It has been a staggering twelve years since Avenged Sevenfold last touched down in Australia for Soundwave, and to say expectations were sky-high would be an understatement. When a band stays away that long, you naturally wonder: Will it be worth the wait? Do they still have the fire?
As it turns out, while they might have ditched the massive pyro setups of the past, the hunger and sheer intensity were more alive than ever. Brisbane showed up in a massive way, proving that some things are genuinely worth waiting over a decade for.
Kicking off the night were Melbourne’s own Thornhill, who wasted zero time trying to win over the early arrivals. No long, drawn-out banter between tracks, they let their dense, atmospheric heavy riffs do all the talking, instantly whipping the growing floor into a sweat-soaked frenzy.
Next up were Coheed and Cambria. On paper, mixing their progressive emo-rock sound with A7X’s heavy metal might have looked a bit mismatched, and you could tell the crowd took a couple of songs to warm up. But once they locked in, the set became something genuinely special. Tracks like In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 and Shoulders hit with immense power, and looking around, you could spot plenty of people realizing for the very first time just how tight and theatrical this band is live. Closing things out with an earth-shattering rendition of Welcome Home? Absolute perfection.
When the lights finally went down for Avenged Sevenfold, the sheer volume of the Brisbane crowd threatened to drown out the intro tape. Launching straight into Nightmare, the band proved they haven’t lost an ounce of their swagger.
The setlist was a masterclass spanning their entire history. We got crushing modern cuts from Life Is But a Dream…, with tracks like Game Over, Nobody, and the mind-bending Cosmic sounding even more massive in a live setting, alongside timeless anthems like Afterlife, Bat Country, and Hail to the King. For the die-hards, getting rare Brisbane treats like M.I.A. and Seize the Day (the latter lovingly dedicated to the late Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan) sent the adrenaline completely through the roof.
Synyster Gates remains an absolute freak of nature on the guitar; getting close enough to watch him trade riffs and feed off the energy of Zacky Vengeance and M. Shadows was worth the ticket price alone.
Avenged Sevenfold Brisbane Setlist
- Nightmare
- Game Over
- Afterlife
- Shepherd of Fire
- Buried Alive
- Seize the Day (Dedicated to Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan)
- Nobody
- M.I.A.
- Gunslinger
- Hail to the King
- Bat Country
- Unholy Confessions
- Drum Solo
- A Little Piece of Heaven
- Cosmic
What a night! Honestly, I haven’t seen a crowd have that much unhinged, chaotic fun in a long time. There are definitely some battered bodies, bruised ribs, and totally lost voices across Brisbane today. My only real gripe? Put the phones down, people! You’re supposed to be screaming your lungs out, not recording the whole thing through a screen.
Twelve years was far too long to keep us waiting. Come back soon, boys.
