Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But A Dream Songs

Avenged Sevenfold's new album was released on June 2, 2023, through Warner Records. This marks their first return to the label since the 2016 conflict.

Written and recorded over the period of 4 years, the album was produced by Joe Baressi and Avenged Sevenfold in Los Angeles.

Although the majority of the album was already recorded by the end of 2020, the pandemic prolonged the recording phase due to travel concerns.

The band started teasing new materials in early 2023 with an "online scavenger hunt" that initiated with their social media accounts being allegedly hacked. 

The hunt was centered around a Reddit user by the name "Libad5354", the suspected hacker of the band's social media platforms. He began hinting clues to the fans, with featured coordinates to music venues and soon.

Upon the conclusion of the scavenger hunt, fans were rewarded with an unlisted YouTube video that had a countdown set for 8 A.M. Pacific Time on March 14.

Later on, the legitimacy of the countdown video was confirmed by the band's official page and the lead single "Nobody" was released the following the termination of the countdown. It was accompanied by a stop-motion music video by Chris Hopewell. 

Thus, commencing the much-anticipated studio album Life Is but a Dream..., released seven years after its predecessor album.

Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But A Dream Tracklist includes 11 songs including an instrumental for a combined 53:21 long playlist.

The sprawling near-concept album explores what it truly means to be alive and conveys a message to live life to its fullest.

All of the songs were written by Brian Haner Jr, Zachary Baker, Mathew Sanders, Jonathan Seward, and Brooks Wackerman except where mentioned.

Similarly, the album was co-produced by Avenged Sevenfold alongside Joe Barresi.

1. Game Over

Game Over is the opening track from the band's eighth studio album which spans over 3:46 minutes.

It follows the tale of a man who eventually ends up killing himself.

2. Mattel

Mattel is a 5:30-minute-long song that appears as the second track on the playlist of Life Is But A Dream.

As Mattel is a renowned toy brand, the song expresses the toy world is a just analogy of the real world.

3. Nobody

Nobody was released on March 14, 2023, as a promotional single for the album and reached number 6 on US Billboard Mainstream Rock.

It depicts a tale of a person who realizes that he's beyond just a "human" implying he's everything.

4. We Love You

We Love You is the second single from the band and contains a 6:15-minute-long recording.

It talks about how we simultaneously build and destroy our own existence for all the wrong reasons.

5. Cosmic

With a recording time of 7:31 minutes, Cosmic is the album's longest track.

Cosmic takes the perspective of a dying person reassuring his lover that death is not the end.

6. Beautiful Morning

The sixth track on the album, Beautiful Morning, has a running time of 6:32 minutes.

As per the lyrics, Beautiful Morning offers a duality of beauty and nihilism.

• Writer - Haner, Baker, Sanders,  Seward, Wackerman, and James Sullivan

7. Easier

The seventh tune, lasting 3:37 minutes, is titled "Easier."

The song is a modification of the used 2006/2007 demo of the same name with significant changes in lyrics and style.

8. G

G is the eighth track from the album with a recording time of 3:37 minutes.

The lyrics depict a self-obsessed and delusional person who sees himself as a god-like figure.

9. (O)rdinary

(O)rdinary has a recording time of 2:52 minutes and it's the ninth track of the album.

The song depicts the tale of a robot who desires self-awareness and emotions.

10. (D)eath

A 3:19 minute-long recording, (D)eath is the tenth track of the album.

(D)eath resembles a voyage of a person who believes "life is but a dream" and takes his own life in the end.

11. Life Is but a Dream

Life Is but a Dream is an instrumental piano piece by the lead guitarist Brian Haner Jr.

It is the final track from the album and spans 4:29 minutes long.

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Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But A Dream received "universal acclaim" reviews from music critics.

At Album Of The Year (AOTY), which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 out of 100 based on 6 reviews.

Out of those six critics, Distorted Sound gave it a modest rating of 6/10, concluding with a statement as follows:

There are some wonderful moments of musicianship ... though these moments are not enough to outweigh the sentiment that this suite borders on nightmare fuel for many.

Sputnikmuisc praised "A bold reinvention that goes against everything mainstream rock and metal is doing at the minute.", giving the album a solid score of 4.5/5.

Similarly, all of the other major publications commended the album with "generally favorable" reviews whose scores can be seen in the table below.

On the other hand, the latest release garnered "mixed or average" reviews from the general public, receiving an underwhelming score of 53 out of 100 based on 441 ratings.

One of the verified users by the name "Tommy" expressed his opinion regarding the album, he stated:

The vocals aren't that interesting and it's a huge cluster of ideas that don't mesh at all. There's a uniqueness to it that I can at least respect but it doesn't make me like it in any way sadly.

Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But A Dream Album Cover was designed by Wes Lang, who had turned down multiple offers to collaborate over the years.

Years later, Lang began sending various art pieces inspired by the band's music. After listening to the recent demos, he sent an art cover to which the members claimed they were "blown away".

As one of the most recognizable logos in modern metal, the "death bat" has been featured in almost all of the Avenged Sevenfold's cover art and this one's no different, credited to Lang for masterminding the all-new Deathbat concept.

The end product is entirely made of black paint on a beige background. According to the band, it perfectly "encapsulated the theme of existentialism through visual art".

Wes's gloomy and monotone aesthetic perfectly complements the album's lyrics inspired by Albert Camus, who opposed Christianity and believed life to be devoid of meaning.

In addition, the record will be available on vinyl in 11 different color variations, the majority of which will be exclusive to a respective retailer.