Which band member never took a music lesson? And how'd they trigger a feud in Dream Theater?
And what does Neil DeGrasse Tyson have to do with all this? Avenged Sevenfold has
rocked its way into some weird moments. Find out right here, plus so much more.
In December 2009, Avenged Sevenfold's drummer and backing vocalist Jimmy "The
Rev" Sullivan passed away. At 28 years of age, The Rev's untimely death shocked his
family and friends as his musical career was only getting started,
and it ended so abruptly. For his bandmates, it almost proved to be too much: they contemplated
closing the chapter the band once and for all. Lead guitarist Synyster Gates told "Kerrang":
"We all sat down and said, 'We gotta throw in the towel, without Jimmy,
there is no Avenged Sevenfold.' But when we sat and talked with Jimmy's family,
they were like, 'You guys have gotta do this.'"
He added that the Sullivan family encouraged the band to continue since they believed it would be
something that The Rev would have wanted them to do. Gates revealed that it was difficult to
do so initially, but the band was glad that the people around them pushed them forward.
For over 10 years, Avenged Sevenfold called Warner Bros. their home. The band released
four albums — "City of Evil," "Avenged Sevenfold," "Nightmare," and "Hail to the King" — claiming two
Billboard 200 chart-topping records in this period. Somewhere along the line, though,
the relationship between the label and the band soured, and Avenged Sevenfold informed
Warner Bros. that they would not be working with them any longer at the end of 2015. So
what did the execs do? They sued the band, as per an exclusive "Billboard" news report.
The group released their next album, "The Stage," with Capitol Records,
but then returned to Warner Bros. Records. Lead vocalist
M. Shadows explained the shift in a March 2022 interview with "The Bob Lefsetz Podcast," saying:
"The people that we had a problem with at Warner Brothers that simply weren't engaged in the band
had left, and some new people came in and they [said] come back to Warner Brothers,
finish up your deal and we'll deal with it from there."
"We are still currently with one record left on Warner Brothers Records.
We'll be finishing that record up — I think we have May locked out."
Band drama. Who doesn't love a little bit of those shenanigans?
Turns out that Avenged Sevenfold aren't about that life. But in 2010, the band was unintentionally
caught up in the messy split between their former session drummer Mike Portnoy and his band Dream
Theater. Portnoy had stepped in to complete the drum tracks for the "Nightmare" album
after the passing of The Rev, though he was never made a permanent member of Avenged Sevenfold.
According to an interview that rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance had with the radio station 107.7
The Bone, Avenged Sevenfold told Portnoy from the beginning that the gig was only
temporary since they weren't ready to find a full-time replacement for The Rev at the time.
Vengeance admitted that the band was taken aback when Portnoy told them that he quit Dream Theater,
announced it on social media, and was ready to join them full time.
The band reminded him that wasn't what was agreed upon, then had to watch as
Portnoy and Dream Theater publicly feuded. The drama aside, Vengeance said Avenged
Sevenfold would always be grateful to Portnoy for helping the band out when they needed him.
There was a time when the "M" in "MTV" stood for "music," and the channel actually played music
and featured bands. One of the most popular shows on MTV at the time was "Total Request
Live," or "TRL," where the most requested music videos by fans would be played on air.
Initially hosted by Carson Daly, it was a big deal to get featured on "TRL," and it helped
legitimize many bands in the mainstream. By 2005, it was almost unheard of for heavier
bands to feature on the show, as the top hits of the year were more of the poppier or R&B variety.
So imagine how Avenged Sevenfold must have felt when their song "Bat Country" flapped its way to
the top of the "TRL" charts. Speaking to MTV, M. Shadows admitted it was a strange feeling.
"When we even heard that we were being announced on 'TRL,' I think we were just like, 'That's kinda
weird. But it was a decision we had to make: Do we wanna go that route and do that? But it's a
very tough market to sell CDs and get people to hear you, so we were just excited to be No.1."
Fans who picked up 2003's "Waking the Fallen" and 2005's "City of Evil" would have immediately
noticed not only the difference in the musical approach but also in M. Shadows' vocal style.
While it wasn't like he'd gone from belting out "Raining Blood" to "MMMBop,"
there was certainly a shift as he moved away from screaming to singing. As Shadows
once explained in an interview with rock site "Blistering," the change was entirely
intentional since the band had no intention of releasing a similar-sounding album again.
The Avenged Sevenfold singer went under the tutelage of vocal
coach Ron Anderson — who worked with singers like Guns 'n' Roses' Axl Rose
and Soundgarden's Chris Cornell — for nine months before entering the studio. Shadows explained:
"You hear Scott Weiland, Axl Rose, or Chris Cornell, and they all have that high distorted,
gritty, whiny low range. Ron taught me how to have that grit to my voice while still having the tone.
He brought all of that to the table, and he brought that technique to my voice."
Shadows also wasn't too concerned if fans accused him of selling out since
he believed this singing change was necessary for the evolution of the band and its sound.
