Brian Haner - "Fistfight at the Wafflehouse"

Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows On The Death Of The Rev video

In this moving tribute, Avenged Sevenfold's M .Shadows speaks about the death of his best friend and the band's drummer James 'The Rev' Sullivan, who was "the centrepiece of what everything was built around".

Get ready for the Nightmare After Christmas. Ticket pre-sales to select shows go live December 1st at 10 AM local time in the following markets. The Avenged Sevenfold pre-sale passcode is "NIGHTMARE". More info for the remaining shows coming soon.

Reading PA - Jan. 20th
http://bit.ly/fDL8eE

Lowell MA - Jan. 22nd
http://bit.ly/hLKpd2

Baltimore MD - Jan. 23rd
http://bit.ly/eadOaG

Cincinnati OH - Jan. 29th
http://bit.ly/ee2hk8

Moline IL - Feb. 1st
http://bit.ly/esXz9v

La Crosse WI - Feb. 2nd
http://bit.ly/eYce86

Battle Creek MI - Feb. 4th
http://bit.ly/gph9bV

Detroit MI - Feb. 5th
http://bit.ly/e7HoJd

Sioux City IA - Feb. 7th
http://bit.ly/h6eTwm

Grand Island NE - Feb. 8th
http://bit.ly/dO54Sp

Kennewick WA - Feb. 12th
http://bit.ly/hWMBgB

Eugene OR - Feb. 13th
http://bit.ly/TgKRp

Konser Avenged Sevenfold Di Belgia Batal

The Belgique Ancienne laporan bahwa konser Avenged Sevenfold di Belgia telah dibatalkan. Berita ini muncul setelah pembatalan konser Avenged Sevenfold di Munich, Jerman karena suatu penyakit tak terduga ke salah satu anggota band. Sekali lagi, berharap cepat sembuh untuk yang sakit.
Berikut adalah sebuah email yang Ancienne Belgique telah dikirim ke penonton konse tentang pembatalan:
You are receiving this mail because you’ve ordered tickets for the concert of AVENGED SEVENFOLD on Sunday, October 24 in the AB.
Avenged Sevenfold by unexpected illness sees itself forced his concerts in Munich and Brussels to cancel. The agenda of the group does not allow this extra spring indoor concerts to plan and so there will be no new date in the AB.
Tickets will be refunded.
Please check the tickets, including account number, to return to Ancienne Belgique, AB tickets, Anspach 110, Brussels 1000 or visit the AB tickets, Steenstraat 25, 1000 Brussels (Monday to Friday, from 11h to 18h).

MESSAGE TO GERMAN FANS

Uns tut es sehr leid, dass wir die heutige Show in München absagen mussten. Wir waren wegen einer plötzlichen und unvorhersehbaren Erkrankung zu dieser Entscheidung gezwungen. Es kam zu dieser Entscheidung als wir Backstage saßen, kurz bevor die Türen geöffnet werden sollten. Wir sind so stolz auf die Unterstützung unserer Fans und haben uns ganz besonders darauf gefreut für unsere Deutschen Fans zu spielen. Wir fühlen uns schrecklich und werden es wieder gut machen. Wir entschuldigen uns aufrichtig.

Zacky

A7X



We are very sorry for the cancellation of tonights show in Munich. Due to a sudden and unforeseen illness we were forced to cancel. We were forced to make this decision as we sat backstage up until the moment before the doors were to open. We have been so proud of our fans support and have especially been looking forward to playing for our German fans. We all feel horrible and will make it up to all our fans. With sincerest apologies.

Zacky

A7X

Untuk fans kami di Jepang, itu adalah sebuah kehormatan untuk bermain untuk kalian semua. energi kalian sungguh luar biasa dan membuat kami bangga. Kita tidak bisa menunggu untuk kembali.

Banyak cinta dan hormat

A7X

Original version

日本のファンのみなさま

みなさんのために演奏できたことは　私たちにとってこの上ない栄誉でした。みなさんのエネルギーはすばらしく て　こんなに嬉しく、楽しく演奏ができたことはかつてない経験でした。

また必ず日本に行きたいと心から思っています。

尊敬と 愛をこめて。


To our fans in Japan, it was an honor to play for you all. Your energy was incredible and made us proud. We cannot wait to return.

