I would like to start this week’s newsletter with a little bit of what is commonly known as ‘housekeeping’. I don’t really know why we call it that but I am generally bad at literal housekeeping so it stands to reason that I would be bad at it in a non-literal sense too. However, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate it when people share my writing (or like or comment on it) - if it helps more people see what I’m doing then it’s a wonderful thing. As you can tell, I am not great at being direct, but what I am trying to say is: if you read something you like here, please tell someone about it. I would be ever so grateful.
And now I will proceed to write about something that I believe there is a good chance that you won’t like, but if I’m lucky you will like the way I write about it so you won’t abandon me. We can only hope…
Trigger warning: fictional tales of rape and murder in the afterlife
You see, from experience I know that if I start to talk about Avenged Sevenfold in polite company they think I am joking or that I have suffered a ‘funny turn’. In some ways I don’t blame them, Avenged Sevenfold isn’t my usual cup of tea but I have a bafflingly strong affection for their self-titled 2007 album that I struggle to explain this fully. In particular the song A Little Piece of Heaven is so pleasing to me that I get a little shiver of euphoria whenever I listen to it. This missive does not seek to justify the existence of Avenged Sevenfold, nor do I anticipate being able to accurately explain the band’s place in musical history. All I know is that there is a slice of their back catalogue that I am enamoured with.
Last month, I was at a festival in Denmark and Avenged Sevenfold (or AX7 as some people call them, but not me) were on the bill. I professed my love for them unabashedly to the bemusement of my colleagues who I am pretty sure thought I was pulling their leg. I ended up not seeing them that night, but when I got back to my hotel room I did listen to A Little Piece of Heaven on my phone for the first time in quite a while. Even lying on my bed in the dark I got that familiar little rush of joy.
This might be the point where I lose you forever, and I know this before I even type it, but part of the reason this song is so fantastic is because it sounds like a song from Bugsy Malone mixed with whatever Avenged Sevenfold are categorised as… theatrical metalcore? New Wave of American Metal circa 2007? One publication at the time of its release described it as “avant-garde metal” and I’ll be clear, this is not a claim that I am willing to endorse.
First off you need to know it’s eight minutes long. But it’s not even the longest song in the Avenged Sevenfold catalogue; this shows that they’re not afraid to challenge their sceptical listener (that’s you, not me) by embracing their grandiose dramaturgical leanings when the mood calls for it. It’s great to listen to as a standalone track, but if you have the stomach for the full album, then a few songs prior to it you’ll encounter Afterlife. It’s a track that ramps up both tension and emotion with the excellent deployment of highly melodic chorus that makes it very clear that these fellas are not averse to cracking out a string section when necessary.
Despite having been a committed fan of this song for the last fifteen years or so, I can’t say I have ever read up about it a whole lot, preferring instead to just let it live rent-free in my head doing whatever the hell it pleases. So, I started where all good internet researchers commence their work: Wikipedia. I was dubious I would find much of interest there but minutes later found myself listening to Brahm’s 21 Dances after reading that the intro to A Little Piece of Heaven interpolates Hungarian Dance No.5. It does, you know. It really does!
The tale goes that Avenged Sevenfold’s drummer at the time, The Rev, was the mastermind behind this song; he presented the track to the band as a fully formed idea that was just busting to be brought to fruition with the appropriate amount of bells and whistles. The Rev is now dearly departed, but let’s be grateful for what he gave us whilst he was here: this bonkers tale of murder and revenge. At the time, The Rev stated that he was very inspired by Danny Elfman (more on him in a minute), and his band Oingo Boingo.
The somewhat distasteful narrative of this song wouldn’t be out of place on a death metal album. My interpretation of it is this… against the odds an incel-esque fella has managed to get a girlfriend and wants to propose to her. Being maladjusted as he is, he fears rejection to the point that he would rather her be dead than live without him. So he murders her. My friend Wikipedia says that he rapes and murders her, and although the lyrics definitely allude to a previous rape, I think what happens here is actually necrophilia, but let’s not split hairs. Anyway, she comes back from the dead and murders him right back. It would be good if that’s where the story ended, but we’re not even half way through the song.
