History YMMV / AvengedSevenfold

* AuthorsSavingThrow: When the band released the single for their new song Mad Hatter, it was criticized by fans for its lackluster and rather uneven mix, especially when compared to their previous studio album. Less than a week after the track was released M. Shadows announced via Reddit that a new mix was set to replace the old version heard before, even offering a free download link for those who already purchased the Mad Hatter single or the Black Reign EP.

** During the writing of ''Nightmare'' Zacky vengeance said [[http://noisecreep.com/avenged-sevenfold-epic-record/ in an interview]] that their next record "[would] take you on a very dark journey" and that "only a world spinning out of control could inspire the music and vision [we] have now. Once again, it is f—ing exciting.” The Rev died a month after the interview.

** The song Brompton Cocktail. For those unaware, it was written by The Rev about a man who will die due to something wrong with him and is given a Brompton cocktail (a mix of morphine or heroin, cocaine, and alcohol) to relieve the pain. The Rev was found with [=OxyContin=], Valium, and alcohol in his system when he died; his enlarged heart was either considered part of the reason why he died, or [[EpilepticTrees he used them to make sure he wouldn't die suddenly from the aforementioned heart defect]].

* FridgeBrilliance: The album-title for "Hail To The King" can be seen as having two different meanings: The obvious meaning being that the album is just named after one of the songs on the album, and the less obvious being "This album is our tribute to some of the biggest bands in Rock and Metal". The fact that many of the songs sound similar to other bands' songs ("This Means War" sounds a lot like "Sad But True" by Metallica, and "Coming Home" has all the characteristics of a typical Iron Maiden song) only supports this.

** ''Hail to the King'' is somewhat less disliked now than when it came out, if only because ''The Stage'' eased some fans' fears that HTTK's simplified style would be a permanent change. Similarly, Arin Ilejay has its fair share of fans now that he's no longer in the band, some sympathizing with him for being unceremoniously "kicked out".

* {{Mondegreen}}: Fans are often stumped whether the chorus to "Almost Easy" has the lyrics "(Mother) Come back to me/It's almost easy" or "(I'm not) Come back to me/It's almost easy".

** By some extent, Rev's and M. Shadow's voices.

* HellIsThatNoise: The strident screeching guitar at the beginning of "I Won't See You Tonight Part 2", which imitates the static of a disfunctional radio, is pretty damn disturbing, especially when the song before that was a PowerBallad. Same goes for the dissonant cacophony that closes "And All Things Will End" on the same album.

* MostWonderfulSound: Syn's and Zack's guitar playing get a lot of love, but when it comes to the fans, '''everyone''' loves The Rev's "double ride thing" on songs, in particular on "Almost Easy". So much so that Brooks doing it himself in "Paradigm" [[https://youtu.be/RBQ5QBUEfaU?t=2m2s got a smile on his bandmates' faces.]]

* MostWonderfulSound: Syn's and Zack's guitar playing get a lot of love, but when it comes to the fans, '''everyone''' loves The Rev's "double ride thing" on songs, in particular on "Almost Easy".

** "Runaway", a rock n' roll cover of a largely forgotten 1961 hit from Del Shannon, featuring Warren Fitzgerald from The Vandals on guitar, and Zacky Vengeance on vocals. ''Zacky Vengeance on vocals''.

** "The Stage" is either a return to form for the band, featuring a more progressive metal approach to their songs, or overly pretentious trash that ruins M. Shadows voice.

* DorkAge: Quite a few fans seem to view the ''Hail to the King'' era as this, feeling that the album wasn't so much inspired by classic heavy metal bands as clumsily trying to imitate them, and making their sound more anthemic and arena-oriented didn't sit well with everyone. Matt later admitted that they were starting to be "burnt out and feeling like they were walking through the motions" in that period. Now whether this Dork Age ended with Brook's arrival and ''The Stage'' is another debate, but it seems to be seen as an improvement overall.

Also, the song [[TearJerker "Fiction"]] definitely counts even though it was released after his death, as it was the last song he wrote (although he had been working on it for a long time) and the song is told from the point of view of someone recently deceased saying goodbye to their loved ones. To add to the eeriness, it contains the very last vocal and piano tracks he ever recorded and is the only song on the album that features his voice and playing. Well that, and this quote:

** The theories in regards to The Rev's passing has always been speculated by fans. While most agree that his death was purely accidental (overdosing on his prescription medication for his enlarged heart) and the foreshadowing of "Fiction" and it's back story (along with ''all'' his songs being about death), some feel there's a possibility considering said foreshadowing of "Fiction" and of course, the fact Jimmy had been quoted saying he wouldn't live past 20.

* CrazyAwesome: '''The Rev.'''
** Taken UpToEleven with Pinkly Smooth.

* BrokenBase: The Avenged Sevenfold fandom comes in about four camps:

** It's [[HarsherInHindsight a little unsettling]] to hear The Rev say "You'll never see me again" in [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tPPM4UfWmk this interview]]. Also, the song [[TearJerker "Fiction"]] definitely counts even though it was released after his death, as it was the last song he wrote and the song is told from the point of view of someone recently deceased saying goodbye to their loved ones. To add to the eeriness, it contains the very last vocal and piano tracks he ever recorded and is the only song on the album that features his voice and playing. Well that, and this quote:
-->'''M. Shadows:''' "The new album, Nightmare, is dedicated to The Rev's memory and although it's not exactly a concept album, it does center around The Rev. The eeriest thing about it is there is a song on the album called "Fiction", which started out with the title [[FunnyAneurysmMoment "Death". And the song was the last song The Rev wrote for the album, and when he handed it in, he said, that’s it, that’s the last song for this record. And then 3 days later, he died]]."
** Not quite - he'd actually been writing the song for several years, referring to it as his masterpiece.

* ReplacementScrappy: Arin was this for some fans, who found him less skilled than The Rev. Often ignoring that the simpler drums on ''Hail to the King'' [[MisBlamed were a deliberate choice by the band.]]

** "Heretic" sounds like {{Music/Megadeth}}'s "Symphony of Destruction".