Hailing from Huntington Beach, California, progressive metal band Avenged Sevenfold – made up of vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman – is back on stage in North America for the third leg of it’s “Life Is But A Dream…” tour, in support of their 2023 album of the same name.

Joining the band on their 16-date trip around North America are special guests Sullivan King and Poppy.

Going in, Poppy was already a familiar face to me, having grown up while she rose to popularity on YouTube; though I had no idea what to expect from her as a musician. I’m not quite sure what my expectations were, but whatever they were, she surpassed them. Poppy had a fantastic presence as a performer, which I knew she would based on her previous social media content, and the music itself was quite catchy. Sullivan King, on the other hand, was not a name I had heard before. His set, filled with bright lasers and visuals that resembled ones you would see at a rave, was a pleasant surprise.

By the time Sullivan King was scheduled to take the stage, Mohegan Sun’s ten-thousand-capacity arena was already looking decently crowded, a sight I am not used to seeing very often when it comes to the first opener.

Since this was Avenged Sevenfold’s third go-around of the “Life Is But A Dream…” tour, there were a couple of unexpected changes made to the setlist, including a slew of live debuts and throwbacks to some of their older hits. A few of the setlist additions include “Blinded In Chains” from “City of Evil” (2005), “Save Me” from “Nightmare” (2010), “Shepherd of Fire” from “Hail to the King” (2013), “Roman Sky” from “The Stage” (2016), and “Cosmic” from “Life Is But a Dream…” (2023). “Blinded In Chains” has not been performed live since 2006, “Save Me” since 2011, “Shepherd of Fire” since 2018, and “Roman Sky” which has never been played on tour, only live at The GRAMMY Museum in 2017. The setlist concluded each night of the tour with “Cosmic,” one of the most anticipated tracks to be played from the tour-titled album.

As with most tours, only about a third of the setlist was made up of tracks from the new album, “Life Is But a Dream…,” with the rest being their greatest hits.

During the show, there was a huge screen set up behind, and on either side of the stage to accompany the band’s performance. They displayed ever-changing AI-esque visuals that corresponded to each song on the setlist. It was difficult to decide whether to watch the band or the visuals!

No matter how big of a fan I am of an artist, typically I go to concerts with the mindset that there is a fifty-fifty chance an artist will sound similar live compared to recorded tracks. Avenged Sevenfold sounded amazing, start to finish; especially considering Mohegan Sun Arena was one of the last stops on the tour, their vocals were just as fresh as opening night.

Even though the “Life Is But a Dream… Pt.3″ tour has come to an end, Avenged Sevenfold is slated to perform shows in Europe over the summer, as well as festivals like Hellfest, Rocklahoma, Resurrection Fest, and Evil Live Festival.