Avenged Sevenfold

More than just another metalcore band, Avenged Sevenfold has switched its sound up so much — not just from album to album, but also from song to song — that it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the time changes, genre shifts, and all-out sucker punches. We're gonna try, though, from the hellcat howls and thick, fire-breathing riffs of such early fan favorites as "Darkness Surrounding," "Turn the Other Way," and "Unholy Confessions" to the note-nailing Guns N' Roses nods of "Seize the Day" (singer M. Shadows had the same vocal coach as Axl Rose) and the heated hooks of "Bat Country."

As for our Next Steps, it includes everything from a two-part epic to a Black Sabbath cover even Ozzy would approve of.

While many fans consider City of Evil the point where Avenged Sevenfold dropped their chord-chopping, mic-scorching metalcore sound for arena-ready hard rock, the Orange County band was already aiming for the rafters on their second album, Waking the Fallen. Take the 14-minute two-parter "I Won't See You Tonight," for instance: Aside from being a glaring example of the group's dueling, diamond-edged guitars, it hints at the Maiden melodies and sheer insanity of their later platters. And we're not just talking about the sword-swinging skeleton on City of Evil's cover. "Lost" coats its chorus in Cher-like effects; "Trashed and Scattered" and "Blinded In Chains" lift their licks straight from the Sunset Strip; and "Sidewinder" plunges us all down a post-hardcore rabbit hole for seven manic minutes.

When they formed at the tail end of the '90s, Avenged Sevenfold were still in high school, which got us thinking — how did they go from the demon-spawn delivery of their debut, 2001's Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, to such welcome detours as the country-fried Americana of "Dear God," the ravaged alt-rock of "Scream," and the Top 40-bound thrash of "Critical Acclaim"? Easy — they've always been that way. If you listen closely, there's a heartstring-tugging power ballad ("Warmness On the Soul") halfway through Trumpet, and its follow-up, Walking The Fallen, takes cues from the Black Album-era of Metallica ("Eternal Rest") and the New Wave of American Heavy Metal (see also: Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Killswitch Engage) they were right in the middle of cofounding.