Life Is but a Dream...

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This article is about the Avenged Sevenfold album. For the Beyoncé documentary, see Life Is but a Dream. For the song, see Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
Life Is but a Dream...
File:Avenged Sevenfold - Life Is But a Dream cover art.jpg
Standard edition cover art by Wes Lang. The digital release does not include the band's name and album title on its cover art.
Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold
Released June 2, 2023 (2023-06-02)
Recorded 2018–2022
Studio
Genre
Length 53:21
Label Warner
Producer
Avenged Sevenfold chronology
Black Reign
(2018)		 Life Is but a Dream...
(2023)
Singles from Life Is but a Dream...

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Life Is but a Dream... is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on June 2, 2023, through Warner Records. Its release follows nearly seven years after its predecessor, The Stage (2016), marking the band's longest gap between studio albums to date. It is also the first album to feature contributions from their late drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan since Nightmare (2010). Similar to The Stage, Life Is but a Dream... was produced by the band with Joe Barresi. It marks the band's return to Warner following a legal dispute between the band and Warner Music in the mid-2010s.

Production

Writing and recording for Life Is but a Dream... began in 2018 and finished in 2022.[12] Recording took place at Henson Recording Studio in Los Angeles, producer Joe Barresi's House of Compression studio in Pasadena, California, and Costa Mesa Sound in Costa Mesa, California.[13] Much of the album was recorded by the end of 2020, though the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged the album's recording stage, primarily due to concerns about traveling. The band also expressed dissatisfaction towards the idea of releasing the album without being able to promote it with a tour.[14] The album was considered by Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows to be 70 percent complete in February 2021, with items such as mixing and recording orchestral sections still remaining.[15] The band worked with the 78-piece San Bernardino Symphony orchestra on the album, recording with them at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California.[13] The recording of the orchestral sections were finished in February 2022, with drummer Brooks Wackerman touting on social media that the album was now 90 percent complete.[16] Andy Wallace, the band's longtime mixer, finished mixing the album in September 2022,[17] with Wackerman stating on social media that the album would now be ready for release in 2023.[18]

Composition

Musically, Life Is but a Dream... has been described as avant-garde metal[19][20] and progressive metal.[20][21] Lyrically, the album was inspired by the writing and philosophy of Albert Camus, with existentialism and absurdism being two major themes throughout the album.[12] Camus' 1942 novella The Stranger was particularly influential on the lyrics for songs like "Nobody".[22] Shadows and guitarist Synyster Gates created a demo for "Nobody" after being inspired by a painting, also titled "Nobody", created by Wes Lang, who later led the art direction and created the cover art for Life Is but a Dream...[23] Shadows and Gates were also largely inspired by their experiences with psychedelic drugs, particularly 5-MeO-DMT.[24]

Promotion and release

Avenged Sevenfold began teasing new material in February 2023 with an online scavenger hunt that began with their social media accounts being supposedly hacked, claiming that certain upcoming appearances at music festivals were canceled.[25] The scavenger hunt was centered around a Reddit user named "Libad5343", the suspected hacker of the band's social media accounts, and their blog, which included articles written with ChatGPT and images generated by DALL-E 2.[12][25] Eventually, one of the clues featured coordinates leading to The Ritz, a music venue in San Jose, California, which had "Libad5343 Presents Nobody" written on its signage, with a hidden phrase instructing people to meet at the venue at midnight on March 6, 2023.[25] Upon the scavenger hunt being completed, fans were rewarded with an unlisted YouTube video that had a countdown set for 8 a.m. PT on March 14. Soon after, the band confirmed the legitimacy of the countdown video.[26] The lead single, "Nobody", was released on March 14, accompanied by a stop motion music video directed by Chris Hopewell. On the same day, the band also revealed the details for Life Is but a Dream..., including its release date and cover art, which was designed by Wes Lang.[12]

The album's second single, "We Love You", was released on May 12.[27][28] Three weeks before the album’s release, certain fans were able to hear the album early at an "immersive" paid listening event. The event took place at Area15 in Las Vegas, from May 11 to May 14, 2023.[29] The band announced on May 11 that they would also play a surprise concert, their first in 5 years, at Area15 the next day. The concert featured the live debut of the two singles, as well as album opener "Game Over".[30][31]

Life Is but a Dream... was released on June 2, 2023, through Warner Records in both digital and physical formats.[32] It is the band's first studio album to be released through Warner since Hail to the King (2013), as they released The Stage (2016) through Capitol Records following a legal battle with Warner Music.[33] Life Is but a Dream... includes 11 different color variations for its vinyl release, most of which are exclusive to a respective retailer.[34]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Zachary Baker, Brian Haner Jr., Matthew Sanders, Jonathan Seward, and Brooks Wackerman, except where noted. 

Life Is but a Dream... track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Game Over"   3:46
2. "Mattel"   5:30
3. "Nobody"   5:53
4. "We Love You"   6:15
5. "Cosmic"   7:31
6. "Beautiful Morning"   6:32
7. "Easier"   3:37
8. "G"   3:37
9. "(O)rdinary"   2:52
10. "(D)eath"   3:19
11. "Life Is but a Dream..." (instrumental) 4:29
Total length:
 53:21

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Life Is but a Dream...
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[35] 46
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[36] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 89
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[38] 81
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[39] 11
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[40] 61
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[41] 20
French Albums (SNEP)[42] 54
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[43] 27
Italian Albums (FIMI)[44] 77
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[45] 46
Japanese Rock Albums (Oricon)[46] 10
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[47] 43
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[48] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[49] 11
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[50] 53
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 36
UK Albums (OCC)[52] 21
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[53] 3
US Billboard 200[54] 13
5

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in German). Hung Medien.
  37. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  38. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in French). Hung Medien.
  39. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Avenged Sevenfold.
  40. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream..." (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2023-06-12/p/5" (in Japanese). Oricon.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Avenged Sevenfold – Life Is but a Dream...". Hung Medien.
  52. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  53. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  54. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Avenged Sevenfold.
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