kematian drummer AVENGED SEVENFOLD terjawab tuntas

 Kematian Drummer AVENGED SEVENFOLD Terjawab Tuntas

  varg on Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:45 am

Kematian Drummer AVENGED SEVENFOLD Terjawab Tuntas
Kategori : heavy metal, kematian



Terjawab sudah tentang kematian drummer AVENGED SEVENFOLD yang meninggal tanggal 28 Desember kemarin. Sebelumnya memang santer didesas-desuskan kalau The Rev meninggal karena overdosis dan kemarin pihak Deputi kepolisian setempat di Orange County, California, Coroner Mitchell Sigal mengatakan kalau drummer tersebut mengalami komplikasi dari efek berlebih Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam dan juga ethanol.

Oxycodone merupakan penghilang rasa sakit pengganti Kodeina dan Kodeina sendiri adalah asam opiat alkaloid yang diproses dari morfin. Sama halnya dengan Oxymorphone yang juga berfungsi sebagai penghilang rasa sakit. Sedangkan Diazepam / Nordiazepam adalah obat pereda cemas serta etanol campuran keras untuk alkohol. Sebelumnya telah banyak pelaku entertain yang meninggal dengan cara sama termasuk aktor Heath Ledger yang meninggal tanggal 22 Januari 2008 lalu. Selain itu The Rev ternyata memiliki kelainan hati yang membuat peran besar mempercepat proses kematiannya.

James Owen Sullivan atau yang lebih dikenal dengan The Rev meninggal di usia 28 tahun di daerah rumahnya di Huntington Beach, California dan dimakamkan tanggal 6 Januari 2010 dalam sebuah upacara pemakaman tertutup dari masyarakat umum. Namun dalam seremoni pemakaman, gitaris AVENGED SEVENFOLD memberi penghiburan khusus bagi keluarga yang ditinggal dan juga dihadapan Vinnie Paul (mantan drummer PANTERA, Matt Tuck (vokalis & gitaris BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE serta beberapa anggota dari MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.

Tak bisa dipungkiri, The Rev merupakan salah seorang drummer yang cukup berpengaruh di tahun 2000-an dengan permainannya yang agresif membuat AVENGED SEVENFOLD menjadi salah satu band metalcore berpengaruh dari California dengan pengaruh CONVERGE juga SLAYER serta beberapa ripping milik GUNS N’ ROSES juga METALLICA. Bersama AVENGED SEVENFOLD, The Rev ikut berkontribusi dalam empat album, “Sounding the Seventh Trumpet” di tahun 2001, “Waking the Fallen” di tahun 2003, “City of Evil” di tahun 2005 dan “Avenged Sevenfold” di tahun 2007 serta sempat menulis beberapa lagu di rencana perilisan album terbaru AVENGED SEVENFOLD bertitel “Nightmare” tanggal 27 Juli mendatang.

“Sebagai seorang drummer, The Rev kelihatan jauh lebih baik dari kebanyakan orang,” kata drummer ATREYU, Brandon Saller yang juga sama-sama berasal dari Orange County. “Dia benar-benar memiliki talenta dan dia memiliki bakat sejati serta permainan yang tidak seperti kebanyakan drummer. Jika kalian mendengarkan teknik permainannya, maka kalian akan dapat menebak di lagu lain kalau itu adalah permainan The Rev,” kata Saller kembali.

Pasca kematian The Rev, AVENGED SEVENFOLD kini menggunakan jasa drummer DREAM THEATER, Mike Portnoy yang merupakan pujaan banyak drummer di dunia ini karena teknik permainannya yang tinggi. Portnoy terlibat sebagai drummer di album terbaru bertitel “Nightmare” dan rencananya mereka akan melakukan tur bertajuk Rockstar Energy Uproar yang akan dimulai tanggal 17 Agustus di Minneapolis, Minnesota dan berakhir tanggal 4 Oktober di Madison, Wisconsin.

Baca Juga :
* Drummer AVENGED SEVENFOLD, The Rev Meninggal Dunia
* Gigan Tour 2009 Semakin Mainstream
* AVENGED SEVENFOLD Akan Kembali Tampil Di Indonesia


2010 – Nightmare
2007 – Avenged Sevenfold
2005 – City of Evil
2003 – Waking the Fallen
2001 – Sounding of Seventh Trumpet

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synyster gates&zacky vengeance A7X

Synyster Gates

Brian pergi ke Mayfair High School di Lakewood, California dan juga Ocean View High School di Huntington Beach, California.

Ia lulus dari Institut Musisi di Hollywood sebagai bagian dari program GIT, belajar jazz gitar. Sampai saat itu ia diajarkan dengan menonton video musik dan membaca buku, yang mengejutkan karena ayahnya adalah penulis lagu dan pemain gitar, karena bermain dengan Frank Zappa selama karirnya. Setelah enam atau lebih bulan berada di sana, ia mendapat telepon dari The Rev.ia  bertanya apakah ia ingin bergabung dengan band sebagai gitaris. Brian bergabung dengan mereka daripada melanjutkan pendidikan dan menjadi musisi studio.
Avenged Sevenfold

Brian bergabung Avenged Sevenfold ketika ia berusia 18 pada akhir 1999, tepat sebelum rekaman album pertama, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. Dia adalah fitur pada EP mereka, "Warmness on the  Soul", dan pada ulang album pertama mereka.


Dia telah memenangkan berbagai penghargaan, termasuk "Young Shredder" penghargaan tahunan di Metal Hammer penghargaan pada tahun 2006 dan "Guitarist of the Year" Award untuk Total Guitar Magazine pada tahun 2006.

Pinkly Smooth

Brian bersama dengan drummer band The Rev sebelumnya bermain di avant-garde metal band bernama Pinkly Smooth. Namun keduanya keluar dari band karena mereka ingin berkonsentrasi penuh waktu di Avenged Sevenfold.

Penampilan

     * Good Charlotte "The River" music video
     * Burn Halo's "Dirty Little Girl" music video
     * Burn Halo's "Anejo" lagu
     * Dia dan ayahnya, Brian Haner Sr, baru-baru ini menulis dan merekam lagu tema untuk The Jeff Dunham Show

Kehidupan pribadi

Brian punya adik setengah perempuan bernama McKenna, saudara laki-laki bernama Brent, saudara tirinya, Robert C. Eldred. Julukannya adalah Johnny. Ayahnya, Brian Haner Sr, adalah seorang musisi dan pelawak yang dikenal sebagai "Guitar Guy" atau "Papa Gates" dan saat ini sedang tur dengan Jeff Dunham.

Brian mengutip Django Reinhardt, Dimebag Darrell, Eddie Van Halen, Slash dan John Petrucci sebagai gitaris favorit dan pengaruh utama. Pada Juni 2008, majalah Guitar World diwawancarai Brian, Shawn Butterfield pembaca bertanya "Kau salah satu dari gitaris neraka. Tapi siapa yang Anda benar-benar melihat ke?" yang dia menjawab "Jelas Slash, yang Ozzy gitar dudes, Alexi Laiho from Children of Bodom, tentu saja Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page dari Led Zeppelin Matt Spiller, banyak laki-laki!".

Guitars


Brian didukung oleh Schecter Guitars seperti Zacky Vengeance. Saat ini, tanda tangannya model ini tersedia dalam dua versi yang berbeda. The "Schecter Synyster Custom" yang memiliki spesifikasi yang tepat dari yang dia bermain gitar hidup (termasuk sustainiac dilengkapi pick-up model) dan yang lebih terjangkau "Schecter Synyster Standar" yang menawarkan kualitas yang lebih rendah pickup dan sistem tremolo. Sebelum produksi model tanda tangannya, ia bermain gitar dari berbagai merek.

Berikut ini adalah daftar dari beberapa gitar yang digunakan sebelum produksi tanda tangannya model:

     * Ibanez S Series - Seperti yang terlihat dalam kinerja awal oleh band pada "All Excess" video.
     * Parker Fly - Seperti yang terlihat di Warped Tour 2004
     * Gibson Les Paul - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Unholy Confessions" music video
     * Schecter Hellraiser Avenger - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Bat Country" video musik
     * Schecter PT Blackjack - Seperti yang terlihat di Warped Tour 2004
     * Schecter Banshee - Seperti yang terlihat di video instruksional Bat Country
     * Schecter C1-FR - Seperti yang terlihat pada tahun 2005 San Diego pertunjukan
     * Schecter C1-FR Hellraiser - Seperti yang terlihat pada Hampir KROQ Acoustic Natal 2005

Brian memiliki variasi yang berbeda tanda tangannya model. The "Pertama Synyster Custom" bahwa ia bermain tidak mempunyai Gothic "SYN" inlay dan "Deathbat" pada tanggal 12 fret, selain "Deathbat" terletak di headstock. Model-model kebiasaan yang lain yang tidak tersedia untuk umum setelan mengikuti. Saat ini dia bermain model yang tersedia kepada masyarakat yang memiliki Gothic "SYN" inlay dan "Deathbat" pada tanggal 12 fret. Dia juga bermain dengan emas putih bergaris-garis "Synyster Custom" biasanya selama pertunjukan "Ya Tuhan". Gitar ini tersedia untuk umum, tapi produksi terbatas hanya 100 model. Baru-baru ini, satu atau dua model tanda tangannya bahwa ia menggunakan hidup memiliki kebiasaan "Stealth Sustainiac Pro" penopang humbucker pick-up cocok untuk posisi leher yang biasanya akan mengaktifkan selama pertunjukan solonya. Ini juga dapat didengar selama solo dari band penutup 'Paranoid' by Black Sabbath.

Berikut adalah daftar variasi yang berbeda tanda tangannya gitar:

     * Schecter Synyster Custom (Hitam dengan Pin Silver Stripes)
     * Schecter Synyster Custom (Putih dengan Pin Emas Stripes) - Hanya 100 dibuat.
     * Schecter Synyster Standard (Hitam dengan Pin Silver Stripes) - Affordable versi "Synyster Custom"

Gitar berikut ini dibuat khusus untuk Brian dan tidak tersedia untuk umum. Mirip dengan "Pertama Synyster Custom", mereka kekurangan Gothic "SYN" inlay dan "Deathbat" pada tanggal 12 fret dengan pengecualian dari Tune-O-Matic Bridge "Synyster Custom".

     * First Synyster Custom - Seperti yang terlihat pada tahun 2006 Graspop Metal Rapat
     * Rebel Flag Synyster Custom - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Making of Avenged Sevenfold" video
     * American Flag Synyster Custom - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Making of Avenged Sevenfold" video
     * Jerman Bendera Synyster Custom - singkat terlihat dalam "All Excess" video
     * Black dengan Red Stripes Synyster Custom - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Beast and the Harlot" music video
     * Merah dengan Black Stripes Synyster Custom - Yang paling langka dari semua gitar, tidak pernah terlihat di depan umum
     * Tune-O-Matic Bridge Synyster Custom - Seperti yang terlihat dalam "Almost Easy" bagian dari "Making of Avenged Sevenfold" video

Penguat & Efek Unit

     * Distortus Krank Maximus [2]
     * Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
     * Boss CS-3 Compresser Penopang [3]
     * Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb
     * Frantone "The Sweet" Distorsi
     * Digitech Whammy Pedal
     * Dunlop Crybaby from Hell
     * Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Fuzz Pedal
     * Sustainiac Stealth Pro Penopang
     * Visual Sound H20 Chorus & Echo [4]
     * Ernie Ball Wah Pedal [5]

     * Bogner Uberschall - City of Evil Periode
     * Mesa Boogie Rectifier - City of Evil Periode
     * Marshall JCM 800 - Current Wisata

     * Mesa Boogie 4x12 Cabinets - City of Evil Periode
     * Marshall 4x12 Cabinets - Current Wisata



