Although primarily known as the drummer of the group, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan's vocals played a big part in the evolution of Avenged Sevenfold's sound, and I actually find his singing more impressive than his drumming. Possessing a very soft and boyish, yet scratchy tenor with a slight, yet prominent nasal sound to it, his voice always blended well with M. Shadows' raspy baritone, resulting in the band's unique vocal harmonies. Without his contributions, I personally believe the band lacks a huge part of what originally made their sound unique and interesting. Sullivan was not only a great singer, but also a creative songwriter. James never got to showcase his full potential as a vocalist, but nonetheless left his fans a cool heap of very cool vocal moments, highlighting his extremely advanced high range singing. So far, the rest of the band have not tried replacing The Rev's vocal parts with another voice, but have rather used playbacked vocal tracks in these places, quite likely as a tribute to their comrade. 1. 0:00 - Higher range - Gnarly singing centered around A4 from the psycho rock-opera "A Little Peace of Heaven", sounds like he's really gnashing his teeth while singing the lines. 2. 0:11 - A4 from "Necromance Theatre". 3. 0:22 - Harmonizing with Shadows on "Fiction", Jimmy vocalizes effortlessly up to A4 while Shadows sings an octave lower. 4. 0:33 - A gritty B♭4 from "Pixel & Nasal". 5. 0:41 - B4s from "McFly". 6. 1:02 - An incredible tenor high C (C5) from "Fiction". 7. 1:13 - A C5 from "Mezmer". 8. 1:19 - Very soft falsetto C5s from "Lost". (Not exactly the band's finest song, if you ask me) 9. 1:42 - Harmony C5s from the demanding chorus of "Seize the Day", usually sung exclusively by Shadows. (Live in the LBC, 2008) 10. 2:02 - Very agile melody singing around C5 on "Mezmer". 11. 2:25 - Wailed C♯5s during a live performance of "Scream". (Live in the LBC, 2008) 12. 2:37 - D5s from "Necromance Theatre". 13. 2:53 - A great C5-to-D5 melody from "Crossroads". 14. 3:00 - The amazing repeated vocal part from the aggressive "Critical Acclaim", The Rev sings up to D5. 15. 3:15 - Another D5 from the ending of this song, this time with the vocal track cranked up in volume. Tremendous! 16. 3:32 - The breathtaking vocal segment from "Afterlife" with lots and lots of D5s. 17. 3:59 - An E♭5 from "Necromance Theatre". 18. 4:04 - The classic high melody from "I Won't See You Tonight, Pt. 1" performed live, Jimmy assists Shadows in singing the very demanding melody which leaps up a fifth from G4 to D5, soon reaching E♭5, the top note of the passage. (Toad's Place, Richmond, 2007) 19. 4:21 - The wicked false chord F5s from "Afterlife", crazy! 20. 4:55 - The top of the man's range, two live video clips from the official 'Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan tribute video', where he abruptly belts out two blistering high notes: first an F5, then a freaking cool B♭5! 21. 5:03 - Howled falsetto B♭5s during the priceless 'cowboy passage' from "Pixel & Nasal". 22. 5:14 - Lower range - A dramatic C♯3 from "Necromance Theatre". 23. 5:27 - A relaxed C3 from "Fiction", great sound to his lower register here! 24. 5:32 - More C3s from the later segment of the same song, this time with way more nasal. For those who've doubted it, Shadows sings the line "so tell everybody" after Sullivan's phrases, there's a clear tonal difference between the two. 25. 5:52 - A growled G2 from "The Body of Death of the Man with the Body of Death". 26. 5:58 - Finally a cool moment from "Pixel & Nasal" by Pinkly Smooth, a very deranged vocal passage with alteration between rapid annunciation, screams and cleaner singing... Really goes to show how much Mr. Bungle influenced the group, including The Rev.

• published: 27 Sep 2013
• views: 100