M. Shadows

M. Shadows

Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the lead vocalist, songwriter, and founding member for the American heavy metal/hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold. His sister is former Detroit Shock player, Amy Sanders. Matt is married to Valary Dibenedetto.

Avenged Sevenfold

Shadows has made guest appearances on numerous albums by various artists. He also produced The Confession's 2007 album, Requiem, which, according to an interview, was one of the first steps which led to Avenged Sevenfold self-producing their 2007 self-titled album.

In October 2002, the band announced that Shadows was experiencing problems in his vocal cords, due to their active touring, and that his doctor advised him to take a short break from touring to prevent further damage. After the release of City of Evil a false rumor started circulating, saying that the reason that he dropped screaming vocals was either due to a ripped vocal cord or a blown blood vessel in the back of his throat. This, however, is not true. Despite having a blood vessel removed from his vocal cords that would flame up and close his throat he still displays some screaming and growling in songs recorded after Waking the Fallen. Examples include the opening to Critical Acclaim from their self-titled album and God Hates Us from Nightmare. In an interview on All Excess, manager Larry Jacobson states that Shadows had decided two years before the making of City of Evil that it would be an all-singing album. He had made it clear to their producer, Andrew Murdock, that the album they were working on at the time, Waking the Fallen would be half singing and half screaming, and that the next would be all singing. Moreover, Jimmy "the Rev" Sullivan confirmed that M. Shadows grew tired of doing screamed vocals. In the past Shadows would sing on all parts of the songs during live performances, supporting the theory that he was no longer able to perform unclean vocals. Shadows has since resumed screaming again during live performances in the songs that initially feature screamed vocals. In the band's fifth album Nightmare, Shadows has also re-incorporated some screaming vocals, notably on the song "God Hates Us."

Featured guest appearances

Year	Song	Artist(s)	Album
2002	"Savior, Saint, Salvation" (with Synyster Gates)	Bleeding Through	Portrait of the Goddess
2005	"Entombed We Collide" and "This Is Not the End"	Death by Stereo	Death for Life
2007	"The River" (with Synyster Gates)	Good Charlotte	Good Morning Revival
	"Buffalo Stampede"	Cowboy Troy	Black in the Saddle
	"Like Always"	Kisses for Kings	Demo
2009	"Turn Out the Lights"	Steel Panther	Feel the Steel
2010	"Nothing to Say"	Slash	Slash
	"Check the Level" (with Slash)	The Dirty Heads	Any Port in a Storm (Special Edition)