Hey everyone, I have been listening to LIBAD a lot since it came out. The album continues to grow on me more and more each day. I thought it would be cool if people shared their initial impressions, and if their opinion of the album has changed after multiple listens. To kick start the discussion, maybe share which songs stand out to you and why, let us know if you have a favorite too! Maybe you discovered something new about the album that you didn't notice initially?

As most of us here are guitar players, we probably all had a moment where we realized the album isn't going to be an hour long master class in how to be an amazing guitar player. Granted, Syn still manages to showcase incredible skill throughout LIBAD. For me, this was a shock to the system. But, I've always praised A7X for keeping each album fresh. No two albums are identical, and they always knock it out of the park. So I didn't want to sleep on LIBAD or write it off for being different.

Here's why I'm in to the album.
I found that after a several listens the album became less strange to me. What was initially bizarre just seemed commonplace, it simply made sense and felt natural. I often find myself waking up first thing in the morning and one of the songs is stuck in my head. I love waking up like this. I feel truly inspired, and I'm picking up my guitar more than I had been lately.
By extension, I've always dreamt of a collab between Buckethead and Daft Punk... I've said for the longest time if those two artists did a show together, that would be the ultimate thing for me. LIBAD clearly pays homage to Daft Punk amongst other artists, and while not going for a Buckethead style song, LIBAD is avant-guard to the point that I could draw comparisons to Bucket's work (namely Syn using synthesizer-like effects through his guitar, or things like whaling on the whammy bar in Game Over with a similar fashion to how Buckethead utilizes his kill-switch). Anyway, the album does something I've always imagined, combining the styles of artists that would otherwise never be associated with each other. It doesn't take shape in exactly the same way I'd imagine Buckethead and Daft Punk collaborating, but the elements of ostensibly different artists are brought together in an eclectic master piece.
Furthermore, I think that there's a lot of deep thought that went in to this album, some of which is initially clear, and some of which might go over our heads. On my first listen to Mattel, hearing the lyrics, "Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight" made me raise an eye brow and ask myself if that was a reference to Truman Show. Matt has since confirmed it was. I think it's cool that this music album references important works of art from other mediums such as film. The album apparently takes inspiration form the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus, which I read in high school and thoroughly enjoyed. But get this, LIBAD doesn't just reference movies and literature, it also draws upon the magic of commercials.
I was just listening to Game Over today, and I noticed there's a Folger's Coffee easter egg thing that I didn't catch until today. Everyone knows the line, "The best part of waking up is Folger's in your cup." Leave it to A7X to turn a stupid commercial in to a cool-whacky line from a song in the form of, "The bestest part of waking up (mundane ideation), this dark roast got me (so fucked up)." I can help but simultaneously laugh and rock out to that line. Fucking brilliant!

One final note before I open the floor, my favorite song is (O)rdinary and here's why. It's a Daft Punk song that tells the story of a robot coming to life. After all, who here doesn't feel their heart strings pulled at the end of Terminator 2 when the T-800 says, "I know now why you cry." That's why this is the best song on the LIBAD!

Okay, so I finally found what my original guitar is, it’s a Laguna LE50, matte black. And then my Cortez is a “lawsuit era” Strat. Anyone used a Laguna at all??
also the Cortez when I plugged it into the amp, I don’t crank the master volume up because I play in the early mornings and we have a neighbor on our left, but when I was turning up the volume it wouldn’t like turn on until I turned it to 8 and then it kinda cuts up so what do I need to to do to fix that??

Hi guys!
I’ve got a Schecter Synyster Standard from 2008, and I wanted to know if the newer models had the same neck profile?
Thanks in advance!

So I'm ordering my tickets to A7X's show in Tinley Park and I noticed the Stage Left Lounge pass that you can add on to it. I was wondering if anyone knows if I would need to buy that for everyone in my group or if I only need the one?

Pics from my first time seeing Avenged

Oh, and I got to meet Papa Gates at the Kia Forum show….that’s all

Has anyone listened to or heard of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard??

I really wish there was a way A7x could have a show in Charleston SC, the most shows I’ve seen that are closest than north Carolina is myrtle beach and I don’t even know if A7x is going to perform at the house of blues. But seriously, they have Ozzfest here

So, me and my friend are playing Little Piece Of Heaven at our last day of school on guitar I play lead and he plays rythm, but i went on youtube and i couldn't find any good backing tracks that dont have horrible sound quality, is homemade or is for guitars. does anyone know of a backing track for it for guitars? its on tuesday/20.06.23

as the title says, im thinking about buying a standard, its a used 2012 but its a really good deal, little over 430 dollars with a case awell. But i dont like the fretboard cause its rosewood i think and i prefer the look of the ebony fretboards and it has the hb108 detonators instead of the invaders and im not sure if theres that much of a difference, and also its got a floyd rose special which i think all standards do and ive watched some reviews and looked around and it seems alot of people dont like them cause after a while they get bad from wear and tear and ive heard that the whammy bar gets loose eventually. but ive also seen some few good reviews so im really not sure if i should wait and see if i can find a custom/custom s, i kind of want a sustaniac cause im a really big fan of so far away and i would love to be able to learn the solo. any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

No description

I recorded a cover of critical acclaim on guitar and I would like to hear criticism before record a video for it and post it to youtube. Login to view embedded media

Did syn use the HB108 Detonators, before invaders i imagine, and if not what did he use then or was it always invaders and now the synbuckers?

