![\"Avenged](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785173230_14_0x0.jpg\")
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LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – JUNE 18: M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold performs at Krianke on June 18, 2025 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (Photo by Mario Skraban\/Redferns)<\/p>\n
Redferns<\/p>\n
After proving themselves to be one of metal\u2019s most eclectic bands<\/a> on their daring 2023 LP, Life Is But a Dream…, Avenged Sevenfold\u2019s latest EP STATICA, hasn\u2019t been met with the same nuanced reaction from fans. Last week the Southern California metal band surprise released a brand new four track, 18 minute EP entitled STATICA. The EP was instantly met with harsh reactions<\/a> from fans with some criticizing the heavy use of autotune and the EP\u2019s overly ambiguous sonic direction. <\/p>\n How Is Avenged Sevenfold\u2019s New EP, STATICA?<\/p>\n Songs \u201cLIGHTS,\u201d \u201cSTATICA,\u201d \u201cREJOICE,\u201d and \u201cASHES\u201d take listeners through a whirlwind of hypnotic soundscapes, many of which feature an almost sci-fi-like atmosphere, from the band\u2019s use of synthesizers and dense electronic instrumentation. It\u2019s far from anything that Avenged Sevenfold has ever done including their previous LP, which at the time took an unconventional and bold direction into progressive songwriting. <\/p>\n Despite the litany of genres and influences that Avenged Sevenfold pack into this EP, there really isn\u2019t a lot to chew on. There are no memorable choruses, hooky instrumentals passages, or spellbinding solos, all which have been a part of the band\u2019s sonic identity, including on Life Is But a Dream\u2026 to an extent. <\/p>\n The opening track “LIGHTS” sounds like waiting room music to a more conventional A7X album. The two-minute track bleeds into the title track, which highlights one of the EP\u2019s main issues \u2013 the overuse of autotune and vocoders. Dial back these elements and the bones of these songs become more transparent. \u201cREJOICE\u201d for that matter, isn\u2019t all that bad. The groovy psychedelic track might\u2019ve been stronger if it wasn\u2019t for the distracting amount of autotune on Matt Shadows\u2019 vocals and the song\u2019s bizarre synthesizer melodies. <\/p>\n A similar anecdote can be said for closer \u201cASHES,\u201d though this track abruptly falls apart as soon as the verse vocals come in. In fact, \u201cASHES\u201d really exemplifies the issues this EP has with its meandering autotune melodies and incoherent electronic soundscapes. <\/p>\n It\u2019s certainly admirable that A7X are continuing to carve their own path and not appease to what the fans or industry wants from them. However, as metal fans have come to find out, it\u2019s not always to everyone\u2019s benefit when a band goes too far in an experimental direction. Lulu, Metallica\u2019s collaborative album with Lou Reed remains the prime example<\/a> of this. Avenged Sevenfold\u2019s STATICA might not be as outlandish or as blatantly bad as Lulu, but it\u2019s certainly not much better. <\/p>\n Verdict: 4\/10 <\/p>\n Bottom Line<\/p>\n While it\u2019s certainly not the EP most fans were hoping to hear, especially those who were dissatisfied with 2023\u2019s Life Is But a Dream…, Avenged Sevenfold choosing to surprise release this EP with no promotion was the best route to take this zany new project. By doing so it feels like this EP is artificially separated from their other work, including LIBAD, which is largely for the better. Avenged Sevenfold already proved they can take big experimental swings with an album like LIBAD, but with STATICA they prove it doesn\u2019t always result in something exceptionally profound. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA – JUNE 18: M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold performs at Krianke on June 18, 2025 in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":827362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,294413,134,400566,400568,3088,136,1771,400567],"class_list":["post-827361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-avenged-sevenfold","tag-entertainment","tag-life-is-but-a-dream","tag-matt-shadows","tag-metal","tag-music","tag-rock","tag-statica"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/827362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}