Avenged Sevenfold, sometimes abbreviated to A7X, is a hard rock/heavy metal and formerly metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California.
Avenged Sevenfold | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1999 to present |
| Members | M. Shadows Synyster Gates Zacky Vengeance Johnny Christ The Rev |
| Website | A7X Official Site |
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, and adds a more "hard rock" sound with obvious influences ranging from various bands. Although the band have been labeled metal, metalcore 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. City of Evil has been occasionally accused of being the band's sell out album, some people agree that the band has completely changed their image and attitude since jumping to a major label. 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 vocals cords, but this was not the cause of the music style changing.
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. 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" will appear in RedOctane's Guitar Hero II, scheduled for release on November 7, 2006.
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 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]
Prior to canceling their tour, the band was scheduled to play with metalcore band Bleeding Through on their European tour. [2]
Band members
- M. Shadows (1999-Present) (Matthew Charles Sanders) — Lead Vocals
- Synyster Gates (1999-Present) (Brian Elwin Haner, Jr.) — Lead Guitars, Backing Vocals
- Zacky Vengeance (1999-Present) (Zachary James Baker) — Rhythm Guitars, Backing Vocals
- Johnny Christ (2002-Present) (Jonathan Lewis Seward) - not to be confused with John Christ of Danzig — Bass
- The Rev (1999-Present) (James Owen Sullivan) — Drums, Backing Vocals
- Zack Baddeley(2006-present) Guitar
Former band members
- Justin Sane (1999-2001) - not to be confused with Justin Sane of Anti-Flag — Bass guitar
- Daemon Ash (2001-2002) — Bass guitar
Equipment
Zacky Vengeance
- Schecter S-1 Models (Elite, Vengance Custom Models)
- Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
- Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
- Boss RV-5 Reverb
- Bogner Ubershall Head and 4x12 Cab
- Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Head (He Switches Between Mesa and Bogner Heads Depending On His Mood)
- Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny Top Heavy Bottom Strings
- Schecter - Tempest Extreme
Synyster Gates
- Schecter C-1 FR (White Seymour Duncan Invader Humbuckers, Dot Inlays)
- Schecter Avenger Models (Hellraiser, Custom Synyster 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
- Frantone "The Sweet"
- Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2
Syn has been seen using Schecter Banshee models on special occasions.
- GCX Ground Control Pro (Located on floor for Pedal Switching)
- Bogner Ubershall Head and 4x12 Cab
- Ernie Ball 2215 Skinny top Heavy Bottom Strings
Johnny Christ
- Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling Bass
- Ampeg SVT 8x10 Cab
- Gallien Krueger 1001 RB Head
- Ernie Ball 2831 Power Slinky Bass Strings
The Reverend Tholomew Plague
- DW Maple Collectors Series Drums, White drums with black Hardware
- 18x22" Bass (x2)
- 8x8", 9x10", 10x12", Rack Toms 16x16" and 16x18" Floor Toms (suspended and on extreme angle)
- 4x14" Maple snare
- DW Hardware and Pedals (black hardware on the drums)
- Sabian Cymbals: - 14" AAX Metal Hi-Hats, 7" Max Stax Splash, 10" AAX Metal Splash, 18" AAX Metal Crash (x2), 22" AAX Metal Ride, 18" AA Metal X China.
- Pro Mark 5B "The Natural" Drum Sticks
- Signature sticks due out soon.
Discography
Demo Recordings
For information, see Early Avenged Sevenfold releases.
Albums
-
Sounding the Seventh Trumpet July 24, 2001 Goodlife Recording -
Warmness on the Soul EP August 8, 2001 Goodlife Recording -
Waking the Fallen August 26, 2003 Hopeless Records #12 (Independent Album Chart) 175,000 US sales -
City of Evil June 7, 2005 Warner Bros. Records #30 (US Billboard) 697,000 US Sales
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 2006 | 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" | - | - | - | - | City Of Evil |
| 2005 | "Bat Country" | #60 | #2 | #6 | - | 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 | (Video) |
| 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 | (Video from YouTube) |
| June 30, 2006 | Seize the Day | professional video directed by Wayne Isham | (Video From YouTube) |
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
- 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 due out, titled "Syn Gates Clothing. [4]
- 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).