Avenged Sevenfold

Openers Behind Crimson Eyes got the night going by playing to a very eager and anticipating crowd. Blasting through their five-song set with ease, these Victorians managed to amp up a somewhat-near capacity crowd by playing songs from their 2006 effort A Revelation for Despair while giving the crowd a taste of what’s to come from the new, to-be-titled album. While an abrupt set came to an end, Behind Crimson Eyes showed why they are one of Australia’s hot topics and will continue to be so.

Next to take the stage were Orange County locals Atreyu. With the dual vocal attack of both Alex Varkatzas and drummer Brandon Saller, Atreyu ripped through their set playing tracks like “Right Side of the Bed,” “Becoming the Bull” and “Blow,” much to their fans’ delight. After seeing them control every aspect of audience (even telling them to get down to their knees and then jump simultaneously), you could be forgiven to think that everybody at the Pavilion were here to see Atreyu and no one else.

If you ever needed to piss off a whole crowd of Sydneysiders who were already pissed, just do what Welsh metalcore quartet Bullet for My Valentine did: say that Brisbane is better at a gig than Sydney is. With more solos than you poke a stick at, Bullet tore through their songs mainly off their new album Scream Aim Fire while keeping diehards happy by playing some of their well-known songs, including “Tears Don’t Fall.” As the men from Wales walked off the stage, they left with very big shoes for Avenged Sevenfold to fill.

It would seem that a 20-minute interlude would be too much for fans to take, as screams of “A7X!” were being belted across the Pavilion for Avenged Sevenfold to come out. And come out they did. Walking across the stage wearing sunglasses, caps and even a bowtie for Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold personified the idea of touring rock stars, even being complimented with their own mini-bar. Even with Synyster Gates’ guitar problems, A7X put on a decent performance, even getting an audience member to sing “Walk." A7X must have caught on what Bullet were doing and egged the crowd on by comparing Sydney to Brisbane, but this only intensified the atmosphere, as the crowd absorbed all the energy that A7X were throwing back and more. With solos for every song, the highlight was “Seize the Day,” which got the whole crowd singing along with their lighters in unison, finishing off their set with the encore of “A Little Piece of Heaven.”

Not a bad way to spend your Wednesday night and $67...