A Lesson In... 7.14.09: Avenged Sevenfold

Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 07.14.2009

With a career spanning an entire decade, Avenged Sevenfold could be considered one of the modern greats of metal. With a follow-up to their 2007 self-titled effort in the works, Alistair McGeorge returns to take a look at the constant progression of A7X.

So after a brief appearance in the wrestling section last week (as part of the "Top 5 Canadian-born Wrestlers" column, I'm back in the safe confines of the music section. After I contributed my own Top 5 in that column, apparently I'm rather disliked over there. I've said my piece in the comments section, so let's get this week's column. Before I go any further, let's take a quick look at the comments I got last week:

Feedback:

First of all, Andrew, e-mail me on the address linked at the bottom of the page with the subject "A Lesson In" to suggest a future column. Thanks to fellow 411mania Music writer Michael James who wrote the following:

Hey Alistair, another strong article. Agreed about "The Day That I Die"- great song. Other than that, "Little Things", and "The Anthem", I can pretty much leave the rest of the Good Charlotte catalog alone. They can experiment and mature all they want, but I think the rotating cast of "starlet" romances really damaged their credibility.

Cheers for reading Michael, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Whilst I enjoy a lot of the early catalog, I agree that as their career has progressed, their credibility has been hurt (especially, as you put it, the "starlet" romances- it just reeks of trying too hard to get name-value). Returning this week for his second mention here is Derek:

I really wasnt impressed with GMR either. Probably the only song I like off the album was Broken Hearts Parade and that still isn't my favorite. Also they were going to have Broken Hearts Parade be their album song
for GMR (and wear band uniforms), but MCR took the idea first. And if I would have saw GC with the uniforms on, I would have never got it. Thank god, MCR took the band uniforms.

I also like bands that act like brothers(I mean the whole band), and I don't get that with GC. I've never seen Joel or Benji hang out with Paul or Billy.

I've really grown not to like them since GMR and the remixes. I was a huge fan, but now I think that the fame and money has gotten to them. Just hope they get back to their original selves after this album.

As for next week's band, I hope that you give the rhythmic guitarist the credit he deserves.

A nice long comment to respond to, but I'll try and keep this brief. Thanks for commenting again, and I agree that Broken Hearts Parade was one of the more bearable, recent GC songs. I remember hearing about the plans to have the band uniforms, and I'm also 100% glad that the gimmick ending up with MCR instead. I also agree that there seems to be a divide between the Maddens and the rest, and that the fame seems to have gone to their head. Look no further than Los Angeles World Wide (an updated "remix" of Waldorf Worldwide) to see my point.

So, thanks everyone for joining me again, we'll kick things off yet again with a clever pun…yeah, I got nothing, so we'll go with last week's: STOP! It's banner time…



The idea for this week's subject was given to me by my friend Hannah (I know, I know…I write on the internet, I obviously don't know any real life girls), who shares a similar opinion to me on this week's band. That being, neither of us are huge fans. Well, I can cope with them more than her, but we both agree that we're not the biggest fans of Synyster Gates. Don't worry, I've still given them the attention I'd give anyone else, and I'll admit that I enjoyed bits of their self-titled release from a couple of years ago.

However, time for a personal (sort of) story regarding the band. I went to Leeds Festival 2008 (a huge music festival here in the UK), and was intrigued to see that Avenged Sevenfold were on the line-up. I went to see them looking forward to seeing a few of the songs I actually enjoy, and maybe have my mind changed. After fifteen minutes (which I later found out is the minimum time a band needed to play to get paid), during which M. Shadows was admittedly having problems with his vocals, the band stopped playing, Shadows apologized to the fans, and they walked off.

I can concede that this may have some reason for me not being their biggest fan, but during the writing of this column I will give them another chance, listening to their back catalog along the way. There's no better place to start, then, than a decade ago, at the beginning of the band's career…



(Inset witty title here)

I've failed you this week, readers...I really tried, but I couldn't come up with a nice subtitle to lead into the beginning of the band. After reading this section, if anyone thinks of something, just suggest it in a comment and I'll tell everyone about it in class next week.

What, you only came because you were expecting some effort put into every part of the column? Fine, I'll try my best...

Cain (willing) and Abel...