Zacky Vengeance

dia datang dengan nama panggung "Zacky Vengeance" karena ia ingin kembali pada semua orang-orang yang meragukan keberhasilan. Ia juga datang dengan Johnny nama panggung "Johnny Kristus" karena dia bilang itu setelan untuk dia. Dalam Avenged Sevenfold DVD Semua Kelebihan ia ingat bahwa sebelum Avenged Sevenfold, ia berada di sebuah band punk bernama MPA *, yang adalah singkatan dari Mad Porno Action. Ia menyiratkan bahwa mereka tidak berhasil. Dia dan M. Shadows (yang pada waktu itu penyanyi untuk sebuah band bernama Successful Failure) . Dia belajar sendiri cara bermain gitar ketika ia berusia tiga belas tahun. Zacky juga bertanggung jawab untuk penciptaan singkatan "A7X".

Meskipun kidal, gitar ia pertama kali belajar pada Ayah sebenarnya gitar nya yang tangan kanan. Dia belajar dengan bermain terbalik, menonton band kesayangannya dan orang lain dia tahu siapa yang bermain dan berlatih sebanyak mungkin. Ia juga akan membaca setiap edisi Guitar World depan ke belakang, belajar tab dari lagu-lagu yang diterbitkan di sana dan menonton para profesional melakukan itu sampai ia mendapatkannya benar. Pengaruh-Nya dalam gaya yang Rancid, Misfits dan Bad Religion. Band favorit Zacky juga termasuk Metallica, Misfits dan Guns N Roses.

Di SMA, ia bermain bisbol dan kalau bukan untuk bergabung dengan Avenged Sevenfold ia akan bekerja menuju profesi sebagai pemain bisbol profesional.

Pada tahun 2003, Avenged Sevenfold keluar dengan Waking the Fallen, yang mendorong tingkat penggemar A7X atas. Avenged Sevenfold jackpot di tahun 2005 ketika mereka menjual album Emas, City of Evil keluar yang menampilkan lagu-lagu seperti, Beast and the Harlot, Bat Country, dan Seize the Day.

Pada tahun 2007, Avenged Sevenfold diproduksi diri mereka Self Titled Album (Avenged Sevenfold). Menampilkan lagu-lagu seperti, Critical Acclaim, Scream, Afterlife, Almost Easy dan A Little Piece of Heaven.

2008 - Zacky dan Avenged Sevenfold telah mengumumkan bahwa mereka akan kembali di studio sampai dengan Juli 2009. Jika saya dapat menawarkan satu potongan dari info di dalamnya akan menunjukkan bahwa ini adalah orang-orang untuk melihat . Kami akan merayakan sangat sukses 10 tahun berjalan dan kegilaan yang semua dimulai di negara bagian California yang besar (walaupun teman-teman kita di Las Vegas tahu cara mengadakan pesta sehingga kita tidak bisa meninggalkan mereka keluar baik). Kami f * cking bersemangat untuk pulang dan meninggalkan segala yang kita miliki di atas meja sebelum kami mulai bekerja pada kick-ass baru album. Jadi, saya secara pribadi mengundang Anda untuk keluar bersama teman-teman terdekat kita dan keluarga dan meninggalkan telinga colokan di rumah sebagai kita lemparkan ke bawah untuk akhir ini-of-tur menunjukkan. Jangan jadi orang yang ditinggalkan. "

Zacky merilis sebuah garis pakaian yang disebut "Vengeance University". Latar belakang website fitur Zacky simbol, "V-Blade". Saat ini fitur garis t-shirt, hoodies, bandana, dan kalung. Banyak, jika tidak semua kemeja di baris termasuk ciri khasnya "Est. 6.661" atau "VU". Sementara tur Zack berada di situs telah diupdate mingguan dengan foto-foto perjalanan dan "Gangster of the Week".

Dia memiliki seorang adik bernama Zina Baker, yang kini bernama Zina Pacheco. Adiknya memiliki dua anak bernama Gianna dan Gavin. Dia memiliki saudara bernama Matt Baker, yang bersama band Dear & Departed. Zacky dan ibunya ulang tahun yang sama.
Equipment
Guitars

Zacky menggunakan Guitars Schecter, dan mendukung perusahaan.

     * The Vengeance custom S-1
     * The Vengeance Standar Model
     * PP khusus yang dirancang oleh zacky balas dendam
     * The ZV Blade
     * The ZV khusus dengan FR (seperti terlihat di belakang layar di dalam LBC Live DVD)
     * "Kandungan" (darah memerciki)
     * Zacky memiliki banyak toko custom S-1 model dibuat khusus untuk dirinya.
     * Semua model yang sarat dengan Seymour Duncan JB Pickups

Amps

     * Marshall JVM205 Kepala
     * Marshall 1960B 4x12 Straight Kabinet

Efek unit dan aksesoris

     * Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner
     * Boss NS-2 Noise Suppressor
     * Line 6 PODxt Pro
     * Voodoo Lab GCX Audio Switcher
     * Radial JDX
     * Ernie Ball "Skinny Top, Heavy Bottom 10-52" strings [2]
     * Dunlop Tortex Kuning plectrums 0.73mm (Avenged Sevenfold logo)
     * Get'm Sersan Get'm White Stripes Strap

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synyster gates A7X

Biografi Synyster Gates - Gitaris Avenged Sevenfold

Lahir dengan nama lengkap Brian Elwin Haner, Jr atau lebih di kenal dengan nama Synyster Gates, lahir di Huntington Beach, California, Amerika Serikat tanggal 7 Juli 1981. Brian adalah anak pertama. Dia mempunyai adik bernama Brent, Johnny, dan McKenna. Ayahnya, Brian Elwin Haner Sr. (biasa dipanggil dengan nama Papa Gates), adalah seorang pelawak dan gitaris professional. Ibu kandungnya bernama Jan. Ibu tirinya, Suzy Haner, adalah seorang ahli hipnotis.

Brian mendapatkan gitar pertamanya dari nenek dan kakeknya. Salah satu lagu pertama yang ia pelajari adalah lagu Stairway to Heaven karya Led Zeppelin. Ketika Brian duduk di kelas 6, ia sudah bisa menebak chord dari sebuah lagu hanya dengan menggunakan pendengarannya. Setelah Brian diberi gitar, dia mengatakan bahwa sekolah sudah tidak ada gunanya. Nilai bagus hanya dia peroleh sampai ia duduk di kelas 4.

Brian memasuki grup musik Avenged Sevenfold sebagai gitaris ketika ia berumur 18 tahun di akhir tahun 1999. Dia juga memainkan piano pada lagu "Beast and the Harlot" dan "Sidewinder". Dia menciptakan lagu pertamanya berjudul "So Far Away" untuk mengenang sahabat sekaligus drummer Avenged Sevenfold, James Owen Sullivan atau lebih dikenal dengan The Rev yang meninggal pada tanggal 28 Desember 2009.

Setelah mengeluarkan album Sounding The Seventh Trumpet. Ayahnya, Brian Elwin Haner Sr, yang sering dipanggil "Pa-pa Gates" adalah seorang gitaris dan sering mengisi track gitar akustik Avenged Sevenfold. Django Reinhardt, Adam Aparicio dan Roddy adalah

gitaris favoritnya, dan orang-orang yang mempengaruhi permainan gitar Synyster Gates. Synyster juga menjadi anggota band Pinkly Smooth, band sampingannya dengan The Rev(drummer Avenged Sevenfold), dan mantan bassist Avenged Sevenfold, Justin Sane. Pinkly Smooth bubar karena Synyster dan The Rev dituntut untuk fokus dengan Avenged Sevenfold. Synyster juga mengeluarkan clothing line bernama Syn Gates Clothing.



Synyster Gates merupakan lead gitaris dari Avenged Sevenfold. Idealismenya untuk tetap memainkan lead gitar yang cukup ngeshredd dan menampilkan teknik-teknik arpeggio seperti Cacophony atau Iron Maiden. Bahkan di internet juga banyak beredar video bootleg Synyster yang sedang bermain solo gitar.

Brian mempunyai seorang pacar bernama Michelle DiBenedetto, saudara kembar dari tunangan M. Shadows, Valary DiBenedetto. Brian dan kekasihnya memelihara anjing yang diberi nama Pinkly. Akhirnya Brian menikah Dengan Michelle pada 7 May 2010 di Mexico.

