The Stage
by Avenged Sevenfold
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Oct 28, 2016
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 77 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 77
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 77
  3. Negative: 3 out of 77
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Dat_One_Critic
    Nov 27, 2016
    10
    Great Album. It really stands out from their other albums. Avenged Sevenfold having no strings attached, being able to do work with capitol records gave them this great opportunity. I enjoyed this album all the way though. With Brooks Wackerman on the drums makes the album better. I dont believe the previous drummer would do as good as the new one. This is standout album and it needs to be bought.
  2. GerardistheWay
    Nov 28, 2016
    10
    Avenged Sevenfold's most focused work in years is also one of their smartest, most inventive, and addictive albums in their repertoire. Telling a cautionary tale about the replacement of humanity by artificial intelligence, the band fuses progressive rock style with their classic metal sound for a unique sonic experience you won't forget for a while. As I'm not yet finished listening to itAvenged Sevenfold's most focused work in years is also one of their smartest, most inventive, and addictive albums in their repertoire. Telling a cautionary tale about the replacement of humanity by artificial intelligence, the band fuses progressive rock style with their classic metal sound for a unique sonic experience you won't forget for a while. As I'm not yet finished listening to it I'll be posting a full review later on, but for right now I must say kudos, boys--you've won back a fan you were on the brink of losing.… Expand
  3. Xevon
    Jan 18, 2017
    6
    The Stage is an album that flips flops between good ideas and bad ones, ultimately crafting an uneven record with few consistently great songs and much tedium between the genuinely good bits. It's almost as if the album forgoes it's opportunity to be 'catchy' and deliberately goes in the opposite direction to prevent it. It's not to say that The Stage is a bad album, but perhapsThe Stage is an album that flips flops between good ideas and bad ones, ultimately crafting an uneven record with few consistently great songs and much tedium between the genuinely good bits. It's almost as if the album forgoes it's opportunity to be 'catchy' and deliberately goes in the opposite direction to prevent it. It's not to say that The Stage is a bad album, but perhaps distressingly middling for a band of this calibre. Even some of the albums highlight tracks such as 'God Damn' fail to reach the level of songwriting proficiency to be found on recent albums like Nightmare - The Stage seems too preoccupied with being a 'progressive' concept album to actually deliver the musical mastery we've come to expect from Avenged Sevenfold. The band is going to need to do a lot better than this next time around if they want to remain relevant within the Heavy Metal community.… Expand
  4. GamingReclaimer
    Dec 2, 2016
    4
    I feel that this album was very much like the band's previous album, Hail To The King. It was very different if you compare it to the bands original five albums and I personally do not like it anywhere near as much as I do the first five. Whether its the lack of The Rev I don't know but I really felt that they were missing something in these last 2 albums. I did like that it is aI feel that this album was very much like the band's previous album, Hail To The King. It was very different if you compare it to the bands original five albums and I personally do not like it anywhere near as much as I do the first five. Whether its the lack of The Rev I don't know but I really felt that they were missing something in these last 2 albums. I did like that it is a concept album though and the lyrics are deep but they certainly weren't A Little Piece Of Heaven's lyrics. I don't think they could ever do something like ALPOH in their current style which is unfortunate.… Expand
  5. JaneMetascore
    Dec 18, 2019
    0
    This music is no longer creative, it's just distortion, like it's Mao's distortion. This music is too sane in how it scams listeners into compliance. These songs have terrible choruses, like any moron could write a better one. These ballads are quite bad, too. This music fails to make a leap forward.
  6. Crankthatsnes
    Feb 13, 2017
    9
    Avenged Sevenfold manages to fit in all the best parts of previous albums while still exploring new regions of music craft never seen before "The Stage". It has it all really, from roaring vocals of M. Shadows in Paradigm to the soft spoken violins of "Roman Sky". The album tells a story of the entirety of the Universe and compacts it into 70 minutes of beautiful metal goodness.
  7. XenoJake
    Feb 8, 2017
    9
    The Stage presents itself as a triumphant Lion roaring into the maw of social commentary. Through an impressive marriage of musicianship and ideology, A7X have succeeded in the attempt to create a true Progressive concept album. The overtones and allusions made throughout the album seek to educate the listener on deeper levels of the Human consciousness and what it means to be apart of theThe Stage presents itself as a triumphant Lion roaring into the maw of social commentary. Through an impressive marriage of musicianship and ideology, A7X have succeeded in the attempt to create a true Progressive concept album. The overtones and allusions made throughout the album seek to educate the listener on deeper levels of the Human consciousness and what it means to be apart of the world in which we inhabit. In addition, The Stage is a huge improvement in musicianship after Hail To The King, and hearkens back to the days of City Of Evil. They even brought back Papa Gates for this one guys! The Stage is arguably my favorite album by A7X now, and deserves all its success and then some.… Expand
  8. darioacdc7
    Mar 21, 2023
    10
    By far the best Avenged Sevenfold album to date. The band peaks artistically and the compositions of the songs are just next level compared to previous albums.
  9. GUMbells
    Aug 26, 2017
    10
    I Love This Album. This Is One Of There Best Works No THERE BEST ALBUM EVER! I love The Theme of The Album Which Is Nuclear Annihilation, Space travel, Religion, How The Universe Is Made And A Lot More. I Do Recommend The Stage.
  10. eyslermara
    Oct 7, 2019
    10
    Brilliant and beautiful, this is my favorite avenged's album. They are so brave talking about those things that we usually ignore. Totally loved it
  11. Vladymir
    Apr 29, 2020
    10
    This is why I listen to music. This is art! This is what Metal can accomplish! It will be hard for A7X to top this one off.

Awards & Rankings

78
#78 Most Discussed Album of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
74

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Q Magazine
    Dec 13, 2016
    60
    Even if Avenged Sevenfold are guilty of occasionally overreaching in places here, it's undoubtedly made them more interesting. [Feb 2017, p.117]
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    Dec 9, 2016
    80
    It’s evident the band have begun a new chapter where they appreciate rather than become their influences. They’ve truly 
arrived.
    Read full review
  3. The Guardian
    Dec 8, 2016
    80
    They have blown the creative doors off, cramming an insane amount of ideas into 74 minutes of prog-metal bombast. Their knack for a chorus is as apparent on the shorter, sharper likes of Paradigm and God Damn, but it’s the outrageous opulence of towering ballads Higher and Roman Sky, and the overblown, starry-eyed Muse-ings of 16-minute closer Exist, that make this such a satisfying forward leap.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »