What is your opinion on "The Stage" album in its entirety?

[Cooper Brady]

So I don't even know if this thread will get seen, this being my first thread. But I listen to a lot of Avenged and The Stage is easily one of my favorite albums. However, I see a lot of people across the internet bashing it. I think the album is a masterpiece, but I'd love to hear you guy's opinions!

 

[Dominik Gräber]

First of all, Welcome!!

The Stage us a weird one for me, cause I really need to be in the mood for it. If I'm not I don't dig the Album too much. The Title track However is in my top 3 a7x Songs of all time!

 

[Andrew Milner]

Composition wise, The Stage is mouth-watering in certain areas, especially in the title song, the chorus for Sunny Disposition, everything in Paradigm and Higher, and many more.

That being said, as Dominik said, you kinda have to either be in the mood for the album or let it grow on you. I still dig it, though my favorite will always be the self-titled one.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

The vocals are the only thing i struggle with the stage. They sound too high for my taste. I think that's why I like Exist so much because almost the entire song is instrumental.

 

[idssdi]

Welcome!

I love the Stage, it's my favourite avenged record and one of my favourite records of all time (top 5 is like 4 beatles records and the stage ). There's just so many interesting stuff you can find on The stage and a lot of very cool chordal stuff as well and I dig that very much.

 

[Kim]

Hi and welcome. I love the album, probably my favourite from a7x

 

[Daniel Sobota]

I've already written many reviews and opinion pieces of the album on the band's sub-reddit, so I won't go in full detail.

I appreciate the composition and the songwriting aspects of it, but it just isn't what I want from an A7X album in certain parts. First 4 songs are bangers and have a consistent amount of good riffs and energy, but after that the album slows down and drags until Fermi Paradox and Exist.

For me, A7X is at its best when they mix the energy, aggression, sick thrashy riffs and melodic/anthemic aspect of the band, also more adventerous song structures (crazy intros, bridges and outros) and the gothic undertones they throw here and there. That's why WTF, COE and Nightmare are my Top 3 albums. While The Stage has some of those moments, it just doesn't hit in the right way as those other albums for me.

 

[Kat the metalhead]

For me personally it took a while to get into cuz I love fast and heavier stuff.

I've already written many reviews and opinion pieces of the album on the band's sub-reddit, so I won't go in full detail.

I appreciate the composition and the songwriting aspects of it, but it just isn't what I want from an A7X album in certain parts. First 4 songs are bangers and have a consistent amount of good riffs and energy, but after that the album slows down and drags until Fermi Paradox and Exist.

For me, A7X is at its best when they mix the energy, aggression, sick thrashy riffs and melodic/anthemic aspect of the band, also more adventerous song structures (crazy intros, bridges and outros) and the gothic undertones they throw here and there. That's why WTF, COE and Nightmare are my Top 3 albums. While The Stage has some of those moments, it just doesn't hit in the right way as those other albums for me.

I 100% agree with you! I prefer heavier music so I find the stage a little slow for me, like it’s good but not what I particularly like. I can really appreciate it just not my favourite album

 

[William B.]

I've honestly rarely if ever seen anyone hate on Avenged Sevenfold, like probably nothing. I like The Stage Album I got the Song Book, haven't opened much though. There's a lot to take in, I'm always changing my music throughout the day. My 2 favorite Solos that I can remember right now are Paradigm one where he ends like he breaks the bar and the guitar screams and the Solo on Exist at around 10:51 I think it's a guitar, the whole setup and aftermath is amazing to me. The riffs are tricky I tried a few, I'm probably going to listen to it again now. I heard some songs on 2 times speed, it's really cool. I haven't fully understood all the lyrics yet, I like how it sounds though. The added elements are nice too.

