"Nobody" from the new album "Life is but a Dream"

There's a ton of shit to pick apart in that video - it's fucking brilliant for people who want meaning and cool as shit for people who just dig skeletons and cool visuals.

Great analysis, Rowan, and while I have quickly grown to kinda love the song, I can't disagree with ANY of your criticisms. I suspect they knew this would be divisive. Syn even half-joked with me once that "you may not like it... I *hope* you like it..." before kinda trailing off. I have no doubt THEY love it, but I think they knew some old-school fans would be challenged by it.

I also think (without evidence... yet) that there will be something for old and new fans alike buried in this one.

WE!
SHALL!
SEEEEEEEEE!

These guys are always entertaining in their reaction videos. Here they look at Nobody.

Would really love to hear everyone thoughts now that they’ve had some time to sit with the track a bit more. I’m gonna drop mine in just a bit

Alrighty! So I adore the song from front to back haha. Though to be fair, I may have been a bit more prepared for it. I think Matt's choice of vocal style is great and fits well with the twists and turns of the song as a whole, and lyrically it's probably his best to date. Syn's solo is obviously great, one of my favorites that he's done, if no my current favorite, if I'm being honest. I've seen some say that it's more simplified and others say they got lost during those first few listens. I think at its most base level the song is a bit more simple but that's offset by how layered it is, and there are layers galore here. Strings, vocal layers, sudden stops and starts, etc etc, which leads me into the drums. Someone on Twitter said my feelings about the drums perfectly which was something to the effect of "It's incredible to me how Brooks is able to play so in pocket while going ape shit at the same time". He's not going a million miles an hour, but he's playing what fits while keeping it out there and creative. If he was playing TS or COE style drums, the song would have been even more overwhelming for some than it already is. And he really pops off during that last minute while Syn solos. Their chemistry is fantastic and he starts doing some stuff that make me dizzy and cross eyed if I focus on it too long lol.

And there is very much some Kanye influence present on this one (we're talking about the music here, not the man), both production-wise and musically. The acapella part for instance, is totally a Kanye moment to my ears. Queen as well but more so Kanye imo, specifically "Kids See Ghosts", a project that he had with Kid Cudi, which dropped only one short album, but its a top 10 album of all time for me. Same with the brass that kicks in later in the song, it very much reminds me of the track "Blood on the Leaves" off of Kanye's album "Yeezus". Those two things alone can be off putting to someone. Again, the base floor of the song may be simple, but it is not a basic song. It's like a less is more approach, but with lots of layers. It makes the song sound open and yet chaotic, and I love that. It's something that Ye does so well, especially on "Yeezus".

All that said, it's not gonna be a song that lands for everyone by any means. I've seen a lot more folks coming around to it after a few days for sure, and that's great, but it isn't going to work for everyone, and that's ok! This is also why I'm so curious to know how everyone is feeling after having sometime with the song. Do you enjoy it more? Less? The Same? As long as everyone is able to stay kind and understanding of each other, which would never be an issue here, but on other, darker corners of the internet.. * shudders. But this isn't new for the fan base. This is every release. I will always remember the shit show that was the HTTK single release.. Now THAT was a divided and volatile fanbase lol.

Matt said that its not an everyday banger and more of a ride through anxiety and panic attacks. Their site says "Our new song “Nobody” is 6 minutes of tension, groove and dynamics. The song twists and turns beyond conventional songwriting and leans in on discomfort before letting go", and and I think those are prefect descriptions for it. The press release description for the album is "Avenged Sevenfold’s new album, Life Is But A Dream is a timeless work of art that blurs genres. Best served as a whole and consumed en masse to truly appreciate its musical breadth and sonic depth, it marks their boldest statement and most revolutionary work to date. Written and recorded over the span of 4 years, it was produced by Joe Barresi and Avenged Sevenfold in Los Angeles and mixed by Andy Wallace in the Poconos, PA. Inspired by Albert Camus’ The Stranger, the album is a journey through an existential crisis; a very personal exploration into the meaning, purpose and value of human existence with the anxiety of death always looming. Immerse into this experience…"

This album is going to be a hell of a trip. A very in depth musical journey. It's going to be wild and it's going to be weird. Even if you didn't enjoy "Nobody" I hope you'll listen to LIBAD with open minds and hearts and that you'll be able to find things that connect with YOU deeply, that you can love as all your own.