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Avenged Sevenfold

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Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold in 2011
Background information
Origin	Huntington Beach, California, USA
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock, metalcore
Years active	1999 (1999)–present
Labels	Good Life, Hopeless, Warner Bros.
Associated acts	Pinkly Smooth, Suburban Legends, Brian Haner, Sr., Confide
Website	avengedsevenfold.com
Members
M. Shadows Zacky Vengeance Synyster Gates Johnny Christ
Past members
The Rev Matt Wendt Justin Sane Dameon Ash

Avenged Sevenfold (often abbreviated A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California. Formed in 1999, the group consists of M. Shadows (vocalist), Synyster Gates (lead guitarist), Zacky Vengeance (rhythm guitarist), and Johnny Christ (bassist).
They are known for their diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and t-shirts.^[1][2][3][4] Avenged Sevenfold emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet but their style had evolved by their third album and first major label release, City of Evil into a hard rock/heavy metal sound. The band continued to explore new sounds with their self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, the band continued on with help of now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010 which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200, their first number one debut.^[5]
To date, Avenged Sevenfold has released five studio albums, one live album/compilation/DVD, and eighteen singles and sold more than four million albums worldwide.^[6] The band has received much credit for their worldwide mainstream success and were featured as second place on Ultimate Guitar's Top Ten Bands of the Decade.

Contents  [hide]  1 History 1.1 Formation and early years (1999–2002) 1.2 Line-up stability, chart success and "Waking The Fallen" (2003–2006) 1.3 Self-titled album and death of "The Rev" (2007–2009) 1.4 Nightmare and recent events (2010–present) 2 Style and influences 3 Accolades 4 Band members 4.1 Timeline 5 Discography 6 References 7 External links

History

Formation and early years (1999–2002)

The band was formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California with original members M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev and Matt Wendt. M Shadows came up with the name as a reference to the story of Cain and Abel from The Bible, which can be found in Genesis 4:24, although they are not a religious band.^[7] Upon its formation, each member of the band also took on a pseudonym which were already nicknames of theirs from high school.^[8]
Before the release of their debut album, the band recorded two demos in 1999 and 2000. Avenged Sevenfold's debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were just eighteen years old and in high school. It was originally released on their first label, Good Life Recordings in 2001.^[9] After lead guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band, at the end of 1999 when he was 18 at the introductory track "To End the Rapture" was re-recorded featuring a full band element. The album was subsequently re-released on Hopeless Records in 2002. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall and playing on the Take Action Tour.^[10][11]

Line-up stability, chart success and "Waking The Fallen" (2003–2006)

Having settled on their fourth bassist, Johnny Christ, they released 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 played in the Vans Warped Tour.^[12][13] 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 Headbanger's Ball.^[14] Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were signed to Warner Bros. Records.
City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 7, 2005 and debuted at No.30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.^[15][16] It utilized a more classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.^[17][18] 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".^[17][19] The album received steller reviews from several magazines and websites and is credited for propelling the band into international popularity.
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.”^[20]
They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own "Cities of Evil Tour."^[21] In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached No.2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Charts, No.6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to No.1 on MTV's Total Request Live.^[22] Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first gold record.^[23] It was later certified platinum in August 2009.

Self-titled album and death of "The Rev" (2007–2009)

