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Avenged Sevenfold

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Avenged Sevenfold
File:A7X2006BandPromoPhoto.jpg
Background information
Years active1999 to present
MembersM. Shadows
Synyster Gates
Zacky Vengeance
Johnny Christ
The Rev
WebsiteA7X Official Site

Avenged Sevenfold, sometimes abbreviated to A7X, is a Heavy Metal/Hard Rock, and formerly metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California.

History

The band formed when the members were in high school. Their first album was titled Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, and was recorded when the band members were eighteen years old. Their follow-up album was entitled Waking the Fallen, which received a positive rating in Rolling Stone magazine.

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 "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.

The band's name is an alleged 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 be "avenged in sevenfold," or punished in a way that is seven times worse than Cain's punishment. 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."

Avenged Sevenfold attracts prepubescent girls and outcast boys who like to wear black make up and cry a lot.

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 Red Octane's Guitar Hero II, scheduled for release on Nov 07, 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.

Shadows announced in an interview that there will be a new album "sometime in 2007 possibly".

Band members

  • M. Shadows (1999-Present) (Matthew Charles Sanders) — Lead Vocals
  • Synyster Gates (2001-Present) (Brian Elwin Haner, Jr.) — Lead Guitars, Back up Vocals
  • Zacky Vengeance (1999-Present) (Zachary James Baker) — Rhythm Guitars, Back up Vocals
  • Johnny Christ (2002-Present) (Johnathan Lewis Seward) - not to be confused with John Christ of Danzig — Bass, Back up Vocals
  • The Rev "The Reverend Tholomew Plague" (1999-Present) ((James) Jimmy Owen Sullivan) — Drums, Back up Vocals

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

Synyster Gates

  • Uses Schecter guitars:
    • Schecter Syn Custom
    • Schecter C-1 FR (white with dot inlays)
    • C-1 FR Hellraiser Avenger
    • Syn Custom Avenger Models
    • Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifiers with a 4x12 cab
    • Ernie Ball Slinky Top Heavy Bottom Strings

Zacky Vengeance

  • Uses Schecter guitars:
    • S-1 Elite
    • S-1 Regular
    • S-1 Blackjack
    • Vengeance Custom S-1 Models

Johnny Christ

The Rev

Also uses Pro-Mark 5BN Drumsticks and Evans drum heads.

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 2006 Burn It Down Warner Bros. CD/Vinyl Release only. No video/radio play.
July 10 2006 Seize the Day Warner Bros. Currently not available as a CD or vinyl.

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)
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 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[1] "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. [2].
    • Synyster Gates also has a clothing line due out, tentatively titled "Syn."
  • 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 being a band since 1999. The band themselves, who gave an incentive to those who voted for them (live, unreleased videos), commented that because they didn't think they'd win, there were no videos immediately ready.
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