Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold Lyrics (97)

Releases : 47     Total votes : 2     Reviews : 1

Added by dImmUholic Last edited by lyhtr145

Avenged Sevenfold were formed by vocalist M. Shadows (Matthew Sanders), guitarist Zacky Vengeance (Zachary Baker), drummer The Rev (Jimmy Sullivan, fully the Reverend Tholomew Plague), and bassist Matt Wendt.

Although the band had no religious message or mission, their name is a reference to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, specifically the quote "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold." (Genesis 4:24, King James Version)

Between the years 1999 and 2000, the band recorded two demos, before Matt Wendt left the band in 2000 and was promptly replaced by Justin Sane (Justin Meacham), who also played the original piano track on the song "Warmness on the Soul". Simultaneously, the band drafted in lead guitarist Synyster Gates (Brian Haner Jr.), completing the band's five member lineup.

Some of the members had also been in numerous other bands together including Pinkly Smooth, an Avant-Garde Metal band which included The Rev (Rat Head) on vocals & piano and Synyster Gates on guitar. They only released a single EP entitled Unfortunate Snort before going on indefinite hiatus. The Rev and Justin Sane were also in the Ska Punk band Suburban Legends, and M. Shadows and Matt Wendt were in a Hardcore Punk band called Successful Failure prior to Avenged Sevenfold's inception.

The band continued actively promoting their demo's between 2000-01 before Justin Sane left the band in late 2000, to be replaced by Dameon Ash.

In 2001, the band released their first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, with Good Life Recordings. The album received generally mixed reviews. Hopeless Records re-released the album when the band signed with them the following year, with an alternative front cover and a new "heavy metal" version of "To End the Rapture" featuring Gates on lead guitar.

The band finally received recognition and began performing with bands like Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall on the Take Action Tour. They also settled on their fourth bassist, Johnny Christ (Jonathan Steward).

In 2003, the band released their second album with Hopeless, Waking the Fallen, and their first music video for the song "Unholy Confessions", which went into rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball. The album received massive critical acclaim from the underground metal scene mixing their previous metalcore style on their previous album with melodic harmonies. Shortly after the album released, A7X signed to Warner Bros. Records.

The band achieved mainstream success with their major label debut and third album, City of Evil, released in 2005. The album sold over 30,000 copies in its first week, and showed a significant change in musical style from the band's previous albums, most noticeably the absence of M. Shadows screaming. City of Evil also featured former bassist Justin Sane playing piano on the track "Sidewinder".

Vocal coach Ron Anderson, who made a reputation working with many famous singers including Axl Rose and Chris Cornell, worked on a voice with Shadows that had "grit while still having the tone". The band went on to win Best New Artist in a Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards for the video for "Bat Country".

Avenged Sevenfold went on to their "Cities of Evil" tour, and played Ozzfest 2006. They toured the US, Europe, Japan & Australasia, before cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music.

The band released their fourth album, Avenged Sevenfold, in 2007. It received large acclaim and debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200. The self-titled album has to date sold over 500,000 copies and won Album of the Year at the 2007 Kerrang! Awards.

The band headlined the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour, before releasing a live DVD and B-sides CD called Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough. The DVD featured a full live performance of the band at the LBC Arena in Long Beach, California, while Diamonds in the Rough featured previously unreleased original tracks and covers including Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade" and Pantera's "Walk" (which was also performed on their live DVD).

Devastation lay ahead for the band when on December 28, 2009, The Rev was found unresponsive at his home in California. The following morning he was pronounced dead, and after early speculation toxicology results came back positive for acute polydrug Intoxication as a result of combined oxycodone, oxymorphone, diazepam/nordiazepam and ethanol effects. A private funeral was held before Jimmy was laid to rest the following January.

The band now faced the tough decision to finish their fifth album, and did so with the aid of Mike Portnoy (famously the drummer for Dream Theater) who humbly accepted the offer. In addition, shortly after the completion of recording, the band announced their first USA, UK and Europian tours since the death of The Rev, with Portnoy coming along for the US dates.

Avenged Sevenfold's fifth studio album Nightmare was released on 27th July 2010. The album received massive response from both the underground and mainstream scenes, and within a week of its release had reached fifth in the UK album charts, sold around 163,000 copies and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200.

After the Nightmare world tour, Portnoy ceased working with the band and was replaced by Confide's drummer Arin Ilejay, who later took over as the band's permanent drummer in 2011.

Two singles followed from the band: 2011's "Not Ready to Die" and 2012's "Carry On". The former was inspired by and featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops, while the latter appeared in its sequel. Both tracks featured Ilejay's first efforts' with the band.

In May 2013, teasers for a new sixth album, Hail to the King, appeared on the band's website in the form of a radio application, with the album's cover art following the next month. With a release date scheduled for late August, the original album cover was changed after wide criticism for being "tacky". It was scrapped and a simple, and familiar, cover of the half portrait of the band's mascot, the Deathbat, was decided upon. Hail to the King was released on August 27, 2013, marking the first album without any musical contributions from The Rev. It was also the first and only album featuring Ilejay, who the band would part ways with in July 2015 citing "creative differences". A bonus track called "St. James" was dedicated in memory of The Rev.

On November 4, 2015, Brooks Wackerman was annouced as the band's new drummer and would end up playing on their sixth album entitled The Stage, which was released on October 28, 2016. It is a concept album about artificial intelligence and the self-destruction of society. The album marked a big shift in the band's overall sound, as they were now playing Progressive Metal rather than the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal music they were previously known for.

On March 14, 2023, the band released their single "Nobody", the lead single to their eighth studio album, Life Is But a Dream....