, sometimes abbreviated to '''A7X''', is a band from
Huntington Beach ,
CA , consisting of members
M. Shadows ,
Zacky Vengeance ,
Synyster Gates ,
Johnny Christ , and
The Rev . Their first album was titled ''
Sounding The Seventh Trumpet '', and was recorded when the band members were 18 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 away from metalcore, going back to more hard rock with obvious influences ranging from
Pantera and
Metallica to
Misfits and
Guns N' Roses . Although the band has been labeled metal, metalcore and hard rock in many publications, the band themselves claim that they are a metal/hard rock band and have no musical similarities to metalcore in any way. Recently M. Shadows' vocal stylings have changed more to focus on melodic singing than on hardcore screaming, due to the band's desire to change the direction of their music. Shadows had minor throat surgery in 2004, but this did not affect their decision to change musical styles.
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 forever in exile, alone and miserable. Anyone who relieved Cain of his misery by killing him would be "avenged 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. Although the band's title and members' stage names make obvious reference to religion, Shadows stated in a recent interview that they are "not really religious at all."
Their song "Blinded In Chains" was used in the soundtrack. Another song, "Bat Country," was used in the
SSX On Tour soundtrack. It also appeared on the
Madden '06 soundtrack, following in the footsteps of "Chapter Four," which was on the soundtrack for Madden '04. The song "Beast and the Harlot" was in the
Burnout Revenge soundtrack.
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- March 2001 - Warmness On The Soul (Professional video - Sounding the Seventh Trumpet -( Video )
- March 6 , 2004 - Unholy Confessions (Live video w/ dubbed music) - Waking the Fallen - ( Video )
- May 4 , 2005 - Bat Country (Live video w/ dubbed music) - City of Evil
- May 23 , 2005 - Burn It Down (Live video w/ dubbed music) - City of Evil ( Video )
- )
- )
- Avenged Sevenfold will be shooting a video for "Seize the Day" sometime after their headlining tour with guests Coheed And Cambria .
- Justin Sane ( Anti-Flag ) - Bass
- Dameon Ash - Bass
