and the Harlot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fM3ylFs3hs
3.The Wicked End http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VM4vNmSXkM