Yep, I've been MIA for quite a while on this blog. I've been too busy livin' large in a small world. It just so happened that the day I was able to get on this blog again is the same day as The Rev's 2nd death anniversary. Obviously, looking at my home page, the biggest tag for any of my posts is Avenged Sevenfold (yes I post a lot of stuff about the band.). This is supposed to be the second article I will write for the second issue of the school paper which was released on the 21st of December, but unfortunately, unlike
my previous article about Disturbed, this article didn't make it to the cut for either one of these two reasons: my editor wasn't able to submit my article on time, or the school paper moderator is such a Catcher in the Rye who doesn't want students to listen to a heavy metal band called Avenged Sevenfold. I'm not really sure about the reason, so I'd better go and ask my editor. Anyway, I have this blog where I can publish whatever the fuck I want. Sorry to keep you guys hanging, but here's the article if you've been patient enough to actually read the whole thing that came before this sentence.
Note: Some parts of the article have been edited.
[Text] represents stuff that was supposed to be for the school paper but I erased because of the passage of time and [Text] represents stuff I added to be appropriate for this blog and stuff that isn't safe for school paper publishing.
Christmas [is coming] [has already passed] and [so is] the end of the year 2011 [is coming soon]. Time has gone by so fast that I never really felt the clock tick and the minutes pass. It’s as though New Year’s Day of 2011 was just yesterday. It was just yesterday when fireworks lit the sky and filled the silence of the cool yuletide nights of 2010. Sometimes, I don’t even notice anymore that I woke up to a new month, and just when I was typing this article to be published for the school paper, I realized that November was already about to end and that it’s been a month since classes resumed from the semestral break. And then, I realized another thing. Since Christmas of 2011 has already passed [is drawing near], the second death anniversary of James Owen "The Rev" Sullivan , the drummer of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which would be on the 28th of December, would inevitably come soon after. He died at the young age of 28 due to an overdose of pain-relieving drugs. He also suffered from a condition called cardiomegaly, also known as an enlarged heart.
The band was working on a new record (Nightmare, released in 2010) when this tragedy rocked their lives. Sullivan was found dead in his home on that fateful day. Stricken with grief over the loss of a brother, they have, at some point, considered disbanding. To them, even if they weren’t related by blood, their friendship has been so profound that they have already considered themselves brothers. However, they decided to move on and continue working on the record, which eventually turned out to be one of the most emotional, moving records yet about a tribute to a fallen brother. Nightmare features two notable songs that are so different from the rest of the otherwise angry record: So Far Away and Fiction.
So Far Away, a powerfully poignant rock ballad,is the first song that lead guitarist Brian Haner Jr. (Synyster Gates) has ever written for the band, and for a first composition, he did an amazing job with powerful guitar riffs and profoundly emotional lyrics. It is quite evident that he put into this song all his heart and soul for his best friend. The music video, which shows flashbacks of the times they have spent all together, is just as tear jerking. Additionally, Syn also wrote the song in honor of his grandfather. No matter how sorrowful the lyrics may be, in the end, Syn took on a more optimistic tone when he wrote about his friend being in heaven and how all his pain is gone, while God will let him see his friend Jimmy (and his grandfather) alive and well when the time is right.
"Jimmy wasn't addicted to anything; he was addicted to life. He was a shooting star, and those things [fucking] burn out quickly." - Synyster Gates
Fiction, a hauntingly beautiful song and the only one in the whole album that does not feature any of Syn’s powerful guitar riffs, is the last song that Jimmy ever wrote for the band before he passed away three days later. [It's quite tragic that he handed over the demo on Christmas Day. I can only imagine the grief-stricken, bereft looks on the faces of the band members, especially Synyster Gates his best friend, as they read the lyrics to the song.] The song started off with the title
Deathand was later changed to
Fiction, a name that Jimmy gave himself, and he gave himself the nickname because, according to him, if he were ever to tell his story, no one would really believe him. The song also features his intense vocals and his piano playing. He already knew since he was a teenager diagnosed with cardiomegaly that he was sure of two things: that he will become a rock star [that this shit will change the world] and that he will not live to 30. It is mind-blowing to know that he was able to accept such a sad truth and that he took it in stride despite the pain that comes with cardiomegaly. In the song, he talks about his friends and the people he will leave behind. He only knew too well that his time is almost up. Later in the song, after the transition of the piano from a melancholic to tranquil tune, he assures all the people he loves that they will all find their own way when he’s gone.
“So tell everybody, the ones who walk beside me, yeah
I know you'll find your own way
When I'm not with you tonight” - Fiction
Overall, the record is one of the darkest and heaviest that Avenged Sevenfold have ever come up with in relation to their grief. It features more powerful guitar solos than those in the previous records they have done and many screaming vocals. The messages mostly consist of despair with a hint of optimism [which is apparent in
So Far Away] and a profound questioning of God and his plans [in
God Hates Us]. There really are points in our lives when we are so down, and sometimes, we question why all of these horrible things have to happen. We sometimes lose our faith, but in the end, things will come around if only we have the optimism to believe that they will. Avenged Sevenfold are an epitome of the human resilience, fortitude, and the ability to do amazing things despite life’s difficulties. More than the angry and sad songs, the screaming, and the powerful guitar riffs are the lessons that can be learned from this record, such as the ephemeral nature of everything around us and the inevitable reality of death. So ephemeral is everything that sometimes, we no longer realize the quick passing of time, and thus, the quick passing of everything. Sometimes, everything just goes by too fast that we never really know when the things and people we love will go. Unfortunately, that is something we will have to face at one point or another in our lives. The only thing we could do is to live our lives to the fullest no matter how short or long is the time that has been given for us to stay in this world. But in the end, the only things that are permanent are love, the friendships we have made, family, and God himself. Someday, we will all unite as one big family in the heavens for the rest of eternity.
“I love you, you were ready
The pain is strong and urges rise
But I'll see you when He lets me
Your pain is gone, your hands untied…” – So Far Away
Additional Trivia: Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater was hired to replace James Sullivan as drummer for the album Nightmare but had to leave soon because he is going to resume work for his own band. Arin Ilejay, the second replacement who is currently playing for Avenged Sevenfold as the supporting drummer, is of Filipino, Mexican, American, Dutch, and German descent. [This is more proof that the talents of Filipinos are everywhere, even in heavy metal bands such as Avenged Sevenfold. Thanks Arin, for making me even more proud to be Filipino.]
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