I warned you...anyway, Avenged Sevenfold formed a decade ago when the band members were 16, in California. The name itself was apparently a reference to the Cain and Abel story from the Bible, courtesy of vocalist M. Shadows. Surprisingly, only three members of the original line-up are still there since the inception. Shadows, The Rev and Zacky Vengeance formed the band alongside then-bassist Matt Wendt. At this point I wish I'd saved all the Spinal Tap jokes until this week, because they really are the bassist version of the mock-metal Gods.

By 2000, A7X had recorded 2 demos, and began work on their demo album. By the time they released their debut Sounding The Seventh Trumpet (2001) on Good Life Recordings, they were just 18 and were still going through some line-up changes. By this point, Wendt had departed, to be replaced in quick succession by Justin Sane and Daemon Ash (who didn't actually appear on the album). However, this wasn't the only change, the next of which led to the re-release of the album on a new label, and may very well have been the best thing to happen to the band.



Sounding The Seventh Trumpet...again

By 2002, Synyster Gates joined the band as lead guitarist. Whilst I have my own opinions on Gates as a person (not that I've met him, so it could be all hearsay), I can't deny that this was a very significant moment in the band's (at this point short) history. The rest of them clearly thought so, as the first track of STST ("To End the Rapture") was re-recorded to include Gates. This led to a re-release of the album, this time on Hopeless Records.

It's actually a good indicator of how far A7X have come, listening to this album after hearing where they are now. Gone are the rough, powerful growls (which M. Shadows just can't do anymore), which eventually gave way to a unique but great singing voice. After the release of their debut, the band toured extensively, playing small, packed clubs both in the US and worldwide, gaining a live reputation and getting their name out there.

STST is, admittedly, a great debut, with tracks like "We Come Out At Night" and "Thick And Thin" just oozing testosterone. It's gritty, it's heavy and it's made for head-banging. In response to Derek's comment earlier...I can't not give the rhythm guitar on this album credit, it's that good. I'll admit I hadn't listened to this album before I sat down to write the column, but I've realized I missed out on a significant part of the band's career the first time round.

The first signs of what the band became are shown with "Shattered By Broken Dreams", which brings the album to a powerful end, combining the best of both worlds. "Old" fans of A7X usually complain that their newer material isn't powerful enough, and that there's too much "singing". One listen to this track showed it was still present with the debut, and it was a sign of things to come.



Unholy Confessions

To quote from A7X's biography on their official site, their second album Waking The Fallen gave "us a not-so-subtle nudge that something exciting was in the imminent forecast." It came in August 2003, two years after the original release of their debut and it was their first album to feature the current line-up. Johnny Christ was now on board as the bassist, and this was of course Synyster Gates' first full album with the rest of the band.

Whereas STST's 200,000 copies sold didn't really make or break the band (it was the touring and live shows that followed that really got the band some recognition), WTF (is it embarrassing that I actually had a quiet laugh to myself at that acronym?) was more of a success.

Not only were 110,000 more copies were sold of this than the debut, but it received favorable reviews and even led to A7X being compared to the likes of metal gods Metallica and Iron Maiden. They are certainly huge boots to fill, but fans could argue that the band came close to doing just that. "Unholy Confessions" (the only single from the album) was a high-energy metalcore song, combining heavy riffs, pounding drums, soaring vocals and rough screaming. It was, in my opinion, the best of both worlds for both new and old A7X fans, and deserves a listen for those who say they're not metal:



On top of the single, "Chapter 4" (which followed it on the track-listing) was used in Madden 2004. On the back of the album sales, the use of that song in the video game and the single itself, A7X were able to land a huge record deal, with Warner Bros. Records.

This was a fantastic move forward for Avenged Sevenfold, but it was also the beginning of the end, in terms of the band being able to be classed as ‘metalcore'. Whilst it saw the beginning of a new era for the band, where they could really become the stars they wanted to be, it could also be seen as the start of them losing their original fan-base.



I'm too young to worry…

Months before their 2005 major label debut City of Evil, M. Shadows undertook vocal coaching from Ron Anderson (notable for his previous work with Axl Rose, amongst others). This was to give Shadows more "grit" in his vocals, getting a tone similar to such names as Rose and former Velvet Revolver and Stone Temple Pilots front-man Scott Weiland.

In an interview with Blistering.com, M. Shadows commented on whether he was worried about backlash from older fans, and if the new direction of the band would be perceived as A7X selling out. It was clear that the band would continually make whatever music they wanted, with Shadows saying: "We're not the type of band that's going to worry about what everyone is going to think about us. If we did that, we'd end up writing a metalcore record."

