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Avenged Sevenfold

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Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold, sometimes abbreviated to A7X, is a hard rock/heavy metal, and formerly metalcore, band from Huntington Beach, California.

History

Their first album was titled Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, and was recorded when the band members were eighteen years old. It was released originally on their first label, Good Life Recordings, and then again on Hopeless Records. Their follow-up album was entitled Waking the Fallen, also released on Hopeless, was very well received and was awarded a positive rating in Rolling Stone magazine. Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold was signed to Warner Bros. Records.

City of Evil, released on June 7 2005, strays from metalcore, heading more towards heavy metal and adds a more hard rock sound with obvious influences ranging from various bands. Although the band have been labeled metal, metalcore, emo, and hard rock in many publications, the band themselves claim that they are a "heavy-metal" band and have no musical similarities to metalcore in any way although this is heavily debated by their peers. During the recording of City of Evil, M. Shadows' vocal stylings have changed more to focus on melodic singing than on hardcore screaming. M.Shadows had minor surgery on his vocal cords; however this is not the reason for changing his singing style.

The band's name is a reference to the book of Genesis in the Bible and the story of Cain and Abel, where Cain is punished to live in exile, alone and miserable. Anyone who relieved Cain of his misery by killing him would have "vengeance taken upon him sevenfold." The title of Avenged Sevenfold's song "Chapter Four" references Genesis IV, the chapter of the Bible 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 and refers to the punishment of Babylon and the destruction of Pagan nations. The song "The Wicked End" also has a reference to the bible, specifically Adam and Eve. In the 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 obvious references to religion, Shadows stated in an interview that they are "not really religious at all." "Anyone that read 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." [1]

Their song "Blinded in Chains" was used in the soundtrack for the video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Another song, "Bat Country," was used in the soundtracks for SSX on Tour, NHL 06 and Madden 06, following in the footsteps of "Chapter Four" which had also been on the soundtrack for NHL 2004, Madden 2004 and NASCAR Thunder 2004. The song "Beast and the Harlot" was in the soundtrack for Burnout Revenge. All the above games, not coincidentally, are produced by various divisions of Electronic Arts. "Beast and the Harlot" appears in RedOctane's Guitar Hero II, released November 7, 2006. The song "Burn it Down" is featured on the October 24th, 2006 release of the Saw III soundtrack.

During recent tours (Coheed and Cambria spring 2006 tour and Ozzfest 2006), Avenged Sevenfold have been performing the song "Walk," originally by Pantera, as part of a tribute to the late "Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott.

Recently at the MTV Video Music Awards, Avenged Sevenfold received the award for best new artist. They took the award over several other artists--Angels and Airwaves, Panic! at the Disco, Chris Brown, Rihanna, and James Blunt.

After canceling fall and winter 2006 tour dates, the band is planning their unnamed fourth studio album. [1]. M. Shadows has stated that it won't be a "City of Evil Part 2" or "Waking the Fallen Part 2", because they want to change their sound once more.

Prior to canceling their tour, the band was scheduled to play with Bleeding Through on their European tour. [2]

Band members

Former band members

  • Justin Sane (1999-2001) — Bass guitar
  • Dameon Ash (2001-2002) — Bass guitar

Equipment

Synyster Gates

  • Schecter White C-1 FR with Seymour Duncan Invaders
  • Schecter Avenger Models (Hellraiser, Custom models)
    • Jim Dunlop Cry Baby From Hell Wah Pedal
    • Digitech Whammy Pedal
    • Visual Sound H20 Chorus/Echo Pedal
    • Boss CS-3 Compressor
    • Boss RV-5 Reverb
    • Boss SD-1 Overdrive (For Leads)
    • Boss PH-3 Phase Shifter
    • Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2
    • GCX Ground Control Pro (Located on floor for Pedal Switching)
    • Bogner Ubershall Head and 4x12 Cab
    • Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier
    • Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny top Heavy Bottom Strings

Syn has been seen using Schecter Banshee models on special occasions.