Avenged Sevenfold's was invited to join Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known hard rock and heavy metal acts DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed and System of a Down for the first time in 2006.^[24] That same year they also completed a worldwide tour, including the US, The United Kingdom (as well as mainland Europe), Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After a sixteen month promotion of City of Evil, the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music.^[25] In the interim, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007.^[26] All Excess, which debuted as the No.1 DVD in the USA, included live performances and backstage footage that spanned the band's eight year career. Two tribute albums, Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: Bat Wings and Broken Strings and Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: The String Tribute were also released in October 2007.
Avenged Sevenfold, the band's fourth album, was released on October 30, 2007, debuting at No.4 on the Billboard 200 with over 90,000 copies sold.^[27] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" were released prior to the album's debut. In December 2007, an animated video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven." Due to the song's controversial subject matter, however, Warner Brothers only released it to registered MVI users over the internet. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video was released in January 2008. Their fourth single, "Dear God", was released on June 15, 2008. Although critical reception was generally mixed the self-titled album went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was awarded "Album of the Year" at the Kerrang! Awards.^[28]
Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour with Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall and Idiot Pilot.^[29] They used the footage from their last show in Long Beach for Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough, a two-disc B-sides CD and live DVD which was released on September 16, 2008. They also recorded numerous covers, including Pantera's "Walk", Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade" and Black Sabbath's "Paranoid".^[29][30][31]
In January 2009, M. Shadows confirmed that the band was writing the follow-up to their self-titled fourth album within the upcoming months.^[32] They also announced that they will be playing at Rock on the Range, from May 16–17, 2009.^[33] On April 16, they performed a version of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" onstage with Slash, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.^[34]
On December 28, 2009, drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead at his home at the age of 28.^[35] Autopsy results were inconclusive,^[36] but on June 9, 2010, the cause of death was revealed to have been an "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol".^[37] In a statement by the band, they expressed their grief over the passing of The Rev and later posted a message from Sullivan's family which expressed their gratitude to his fans for their support.^[38][39]

Nightmare and recent events (2010–present)

Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates live in 2011

The band members admitted in a number of interviews that they considered disbanding at this point of time. However, on February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the record, in place of the Rev.^[40]
The single "Nightmare" was digitally released on May 18, 2010.^[41][42] A preview for the song was released on May 6, 2010 on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after for unknown reasons.^[42][43] Mixing for the album had been completed in New York City, and Nightmare was finally released worldwide on July 27, 2010.^[44] It met with mixed to positive reviews from music critics but was well received by the fans. Nightmare beat sales projections easily, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 163,000 units in its first week.^[45] After finishing recording, in December, Portnoy and the band posted simultaneous statements on their websites stating that he will not be their replacement for The Rev. However, Portnoy did travel with the band overseas in December 2010 for three shows in Iraq and Kuwait sponsored by the USO. They played for US Soldiers at Camp Adder, Camp Beuhring, and Balad Air Base.^[46] On January 20, 2011, Avenged Sevenfold announced via Facebook that former Confide drummer Arin Ilejay will tour with them starting this year. Whether or not he will be joining the band on a permanent basis has not been decided yet.^[47][48]
Avenged Sevenfold performed at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals on June 3–5, 2011 alongside other bands such as Alter Bridge, System of a Down, and In Flames.^[49] On April 2011, the band headlined the Golden God Awards held by Metal Hammer. The same night the band won three awards for "Best Vocalist" (M. Shadows), "Epiphone Best Guitarist(s)" (Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance) and "Affliction’s Album of The Year: " for Nightmare, while Mike Portnoy won the award for "Drum Workshop’s Best Drummer" for his work on the album.
In May 2011, it was confirmed that the band had written a new song to be included in the Escalation DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops.^[50] The song is the first time developers Treyarch have commissioned an outside band to contribute a song since the franchise began.^[51] The song, titled "Not Ready to Die", was released on iTunes on May 2, 2011.
Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2011 Uproar Festival with supporting acts Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, among others.^[52] In August 2011, vocalist M. Shadows stated the band would finish the Uproar Festival, then go home to take a break for six to seven months before starting a new record.^[53] He also roughly stated that Arin Ilejay and the band are getting along great, but that they have to make sure he's comfortable writing music with them, but also that he hopes everything works out.
In November and December, 2011, the band went on their "Buried Alive" tour with supporting acts Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, and Black Veil Brides.^[54]
The band will be touring through Asia into April and early May, and are scheduled play the Orion Music + More Festival on June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey alongside Metallica and Cage the Elephant among many others.^[55]
On April 11, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold won the award for "Best Live Band" at the Revolver Golden Gods awards.^[56]