Much love and respect

A7X

Dukung Avenged Sevenfold Sebagai Favorite Rock Band dalam People’s Choice Award

People’s Choice Award adalah event yang diadakan oleh People Choice untuk memilih yang paling favorit didunia hiburan. Dukung Avenged Sevenfold sebagai Favorite Rock Band dengan memberikan voting ke link berikut ini
http://www.peopleschoice.com/pca/nominations/vote.jsp?pollId=110036

Video Dokumenter Avenged Sevenfold Di Rockstar Uproar

Video dokumenter tentang perjalanan tour Avenged Sevenfold dalam festifal Rockstar Uproar akhirnya dirilis. Video ini dipersembahkan dalam Cinemax’s “Max Tour Stories”. Dalam video tersebut berisi wawancara dengan beberapa anggota Avenged Sevenfoldm yang menceritakan pengalaman mereka selama menjalani tour.

pointfest 27 T

Check out this video interview with Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance backstage at Pointfest 27. If the video is not showing up below, you can view it here!



Thanks to Sammi for sending this in!

about a7x

Schecter Guitars Congratulates Avenged Sevenfold!
Published on August 05, 2010 @ 1:07PM // Permalink
Schecter Guitars sent out the following message, congratulating Avenged Sevenfold with their first number one record!



Thanks to Buffie for sending this in, as always! You rock!

Avenged Sevenfold Featured On Perez Hilton
Published on August 05, 2010 @ 1:00PM // Permalink
I know it's hard to believe, but it's true! Avenged Sevenfold is featured on Hollywood Gossip site Perez Hilton!

Avenged Sevenfold Defeats Eminem



All hail the new Billboard leader: Avenged Sevenfold!

After five weeks at the #1 spot, Eminem’s album Recovery was beaten by rock band Avenged Sevenfold’s new release Nightmare.

It was a close call though, with Eminem coming in less than 4,000 units behind Avenged on Nielsen Soundscan charts.

Will the nightmare continue next week, or will Eminem be able to make another recovery?

Very cool to see a rock band make its way to the top of the charts.


Thanks to Rachel and Vicki!

Hot Topic Adds New A7X Bracelet To Store!
Published on August 05, 2010 @ 12:53PM // Permalink
Hot Topic has added a new Avenged Sevenfold bracelet to their store! It's made of rubber and says 'Avenged Sevenfold' in turquoise letters. For only $6.99 it's yours! Check it out here!



Thanks to Katheryn for sending this in!

The Avenged Sevenfold Interview -- ''Creep Show'
Published on August 05, 2010 @ 2:23AM // Permalink
NoiseCreep.com has put up an interview of the whole band that took place last week in the Creep Show studios. You can find the article, video interview and a couple of pics right here.




Shadows and Vengeance interview on KROQ video
Published on August 05, 2010 @ 2:15AM // Permalink
KROQ has uploaded an interview conducted by Nicole Alvarez, with M Shadows and Zacky V . You can view it right here.



Johnny Christ On Band's #1 Debut
Published on August 04, 2010 @ 1:35PM // Permalink
Johnny Christ spoke to MTVNews earlier today, the following article contains his statements and there's also a little audio clip at the source.

It looked as though Eminem's Recovery would be spending most of the summer at the top of the Billboard albums chart, at least until Katy Perry got around to dropping Teenage Dream later this month. But as we learned this week, you should never count out the savage power of California punk-metallers Avenged Sevenfold, who stormed the top of the charts with their fifth album, Nightmare.

It's the first trip to the top of the chart for the band, and they celebrated appropriately. "I got the call from my manager last night," bassist Johnny Christ told MTV News. "Unfortunately, Matt [Sanders, better known as M. Shadows] and Zack [a.k.a. Zacky Vengeance] were doing press in L.A., but me and Brian [a.k.a. Synyster Gates] went out to celebrate and had some dinner together. It was pretty fun. It was more about the drinks. We were just drinking, having a good time. We should have been being good boys and not drinking last night, but it's the first time we're on the top of the Billboard, and that only happens once. We had to do something."

Of course, the chart victory is bittersweet for the men of A7X, as the celebration had to happen without drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who passed away in December 2009 of an accidental drug overdose. Christ (born Jonathan Seward) thinks of it as the latest in a long line of tributes to Sullivan. "The only thing we were worried about was getting it done and doing the best job we can for our brother," he said. "We wanted to make this record as big and strong as possible. We wanted to make this a really huge record and get it out there to as many people as possible to extend Jimmy's legacy."

