While it took Avenged Sevenfold a few years to get off the ground, the release of their 2003 sophomore album Waking The Fallen showcased a metalcore band that was fast developing. The leap from their debut album Sounding The Seventh Trumpet was a quantum leap as far as sound and musicianship were concerned, and were both equally impressive as well. If you listen to songs like “Chapter Four” and “Unholy Confessions”, it’s clear to see (and hear) why the band landed Warped Tour slots early on in their career – their brand of metalcore was easily palatable and marketable.
It’s with that being said that the band’s 2005 follow-up, City Of Evil, was the most successful Avenged Sevenfold record to date. Prior to its recording, the band triggered a pretty sizable bidding war from major labels, and A7X eventually went with Warner Bros. for the record’s release. Sporting a polished, streamlined sound that was closer to classic hard rock and metal, it signaled the band’s foray into a more commercial sound that was a departure from their previous work. It’s not hard to see why the Platinum-selling record made the band into stars, though.
In the early 2000’s, a storm was brewing in California’s metal scene. Far removed from the glam metal that thrived on the Sunset Strip over a decade prior, a thriving metalcore scene was just beginning to make waves. Bands like Atreyu, Throwdown, Bleeding Through, and Eighteen Visions were beginning to really buzz, and while not all of these bands had lasting success, there was one band that would eventually go on to become one of the most popular rock/metal bands of the last two decades.
That band? Avenged Sevenfold. Of course, the long-running rock act weren’t always the arena-fillers they are now. In fact, their 2003 sophomore record Waking The Fallen only sold a few thousand copies in its first week of release. It sold steadily, though, eventually being certified Gold, and setting up a bright future.
While the band isn’t touring for the rest of 2019 as they eye a new album release likely for next year, Avenged Sevenfold are still busy – at least in the case of vocalist M. Shadows. The A7X frontman has now been confirmed as a playable character in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4’s new Zombie Apocalypse update. The update, which launched July 9th, features Shadows as a playable character specifically in the Blackout mode.
Photo by Andrew Wendowski – Music Mayhem Magazine
Fans who were looking forward to a massive summer tour from Avenged Sevenfold will surely be disappointed to know that said tour isn’t happening now, and neither will any festival dates the band was scheduled to play, for the foreseeable future. Vocalist M. Shadows, who came down with a viral infection recently, had been rendered “voiceless”, and is completely unable to sing at the moment. The tour would have been in support of their most recent effort The Stage, was set to feature Three Days Grace, Prophets Of Rage, and H09909.
You can read a full statement from M. Shadows himself, below. We wish M. Shadows all the best in his recovery – being a vocalist is certainly not an easy task.