He begs for forgiveness and says he’ll do anything to make it up to her, proving that men really do think they can get away with anything even when you’ve fucked someone off so much that she will come back from the dead, rip your heart out and eat it ‘cos she’s so mad at you. Disappointingly she accepts his apology, and they get married (they take each other “in death for the rest of their unnatural life” to be specific) and then vow to go out and kill other people together. Gotta have a hobby, I guess.
Admittedly the lyrics are not very Bugsy Malone, but the music definitely is. After the Brahms-inspired intro, the song leans heavily on brass and strings to drive the song forward. Vocals are shared by The Rev and the band’s lead singer, M. Shadows, ably assisted by a choir who add a celestial element to this blood-soaked scene of macabre theatre. Really, it deserves to be made into a short film. The song’s actual video is animated, and its… fine. It should have been a proper cinematic masterpiece, or if we’re being really bold, it should have been made into a Broadway play. It’s an injustice that a musical has been made from a Green Day album when A Little Piece of Heaven is right here.
I admit to being largely oblivious to Avenged Sevenfold prior to this album but at the time I had a good friend who swore that they were an essential listen and he swayed me. His name is Mick and at the time he was the drummer in a band called Mistress and guitarist in Anaal Nathrakh. Such was his love for Avenged Sevenfold back then that as I typed this newsletter up I couldn’t help but wonder if his affection has endured as specifically and passionately as mine has. My heart sank when I texted him to ask what he thought of Avenged Sevenfold these days. His initial response was: “rubbish”. Had I imagined the heights of our shared joy? I clarified that I was particularly enquiring about this album featuring the majestic A Little Piece of Heaven, and thankfully he declared it to be “still wicked” and confirmed that this one is their best. Phew!
In January 2008, Mick bought us tickets to see Avenged Sevenfold; it snowed that day but inclement weather would not stop us from making the trek to Wolverhampton to see this show. We were positively giddy throughout, our delight only tempered by the lack of A Little Piece of Heaven in the setlist. Back then they often had an animatronic bat as part of their stage set, but not when I went to see them, alas.
Some years later I attended Download Festival where Avenged Sevenfold were playing on the main stage and managed to convince my friend Louise to accompany me to watch them. I explained A Little Piece of Heaven to her as her eyes widened and she leapt onboard the Avenged Sevenfold hype train. I suppose I should mention that Louise was really quite high at the time but I don’t think that should detract from the fact that she - a respected music journalist - shortly after declared Avenged Sevenfold to be “the best band she’d ever seen live”, and yes, they did play A Little Piece of Heaven, which is what I believe sealed the deal.
Every now and again I am alerted to a someone else who has discovered the absolute joy of this magical and enduring opus. The latest recruit to the cult of A Little Piece of Heaven is Tom Templar of Green Lung; news of his new found affection reached me through a mutual friend. I immediately asked him to tell me more, and this is what he said:
“I’d always assumed Avenged Sevenfold were a buttrock band - music designed purely for NASCAR sync. So I didn’t have high hopes for their headline set after we played Hellfest. But then I heard the strains of A Little Piece of Heaven echoing across the site as I wandered around in a drunken post-show stupor. The first thing I thought was ‘is this a Danny Elfman and Steve Vai collaboration?’ The next thing I thought was ‘Did Mr Bungle go mall goth?’ And finally, ‘Why am I enjoying this so much?’ I regret to admit that I have been listening to it about once a day ever since, against my better judgement. It’s like Bohemian Rhapsody lost the opera and got mid-00s sleeve tatts.”
Green Lung aren’t exactly averse to a stadium-worthy barnstormer themselves, so I hope this is the beginning of their Bugsy Buttrock era.
I think I’m coming to the end of this ode to A Little Piece of Heaven - and I think reading out this whole piece will clock in at around the same length as the song itself, which is probably more than enough. So all that’s really left for you to do is listen to it for yourself. You can tell me that I’m wrong if you like, but I won’t believe you.
Thanks for being here!
~Becky
Never heard the song before. Listened to it and hated it. But damn, this was one fine piece of writing, Becky!
Just listened along to the song as I read your piece. Enjoyed a lot of parts of it, but don't know that I'll return to it too often. I do enjoy how sweeping/narrative-y it feels. There's a handful of Avenged Sevenfold songs that I enjoy, most of all Beast and the Harlot, which I was introduced to through Guitar Hero 2.