In addition to the need to carry on Sullivan's legacy, the men of Avenged Sevenfold were also fueled by their ever-growing fanbase, which has made them incrementally larger with each release. "We have the greatest fans in the world, and our growth has been so organic. It's online, it's out at the shows. It's a big family, and they know we're going to do our best, and we know they're going to give it their best.

"It's a testament to the fans about how much they care about what we do," he continued. "It's not as much about the numbers as much as it is that our fans made a mark on this world for us."


source - and yes, they have used the wrong photo!

Thank You From Avenged Sevenfold
Published on August 04, 2010 @ 11:32AM // Permalink
Avenged Sevenfold has posted the following message on their website:

Today we raise our glasses to Jimmy who is smiling down on us all for sending him off with the #1 album in America. TONIGHT WE DRINK TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION OF SUCCESSFULLY MAKING IT #1!!! and the blood sweat and many tears it took us and our fans to get to this moment. This #1 belongs to every member of the A7X family. Pause....and Enjoy – love A7X


AvengedSevenfold.com

Billboard Talks About Avenged Sevenfold's First #1 Album
Published on August 04, 2010 @ 9:03AM // Permalink
Avenged Sevenfold garners its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart as "Nightmare" arrives atop the list, bumping Eminem's "Recovery" to No. 2 after a five week reign at No. 1. Avenged begins with 163,000 according to Nielsen SoundScan, trumping "Recovery" (159,000; down 15%) by less than 4,000 units.

"Nightmare" is the rock band's highest charting set, surpassing the No. 4 debut and peak of its 2007 self-titled effort. That album also earned the group's previous best sales week of 94,000 when it arrived.

The new album easily beat initial sales projections, as some industry prognosticators thought it would move somewhere in the range of 120,000 to 130,000 copies. But those early forecasts were tossed aside by late last Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, when it seemed like the "Nightmare" album had a solid shot at No. 1 with a much larger sales number.

With only "Nightmare" arriving in the top 10, it's the first time we've had this few debuts in the top 10 since the chart dated March 13 (reflecting the sales week ending Feb. 28), when Johnny Cash's "American VI: Ain't No Grave" was the lone top 10 debut at No. 3.


Taken from Billboard.com

save me

lagu favorite gw album nightmare "save me" menurut gw ini lagu yg plink d suka sevenfoldism

Lyrics | Avenged Sevenfold lyrics - Save Me lyrics

Avenged Sevenfold - Save Me lyrics

Sorry did I wake your dream, some questions run too deep
We only (only) wake up when we sleep
Led by the lunar light, trouble's all we find
Lost our way tonight

Is it something we said?
Is it something we said to them?
Is it something we said?

Save me-
Trapped in a vile world
Where the endgames are the same as every other
We're only here to die
Save me-
Losing my only dream
I can use some guiding light, some place to go
If you hear me let me know, if you hear me let me know
 
Ever since the day you let my fate's been set unknown
How many years to walk this path alone
So much to see tonight, so why'd you close your eyes
Why can't I shut mine?

Is it something we did?
Is it something we did to them?
Is it something we did? 

Save me-
Trapped in a vile world
Where the endgames are the same as every other
We're only here to die
Save me-
Losing my only dream
I can use some guiding light, some place to go
If you hear me let me know, if you hear me let me know

Help me find my way
I said help me find my way, yeah
No pulse inside of me
Stone cold lips and heresy
All lies and to a degree, 
Lsing who I want to be

Find out, what now?
He may be out of his mind
But someday you will find, that sanity has left us all blind
And dragged us all behind, a moment seen with those eyes
Crystal blue disguise, they say that all beauty must die
I say it just moves on

If you only open your mind, then someday you will find
That sanity left us behind, and walk right through the dark
I can see the picture's clear, it's yesterday, pictures of my own
I can hear the voices begging you to stay, but know you're not alone.

[Save me]
Trapped in a vile world
[Save me]
Where the endgames are the same as every other
We're only here to die
[Save me]
I'm losing my only dream
[Save me]
I can use some guiding light, some place to go
If you hear me, let me know
If you hear me, let me know

Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die young
Tonight we all die
Tonight we all die young!