Great thoughts, Jamie!

I've always been more album than single, and when a single drops well ahead of an album, I try not to listen to it too much, out of fear it will hit differently as part of the whole album later, so I'm more or less done listening to this song for now. I got a good 10 spins out of it.

The opening riff is, to me, pure Pantera. Simple guitar part with a slow, plodding drum and bass groove. It could be the follow-up to "Walk" fitting in on Far Beyond Driven, where Dime was experimenting with noises a bit more as part of his riffing.

I do feel like the verse/chorus/verse/chorus bit goes a bit past welcome, but then the song shifts to an entirely different direction, with a whole different vibe and feel, which keeps it fresh. It's like how they described The Stage (song, not album), where they had two separate songs and decided to mash them together into one bigger, better song. Bigger, I don't know, but the transition works.

I like Matt's voice here, but I also understand why some people are afraid his voice is shot and others just plain don't like it. The vocal orchestrations with parts overlaying each other (before the Kanye/Queen part, as Jamie refers to it) is pure late-period Savatage, whether they realize it or not. Listen to "Chance" by them to know what I mean.

Syn's playing is technical and yet ethereal at the same time. The solo is stunning in so many ways. Few can weave in and out of key, dropping outside notes and then getting back on track with the confidence he can, and when he slows down at all, his phrasing is just so tasty sweet.

I love all the orchestration and strings, too. It's a great song that isn't perfect, and was clearly going to be divisive among the fanbase, which (as we all know by now) they fucking live for.

I remain VERY excited for the larger picture.

Ed Seith said:

Great thoughts, Jamie!

I've always been more album than single, and when a single drops well ahead of an album, I try not to listen to it too much, out of fear it will hit differently as part of the whole album later, so I'm more or less done listening to this song for now. I got a good 10 spins out of it.

The opening riff is, to me, pure Pantera. Simple guitar part with a slow, plodding drum and bass groove. It could be the follow-up to "Walk" fitting in on Far Beyond Driven, where Dime was experimenting with noises a bit more as part of his riffing.

I do feel like the verse/chorus/verse/chorus bit goes a bit past welcome, but then the song shifts to an entirely different direction, with a whole different vibe and feel, which keeps it fresh. It's like how they described The Stage (song, not album), where they had two separate songs and decided to mash them together into one bigger, better song. Bigger, I don't know, but the transition works.

I like Matt's voice here, but I also understand why some people are afraid his voice is shot and others just plain don't like it. The vocal orchestrations with parts overlaying each other (before the Kanye/Queen part, as Jamie refers to it) is pure late-period Savatage, whether they realize it or not. Listen to "Chance" by them to know what I mean.

Syn's playing is technical and yet ethereal at the same time. The solo is stunning in so many ways. Few can weave in and out of key, dropping outside notes and then getting back on track with the confidence he can, and when he slows down at all, his phrasing is just so tasty sweet.

I love all the orchestration and strings, too. It's a great song that isn't perfect, and was clearly going to be divisive among the fanbase, which (as we all know by now) they fucking live for.

I remain VERY excited for the larger picture.

Click to expand...

VERY much in agreement about Pantera. So much groove, and I love that because sometimes groove oriented tracks can become too straight forward, and I know some feel this track is but certainly don’t! I remember on one of our livestreams, Syn brought up utilizing Dime’s sort of agression in his playing more on this album, so I think we’re gonna be hearing more of that, possibly in more unhinged and savage ways.

Agree with what you said about the verse and chorus as well. I think when you get the vocal one the chorus band them moments when the strings drop out and what not, all those little things keep it a bit more fresh for me then say, some of the stuff on HTTK.

Gonna check out Savatge today because I’m super intrigued now! Also agree about the strings. They almost have a Beatles quality to me in some moments and I love that. I think that something I really enjoy abut them, especially right before the solo, is the that song almost has this artificial feel to it for the first 4 min, the siren synth effect really drives that home, and I think that’s purposeful, and then as that ends and the strings come in and the solo starts, you get this very organic and natural feel for that last minute. Which is such a cool balance and is almost meta with what that incredible video portrays with the plastic and artificial daisies and rocks. We need a whole other thread to get into that beats of video because there’s some stuff there that’s just mindblowing!