REVIEWS: Avenged win forgiveness; AVENGED SEVENFOLD Barfly, Birmingham.

Byline: MARK WOODWARD

THIS time last year Avenged Sevenfold were persona non grata with their UK fans after pulling the plug on a nationwide tour at the very last minute.

They justified their decision by insisting it was time to write a new album and, with the need for their creative juices to be flowing, the Orange County boys stayed put in the States.

Still, time is a great healer as they say and so it proved as they were welcomed back into the fold for this intimate sold-out Barfly show.

With their new self-titled album ready to hit the shelves, A7X nevertheless opted to whizz through a lot of the old favourites from their last two releases, Waking The Fallen and City of Evil.

Seize The Day drew a hysterical reaction from the young crowd and would surely have seen lighters raised to the rafters had they been playing an arena.

The set-closing Bat Country and encore Unholy Confessions simply emphasised the strength and maturity of A7X's songwriting and musicianship.

VERDICT: *****