On Christmas 2009, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan handed in a demo for a song he had written entitled "Death" and proclaimed, "That's it, that's the last song for this record."



Three days later, the Avenged Sevenfold drummer was found in his home, dead from a lethal mix of prescription drugs and alcohol. On Tuesday, A7X will release that record, now called Nightmare, which is not only the last physical recording of The Rev's legacy, but also his tribute.



Musically, Nightmare picks up where 2007's self titled release left off. With such familiarity emanating from the speakers, it's easy to forget that The Rev isn't holding it all together, as he always had before. In his place is Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who along with the always capable Johnny Christ on bass make up the backbone of A7X on Nightmare and the subsequent tour.



Considered by many (and also The Rev) to be one of the greatest living drummers in the world, Portnoy shows admirable restraint and respect for his late predecessor, remaining as true as possible to The Rev's written parts from the demo versions of the album's tracks. That's not to say his mark isn't on it however. "Natural Born Killer" is classic Portnoy with an extreme double bass section punctuated by his single signature splash hit.