It has been three very long years, but Avenged Sevenfold has finally released a new album. After Nightmare was released in 2010 with many songs on that album being a tribute to their late drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, fans were uneasy and wondering what such an extreme loss would mean for the future of the band.

Though Jimmy is gone, the music still lives on through their latest album, Hail to the King. The wait was a long one, there’s no doubt about that, but it was worth every second.

Avenged Sevenfold is certainly back, and they’ve made quite an entrance back into the world of rock and roll with their new sound.

For those of us who are die hard Avenged Sevenfold fans, we know just how hard consistency sometimes is for them. Writing songs filled with overplaying of the drums, crazy guitar riffs, and Matt bellowing his heart out into the mic, we know that the only thing we can really expect is everything and anything under the sun.

For those of you who haven’t heard the album yet, just know that you won’t be hearing anything similar to “A Little Piece of Heaven” this time around.

The boys may have proudly sported black eyeliner and nail polish back in ’99, but 14 years later, they’ve finally matured into unquestionable gods of rock and roll, and they’ve nailed being able to incorporate classic rock into their already unique sound.

With bands like Led Zepplin, ACDC, Pantera, and Guns n Roses being their influences for this album, they’ve gone back to the roots of rock music and taken it above and beyond.

Of course, what would an Avenged Sevenfold album be without a few songs that force you to question the world we live in and our government?

Their lyrics, thankfully, haven’t lost their depth. Synyster Gates and Zack Vengeance’s guitar playing and solos are still impeccable, Johnny Christ is still powerfully able to hold the songs together with his bass playing abilities, and youngster Arin Ilejay (Jimmy’s replacement) is welcomed into the Avenged Sevenfold family with open arms. His technique is definitely very different from Jimmy’s, but it was done intentionally, and still does the band justice.

For those of you who want a taste of classic rock with a twist, give Hail to the King a chance. It’ll give you a great taste of the old and the new, but all of the good. Be sure that you give yourself exactly an hour of uninterrupted peace and quiet to get the full effect of the time and effort that was put into making this album just as great as fans hoped it would be after three years of anticipation.

All in all, Hail to the King gets a well deserved 5/5 stars.