History Music / CityOfEvil

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a7x_coe.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Even the cover is densely packed!]]

* GenreShift: "Sidewinder" switches suddenly from an epic metal song to a flamenco-ish accoustic rhythm after the last chorus, which ends with a gipsy jazz-inspired solo.

* TruckDriversGearChange: "Beast and the Harlot", of all songs, has a very poppy pitch rise in the last chorus. Needless to say, fans coming out of the dark metalcore album ''Waking the Fallen'' were a bit taken aback. According to the band, this was done to smooth out the transition between the final chorus and the outro ([[BookEnds a repeat of the intro]]), which were in different keys.

''City of Evil'' is the third album by HeavyMetal band Music/AvengedSevenfold, released in 2005. This album marks the band's transition from the scream-heavy metalcore of their first two records to a lighter but more technical and more melodic brand of alternative metal. This album (as well as its follow-up ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Avenged Sevenfold]]'') also marks the band's most commercially successful era, where they benefited from heavy airplay on MTV and took themselves far less seriously than in their early years or in TheNewTens; it's palpable not only in the band members' pseudo-thugish looks in that period, but also in the album's fast, unbridled, over-the-top and at times experimental compositions. The result is an extremely densely packed record where the band tried to see how all-out they could go, and was also the band's longest album (72 minutes) before ''Music/TheStage'' came out in 2016.

* M. Shadows – Vocals
* Synyster Gates − Lead guitar, backing vocals
* Zacky Vengeance − Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
* Johnny Christ − Bass guitar, backing vocals
* The Rev − Drums, backing vocals

It is their first of four albums released by Warner Bros. Records, as well as their best selling one (around three million copies worldwide). And the second-to-last featuring Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan at the drums.

* TruckDriversGearChange: "Beast and the Harlot", of all songs, has a very poppy pitch rise in the last chorus. Needless to say, fans coming out of the dark metalcore album ''Waking the Fallen'' were a bit taken aback. According to the band, this was done to smooth the transition between the final chorus and the outro ([[BookEnds a repeat of the intro]]), which were in different keys.

* TruckDriversGearChange: "Beast and the Harlot", of all songs, has a very poppy pitch rise in the last chorus. Needless to say, fans coming out of the dark metalcore album ''Waking the Fallen'' were a bit taken aback.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The whole story of "Strength of the World", where the protagonist's family is killed by outlaws and he'll dedicate his life to punish the murderers, no matter the cost. Once he does, he only feels sad and empty.

The album can be divided in two halves: the first five tracks have a heavy SpeedMetal vibe, sometimes even leaning into outright ThrashMetal, all peppered with PunkRock-inspired rhythms and breakdowns, and follow each other with little time to breathe (as in, there is absolutely zero pause between the the first, second and third tracks). The last five are generally slower but also longer and more epic − the shortest track of that part is just a little under 7 minutes − interspersed with orchestral parts.[[note]]Which might explain why, outside of M.I.A. none of the songs in the second half have ever been played live.[[/note]] The two parts are connected by the PowerBallad "Seize the Day", and even ''that'' song is pretty aggressive.

* GenreShift: "Sidewinder" switches suddenly from epic metal song to an accoustic Western-ish song after the last chorus, which ends with a gipsy jazz-inspired solo.

** In "Betrayed", the low-pitched, somber interlude between the first two verses is reminiscent of Pantera's song "Shedding Skin". The title itself comes from that same song's opening lyrics ("I was betrayed").

The album can be divided in two halves: the first five tracks have a heavy SpeedMetal vibe, sometimes even leaning into outright ThrashMetal, all peppered with PunkRock-inpired rhythms and breakdowns, and follow each other with little time to breathe (as in, there is absolutely zero pause between the the first, second and third tracks). The last five are generally slower but also longer and more epic − the shortest track of that part is just a little under 7 minutes − interspersed with orchestral parts.[[note]]Which might explain why, outside of M.I.A. none of the songs in the second half have ever been played live.[[/note]] The two parts are connected by the PowerBallad "Seize the Day", and even ''that'' song is pretty aggressive.

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: M. Shadows' pregnant wife is killed in a road accident out of nowhere in the music video for "Seize the Day".

* MoodWhiplash: "Sidewinder" switches suddenly from epic metal song to an accoustic Western-ish song after the last chorus, which ends with a gipsy jazz-inspired solo.

* SnakesAreSinister: "Sidewinder" from City of Evil is written from the point of view of a poisonous snake hunting its prey.

* MurderBallad: "Betrayed" tells the murder of Music/{{Pantera}} guitarist "Dimebag" Darell Abott (shot on stage in 2004, when [=A7X=] was just starting to work on ''City of Evil'') from the point of view of the killer, a witness, and Darell himself.