Californian heavy metal stars Avenged Sevenfold introduced a progressive edge to their sound on the 2016 album The Stage, but that was a drop in the ocean compared to the mind-melting sonic evolution of Life Is – the band’s most creatively ambitious record to date. In between their seemingly impossible transitions into jazz, classical and electronica, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance prove yet again that they are one of the finest guitar duos working in modern metal, pairing razor-sharp riffing with the kind of arpeggios typified by shred masters like John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert.