Lyrics | Avenged Sevenfold lyrics - Save Me lyrics

Avenged Sevenfold - Save Me lyrics | LyricsMode.com

avanged sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band consists of vocalist M. Shadows, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance and bassist Johnny Christ.

Avenged Sevenfold emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet[citation needed], which included screaming vocals and heavy guitar riffs. The band changed their style on their third release, City of Evil, which features more of a mainstream hard rock style.[citation needed] The band continued to explore new sounds with their self titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer, James Sullivan, "The Rev" died of a drug overdose in 2009. Despite this setback, the band continued on with session drummer Mike Portnoy and released their fifth album Nightmare in 2010.

Avenged Sevenfold has released five studio albums, one live album/compilation, and fifteen singles. The band themselves have received much credit for their worldwide mainstream success and were most notably proclaimed as one of the leaders and key bands in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal and were featured as second place on Ultimate Guitar's Top Ten Bands of the Decade.

Inception (1999—2004)

The band was formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California with original members M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev and Matt Wendt. M Shadows came up with the name as a reference to the story of Cain and Abel from The Bible, which can be found in Genesis 4:24, although they are not a religious band.[1] Upon its formation, each member of the band also took on a pseudonym which were already nicknames of theirs from high school.[2] Before release their debut album, the band recorded two demos in 1999 and 2000. Avenged Sevenfold's debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were just eighteen years old and in high school. It was originally released on their first label, Good Life Recordings in 2001.[3] After lead guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band, at the end of 1999 when he was 18 at the introductory track "To End the Rapture" was re-recorded featuring a full band element. The album was subsequently re-released on Hopeless Records in 2002.

The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall and playing on the Take Action Tour.[4][5] Having settled on their fourth bassist, Johnny Christ, they released Waking the Fallen on Hopeless Records in August 2003. The album featured a more refined and mature sound production in comparison to their previous album. The band received profiles in Billboard and The Boston Globe, and played in the Vans Warped Tour.[6][7] In 2004, Avenged Sevenfold toured again on the Vans Warped Tour and recorded a video for their song "Unholy Confessions" which went into rotation on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.[8] Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were signed to Warner Bros. Records.

City of Evil (2005—2007)

City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 7, 2005 and debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.^[9][10] It utilized a more classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.^[11][12] The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; M. Shadows worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson—whose clients have included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell—for months before the album's release to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone".^[11][13] The album received steller reviews from several magazines and websites and is credited for propelling the band into international popularity.

After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out R&B Singers Rihanna and Chris Brown, Panic! at the Disco, Angels and Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired song “Bat Country.” ^[14]

They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own "Cities of Evil Tour."^[15] In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Charts, #6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to #1 on MTV's Total Request Live.^[16] Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first gold record.^[17] It was later certified platinum in August 2009.

Self-titled album (2007—2008)

Zacky Vengeance in 2007.

Avenged Sevenfold's mainstream success got them an invitation to 2006's Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known hard rock and heavy metal acts DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed and System of a Down.^[18] That same year they also completed a worldwide tour, including the US, The United Kingdom (as well as mainland Europe), Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After being on tour for sixteen months in promotion of City of Evil, the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour in favor of recording new music.^[19] M. Shadows stated that their fourth studio album—which the band self-titled and self-produced—would not be a "City of Evil Part 2" or "Waking the Fallen Part 2," but would incorporate a new, grittier sound.^[19][20] To tide the fans over in between albums, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007.^[21] All Excess, which debuted as the #1 DVD in the USA, included live performances and backstage footage that spanned the band's eight year career. Two tribute albums, Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: Bat Wings and Broken Strings and Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: The String Tribute were also released in October 2007.

Avenged Sevenfold, the band's fourth album, was released on October 30, 2007, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 with over 90,000 copies sold.^[22] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" were released prior to the album's debut. In December 2007, an animated video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven." Due to the song's controversial subject matter, however, Warner Brothers only released it to registered MVI users over the internet. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video was released in January 2008. Their fourth single, "Dear God", was released on September 30, 2008. Although critical reception was generally mixed the self-titled album went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was awarded "Album of the Year" at the Kerrang! Awards.^[23]

Nightmare (2009—present)

In January 2009, M. Shadows confirmed that the band is writing the follow-up to their self-titled fourth album within the upcoming months.^[30] They also announced that they will be playing at Rock on the Range, from May 16–17, 2009.^[31] On April 16, they performed a version of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" onstage with Slash, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.^[32] M. Shadows was featured on Slash's debut solo album Slash in the song "Nothing to Say".

