We Answer the Most Searched Questions About Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold spent the previous few years fairly low-profile, however now that they’ve dropped a brand new music and have an album on the best way, there’s fairly a little bit of buzz round them once more.

The band’s been by means of quite a lot of adjustments because it shaped in 1999, from their music model, to band members and political views. So we determined to spherical up the most-frequently searched questions on Avenged Sevenfold, and do our greatest to reply them for you.

We’ll prevent from the apparent ones: the band is at the moment made up of M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ and Brooks Wackerman, and sure, they’re nonetheless collectively. Additionally they have a few performances scheduled all year long, which you may get tickets for right here.

Should you already knew the solutions to some or all of those, then nice — you are an excellent fan. However for many who are needing a little bit of a lesson on the band’s background, or who simply merely need to see what individuals are most inquisitive about, then carry on scrolling.

READ MORE: The 32 Songs Avenged Sevenfold Have By no means Performed Reside

Are Avenged Sevenfold Christian/Are Avenged Sevenfold Spiritual?

These have been two highly-searched questions, so we determined to mix them into one class to be able to deal with it. Due to a number of the biblical themes and references all through Avenged Sevenfold’s music, it is comprehensible that folks would query if they seem to be a “Christian band” or if the members themselves are non secular.

Their band identify additionally refers to a passage within the biblical guide of Genesis that reads, “However the Lord stated to him, ‘Due to this fact whoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.'” Nonetheless, the reply to each can be no. M. Shadows has addressed the topic many occasions in interviews.

“Completely not. I don’t consider in these issues. I strive to not get into that as a result of quite a lot of our followers are Christians and quite a bit aren’t,” the singer instructed San Antonio Present a number of years in the past. “I’ve my very own beliefs, however I don’t consider in any sort of faith that we now have these days. However we’re undoubtedly not a Christian band.”

Arin Ilejay, who performed drums for the band from 2013 to 2015, nevertheless, performed in a Los Angeles-based Christian band previous to becoming a member of Avenged.

Are Avenged Sevenfold Veterans?

This query is probably going searched quite a bit as a result of Avenged Sevenfold have outwardly supported the U.S. navy a number of occasions. They carried out exhibits for U.S. troops primarily based in Iraq and Kuwait in November of 2010, however nobody within the band is definitely a navy veteran.

“I feel everybody within the band has had somebody that is served of their household. Each of my grandfathers have been within the navy. However I even have quite a lot of pals who, out of highschool, went into the Navy, some went into the Marines, some went into the Military,” Shadows instructed Revolver. “I feel they appreciated simply the truth that we even came visiting there. Everybody was actually cool. I feel it is crucial that we help them, as a result of I am not placing myself in entrance of a bullet every single day. And you are not. However they’re.”

In early February, the rockers additionally teamed up with the 4 Corners Bike Rally for a sweepstakes, and donations went towards the Constructing Houses for Heroes group, which advantages U.S. veterans.

Are Avenged Sevenfold Conservative?

Within the earlier days of the band, they have been clear about their conservative views, and a few of their lyrics implied they have been as effectively — equivalent to within the music “Crucial Acclaim,” for instance.

“Most individuals know we’re sort of one of many solely bands round proper now that may admit that we’re Republican,” Shadows instructed Newsday again in 2006 [via Blabbermouth]. “Once we went on the Warped Tour final yr — all of these bands, they don’t seem to be solely anti-war, they’re anti-everything our nation stands for. We have been like, ‘[Expletive] this.’ We will put on our America shirts.”

Nonetheless, years later, the frontman admitted that the members of the band had began to shift their views a bit, and in interviews he is expressed his help for insurance policies equivalent to stricter gun management legal guidelines, and he wrote an open letter in June of 2020 explaining his stance on the Black Lives Matter motion.

“I’m conscious that previously Avenged has antagonized with a few of our lyrics and imagery. We’ve got additionally used accomplice flags in our art work whereas paying tribute to artists we grew up listening to or just making an attempt to begin controversy,” he wrote. “I am positive we will likely be known as out, and rightfully so, by individuals studying this. No excuses. However everybody grows up in some unspecified time in the future, and I really feel grateful that we now have an viewers that has allowed us to evolve with them.”

Why Did Avenged Sevenfold Cease Screaming?

