Fantasy Concerts Vol. 3: Avenged Sevenfold - The Eras Set List
So I had this idea: What if a metal band did the Eras Tour?You know the one, Taylor Swift has led millions of Swifties across North, South America, Asia and Australia in a 40 song trip through every album in a show full of visuals and costumes that visually and sonically recall past albums and tours.Which metal bands could do this? What bands had a discography deep and varied enough to make such a show both worthwhile and interesting? I came up with four, the first of which were UK superstars Bring Me The Horizon (read here). Now we head across the Atlantic for modern metal masters Avenged Sevenfold. They certainly have the kind of eclectic songbook and visual presentation that would be cool. Wanna know what a AX7 Eras Set List would look, sound and feel like?Read on.The StageIt’s a dome shaped stage with a full size LED screen at the back. The stage floor is LED too, shaped like the death bat with the skull coming out from the main stage and the wings going out into the crowd on the sides. There’s an additional LED screen curved at the top of the dome, which displays the band’s name. The band's usual setup is accompanied by a space for strings and piano. Part 1: NightmareThe stage is covered with gravestones and smoke. The gravestone in front of the drum kit is illuminated to read “REV” before filling out to complete the word “foREVer”. The band kicks off ‘Nightmare’, with the stage still dark since only their stage places are illuminated by lights from the floor and pyro on the chorus. They go straight into ‘Welcome to the Family’ and all stage lights come on. There’s a pause for the intro to ‘God Hates Us’ with Gates and Vengeance picking up the riff, covered in red lights and smoke. Gates heads to the centre front of the stage for the intro to ‘Buried Alive’, accompanied by Vengeance, Christ and Shadows as their parts kick in. The string players take their place as Shadows talks to the crowd before ‘So Far Away’, acknowledging the fans and The Rev. The song is accompanied by black and white footage of their former drummer on and off stage. https://youtu.be/_5PxNkuCBUo?si=3iUlqRTCQdnf_U3XPart 2: Hail to the King / Self TitledThe gravestones are removed during the intro to ‘Shepherd of Fire’ (except The Rev one). The animatronic King DeathBat emerges from the back of the stage on its throne. There's an epic pyro for the chorus. Gates kicks off ‘Hail to the King’ with his lead, the screens showing historical kings and queens. The black and white images fade to white as the King DeathBat retreats and the band kicks straight into ‘Almost Easy’. https://youtu.be/2KQwahCsNLg?si=RJEaJU6I4oeXznCnThe screen changes to a giant organ for the intro to ‘Critical Acclaim’, before it’s covered with headlines about the band from over the years. Shadows emerges dressed all in white with a t-shirt that reads “Fuck Clones”. The strings return for the intro to ‘Afterlife’. Acrobats take the stage as ‘A Little Piece of Heaven’ kicks off, the screens changing to a carnival theme. The band wear hats to suit the song’s mood, with Shadows in a ring masters jacket.https://youtu.be/bDQLCne_CGg?si=uDVhJG63M8RS_uvgPart 3: The StageThe skull of the stage raises with Shadows on top, the organ intro to ‘The Stage’ giving the band a breather. Wackerman’s riser also goes up. The band join him on the stage’s wings. The other parts of the stage are taken up by the performers, who now appear as marionettes, who act out some of the violent scenes from the song's lyrics. They stay there for a brutal ‘Goddamn’ with the screens now zooming out to out of space with various animated galactic images. At animation depicts the end the interstellar DeathBat returns to earth and collides with the stage in a pyro explosion.https://youtu.be/dgzvl_Oa0w8?si=iPwuEV9knYyE3EKXPart 4: City of EvilThe stage returns to normal with the screens now depicting neon lights and images of naked men and women, plus rock stars. ‘Beast and the Harlot’ kicks off this section with strobe lights. During the breakdown, the DeathBat emerges with a sword. They go straight into ‘Blinded by Chains’ with the DeathBat now trapped by chains. The DeathBat is dragged off stage by the performers. Shadows takes a seat at the front of the stage, with Vengeance joining him to sing the intro to ‘Seize the Day’. For the solo, Gates is lifted on the stage from the previous section. Drones are released with LED lights as the band finishes this part with ‘Bat Country’. They form the DeathBat behind the band. The rear screen displays a first person perspective of a car driving out of the city and into the desert, eventually it crashes. https://youtu.be/bMwkLfsHj-c?si=Bl0Yal7r6N7gftA-Part 5: Life is But a DreamThe car crash stays on the screen as the words “GAME OVER” appear over the scene. It continues to flash as the band kick into ‘Game Over’, with Shadows now in a grim reaper style cloak. The screens display dystopian images, with the performers taking the stage in similar cloaks and skull masks. They play a sequence from the album, through ‘Mattel’, ‘Nobody’ and ‘Cosmic’. Songs are accompanied by lasers, CO2 blasts and smoke, rather than pyro. Matt pauses to thank the crowd for their support when “shit gets weird” and the band play ‘We Love You’. At the “Build” section, random pyro starts to go off. As Matt does the final “we love you”, the screen at the top of the dome “collapses ” and flames appear to encase Wackerman’s drum kit as Gates avoids a falling lighting rig. Roadies run onto the stage to put out the flames as band members leave the stage. The centre of the DeathBat stage also appears to fall apart and drops beneath the rest of the stage. Smoke and debris cover the stage.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHfF4ZMNpA0Part 6: Waking the FallenThe centre of the stage rises again to reveal Wackerman on a new drum kit. The rest of the band join around him, all playing at the front of the stage. The first song is a secret song, chosen from AX7 rarities: ‘Carry On’, ‘Mad Hatter’, ‘Walk (Pantera cover), ‘Flash of the Blade (Iron Maiden cover), ‘Crossroads’, ‘Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)’. With the band in a more intimate mode, they play ‘Chapter Four’ and close with ‘Unholy Confessions’, complete with B Stage confetti cannons. They wave and thank their fans for joining them on the journey so far. https://youtu.be/KrQQ9ffKqUA?si=KkWlUBoJwA54-CtOWhat do you think? Listen to the playlist below and let us know on our socials what you would keep or change!Avenged Sevenfold The Eras Set List(Intro)NightmareWelcome to the FamilyGod Hates UsBuried AliveSo Far Away(Interlude)Shepherd of Fire (King DeathBat)Hail to the KingAlmost EasyCritical AcclaimAfterlifeA Little Piece of Heaven(Interlude)The Stage (stage rises)Goddamn(Exist / City of Evil interlude)Beast and the Harlot (DeathBat on stage)Blinded in ChainsSeize the DayBat Country (drones)Game OverMattelNobodyCosmicWe Love You (stage collapse)(Move to front stage)Secret song: Carry OnChapter FourUnholy Confessions Concept and Words - KJ Draven (Twitter X and Instagram).
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4lZZYKdejwHh4EhKupH7wn
