Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.
Avenged Sevenfold are known for their diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and merchandise. The band emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet; they largely continued this sound through their second album Waking the Fallen. The band's style had evolved by their third album and first major label release, City of Evil, into a more traditional heavy metal style. The band continued to explore new sounds with its self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their founding drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, Avenged Sevenfold continued on with the help of Dream Theater member Mike Portnoy, and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, their first number one debut.
In 2011, drummer Arin Ilejay joined the band on tours and recording. The band's sixth studio album Hail to the King, which was released in 2013, marked the only Avenged Sevenfold album featuring Ilejay. It would feature a heavy metal and hard rock style, with it being written as a tribute to their influences. Hail to the King charted as number 1 on the Billboard 200, the UK Albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts. Ilejay left the band in late 2014 and was replaced by former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, but the lineup change was not announced to the public until 2015. The band then surprise-released their seventh studio album The Stage in October 2016, which debuted as number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. The Stage is their first conceptual album and marked another stylistic change for the band, moving towards a progressive metal sound. The band released their eighth studio album, Life Is But a Dream..., a highly experimental record, in June 2023.
To date, Avenged Sevenfold have released eight studio albums, one live album/DVD, two compilation albums and eighteen singles and have sold over 8 million albums worldwide, and their records have received numerous certification awards, including five platinum album awards from their home country's institution (RIAA). They have also created four original songs for the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, all of which were compiled together in the 2018 EP Black Reign. The band were ranked No. 47 on Loudwire's list of Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time. Christina Fuoco of AllMusic called Avenged Sevenfold "one of the more successful and accessible metalcore outfits of the early 21st century." In 2016, the staff of Loudwire named them the 47th-best metal band of all time.
History Formation and Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (1999–2002) Avenged Sevenfold was formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California by Matt Sanders, James Sullivan, Zachary Baker and Matt Wendt. Although they are not a religious band, Sanders came up with the name as a reference to the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible, in which the phrase 'avenged sevenfold' can be found in Genesis 4:24. All four members already had experience performing in bands, with Sanders being the vocalist and Wendt the bassist for the punk band Successful Failure, Baker playing guitar in the punk bands Society Down and MPA (short for Mad Porn Action/Addiction), and Sullivan being the drummer for the ska band Suburban Legends (formerly known as Bomb Squad).
Avenged Sevenfold's first creative output was a three-song-demo recorded in October 1999 at the A-Room Studios in Orange County, California. The band played their first show at the Walnut, California City Hall on February 11, 2000. Around this time, they were asked by Sadistic Records to contribute to two compilations, so the band recorded two new songs and released them along with the previously recorded songs on a second demo. They sent this demo to the Belgian label Good Life Recordings and were subsequently signed. Afterwards, the band participated in another two compilation albums, their label's GoodLife 4 and Novocaine Records' Scrape III compilations. Around this time, Matt Wendt left for college and Justin Meacham, the previous bassist of Suburban Legends, joined Avenged Sevenfold. In late 2000, the foursome took on their initial stage names – M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Justin Sane and The Rev – and recorded their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. In early 2001, lead guitarist and old friend Synyster Gates joined the band and they re-recorded the introductory track "To End the Rapture" for the album's lead-single/EP, Warmness on the Soul, released in April 2001. Although their debut album's release was initially planned for the same month, it was pushed back multiple times and eventually released on July 24, 2001, on Good Life Recordings.
Around August 2001, Meacham attempted suicide by drinking excessive amounts of cough syrup. This event was the reason for Avenged Sevenfold to join the Take Action Tour in 2003. During Meacham's hospitalization, he remained in poor condition and had to leave the band. In an interview, lead singer M. Shadows said of Meacham that "he perma-fried his brain and was in a mental institution for a long time, and 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." His replacement was Frank Melcom, stage name Dameon Ash, who performed with the band for the following months, but does not appear on any releases.
On January 18, 2002, Avenged Sevenfold left Good Life Recordings and signed with Hopeless Records. They re-released their debut album on March 19 and also appeared on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 4 sampler in April. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall.Brace, Eric. "The Circuit." The Washington Post. Accessed via LexisNexis. "Cleveland's excellent envelope-pushing metal band Mushroomhead performs Wednesday night at Jaxx (703-569-5940), along with Shadows Fall, Avenged Sevenfold and High on Fire." October 18, 2002. They spent the year touring in support of their debut album and participated in the Vans Warped Tour. In September, Dameon Ash left Avenged Sevenfold and their current bassist Johnny Christ joined them, completing their best known line-up.
Waking the Fallen and City of Evil (2003–2005) Having found a new bassist, the group released their second studio album titled Waking the Fallen on Hopeless Records in August 2003. 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 again played on the Vans Warped and Take Action tours."Artists to Watch: Avenged Sevenfold." Billboard. "Orange County, Calif.'s Avenged Sevenfold stands at a crossroads. Kielty, Tom "Music Review The Vans Off the Wall Tour Suicide Machines, the Unseen and Avenged Sevenfold" The Boston Globe. Accessed via LexisNexis. "Earlier, Avenged Sevenfold showed a dramatic flair, opening its set with a sample of the theme from "The Exorcist" before combining impressive harmonies with a muscular melody that recalled early A.F.I."Vans Warped Tour 2003 News Unrated Magazine. Publicity Release.Take Action Tour 2003 NinerOnline. September 19, 2003. Baker recalled: "We didn't care if [the bands we were playing with] were heavy-metal bands; we didn't care if they were fucking pop-punk bands; we didn't care, we were opening for everyone. And people started taking notice. You know if your band is going crazy and breaking your instruments and playing the fastest, craziest music at a pop-punk show, people take notice, whether it's good or it's bad." Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were officially signed to Warner Bros. Records on November 1, 2003. The band then toured Europe for the first time in its career. M. Shadows recalled, "It was everything you would imagine it to be: pure debauchery." Synyster Gates remarked: "It's unbelievable that we survived that [tour]. Really, any night could just escalate – not just because of us, but because of being in a foreign place, being out too late. There were people around you that just wouldn't stop buying you shots. One time I had 10 shots of Aftershock in my hand, and next to me was my Snakebite and black. I should've died of alcohol poisoning! By the end of that first UK tour, we were 10 pounds heavier and pretty fucked.” 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 Headbangers Ball."Headbanger's Ball spawns second compilation" BPI Entertainment News Wire. "Here is the MTV2 Headbanger's Ball, Volume 2" track list... Disc one... 'Unholy Confessions,' Avenged Sevenfold." August 2, 2004.
City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 6, 2005, and debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.Whitmire, Margo Coldplay Earns First Billboard 200 No. 1 Billboard. June 15, 2005.Avenged Sevenfold's "City of Evil" Unleashed June 7 Market Wire. June 22, 2005. It utilized a more classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.Warped Tour outlasted by putting teenagers' interests first The Orange County Register. July 6, 2005. "We were lumped into metalcore, but with this record we really wanted to get out of it... We didn't even know why we were screaming. One day, we were just like, '(Bleep) this, there's no way we're gonna scream on the next record.'""Avenged Sevenfold: City of Evil." The New Zealand Herald accessed via LexisNexis. September 11, 2005. "But City of Evil is some of the most exciting and epic rock'n'roll around at the moment. In fact, this album is a snorting and snarling mongrel that is as much for fans of classic rock as it is for those into metal." The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; M. Shadows 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.
Avenged Sevenfold (2006–2008)
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."Avenged Sevenfold's Cities Of Evil Tour 2005 to Begin October Market Wire through Warner Bros. Records. September 13, 2005. 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.