A lot of bands that have roots in the hardcore and metal scenes are political. They aren't
afraid of airing their views on various topics and showing their audience which
side of the fence they are on. According to M. Shadows, however, Avenged Sevenfold
prefers to keep their personal political views out of their music since they believe
the messages often get taken out of context and create more conflict in the fanbase.
In an interview with Rock 106.9, Shadows said,
"I would consider myself pretty political, but I try to keep it out of the music,
because I just know that every soundbite you'll get from me in a radio interview or a magazine,
then there can always be a counter-argument which I'll never be able to [give a] rebuttal to."
It took a while after The Rev's passing for Avenged Sevenfold to decide on a permanent
drummer. Arin Ilejay joined the band in 2011, but he was let go in 2015.
Not long afterward, Bad Religion's Brooks Wackerman was announced
as the new man behind the drum kit. It surprised many people in the music industry,
especially since Wackerman had been with the legendary punk band for 14
years when he quit to join Avenged Sevenfold. So why did he decide to put in his notice?
In a conversation with "Drum Magazine," Wackerman revealed the simple and highly relatable reason.
"At the time when the Avenged guys asked me to join, I was looking for a different style, or at
least a new adventure. They were familiar with my work, so I was honored they even asked me."
Wackerman added that his drum idols were all hard rock and metal drummers,
so joining Avenged Sevenfold was something of a return to his roots. He might have made
a name for himself in the punk scene, but metal was always number one in his heart.
Being a part of the rock and metal community is occasionally unpredictable. While some fans just
like music, other fans can be dedicated, too dedicated, toxic, and everything in between.
Having been around the block for over two decades now, Avenged Sevenfold
understands the volatility of rock and metal fans, especially on online forums
and social media platforms where comments often degenerate into verbal mudslinging about tastes.
"Why don't you go with Volchok to one of his heavy metal vomit parties and like,
listen to heavy metal and, like, vomit?"
"Wow, you're being so lame."
"Not as lame as you."
Answering fan questions for "Metal Hammer," M. Shadows said that the
online criticism doesn't bother the band at all. He explained:
"The Internet lost its bite many years ago for me. You can go on any artist's
YouTube channel or Facebook and copy and paste the comments.
'New stuff sucks' or 'I'm disappointed,' blah, blah, blah ... Who cares?"
Shadows revealed that he doesn't let the praise dictate his mood either, suggesting
that people shouldn't be too concerned about what others say or think about them in general.
Regardless of what anyone thinks of Avenged Sevenfold's music,
no one can deny that Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates' guitar playing is impressive.
The dual axemen sweep the melodies through their galloping riffs and lightning-speed solos as they
ensure that the guitar is the central instrument to every song. While Gates studied different
genres at Hollywood's Musicians Institute and learned a few tricks from his musician father,
Brian Haner Sr., Vengeance doesn't have any formalized training. He revealed:
"I've never taken a guitar lesson in my life. I never cared about any of that.
I just care about music, and I care about the way that it makes me feel."
Vengeance added that he has never seen himself as one of the great guitar players,
no matter how much praise he receives from others, stating that the reason he picked
up his guitar in the first place was because of his love of music. Talk about being born with it.
"Syn will always write guitar parts that are way too hard for me to play,
and I'll try my very best to learn how to play them and I usually can."
Much like the box office receipts tell a studio if a film is successful or not, the sales charts
are all that record labels care about. These are the numbers that executives pore over and want
to see in their boardroom meetings, as they show if an album has been a good investment for them.
Despite having two albums hit the top spot in the Billboard 200, M. Shadows told "Metal
Hammer" that Avenged Sevenfold aren't looking at the charts to validate what they're doing.
The vocalist revealed that "The Stage" remains his favorite album to date, even if it isn't their
top-selling record. The surprise release debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, which was three
positions lower than its predecessors "Hail to the King" and "Nightmare." Shadows declared that the
band stood by their decision to drop the surprise album without any marketing and weren't too
concerned about the numbers. Additionally, he said that after their next release, they would have no
label and are looking forward to the freedom to experiment and connect directly with the fans.
One of the most eclectic tracks off "The Stage" is the finale "Exist," part of which is narrated by
renowned astrophysicist and science personality Neil deGrasse Tyson. It was also the band's
longest track, clocking in at 15 minutes and 41 seconds. As it turns out, Tyson had some thoughts
on the song's radical length and voiced his concerns, as M. Shadows revealed to "Loudwire."
"He's like, 'Are you sure you want to do a 15-minute song? You know, 'Imagine' by John
Lennon is very simple,' And I was like, 'We got the music part, dude, trust me. This is going
to be cool.' And he's like, 'Okay, as long as you really want three minutes of me talking.'"
Considering how the likes of "Metal Injection" and "NME" gushed about the experimental Avenged
Sevenfold album and reserved special praise for the track, it's clear that Shadows knew what he
was talking about from the start, and Neil deGrasse Tyson was wrong. Who'd a thunk it?