Avenged Sevenfold is an American metal band from Huntington Beach, California and are currently signed to Warner Bros. Records. Founded in 1999 the band has released five studio albums and two extended plays. The band released their debut studio album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, on January 31, 2001 with their original metalcore sound followed by their sophomore album, Waking the Fallen, on August 26, 2003 which included more clean vocals than their debut. The band's third album, City of Evil, displayed their transition to a heavy metal sound rather than their original metalcore sound and was released on June 6, 2005. The band explored new sounds with their self-titled album released on October 30, 2007 which enjoyed mainstream success before their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, the band continued on and would later release their fourth studio album, Nightmare, on July 27, 2010 which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200, their first number one debut. The band is currently working on their sixth album with a release planned for Summer 2013.
Background[]
Formation and Debut Album (1999 - 2002)[]
Avenged Sevenfold formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California by Matthew Sanders, Zachary Baker, Matt Wendt and James Sullivan. Sanders 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. Upon their formation, each member of the band also took on a pseudonym which were already nicknames of their's from high school.
In 2000 Matt Wendt left the band and was replaced by James Sullivan's former Suburban Legend bandmate Justin Meacham. Later that year Meacham was reported that he had attempted suicide performed by drinking excessive amounts of cough syrup, however, he is still alive. His suicide attempt had an impact on the band's Take Action Tour. He then was then hospitalized for a while and in poor condition and had to leave the band. Frank Melcom replaced Meacham in 2001. In an interview during the early 2000s with vocalist Sanders about Meacham's suicide attempt, he said "He perma-fried his brain and was in a mental institution for a long time," Sanders also said; "When you have someone in your band who does that, it ruins everything that's going on all around you, and it makes you want to do something to prevent it from happening to other people."
Before the release of their debut album, the band recorded two demos in 1999 and 2000. The band's debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were just eighteen years old and in high school. The album was released on the band's first label, Goodlife Recordings on July 24, 2001.
The track "To End the Rapture" was re-recorded in 2001 to include the band's new guitarist Brian Haner Jr featuring a full band element that was missing in the band's debut album. The album was re-released on March 19, 2002 through Hopelesss Records. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall and playing on the Take Action Tour.
Bassist Frank Melcom parted ways with the band in 2002.
Waking the Fallen and City of Evil (2003 - 2006)[]
In 2003 the band recieved their fourth and current bassist Jonathan Seward and the band began work shortly after on their sophomore album. The band released their sophomore album, Waking the Fallen, on August 26, 2003 through Hopeless Records. 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 on the Vans Warped Tour.
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. Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were signed to Warner Bros. Records.
The band released their third studio album and major label debut, City of Evil, released on June 7, 2005 and debuted at No.30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release. The album utilized a more classic metal sound than their previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre. The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; Sanders 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". The album received positive 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 & 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". They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own Cities of Evil Tour. In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached No.2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, No.6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to No.1 on MTV's Total Request Live. Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first gold record. It was later certified platinum in August 2009.
Self-Titled Album and the Death of James "The Rev" Sullivan (2007 - 2009)[]
Avenged Sevenfold was invited to join Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known rock and metal acts such as DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed and System of a Down for the first time in 2006. 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 a sixteen month promotion of City of Evil, the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music. In the interim, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007. All Excess, which debuted as the No.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.
On October 26, 2007, Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled album, the band's fourth studio album. It debuted at No.4 on the Billboard 200 with over 90,000 copies sold. 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 June 15, 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.
Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour with Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall and Idiot Pilot. They used the footage from their last show in Long Beach for Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough, a two-disc B-sides CD and live DVD which was released on September 16, 2008. They also recorded numerous covers, including Pantera's "Walk", Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".
In January 2009, Sanders that the band was writing the follow-up to their self-titled fourth album within the upcoming months. They also announced that they will be playing at Rock On the Range, from May 16–17, 2009. 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.
On December 28, 2009, the band's drummer James Sullivan was found dead at his home at the age of 28. Autopsy results were inconclusive, 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". In a statement by the band, they expressed their grief over the passing of Sullivan and later posted a message from his family expressing their gratitude to fans for their support.
Nightmare (2010 - 2011)[]
The band members admitted in a number of interviews that they considered disbanding at this point of time. However, on February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the record, in place of Sullivan.
