The Stage - Avenged Sevenfold

It's a metal album with a pretty big departure from their normal sound (going from more traditional Heavy Metal to more Progressive Metal), and dropping a Single (the title track, The Stage) then the full album by surprise. It's their first conceptual album with a focus on where humanity is (in 2016), how we interact with each other, our progression with technology, and our place in the universe which is still very interesting and fun to unpack. The extended version includes their covers of songs they grew up with in Southern California, ranging from Spanish folk songs to Pink Floyd. It's fantastic to hear a band truly enjoy expanding their sound and creating music they want and seem to love.