M. Shadows did fairly a little bit of screaming all through Avenged’s first two albums, 2002’s Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and 2003’s Waking the Fallen. Nonetheless, after they unveiled their third launch Metropolis of Evil two years later, the singer’s vocal model was noticeably completely different.

In a 2006 interview with Launch Radio Community [via Blabbermouth], he stated that he’d already deliberate on singing in a different way on the brand new album, however having a minor throat surgical procedure to deal with a blood vessel put the nail within the coffin for the screaming, per his physician’s recommendation.

“It’s a type of issues, we don’t take heed to bands that scream. I did after I was in highschool and I sort of grew out of it,” he instructed the San Antonio Present in 2013. “Perhaps I’ll hear to at least one or two. I’d relatively take heed to the Iron Maidens and Metallicas of the world than the dying steel bands. For me, it doesn’t make sense.”

How Did The Rev Die?

The query is usually phrased as, “How did the Avenged Sevenfold drummer die,” and that may be referring to Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan. The Rev was one of many founding members of Avenged Sevenfold, and was their drummer from its formation in 1999 till his dying 10 years later. He performed on their first 4 studio albums, and posthumously appeared on 2010’s Nightmare as effectively.

In December of 2009, The Rev was discovered useless in his California residence. He was 28 years previous.

“It’s with nice unhappiness and heavy hearts that we let you know of the passing at present of Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan,” Avenged wrote in an announcement. “Jimmy was not solely one of many world’s greatest drummers, however extra importantly he was our greatest buddy and brother. Our ideas and prayers exit to Jimmy’s household and we hope that you’ll respect their privateness throughout this tough time.”

In line with Rolling Stone, his dying was later dominated an unintended overdose. He had pharmaceuticals and alcohol in his system, and had a pre-existing coronary heart situation known as cardiomegaly, often known as an “enlarged coronary heart.” The coroner stated that the “important situation” might have performed a component in his dying as effectively.

Why Did Avenged Sevenfold Hearth Arin Ilejay?

Arin Ilejay joined Avenged in 2011 and performed on their 2013 album Hail to the King, however his time within the band was relatively short-lived. The band issued an announcement in July of 2015 saying that they have been shifting ahead with out Ilejay as their drummer, including that they felt they wanted to maneuver in a unique course creatively.

“I used to be completely shocked and scared out of my thoughts when Synyster Gates known as to let me go,” Ilejay recalled to Rolling Stone [via Metal Hammer]. “I used to be like, ‘Oh my God – my spouse is about to have a child. How am I going to help my household now?’”

Fortuitously for Ilejay, he was provided a place within the band Islander shortly after.

“Arin obtained an increasing number of distanced as time went on. It is sort of like everybody goes by means of their honeymoon interval and it is all nice, however then you definately begin realizing that we’re 4 guys which have a method we do issues after which there’s another person that simply would not actually match into that in any respect,” Shadows later instructed the That is Not Metallic podcast [via Ultimate Guitar].

“And as good of a man as he’s, there have been only a bunch of issues that did not symbolize us in any respect, and you may’t have that, particularly once we’ve labored for therefore lengthy and so onerous at what we do. And the very last thing we care about is our public notion of what we must always do with our lives.”

Are Avenged Sevenfold Metallic?

We’ll finish issues with this one, as a result of it is a query that appears to be generally requested about quite a lot of bands within the rock and steel world. The place precisely is the road between rock and steel? It is a polarizing matter, however we’ll attempt to simplify this one as greatest as potential. They have been really thought-about a hardcore band early on, however disassociated themselves from the scene relatively shortly as a result of they needed to jot down extra melodic materials.

“If somebody calls us a hardcore band we’re similar to, ‘Oh… no matter. Are you gonna take heed to Hatebreed or are you gonna take heed to us?’ Most fucking hardcore bands need to be steel bands anyway however they only can’t play effectively sufficient,” Shadows instructed Metallic Hammer.

Although they could have diverted from the hardcore sound, the vocal model that Shadows used all through the band’s earliest materials isn’t a “rock” vocal model by any means. Their sound again then could possibly be extra simply described as metalcore, with some punk undertones laced all through.

At the same time as they developed their sound over the subsequent few albums and Shadows began singing, their music nonetheless had roots in steel — however extra conventional. Their most up-to-date information, although, have a way more experimental and progressive really feel to them. So that they’ve in the end morphed quite a bit all through their existence, however beneath all of it, we might nonetheless take into account them a steel band.