Avenged Sevenfold brings the 3rd leg of the Life Is But A Dream Tour to a close in Newark, New Jersey with a diverse lineup featuring Sullivan King and Poppy as support.
Most people would be celebrating Easter with their families eating spiral ham and hunting for easter eggs. Metalheads are not like most people. Thousands of people arrived at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey to catch legendary metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Hundreds of families decided to spend their Easter headbanging and singing along to some good old fashioned heavy metal. Taking the stage first was Sullivan King. Sullivan King is a DJ from Los Angeles, California who specializes in creating dubstep and EDM remixes and mashups of rock/metal songs. Sullivan King is also a gifted musician as he also is talented in guitar and bass. He has worked with artists such as Excision, Papa Roach and Matt McGuire the drummer of The Chainsmokers. Sullivan King has amassed just under one million monthly listeners on spotify.
Sullivan King came out on an absolutely massive DJ booth with dozens of visual projections on the screen hyping up the crowd. Sullivan King played mashups of beloved songs such as “Throne” by Bring Me The Horizon, “Dragula” by Rob Zombie and “B.Y.O.B.” by System Of A Down. Many fans did not know who Sullivan King was until today so hearing their reactions to all the metal classics was amazing to hear. Sullivan King also flexed his musical talent by coming down from his booth with a guitar and absolutely shredded. He also showed his vocal abilities by covering the breakdown from “THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” by Bad Omens. If you didn't know any better you would have thought he was in a metal band because his screams were absolutely stunning. All these tracks accompanied by pyro and a rainbow of lasers and strobe lights. Sullivan King closed out his set with “Watch The Crown Fall”. He demanded the pit to open up and a circle pit and wall of death occurred as Sullivan King held up a live torch as chaos ensued down below. Sullivan King thanked the crowd for a surreal set to close this tour and everyone prepared themselves for the main event.
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Finishing off the show was Grammy nominated band Avenged Sevenfold. Avenged Sevenfold is a heavy metal band formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California. The band is currently signed to Warner Records and currently consists of vocalist Matthew “M. Shadows” Sanders, rhythm guitarist Zachary “Zacky Vengeance” Baker, lead guitarist Brian “Synyster Gates” Haner Jr, bassist Jonathan “Johnny Christ” Steward and drummer Brooks Wackerman. Avenged Sevenfold have been metal giants for 25 years now and show no signs of slowing down. The band released their eighth studio album “Life Is But A Dream” on June 2nd, 2023. They have cited bands such as Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer as major influences. Multiple setbacks did not stop them from reaching greatness as they consistently tour arenas and large amphitheaters while amassing over ten million monthly listeners on spotify. Their most streamed song is “Hail To The King” which has over 570 million streams on spotify. This leg of the tour featured some deep cuts that haven’t played in years so fans were in for a special treat.
The set started with M. Shadows entered the stage in a black ski mask while Synyster Gates plucked away on his guitar to the intro of “Game Over”. “Game Over” is the intro track to “Life Is But A Dream”. The lights went dark except for a light on M. Shadows and fans noticed and deafened the arena with cheers. Next they played “Mattel” which was the next track on the album. A song that fans have quickly grown to love. M. Shadows greeted the crowd and asked if they wanted them to play some hits. The fans gave a rousing cheer and the band began playing fan favorite song “Afterlife” off their 2007 self titled album. Crowd surfers began to pour over the barricade as fans screamed the unforgettable chorus that has become a staple of the band since its release. Speaking of their biggest hits. Hail To The King was the next song up. The band got the crowd to chant “HAIL, HAIL, HAIL” punching their fists in the air. The classics were just starting and it was only halfway through the set.
M. Shadows thanked the crowd for coming out to the show on Easter Sunday and said he apologies that Jesus Christ himself couldn’t be in attendance. He then said we have bassist Johnny Christ to fill the void. The band and crowd got a good laugh from that. M. Shadows then asked if it was okay to turn back the clock to 2005. The crowd went insane as they knew it was time for some songs from “City Of Evil”. The band played “Blinded In Chains” a track that hasn’t been played since 2006 before this tour. Many fans were ecstatic as this was the first time hearing it live for most. Right after they played “Bat Country” from the same album. This song shows off the guitar work from Synyster Gates proving why he is one of the best to ever do it. They went into the hit song “Nightmare” from their 2010 album with the same name. It was chilling hearing a whole arena sing the famous line “IT'S YOUR F*CKING NIGHTMARE” a line embedded into the long history of Avenged Sevenfold.
The end of the set approached as Wackerman proved why he’s an award winning drummer as he slammed away to a solo from “Unholy Confessions”. Avenged Sevenfold also played “Save Me” which hasn't been played live since 2011 prior to this tour. Fans went crazy in the pit all night and kept security busy with crowd surfers. The band closed out with “Cosmic” , a seven minute ballad that amplifies everything great about the band. From guitar riffs and solos to the soothing vocals, this song was a great way to end the set. The band thanked everyone for a successful tour and promised we will see them again as soon as possible. The third leg to the tour was complete and fans anxiously wait for the legendary band to return once again.
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