Avenged Sevenfold - Burn It Down

Producers are trying to resuscitate metal by injecting every adrenaline boost they can think of: speed drums, power solos and emo vocals. Here unfortunately, this means five long minutes that go nowhere; just as there might be something to hook you, they're off in another direction. Some bands can work the 'tour of rock' style pretty well, but this smacks of gimmickry rather than experimentation. The guitar sound is fuzzy where it should be heavy, they are apparently adverse to anything bordering on a bass sound and M. Shadows' vocals seem to suffer from a personality disorder. A bit like watching someone try to steal a Pantera album and tripping on the way out. [Caroline Hurley]