Avenged Sevenfold's 2005 album City Of Evil was essentially the band's jumping point into becoming a household name. While the previous two albums focused a lot more on the heaver emo/screamo genre popular in the early 2000s, City Of Evil took a heavier radio rock approach, and considering where the band is it, it worked pretty well.
In an interview with Talk Is Jericho, guitarist Synyster Gates says he loves the record's sense of adventure, but "the choruses kind of blow."
I think the adventure on that record we did a really good job, but where we failed was a lot of the choruses. I think if you go to "Strength of the World," a song like that, the chorus isn’t that great, but you go into the bridge and other things and the catchier parts and the better melodies we were really focused on. I’m obsessed with great endings and crazy intros and stuff like that. I think we all are from what we’ve listened to and stuff, so I’ve always focused on great bridge melodies that just kind of naturally fit, or like a crazy ending at the end of "Seize the Day," something like that. But the choruses kind of blow.
Within 10 years, City Of Evil sold 2,500,000 copies worldwide and shows up on various editorial "Best Of" lists. So maybe the choruses aren't up to par in the band's eyes, but the album has certainly left its mark on the world.