The single "Nightmare" was digitally released on May 18, 2010. A preview for the song was released on May 6, 2010 on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after for unknown reasons. Mixing for the album had been completed in New York City, and Nightmare was finally released worldwide on July 27, 2010. It met with mixed to positive reviews from music critics but was well received by the fans. Nightmare beat sales projections easily, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 163,000 units in its first week. After finishing recording, in December, Portnoy and the band posted simultaneous statements on their websites stating that he will not be their replacement for The Rev. However, Portnoy did travel with the band overseas in December 2010 for three shows in Iraq and Kuwait sponsored by the USO. They played for U.S. Soldiers at Camp Adder, Camp Beuhring, and Balad Air Base. On January 20, 2011, Avenged Sevenfold announced via Facebook that former Confide drummer Arin Ilejay will tour with them starting this year. Whether or not he will be joining the band on a permanent basis has not been decided yet.
Avenged Sevenfold performed at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals on June 3–5, 2011 alongside other bands such as Alter Bridge, System of a Down, and In Flames. On April 2011, the band headlined the Golden God Awards held by Metal Hammer. The same night the band won three awards for "Best Vocalist" (Sanders), "Epiphone Best Guitarist(s)" (Brian Haner, Jr. and Zachary Baker) and "Affliction’s Album of The Year: " for Nightmare, while Mike Portnoy won the award for "Drum Workshop’s Best Drummer" for his work on the album.
In May 2011, it was confirmed that the band had written a new song to be included in the Escalation DLC pack for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops. The song is the first time developers Treyarch have commissioned an outside band to contribute a song since the franchise began. The song, titled "Not Ready to Die", was released on iTunes on May 2, 2011.
Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2011 Uproar Festival with supporting acts Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet for My Valentine, Escape the Fate, among others. In August 2011, vocalist Matthew Sanders stated the band would finish the Uproar Festival, then go home to take a break for six to seven months before starting a new record. He also roughly stated that Arin Ilejay and the band are getting along great, but they have to make sure he's comfortable writing music with them, but he hopes everything works out. In November and December, 2011, the band went on their Buried Alive tour with supporting acts Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, and Black Veil Brides.
Sixth Studio Album (2012 - present)[]
On April 11, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold won the award for "Best Live Band" and "Most Dedicated Fans" at the Revolver Golden Gods awards. The band toured through Asia into April and early May, and played at the Orion Music + More, Festival on June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey alongside Metallica and Cage the Elephant among many others.
On September 24, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold released a new song, titled "Carry On", it was featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. On November 15, 2012, vocalist Matthew Sanders said that the band has been working on a new album since the recording of "Carry On" in August 2012. In December, the band said that it plans to begin recording material for their next album in January 2013, with release planned for later in the year.
In an interview with Metal Hammer, Sanders stated that the song "Carry On" does not represent what direction the band wishes to explore for their upcoming album. "We’ve been working on the album since September, and this isn't a dig at the direction of that song or anything, but I want people to understand that even if they like that song or if they don’t like it or whatever, the album is a completely different entity. We’re working in a direction that I really feel confident with." He has also said that the other band members have been introducing drummer Arin Illejay to albums by Metallica, Pantera, Slayer and Megadeth in order to familiarize him with their influences and what bands they grew up with.
On December 7, 2012, the band was confirmed to play at the 2013 Rock in Rio festival on September 22 2013.[
Band Members[]
Current Members[]
- Matthew Sanders/M. Shadows - lead vocals (1999 - present)
- Brian Haner, Jr./Synyster Gates - lead guitar and backing vocals (2001 - present)
- Jonathan Seward/Johnny Christ - bass guitar and backing vocals (2003 - present)
- Zachary Baker/Zacky Vengeance - rhythm guitar and backing vocals (1999 - present)
Former Members[]
- Frank Melcom/Dameon Ash - bass guitar (2001 - 2002)
- Justin Meacham/Justin Sane - bass guitar and piano (2000 - 2001)
- Matt Wendt - bass guiat (1999 - 2000)
- James Sullivan/The Rev - drums, piano and backing vocals (1999 - 2009)
Touring and Session Members[]
- Arin Ilejay - drums (2011 - present)
- Mike Portnoy - drums (2010)
Discography[]
Studio Albums[]
- Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (Goodlife Records, July 24, 2001)
- Waking the Fallen (Hopeless Records, August 26, 2003)
- City of Evil (Warner Bros. Records, June 6, 2005)
- Avenged Sevenfold (Warner Bros. Records, October 30, 2007)
- Nightmare (Warner Bros. Records, July 27, 2010)
Extended Plays[]
- Warmness on the Soul (Good Life Recordings, August 8, 2001)
- Welcome to the Family (Warner Bros. Records, December 21, 2010)
Video Albums[]
- All Excess (Warner Bros. Records, July 17, 2007)
- Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough (Warner Bros. Records, September 16, 2008)