It has been a long 12 years since Avenged Sevenfold last touched down on Australian shores. As true juggernauts within the rock and heavy metal communities, and a bucket-list band for countless fans, their return marked a monumental moment for a genre they helped shape and propel forward. Sharing the stage for this massive arena run were Coheed And Cambria and Melbourne’s own Thornhill, completing one of the most diverse and powerhouse heavy lineups Rod Laver Arena has hosted in years.
Thornhill are (and always will be) a band that holds my whole heart. Dropping banger after banger across their entire discography, it’s honestly impossible not to love them and the way they stay miles ahead of the curve, whether they're tearing it up back home or making waves overseas. Dropping their massive 2025 album Bodies pushed them into an entirely new stratosphere, and landing a spot supporting a legendary act like this proves just how hard they’ve grafted to reach this level. Seeing them command a monster room like Rod Laver Arena in front of a huge home-state crowd was nothing short of phenomenal.
Coheed and Cambria took the stage next. In all honesty, this is a band I hadn't listened to at all until the night of the show, so I came in with fresh eyes ready to see what mark they would leave. Their set was phenomenal, capturing the room in a way that left the entire crowd completely in awe of their performance and stage presence. Not a single mosher was in sight; everyone was simply locked in, watching the band move with relentless energy under a mesmerizing light show that kept the whole arena transfixed.
Even though I didn't know much about Coheed going in, I could clearly tell their fanbase is fiercely dedicated. The group sitting to the right of me was jamming out like no tomorrow and getting completely lost in the moment, giving the entire room this incredible sense of community and proving just how tight-knit their following really is.
What completely blew me away, though, was when lead vocalist and guitarist Claudio Sanchez whipped out a double-neck guitar and proceeded to go absolute ham on it. First, he jammed out by playing it behind his head, and then he casually topped it off by playing it with his mouth. Pure, old-school rock spectacle at its absolute finest.
Before I even delve into Avenged Sevenfold’s set, they orchestrated something I have genuinely never seen done before in my life. A massive QR code flashed across the back wall of the stage, prompting fans to scan it and "join the light show." I had no clue what to expect, but out of pure curiosity, I pulled out my phone and opted in.
Once the permissions were set and the house lights dropped, the magic happened. Everyone who had scanned the code suddenly synced up to the music, and the entire crowd became the light show. Sitting there as the preshow music built up, I was completely mesmerised watching thousands of glowing screens turn the arena into a living, breathing part of the performance.
After the light show concluded and the arena lights finally dimmed, some of the most recognisable opening notes in modern metal began to ring out. It was the unmistakable intro to "Nightmare," and the entire room erupted as the crowd roared with pure excitement.
It was pure theater. The massive backdrop of a door swung open, and the members emerged onto the stage one by one. M. Shadows stepped up, looked out at the sea of people, and asked, "Are you fucking ready?", met immediately by a deafening roar of cheers from the crowd before they tore straight into the track.
M. Shadows delivered a vocal performance that proved he hasn't lost an ounce of his edge. Knowing the vocal hurdles he has faced across his career alongside how punishing A7X's discography is to sing night after night, the sheer grit and discipline he displayed on stage were genuinely jaw-dropping. Far from tiptoeing around past vocal struggles or scaling back the heavy tracks, the entire band attacked the older cuts with total freedom and relentless authority.
Synyster Gates is an absolute force of nature. He is an honest-to-god nutjob for coming up with the blistering, intricate riffs that define their catalog, and being able to execute them that flawlessly live night after night speaks for itself. It’s living proof that he is a true-born prodigy behind the fretboard.
Setlist-wise, I was more than content. Knowing they tend to switch things up from night to night, it felt like we hit the jackpot with the rotation we got. Hearing them pull out "Chapter Four" from their 2003 masterpiece Waking The Fallen was an absolute treat for the fans.
After a twelve-year absence from Australia, they could've easily rolled back onto our shores playing it safe with a nostalgia-soaked greatest hits set. Instead, they tossed out the rulebook, mixing their boldest new material straight in with the heavy-hitters. It felt like a massive relief watching them reject the temptation to slide into a lazy legacy act, essentially telling the crowd: "Look, we know you love the old stuff, but this is who we are now, and you're coming with us."
I was beyond impressed with A7X's performance. A band that’s been around long before I was even in preschool is still out here kicking major goals and selling out arenas. Every single band on the bill gave it everything they had, and I walked out of Rod Laver Arena feeling completely fulfilled.