A midweek concert with a 4:30pm door time didn’t stop rockers from coming out to see Avenged Sevenfold play Cincinnati’s Heritage Bank Arena this past Wednesday. Boasting a stacked lineup of Sullivan King, Poppy, and A7X, the audience was in for a wild ride.

The lights turn off and the giant screen turns red. A narrated introduction begins to play, welcoming Cincinnati to the show, shouting out our own Joe Burrow, and introduces Sullivan King..

DJ and heavy metal musician, Sullivan King, kicked the night off in full force bringing with his infusion of electronic and rock. He worked the stage DJ’ing, singing, AND playing guitar. Add pyro and it was the FULL package.

Next up, Poppy graced the stage playing through her heavier hits. She even played her new collab with Bad Omens, ‘V.A.N.” the juxtaposition of her proper poise with her heavier sound makes for an intriguing show. Her and her band sounded great and the stage visuals were on par.

Now, let the nightmare begin!

At it since 1999, Avenged Sevenfold knows how to rock a f*ckin’ stage…and man, was this a big stage. The probably 7 foot stage included a bit of a cat walk and was surrounded on 3 sides with LED screens creating stunning illusions of burning houses and album artwork.

“Take a moment. You made it on a week day. These are your people. Take a moment. Let it all go.”

M.Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, and Johnny Christ commandeered the stage while Brooks Wackerman held down the beat in the back. The band journeyed through their discography, playing fan favorites and mixing in new hits. M. shadows stood at the end of the stage with his arms wide open as the crowd sang the words to ‘Nightmare’. A moment to never forget.

There are still a handful of dates left on this tour. Catch Avenged Sevenfold in a city near you and get tickets here.