M. Shadows and the rest of the band has expressed interest in making a follow-up to their self-titled record. They announced that they plan to start writing in June 2009 and recording in October 2009. M. Shadows also said in an interview with Loveline that the next record would be a more traditional heavy metal, more rock-oriented record, since the self-titled record was very experimental. He also said it would feature more progressive, longer songs and would be the "biggest Avenged Sevenfold record ever." Additionally, he said they were possibly thinking about a concept record.

On July 15, 2009, their website and MySpace profile were updated with a statement from M. Shadows implying that work on the next album has started, but they are still "throwing around ideas". The update was on the same day that Waking the Fallen went Gold.

In an interview, M. Shadows has revealed that after the band will complete their tour with a final performance at the Sonisphere Festival on August 2, they will get in the studio to write and record a new studio album, a follow-up to their self-titled album.^[33]

Avenged Sevenfold in 2007.

On November 5, 2009, Zacky Vengeance posted a message on the official website stating that they had returned from their tour and immediately started focusing on forming a production team in order to start recording the album. "We will continue finalizing our songs until we feel every note does both you as well as us justice. We are also in the final stages of solidifying our production team, studios and engineers so that the second the axe falls and the album is written we will spend day and night in the studio until it is complete. This album will definitely take you on a very dark journey..."

On December 24, 2009 it was announced that Avenged Sevenfold had come in second place on Ultimate Guitar's Top Ten Bands of the Decade, losing the top spot to Metallica.^[34]

The December 31, 2009 edition of Kerrang! magazine included an interview with M. Shadows, in which Shadows stated the following about the album; "It’s a dark record. The music is emotional. Our goal is to make every single part memorable, we want to evoke reactions live and at home. It’ll have big rock ballads, the big fun stuff, the piano, the choir, the orchestra and all the visual things you expect but with a different, moodier vibe. Lyrically, I’ve been inspired by everything from the ways kids are brought up nowadays, to schooling, the economy, religion, war and the behaviour of our government. It all plays into how kids are so emotionally detached from the real world right now."^[35]

On April 17, 2010, a short message from Zacky Vengeance was posted on the official Avenged Sevenfold Twitter: "Tracking is complete. There are no words that will ever describe the feeling of listening to this album while driving home alone at 4 am."^[36]

Avenged Sevenfold's brand new single, "Nightmare", was digitally released on May 18, 2010. The song comes off the band's fifth studio album, which is due out July 27, 2010.^[37][38] A preview for the song was released on May 6, 2010 on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after for unknown reasons.^[38][39]

On May 12, 2010, M. Shadows and Synyster Gates stopped by HardDrive (radio show) where they explained details on Nightmare prior to its release:^[40]

“

[...] The new album, Nightmare, is dedicated to The Rev memory and although it's not exactly a concept album, it does center around The Rev. The eeriest thing about it is there is a song on the album called "Fiction" (a nickname The Rev gave himself) which started out with the title "Death". And the song was the last song The Rev wrote for the album, and when he handed it in, he said, that’s it, that’s the last song for this record. And then 3 days later, he died.[40]

”

Mixing for the album had been completed in New York City and was released worldwide on July 27.^[41] It met with highly positive reviews.

The death of The Rev

Main article: The Rev

On December 28, 2009, drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead at his home at the age of 28.^[42] Autopsy results were inconclusive^[43], but on June 9, 2010, the cause of death was revealed to have been an "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol"^[44]. In a statement by the band, they expressed their grief over the passing of The Rev and asked that his family's privacy to be respected:

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we tell you of the passing today of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. Jimmy was not only one of the world's best drummers, but more importantly he was our best friend and brother. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jimmy's family and we hope that you will respect their privacy during this difficult time.^[45]

Shown on Avenged Sevenfold's official website was a message from Sullivan's family which expressed their gratitude to his fans for their support:

"We would like to thank all of Jimmy's fans for the heartfelt comments that have been posted – it is comforting to know that his genius and antics were appreciated and that he was loved so much. Our hearts are broken – he was much too young to fall. Óg agus saor go deo (forever young and free)"^[46]

