97. A Little Piece Of Heaven – Avenged Sevenfold

Hey TJ, can you summarise this song in just one word? Why yes I can, and thanks for asking. Intriguing. This is an incredibly intriguing song. Not only is this the longest song in this countdown (Yes, EVERYONE is now disappointed I’ve given away the length winner), but it’s also the one song that shifts styles the most, has the most spaced out meaning and is the only one that can have its genre described as ‘dark cabaret’.

Let me start again, A Little Piece Of Heaven is an incredibly good song, but it’s also amazingly disturbing. But TJ, surely NOTHING can be as disturbing as you make it out to be! Oh no? Well let me spell it out for you Tim;

• A guy has a very strong relationship with a woman.
• He kills the woman by stabbing her ‘fifty fucking times’.
• ‘Ripped her heart out right before her eyes’
• Preserves her body and consummates their relationship. Whilst she’s dead.
• Woman comes back from dead and kills HIM.
• They get married.
• Happy families.

Wow TJ, I see your point! Indeed you do, indeed you do. You see, this song shows the amazing versatility that Avenged Sevenfold embodies; it starts with a cabaret sounding (that stereotypical French sound, you know the one) before going into a heavier and much more ‘in your face’ beat. As the lyrics start, the song goes into a very stop-start rhythm which heavily accentuates the vocals in a way that make you focus on them. However, the way that M. Shadows delivers the vocals (superbly, I might add), and the way that the lyrics are constructed, adds an element of mystery about the vocals. As in, you know what they are saying, but you think “Certainly this can’t be what they are saying! Oh my! Change of topic, killer song!”  Shadows’ vocals in this song are also broken up by The Rev’s cutting voice in the pre-chorus. The way that his voice contrasts with that of Shadows’ adds yet another aspect to the song, all the while allowing it to keep the mystique of necrophilia and romance that it had before.

Close Competitors

Afterlife

This is the second A7X song I’m talking about that focuses on death. Geez, these guys need to up their Prozac dose. Regardless, this is the only Avenged Sevenfold song I can call beautiful. It deals with a lead character who feels that he has died before his time, leaving all that he loves behind. With the lead chorus lyrics being ‘I don’t belong here, we gotta move on dear, escape from this afterlife’, Shadows’ vocals reach a height that makes me feel like I can honestly sympathise with the point of view being put forward by the character. This song also carries the string arrangement seen in A Little Piece Of Heaven which makes the song much more gentle than it can be, seeing that it’s done by a metalcore band. But following the bridge, which features great backing vocals by The Rev, the signature guitar solo sound of Synyster Gates come into the song, giving it a far heavier and more brutal sound. Following this, the song goes back into the chorus where Shadows’ soaring vocals are once again heard, and once again leading me into goosebumps territory.

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