With a new attitude, a new vocal style and almost a new style of band, CoE was released in 2005, debuting at #30 in the Billboard Top 200, selling 30,000 copies. By January 2006 it had reached Gold, but it didn't stop there. It has gone on to sell 1,500,000 copies worldwide, with 800,000 in the States alone. Furthermore, the band won "Best New Artist" at MTV's Video Music Awards, a great feat for a rock band up against commercial artists Rihanna, Chris Brown and Panic At The Disco.

The song to get me into the band came from this album, and was the forth single to be released. It was a huge departure from anything the band had done before, but showed how far they'd come from their early material. "Seize the Day" was something no-one really expected to hear from A7X, and I think it's fairly underrated. Have a listen...



Other singles released from the album were "Burn It Down", "Bat Country" and "Beast and the Harlot". "Bat Country" actually reached #1 on MTV's Total Request Live. The latter was about the fall of Babylon from the Book of Revelations, another example of religious imagery and references the band can show. The band began to tour in October 2005 following a headline slot on the Warped Tour. Their star began to rise, with a slot at Ozzfest.

All Excess, the band's first DVD, was released July 2007, to tide fans over between albums. What followed 3 months later was a true departure from the band's past, and cemented their place in the mainstream...



A little piece of heaven?

Maybe I, personally, wouldn't go that far, but on October 30 2007, A7X released their self-titled forth album. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, with 90,000 copies. It went Gold a year after its released, and has sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. There was mixed successes for the 5 singles released to promote the album, but overall it was a more mainstream sound and made stars out of the band. In UK magazine Kerrang!'s annual awards, it was awarded Album of the Year in 2008.

As expected, it firmly split the fan-base in two, with some fans seeing key aspects of their old sound mixed in with an entirely new beast. As a piece of trivia courtesy of the MVI version of the album, some of the tracks originally had different titles. Here they are, for anyone interesting:

Song Title – Original Title
"Unbound (The Wild Ride)" – "Disneyland Acid Trip"
"Lost"- "Fast Melodic"
"A Little Piece of Heaven" – "Big Bear"
"Dear God" – "Country Rocker"
"Afterlife" – "I Don't Belong Here"
"Brompton Cocktail" – "Brompton Rock"

Now, I don't know about you, but I could really get behind a song called "Disneyland Acid Trip"! Anyway, one of the songs that received a new title is actually one of the most experimental tracks on the album, and couldn't have sounded more different to the band's early material. Here's a look at what was originally called "Big Bear". As a warning, the subject matter is a little twisted...



The afterlife...

Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough was released as the band's first live DVD in September 2008, featuring a homecoming show from the Taste of Chaos Tour, plus a CD containing previously unreleased b-sides from the self-titled sessions, covers and previously unheard material.

In January it was announced that the band will begin writing a follow-up to Avenged Sevenfold, but as far as I could tell there is no estimated release date yet.

Just before I grade the band, I thought it'd be a laugh just to tell everyone what their real names are (from wikipedia, so accept this as whatever you want). So, here it is (stage names on the left):

M. Shadows - Matthew Charles Sanders
Zacky Vengeance - Zachary James Baker
The Rev - Jimmmy Owen Sulliven
Synyster Gates - Brian Elwin Haner, Jr.
Johnny Christ - Jonathon Lewis Steward

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Grading...Avenged Sevenfold

Before I sat down to write this column, I'd heard little outside of their last two albums. However, before and during the writing I really educated myself on the history of the band, listening to all of their studio albums as I reached each of them in this column. I can honestly say, my opinion hasn't changed a great deal. I mean, I don't particularly dislike the music, and I will admit I was surprised at the quality of some of the earlier stuff, but it hasn't persuaded me to actually buy any of it. From interviews I've read and the biography on their website, I will say that it's still my opinion that the band seems quite pretentious, what with the stage names and Synyster Gates obviously knowing and loving how good a guitarist he is.

Homework:

A reminder to Andrew and all past winners that they can still suggest a topic for a future column by e-mailing me on the link at the bottom of the column with the subject "A Lesson In...". So, with that out of the way, are you all paying attention? Here are this week's clues:

1. They are from the same city as the first band I covered in this column.
2. In one of their videos, they played "the White House"...sort of.
3. They can be linked to Fat Mike from NOFX.

I'm not sure if these are way too obscure, but as always just post a comment answering all the clues plus the name of the band, and the first correct answer gets to suggest a future subject.

Thanks for joining me again, and hopefully I'll see you all here again next week. Until then, class dismissed.