Live: Avenged Sevenfold in Fort Wayne

There\’s nothing like a fall Metal tour, especially when all four bands on the bill are of headline status. That\’s what Fort Wayne got when Avegned Sevenfold came to town with Volbeat, Killswitch Engage and Avatar and rocked the holy hell out of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. After sets from the first three bands that left the crowd rowdy, rambunctious, destroyed, exhausted and primed for more metal, the lights went down and AC/DC\’s “Back in Black” blared over the speakers and the fans lost it. Avenged kicked off their set with “Nightmare” and loaded the first six songs with tracks from their two most recent records. “Afterlife,” “Shepherd of Fire,” “Hail to the King,” “Buried Alive” and “God Hates Us” all found their way into the set early on. With a new record still in the works and the tour being a short, five or six date trek, the band reached deep into their catalog and pulled out some older tracks, much to the delight of the longtime fans. “Second Heartbeat,” “Gunslinger,” “Beast and the Harlot,” “Warmness of the Soul” and “Remenissions” were all in the set for the first time in years and the band sounded just as polished on the older tracks as if they\’d been playing them for years rather than waiting years to play them. It wouldn\’t be an Avenged show without an impressive stage show and the band didn\’t disappoint. With plenty of fire, pyro and a giant LED backing screen, the band didn\’t have as high-budget stage show and setup as they have in the past but it was still more than enough to keep fans happy and give them their money\’s worth. Plus, this more of a between-albums tour so they probably wanted to keep things under-wraps until the new record releases and then do a full-length, all-out stage show tour. In the end, when it was all said and done, there was something on this tour for Avenged fans from all eras. The band sounded great, singer M. Shadows\’ voice was better than ever and they did everything possible to get the fans involved in the show. If this is any sign of what\’s to come from the band on their upcoming tours, we\’re all in for one hell of a ride. -Reggie Edwards