Just in time for election season, Avenged Sevenfold brings us this masterful concept album about the self-destruction of society. Much more than just power-driven thrash songs, “Higher” and “The Stage” are multi-part epics fueled by thematic ambitions and annihilative intensity. The band"s portrait of corrupt power brokers and decayed minds peaks with “Exist,” a panoramic finale unlike anything since Metallica’s “One.”