Avenged Sevenfold

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For the self-titled album, see Avenged Sevenfold (album).
Avenged Sevenfold
A7X in Bangkok, Thailand, 2007(L-R: M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, The Rev, and Johnny Christ)
Background information
Also known as A7X
Origin Huntington Beach, California, USA
Genre(s) Metalcore[1]
Heavy metal
Hard rock
Years active 1999 - present
Label(s) Good Life Recordings (2001-2002)
Hopeless Records (2002-2004)
Warner Bros. Records (2004-present)
Associated acts Pinkly Smooth
Suburban Legends
Unnamed Sideproject
Website AvengedSevenfold.com
Members
M. Shadows
Zacky Vengeance
The Rev
Synyster Gates
Johnny Christ
Former members
Deamon Ash
Justin Sane
Matt Wendt

Avenged Sevenfold is an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California.

Contents

Biography

Early years

The band was formed in 1999. Avenged Sevenfold's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were eighteen years old. It was originally released on their first label, Good Life Recordings. After lead guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band, the introductory track "To End The Rapture" was re-recorded with Gates playing, and the album was re-released on Hopeless Records. Their follow-up album, entitled Waking the Fallen, was also released on Hopeless Records and was awarded a positive rating in Rolling Stone magazine. Shortly after its release, Avenged Sevenfold were signed to Warner Bros. Records.

Mainstream success

City of Evil, the third album which was released on 7 June 2005, strayed from metalcore, and M. Shadows chose to abandon the screaming from the first two albums. Although Shadows acknowledges throat and vocal cord damage, and the following surgery to help correct the issues, he says that the change in vocal style was not a result. In their new DVD "All Excess", Mudrock, producer of Avenged's second and third albums, said prior to Waking the Fallen, Shadows had stated that he wanted a CD with half-screaming, then one with no screaming, which was achieved in City of Evil. Shadows maintains that he's able to scream even better than before since the surgery and training with vocal coach Ron Anderson, who worked with various artists, from Axl Rose, to Kylie Minogue, and Chris Cornell.[2]

Recent events

In 2006 A7X completed a worldwide tour, including the US, England, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After canceling Fall and Winter 2006 tour dates, the band announced that they were planning their fourth studio album, a self-titled album. M. Shadows has stated that it would not be a City of Evil Part 2 or Waking the Fallen Part 2, but he says it will attract fans of both original albums while still being a surprise.[3] They played their first tour dates of 2007 on an Asian tour with stops in Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan. To "tide fans over" until the release of the new album, Avenged Sevenfold released their first DVD, All Excess, on 17 July 2007. The DVD includes a documentary and live footage dating back to 1999 along with music videos and the making of the Seize the Day music video.

The self titled album was released out on October 30, 2007 to early success, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 94,000 copies sold.[4] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" along with its music video, were released prior to the album. An animated video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven" and was going to be included on the MVI, but due to the song's subject matter (i.e. necrophilia), Warner Brothers released it to registered MVI users over the age of 18 in December of 2007. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video was released in January 2008. Avenged Sevenfold has confirmed that their fourth single is the country rock style song "Dear God".

They are currently headlining the Taste of Chaos tour with Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall and Idiot Pilot. On the tour, they have recorded a live DVD, which will also have some unreleased studio songs from the most recent album.[5]

Musical characteristics

Band name and lyrical content

The band's name is a reference to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, where Cain is sentenced to live 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). The title of Avenged Sevenfold's song "Chapter Four" references 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 Adam 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."[6] The band has a few songs that are somewhat political in nature like "Critical Acclaim" and "Blinded In Chains".

Genre

Avenged Sevenfold's material ranges across many genres, often leaving the concept of genres altogether (especially in their most recent album). For example, Avenged Sevenfold's debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet consisted almost entirely of a metalcore sound, however consisted of several deviations to this genre, most notably in "Streets" which adopts a Punk style, and "Warmness on the Soul", which consists of mainly piano, and could be considered soft rock. Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album, again, consists of several deviations to less consistent genres and styles, most notably in "Dear God", which adopts a country style, and "A Little Piece of Heaven", which includes elements 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, though, changed considerably since its first album, which was characterized as very heavy, to being more of a hard rock type band.