In addition to comments made about the death of Sullivan, the band's manager Larry Jacobson expressed how Sullivan was a kind figure to all. Jacobson stated within the interview that;

He was expressive. He'd tell you how he felt about you – you didn't wonder because he'd put his arm around you," he said. "He knew how to tell his friends he loved them." ^[47]

In addition to Jacobson, over 50 musical artists have commented upon the death of Sullivan.^[48]

On January 5, 2010 a private funeral was held for The Rev. In attendance were friends of the band, such as the Lostprophets and Brian Haner Sr.. On January 6, 2010, the body of James Sullivan was laid to rest in the Good Shepherd Cemetery in Huntington Beach, California ^[49]

The January 13, 2010 edition of Kerrang! featured an article about the death of The Rev, in which fans and stars paid tribute to him.^[50] Simultaneously, Zacky Vengeance expressed his own feelings about the passing, stating that "Jimmy will always be with me in everything I do. Except sitting at home being sad, so today Im going to try to start living again. foREVer." ^[51]

Aftermath

In a recent interview with M. Shadows about the death of the Rev, Shadows confirmed a July release for Avenged Sevenfold's fifth album.^[35] "I have so much to say but can’t find the words so I will wait until time can allow me to find a way to express myself. As for the rest of us, it has become clear what we need to do. We had just finished writing a record with Jimmy. I can’t promise what the future holds because right now it’s too painful to think about, but we know we need to record and put out this record in honor of Jimmy, for Jimmy. He would call me every night to talk about songs and tell me 'this shit is gonna change the world.' I agreed with him, unfortunately I didn’t know it would be on these terms. Please be patient with us for we cannot imagine how hard this is gonna be to get through, we just know we have to do it for his legacy. After that, who knows?"^[52]

In a recent interview conducted by the Huntington Beach Independent newspaper, Jimmy Sullivan's parents, Babara and Joseph revealed the following information about Avenged Sevenfold's new album: “Most important to him, Jimmy had just finished writing songs for Avenged Sevenfold’s new album — he even called one his ‘masterpiece.’ When he wrote songs, he would record tracks of his singing, playing the piano and drumming — then, when he played them for me, he would sing the orchestra or guitar parts that would be added later. I am thankful that I got to tell him how much I liked and admired his music. Later, Barbara commented that, "Jimmy wrote some really good songs. I was so proud of him, and I know that even though it will be very hard for them, the band will do a great job getting them recorded soon. Needless to say, these ‘all Jimmy’ recordings are almost impossible for me to listen to yet, but what a blessing to have them.” ^[53] They plan to dedicate their new album to The Rev.^[53]

On February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the record, in place of the Rev. "I want our fans to know that with Jimmy in our hearts, our journey to record has officially began. Jimmy helped leave this world an amazing gift and now it's our job to make sure to deliver that gift to our fans. We asked Jimmy's all time favorite drummer Mike Portnoy to record on behalf of him. Mike said it would be an honor and without question that’s what Jim would have wanted. It's comforting to us that someone like Mike, who is undoubtedly revered as one of the best drummers in the world, held such respect and adoration for the Rev's abilities. Even though it will never be the same without our brother by our side, his essence lives in our hearts and through the music he helped create. He was a legend before any of the success or any of that bullshit and we are fucking excited to lay this down for our fans, and especially for Jimmy." ^[54]

The band is preparing for touring behind the new album. M. Shadows has said, "We're not sure what's going to happen after this touring cycle. Our goal right now is to just get kids to hear the record, because we want them to remember the Rev." Avenged Sevenfold's final album featuring Sullivan's writing, "Nightmare," will be released July 27 on Warner Bros. (Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy played the drum parts Sullivan had written on the album and will tour with the band.)^[55] The initial sales projections for Nightmare could be in the range of 160,000 to 180,000 albums sold at the end of the first week, which could land them at #1 on the Billboard 200.^[56]

Genre

Avenged Sevenfold's material spans multiple genres and has evolved over the band's ten year career. Initially, the band's debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet consisted almost entirely of metalcore sound; however, there were several deviations to this genre, most notably in "Streets" which adopts a punk style and "Warmness on the Soul," which is a piano-oriented ballad.^[57] On Waking the Fallen, the band displayed the contemporary metalcore style once more, but added more clean vocals as well as more mature and intricate musical elements. In the band's DVD All Excess, producer Andrew Mudrock explained this transition: "When I met the band after Sounding the Seventh Trumpet had come out before they had recorded Waking the Fallen, M. Shadows said to me 'This record is screaming. The record we want to make is going to be half-screaming half-singing. I don't want to scream anymore. And the record after that is going to be all singing.'"