I am just wondering does anybody know how did Syn make BADASS scream on his guitar in nightmare performance around 4:34?
It is that performance from Holywood from capitol records tower
Login to view embedded media

What's up guys? Wanted to hear your thoughts on a demo I'm working on!

To skip the intro to the song, go to around 54 seconds
Login to view embedded media

Hello everyone. Hope everyone is doing well. I'm looking for a high gain distortion pedal. Any good recommendations without spending $200. Dollars. I have been looking at a used revv g3 distortion. Thanks.

Okay, so by now, most of you have heard Nobody and We Love You. A few more have heard/seen a live performance of Game Over, and a small handful were in Vegas with us this weekend and have heard the whole album. I'm gonna share some thoughts without getting too deep into it because some of it should be a surprise and no one wants these kinds of things spoiled or ruined for them.

First impression: Adventurous. They've been talking like they didn't care much if the album had any hits, that it was important for them to embrace a vision with no limits and go for it. They did. You thought ALPOH was stepping outside the lines? This beats the line with bricks and then somehow manages to find a way to screw it. There is stuff on this album that you will struggle to accept is our Avenged Sevenfold. There's a lot of piano (all played by Syn) and almost no keyboards - what will sound like keys is Syn with an amp, a table full of pedals, and a mad-scientist brain. He said it literally took him like 4 months of 12-hour days to translate all these tones into his AxeFX for touring.

There are places where everybody has a chance to shine. Brooks is on fire. What he plays under the solo in Mattel might be my favorite bit of his playing on the disc. Not because it's the most technically impressive (it's not), but it is really creative (to me) and fits perfectly under Syn's solo. Despite lots of places where Matt has heavy effect on his voice, it's not to "hide weakness" or anything. He shows loud and clear that he has full command of his voice and probably in a much wider tonal palette than he used to have, and he carried it live, too. Johnny gets to play around more than I think he ever has, and when I saw him after the show, I told him I was looking forward to seeing what kind of dancing he was gonna do while funking it up in (O)rdinary and he grinned ear to ear and came at me with a fist bump. He's grown a LOT as a player, but yeah, he's still short.

The song "Life is But a Dream" is not an "album closing epic progfest." I won't say more, but whatever you think it might be, you are wrong. I guaranfuckingtee it.

"Cosmic" will be the favorite for many, I expect. In feel and tone, it hews closest to The Stage, has beautiful lyrics, and possibly the best (3-part!) Syn solo ever. This solo is the one people are going to be killing themselves to cover first.

It is a broad album with a huge slate of influences. They love to cite Kanye as the biggest influence, but I heard a lot of other stuff, and when I looked through what Kanye's influences were, I got a better sense of it - to me, there's a lot of 70s style influencing it. Everything from Yes, Kansas and old Rush to ELO, the Beach Boys and Parliament - all filtered through Kanye's lens. No, it doesn't SOUND like a 70s record (or Yeezy), but to an old guy like me, it FEELS like one, in that back then, bands were more interested in throwing their fans a curveball and considering genre as "more like guidelines than actual rules" (Thx Capt Barbossa). On this record, the band is throwing a massive "FUCK OFF" to sub-sub-genre devotees and purists. You see some of that in what you've heard already, but they keep going.

If your idea of a good record is PURE METULZ like Metallica's 72 Seasons, you might be disappointed in some of this. But if you're Bilbo at heart and want to go on an adventure, this is your Precious.

Cooper Carter (the awesome dude who works with artists like Syn to help them accomplish their rig needs) just posted this today! Looking forward to seeing this as a Fractal user and just a gear head in general

Well wouldn’t you know , got New York MSG tickets even though requires flying in from Michigan — and new locations announced today including my local Pine Knob Amphitheater! Really hoping the A7X Meet and Greets can happen and if Syn wants to do Hang and Jam well we can go for that again . Any ideas ? Thx

Want to see where these five songs rank for everyone

It's been a while since I've had a chance to be active in the community but I just had to get on to share my excitement because I finally get to go see A7X in Chicago for the first time! I've been waiting so long for this and I'm so FREAKING EXCITED!!!!!!!!

Two questions for this thread.

1. What strings does both Syn and Zacky use? I'm always trying out different strings, and want to play some new A7X on their strings
2. What vocal effects are used on songs like Easier and Ordinary? It would be kind of cool to use them at gigs if possible

what if Exist turns to Nobody like the videos and story?

Brian's birthday is coming up in a little over a month. What should we get him?

Maybe everybody can send me their feet pics and we can make a happy birthday collage or something?
Only for the purpose of this present of course, not for my personal use

Hellooooo there
Just bought a Boss PS-6 pedal to make some harmonies and try to have the tone of Syn the goat and Zacky together.
If someone have this pedal i´m your student !
Thanks