Band members

Current members

  • M. Shadows - lead vocals (1999 - present)
  • Synyster Gates - lead guitars, piano, backing vocals (2000 - present)
  • Zacky Vengeance - rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1999 - present)
  • Johnny Christ - bass, backing vocals (2002 - present)
  • The Rev (The Reverend Tholomew Plague) - drums, percussion, vocals, piano (1999 - present)

Discography

Studio Albums

EPs

DVDs

Demo Recordings

For information, see Early Avenged Sevenfold releases.

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock US Modern Rock UK Singles Chart UK Rock Chart
2001 "Warmness on the Soul" - - - - - Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
2004 "Unholy Confessions" - - - - - Waking the Fallen
2005 "Burn It Down" - - - 92 22 City of Evil
"Bat Country" 60 2 6 84 12
2006 "Beast and the Harlot" - 19 40 44 33
"Seize the Day" - 17 - - -
2007 "Critical Acclaim" - - - - - Avenged Sevenfold
"Almost Easy" 106 3 6 67 1
2008 "Afterlife" - 14 27 197 3
"Dear God" - - - - -

Videography

Date Title Notes Link
March 2001 Warmness on the Soul Official music video directed by Broken Robot & Militont (Video)
March 6, 2004 Unholy Confessions Official music video directed by Greg Kaplan (Video)
June 2005 Burn It Down Official music video (live) directed by Splinter Films UK (Video)
July 28, 2005 Bat Country" Official music video directed by Marc Klasfeld (Video)
February 6, 2006 Beast and the Harlot Official music video directed by Tony Petrossian (Video)
June 30, 2006 Seize the Day Official music video directed by Wayne Isham (Video)
July 17, 2007 All Excess DVD featuring a documentary, live performances,
music videos, and outtakes.		 (Trailer)
October 2007 Almost Easy Official music video directed by P.R. Brown (Video)
January 2008 A Little Piece of Heaven Official music video directed by Rafa Alcantra (Video)
February 2008 Afterlife Official music video directed by Wayne Isham (Video)
June 2008 Dear God Official music video directed by Rafa Alcantra

Compilations

Date Title Label Songs
2002 Plea for Peace/Take Action! Vol. 2 Subcity Records "Turn the Other Way"
2003 Take Action! Vol. 3 Subcity Records "Chapter Four"
2003 Warped Tour 2003 CD SideOne Dummy Records "Darkness Surrounding"
2003 Metal=Life CD/DVD Subcity Records "Unholy Confessions" & Video
2003 Operation: Punk Rock Freedom Hopeless Records / Subcity Records "Chapter Four" & "Darkness Surrounding"
2004 Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 4 Hopeless Records / Subcity Records "Second Heartbeat" & "Darkness Surrounding"
2005 Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 5 Hopeless Records / Subcity Records "Chapter Four" & "Eternal Rest (Live)" (feat. "Unholy Confessions" video on Enhanced CD)
2005 Headbanger's Ball: The Revenge Roadrunner Records "Burn It Down"
2005 Masters of Horror Soundtrack "Beast and the Harlot" (live)
2006 Kerrang! - High Voltage: A Brief History of Rock[1] "Walk" (Pantera cover)
2006 Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 6 Hopeless Records / Subcity Records "Darkness Surrounding" & "Unholy Confessions" (feat. "Unholy Confessions" video and "We Come Out at Night" live at Warped Tour 2003 video on included DVD)
2006 Kerrang! - Kerrang! Awards 2006 "Beast and the Harlot"
2006 Saw III Soundtrack "Burn It Down"
2007 Saw IV Soundtrack "Eternal Rest"

Guest features in other artist's songs

External links

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  1. ^ http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=AVENGED|SEVENFOLD&sql=11:knfqxqekldae~T0 allmusic page
  2. ^ Rolling Stone article
  3. ^ MTV article
  4. ^ "Eagles Fly Past Britney to Debut at No. 1", Billboard.com, November 7, 2007. Last accessed November 7, 2007
  5. ^ Zacky Vengeance: Avenged Sevenfold Would've 'Scared the Emo Kids' on Warped Tour
  6. ^ ultimate-guitar.com article
v • d • e
Avenged Sevenfold
M. Shadows · Synyster Gates · Zacky Vengeance · Johnny Christ · The Rev
Albums
EPs
DVDs
Demos
Singles
Other songs
Labels