On City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold's third album, the band chose to abandon the metalcore genre, developing a more hard rock style. Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album, again, consists of several deviations to less consistent genres and styles from the album's main hard rock and heavy metal songs, most notably in "Dear God", which adopts a country style and "A Little Piece of Heaven", which is circled within the influence of Broadway show tunes, using primarily brass instruments and stringed orchestra to take over most of the role of the lead and rhythm guitar. The band has changed considerably since their first album, in which during that time they have been characterized as a heavy band with a screamed and growled vocal style combined with clean vocals, chugging guitar riffs and breakdowns that one can expect from the metalcore genre. The band has also cited bands such as Bad Religion, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Dream Theater, Metallica, NOFX, Alice in Chains, Black Flag, Corrosion of Conformity, The Misfits, Slayer, The Vandals, Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Deftones, and AFI as their artistic influences [2].

Band name and lyrical content

The band's name is a reference to the Book of Genesis in the Bible – specifically Genesis 4:24, where Cain is sentenced to life in exile for murdering his brother. God marked him so that none would kill him on account of his sin; the man who dared to kill Cain would suffer "vengeance seven times over" (KJV).^{[58][original research?]} The abbreviation "A7X" for their band name was the idea of guitarist Zacky Vengeance. The title of Avenged Sevenfold's song "Chapter Four" refers to the fourth chapter of Genesis, in which the story of Cain and Abel takes place. The song's subject also appears to be this story. "Beast and the Harlot", yet another song derived from the Bible, comes from the Book of Revelation only it is written in the first person and refers to the punishment of Babylon the Great, world empire and seat of false religion.

Another biblical reference occurs in the song "The Wicked End". In this song, several times it is said "dust the apple off, savor each bite, and deep inside you know Adam was right." making reference to Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Although the band's title and members' stage names make references to religion, Shadows stated in an interview that they are not a religious band. "Anyone that reads the lyrics and really knew anything about us, they would know we're not promoting either," he said. "That's one thing about this band that I love is that we never really shove any kind of, like, political or religious beliefs on people. We just, the music's there to entertain and maybe thought-provoking on both sides, but we don't try to, like, really shove anything down anyone's throat. There's too many bands that do that nowadays, I think."^[59] The band has a few songs that are somewhat political in nature like "Critical Acclaim", "Gunslinger" and "Blinded in Chains". The song "Betrayed" off of their album City of Evil was written about "Dimebag Darrell's death".

The Deathbat

The band sports a logo known as the "Deathbat". It was originally designed by an artistic high school friend of Avenged Sevenfold, Micah Montague, as seen on the band's first DVD, All Excess. The Deathbat has appeared on all of the band's album covers, many of which were done by Cameron Rackam, a close friend of the band. The Deathbat has developed from just being a skull with bat wings, to sometimes appear as a full "man size" skeleton with bat wings, as it can be seen at the cover of City of Evil. On Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, there are pictures of two people (in which appear to be Cain and Abel), another angel-like human and a semi-opaque Deathbat below it, several Deathbats appear on the back cover of the album as well. The Deathbat also appears on covers of number of singles such as "Bat Country", "Warmness on the Soul" and "Critical Acclaim".

Band members

The band members occasionally play instruments other than their primary instruments listed below.

Current members M. Shadows – lead vocals (1999–present) Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1999–present) Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals (2000–present) Johnny Christ – bass, backing vocals (2002–present)

Former members The Rev – drums, backing vocals (1999–2009) Matt Wendt – bass (1999–2000) Justin Sane – bass (2000–2001) Dameon Ash – bass (2001–2002)

Studio members

• Mike Portnoy – drums (2010)^[60][61]
• Brian Haner, Sr. – guitar (2005–present)

Touring members

• Mike Portnoy – drums (2010)

Timeline

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Avenged Sevenfold discography

Studio albums

• Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)
• Waking the Fallen (2003)
• City of Evil (2005)
• Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
• Nightmare (2010)