a7x-Age of Evil Like Avenged Sevenfold, Liken Other Bands to Lemmings

There's one thing about Arizona teen metal band Age of Evil that's pretty contemporary. Frontman Jeremy Goldberg sounds a lot like Avenged Sevenfold, and it's something he'll cop to. However, Age of Evil are far from a trendy metal or metalcore group.

"We started listening to Avenged Sevenfold in 2003 and got to hang out with the guys a couple times when they were screaming and not singing," Goldberg told Noisecreep. "They're a great band, and they helped open some doors for us when they got big. Some people say my singing sounds like their vocalist [M. Shadows], but my biggest influences are guys like Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford, Steven Tyler, Axl Rose and David Lee Roth. Those are the classic singers, the people whose voices you hear and you instantly know it's them."

Guitarist Jordan Ziff is also mainly inspired by players who were rocking stages before Avenged Sevenfold and their peers formed. "Whenever I listen to a band, it's because their guitar player kicks ass," Ziff said. "I love Randy Rhoads, Steve Vai, John Sykes, Nuno Bettencourt. The guys in Avenged are also good because they play heavy, but with a sense of melody. A lot of new guitar players just play fast, and fast isn't the biggest thing. Without strong melody, no one's gonna remember what you play."

Considering that the members of Age of Evil are still teenagers, their old-school influences and timeless sound -- which blends elements of thrash, new wave of British heavy metal and classic rock -- is somewhat surprising. Not only does the band's EP 'Get Dead' feature an unapologetic blend of '80s-style rapid-fire, palm-muted guitars, barreling beats and soaring, aggressive vocals, it also includes cover by Judas Priest ('The Hellion/Electric Eye') and Skid Row ('Slave to the Grind'), which illustrates the scope of the guys' record collections.

"I just got sick of all the new bulls--- metal I was hearing, "Golderg said. "There's no originality to it. It all sounds the same, and a lot of it isn't well played or written. So I found the classic stuff through the internet, and I've been listening to it for four or five years. Now, I don't keep up to date with anybody new. That's why we have a unique sound, because we don't mimic anybody who's out right now."