Artwork by: Wes Lang

Style: Industrial Rock, Electronic Rock, Electronica (Clean Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Bring Me The Horizon, Motionless in White, Atreyu
Country: United States (California)
Release date: 23 July 2026

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Avenged Sevenfold are no strangers to alienating their fans. Despite elevating the band into the big leagues with radio hits “Bat Country” and “Beast and the Harlot”, City of Evil courted oodles of hate from OG fans who decried M. Shadows’ “emo” vocals and the distinct lack of the metalcore sound which had previously made them underground darlings. Further forays into country and Danny Elfman worship (“Dear God”, “A Little Piece of Heaven”) on their self-titled release did even less to win back haters, while Hail to the King landed them plenty of ridicule for playing a tad too close to their inspirations. Yet, much like UK heavyweights Bring Me The Horizon, these California raisins have always—for better or worse—marched to the beat of their own drum. Personally, I’ve been a fan of their pivot towards cosmic sci-fi-themed progressive metal, starting with 2016’s The Stage and metastasizing further on 2023’s Life Is But a Dream…, which saw the band plunging headlong into surreal compositions, reckless genre-mixing, and a more pronounced cocooning of their real-world performances in an electronic sheen.

All this is to say, when I heard their new EP, Statica, was an electronic record, I hardly (death)batted an eye. The writing had already been etching itself upon the wall, and last year’s single, “Magic” was nothing short of confirmation. Take into account the band’s more current focus on blockchain and NFTs, and one can see how a shift into the digital realm of Statica comes to be. But, as I’ve stated previously, I’ll always champion artistic bravery over safe and staid execution. The big question, of course, is whether Avenged Sevenfold’s new musical explorations continue to win me over. So grab your cyberdecks, plug in, and mind the black ice, chooms—we’re diving in.

Let’s start with the good: on the whole, the entirety of Statica’s eighteen minutes are vastly more listenable than “Magic”. The VGM-inspired tone sounds at home with the band’s electronic fixation, and despite cramming in a whole lot of bleeps, bloops, whirrs, and other textural hokum, there’s still a focus on actual instrumentation—though how much is synthesized and how much is the band actually performing, I couldn’t say. The band understand how to write hooky moments still; the drumming on “Statica” creates an infectious rhythm that lends some gravitas to the punchy, if repetitive, synth and offers a solid roadway for the song to travel along. Likewise on “Rejoice” and “Ashes”. This is hardly close to the expressive kitwork Brooks Wackerman showcased on Life Is But a Dream…, but there’s at least some pulse to it. Guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance dredge up some decent riffs on “Rejoice”, and they sketch some color throughout the album’s background. However, the duo’s trademark virtuosity and centering riffage is largely persona non grata here—expected, perhaps, from an electronic album, but disappointing all the same.

M. Shadows continues his effects-heavy vocal performance, sheathing his nasally cleans in robotic warbles and autotuned pitching. Considering the musical aims of the project, and the band’s ongoing direction, this is hardly news, and the approach more or less meshes within the cybersea of synthesizers and heavily affected instrumentation to create a unified sonic template. Of course, “works” doesn’t automatically translate to “enjoyable” and while I’d hesitate to label Statica a dumpster fire or the death knell elements of A7X’s fanbase (and the Metal reactosphere) would make it out to be, this is not a project I would necessarily return to. Much like Bring Me The Horizon’s 2019 EP Music To Listen To…, Statica feels like a detour rather than a prolonged stay. At least, I can only hope so: part of Avenged Sevenfold’s appeal lies in the creativity and strength of their instrumentation, especially as they’ve spiralled further and further into the progressive metal arena with The Stage and LIBaD. And while I can applaud the band for sticking to their weird guns and continuing to make the music they want rather than what they think we want, Statica’s sole interest feels tied to the “shock” of A7X releasing a strange electronica album, rather than any musical merit. There’s nothing particularly standout in any of the EP’s four tracks—again, aside from some decent rhythm setting by Wackerman. It’s otherwise very placid, very okay VGM worship ensorcelled by the band’s ongoing acid-trip aesthetics.

Avenged Sevenfold have done something few big mainstream “gateway” bands have: wield their clout to forge a path separate from expectations and fuelled entirely by their own desires. From scrappy metalcore to mainstream rock, heavy metal worship to spaced-out prog epics centered on virtual realities and AI—not to mention leaving the system behind for creative independence—the California quintet should stand as an example of what’s possible just by following your whims. Granted, those whims don’t always satisfy the rest of us, but that’s okay. In fact, that’s how it should be. While Statica is not representative of the experience I’d like to have with Avenged Sevenfold moving forward, I appreciate they at least are continuing to try new things. Maybe next time, they’ll try a little better, is all.

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Recommended tracks: Statica, Rejoice
You may also like: Four Stroke Baron, Doodseskader, Kaosis
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram

Label: Independent

Avenged Sevenfold is:
– M. Shadows (vocals)
– Zacky Vengeance (guitars)
– Synyster Gates (guitars)
– Johnny Christ (bass)
– Brooks Wackerman (drums)