Zacky Vengeance

  • Schecter S-1 Models (S-1 Elite, Custom models)
    • Boss NS-2 Noise Suppression
    • Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
    • Boss RV-5 Reverb
    • Line 6 Constrictor
    • Bogner Ubershall Head and 4x12 Cab
    • Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Head
    • Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Strings

Johnny Christ

  • Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling Bass
    • Gallien Krueger 4x12 Neo
    • Gallien Krueger 1001 RB Head
    • Ernie Ball 2831 Power Slinky Bass Strings
    • Johnny also supposedly uses the boss bass overdrive

The Reverend

  • DW w/ maple shells (White Liquor finish/ Black Hardware)
    • 18x22" Bass (x2)
    • 8"x8", 10"x9", 12x10" Rack Toms
    • 14"x12" 16x14" Floor Toms
    • 4x14" Maple Snare
  • Hardware:
    • DW 9000 series with all boom stands and 5000 series pedals
  • Cymbals:
    • Sabian
    • 14"AAX Metal Hi-Hats, 7" Max-Stax Splash, 10" AAX Metal Splash, 19" AAX Metal Crash(x2), 22" AAX Metal Ride, 19" AAX Metal China
  • Sticks:
    • Pro-Mark
    • 5B "The Natural" Maple drumsticks (nylon tips)

Discography

Demo Recordings

For information, see Early Avenged Sevenfold releases.

Albums

Singles

Date of release Title Label Other Info
September 19 2005 Bat Country Warner Bros.
February 6 2006 Beast and the Harlot Warner Bros.
June 12 2005 Burn It Down Warner Bros. CD/Vinyl Release only.
July 10 2006 Seize the Day Warner Bros. Currently not available as a CD or vinyl.

Charting Positions

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock US Modern Rock UK Singles Chart
2001 "Warmness on the Soul" - - - - Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
2003 "Unholy Confessions" - - - - Waking the Fallen
2005 "Burn it Down" - - - #92 City Of Evil
2005 "Bat Country" #60 #2 #6 #84 City Of Evil
2006 "Beast and the Harlot" - #19 #40 #44 City Of Evil
2006 "Seize the Day" - #17 - - City Of Evil

Videography

Date Title Notes Link
March 2001 Warmness on the Soul Professional video (Video)
March 6, 2004 Unholy Confessions Live video with dubbed music (Video)
June, 2005 Burn it Down Live video with dubbed music
July 28, 2005 Bat Country Professional video directed by Marc Klasfeld (video from Bedlam Society)
February 6, 2006 Beast and the Harlot Professional video directed by Tony Petrossian
June 30, 2006 Seize the Day professional video directed by Wayne Isham

Compilations

Date Title Label Song/s
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 Masters of Horror Soundtrack "Beast and the Harlot" (live)
2006 Kerrang! - High Voltage: A Brief History of Rock[2] "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"

Trivia

  • M. Shadows has said that he spends eight hours a day, seven days a week, writing songs.
  • Zacky Vengeance owns his own clothing line, called "Zacky V. Presents..." It features the popular "Vengeance University" line, featuring shirts and belt buckles. [3].
  • Synyster Gates also has a clothing line out now, titled "Syn Gates Clothing."
  • The Rev and Synyster were both members of the band Pinkly Smooth, formed with members of the now-extinct band Ballistico. The Rev sang and also recorded drums. Former Avenged Sevenfold bassist, Justin Sane, was also in the band.
  • Zacky Vengeance was a baseball player in high school and has said that if he were not in a band, he would have pursued a professional career.
  • The group won "Best New Artist" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, despite not truly being a new band. The band themselves gave an incentive to those who voted for them (live, unreleased videos for Seize the Day and Bat Country).
  • Synyster Gates' father, Brian Haner plays some of the acoustic guitars on City of Evil, including the first acoustic solo on the song Sidewinder. He is often referred to as the band's official acoustic guitarist.

References