 

[Cooper Brady]

I want to start this reply by thanking every person who replied, it's awesome that so many people came out and everyone respectfully shared their opinions. Everybody had valid points instead of just saying the album was good or bad. So thank all of you for making my very first thread so enjoyable. The only other thing I was going to say was to share my views on the album and its songs. I believe that, as most of us agreed on, the album opens really strong. The first tracks are awesome and really aggressive. But I also feel like the slower tracks (Angels, Roman Sky, etc.) are some of Avenged's best ballads. And obviously the album ends incredibly with Fermi Paradox and Exist. So in other words, I'm a huge fan of every song on this album. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

 

[redlipsofdeceit]

I like everything A7X has put out so far. As some have said before, this album has to grow in you, and, personally, I'm not crazy about it. I know it has great songwriting, epic solos and stuff, but it's my least favorite. I haven't listened to the full album many times, 'cause you really have to be in the mood for it, and I personally think the other albums are better, especially the self-titled, which is a masterpiece.

 

[Dk6661]

When it first came out i didn't really care for it but it slowly grew on me the more i listened to it and nowadays its one of my favorite albums

 

[Gemma G.S.]

Welcome!!

And personally, I love it! I've always appreciated how adventurous they are, and this album, for me, showcased that quite beautifully.

 

[Daniel Verde]

I liked The Stage a lot when it came out, but over time it grew on me even more. Initially The Stage, Roman Sky, Fermi Paradox and Exist were the standout songs to me. But now I love that whole album start to finish. Angels and Higher are exceptional songs, Paradigm has very thought provoking lyrics... but really that whole album is great. And it features my favourite A7X album art, hands down. Sidenote, Nightmare is a close second for album art.

Sometimes great art takes time to understand thoroughly, or to fully appreciate. Having a certain expectation can throw off a first listen/play through of an album. A second listen with an open mind/understanding of what to expect can totally change your experience and perception. It can also affect you differently at different points in your life.

That's another thing that's cool about this album, and A7X as a band. They never make an album exactly like the one before. They keep it interesting, they evolve and they pull it off every single time. For me that is a true sign of great musicians.

 

[Ekrem Taha Ünlü]

Just masterpiece!

 

[William B.]

I just heard it straight through again, it's really good. Second song main riff sounds like a Boss theme to me, I'm not too good at remembering the names. I heard some of J.C.'s Bass riffs too, he really makes it sound thick. I was looking for that song Fermi Paradox, I think I got it confused with Planets when I tried to credit my inspiration for the backing progression on my Malefactor jam, I really like beat on that song. Angels too, is that PG at the end of Fermi Paradox? Sometimes SG sounds like he will go left but than he goes the other way, in Hip Hop they like that when you do that with the lyrics, like you think the sentence will end in apple pie, but instead he says strawberries or something.

 

[carlosmqr]

The Stage is my favourite together with Nightmare, they both distinct so like most of songs you need to be in a mood for what you want to listen, sometimes I need to listen to Nightmare, sometimes to The Stage. Funny tho, The Stage is the easiest A7X album for me to listen, maybe because is not so agressive and so dark like Nightmare for example. Another thing with The Stage is that it always "takes me somewhere", to a different mood cant really explain xD

And its true the album still gets a lot of hate on the internet, wich is sad to me, because is an amazing(masterpiece) album and I think the guys show on this album how amazing they are as musicians IMO.

 

[Jamie London]

Our relationship is complicated I always enjoy The Stage to some level or another, some days it’s just much more, some days it’s less. It does feature some of my favorite a7x songs (Fermi, being my favorite from the album, Paradigm, and Dose). I suppose I just have to be in the right mood for it. Some days I have to skip around on it, other days I can listen straight through and have a blast. All around it’s an incredibly well thought out album, it just doesn’t totally hit every mark for me.

To this day, Self titled remains my favorite, it has been since its release. I know a lot of those songs have maybe been overplayed a bit, especially live, but that album as an album, from start to finish is near perfect to me. It’s heavy at some points, weird and bizarre at others, and tasty and catchy all the way around. It also features my favorite track of all time, A Little Piece of Heaven (thanks Jimmy). But I love it all, Gunslinger, Dear God, Lost, the entire album haha.