After tasting commercial success with their 2005 major-label debut, City of Evil, which earned the group Best New Artist honors at the MTV Video Music Awards, Avenged Sevenfold stretched their pummeling metalcore into more user-friendly directions on their self-titled 2007 follow-up. To be sure, it’s not a total departure. The band still evokes an ultra-grimy Alice in Chains, cakes their music videos with ample fire and sings of biblical destruction. But this time out, they also nod to emo-pop, slow their choruses down to high-school prom tempos and even break out a Vocoderperhaps the most telling sign that this band, which once seemed confined to the Ozzfest circuit, is making a bid for greater pop relevancy. The group splits a 7:30 p.m. bill with Shinedown at the Rave tonight.
Avenged Sevenfold
Tonight @ the Rave - 7:30 p.m.