Style and influences

The band has cited bands such as Bad Religion, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Dream Theater, Metallica, NOFX, Alice in Chains, Black Flag, Corrosion of Conformity, The Misfits, Slayer, The Vandals, Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Deftones and AFI as their artistic influences.^[57]
Avenged Sevenfold's material spans multiple genres and has evolved over the band's entire career. Initially, the band's debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet consisted almost entirely of metalcore sound; however, there were several deviations to this genre, most notably in "Streets" which adopts a punk style and "Warmness on the Soul," which is a piano-oriented ballad.^[58] On Waking the Fallen, the band displayed the contemporary metalcore style once more, but added more clean vocals as well as more mature and intricate musical elements. In the band's DVD All Excess, producer Andrew Murdock explained this transition: "When I met the band after Sounding the Seventh Trumpet had come out before they had recorded Waking the Fallen, M. Shadows said to me 'This record is screaming. The record we want to make is going to be half-screaming half-singing. I don't want to scream anymore. And the record after that is going to be all singing.'"
On City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold's third album, the band chose to abandon the metalcore genre, developing a more hard rock style. Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album, again, consists of several deviations to less consistent genres and styles from the album's main hard rock and heavy metal songs, most notably in "Dear God", which adopts a country style and "A Little Piece of Heaven", which is circled within the influence of Broadway show tunes, using primarily brass instruments and stringed orchestra to take over most of the role of the lead and rhythm guitar. Nightmare contains further deviations, including a piano ballad called "Fiction" and a brief return to their metalcore roots on "God Hates Us" and "Not Ready to Die". The band has changed considerably since their first album, in which during that time they have been characterized as a heavy band with a screamed and growled vocal style combined with clean vocals, chugging guitar riffs and breakdowns that one can expect from the metalcore genre.

Accolades

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2011	Mike Portnoy on Nightmare	Golden God Awards: Best Drummer[59]	Won
	Synyster Gates & Zacky Vengeance on Nightmare	Golden God Awards: Best Guitarists[59]	Won
	M. Shadows on Nightmare	Golden God Awards: Best Vocalist[59]	Won
	Nightmare	Golden God Awards: Album of the Year[59]	Won
	"Buried Alive"	Revolver Magazine's Song of the Year 2011[60]	Nominated

Band members

The band members occasionally play instruments other than their primary instruments listed below.

Current members M. Shadows – lead vocals, piano, keyboard (1999–present) Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1999–present) Synyster Gates – lead guitar, piano, backing vocals (2000–present) Johnny Christ – bass, backing vocals (2003–present)

Former members The Rev – drums, piano, backing vocals (1999–2009) Matt Wendt – bass (1999–2000) Justin Sane – bass (2000–2002) Dameon Ash – bass (2002–2003)

Session and touring members Arin Ilejay – drums (2011-present)[47][48]

Former session and touring members Mike Portnoy – drums (2010)[61]

Timeline

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see Avenged Sevenfold discography.

Studio albums

• Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001)
• Waking the Fallen (2003)
• City of Evil (2005)
• Avenged Sevenfold (2007)
• Nightmare (2010)

References

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2. ^ Avenged Sevenfold Tattoo's and Art Facebook Fan Page. Accessed May 18, 2011
3. ^ Avenged Sevenfold Returns with 'Nightmare' After Drummer's Death "Avenged Sevenfold falls into that small category of bands that don't need a hit or radio play to sell half a million albums." Billboard.com July 26, 2010
4. ^ Avenged Sevenfold Returns with 'Nightmare' After Drummer's Death "… T-shirt sales account for the majority of the group's income…I worked a lot on our album cover, and I didn't just want to post it on our website one day and move on,"" Billboard.com July 26, 2010
5. ^ Avenged Sevenfold Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Billboard.com August 4, 2010
6. ^ RIAA's Gold & Platinum Program searchable database Search Term: Avenged Sevenfold. Accessed: May 18, 2011
7. ^ Decker, Ashley Interview with Avenged Sevenfold Skratch Magazine.
8. ^ Interview with Avenged Sevenfold through Jacky Bam Bam "I think we all kind of had [the pseudonyms] before we were in the band." 93.3 WMMR Radio. March 19, 2009.
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11. ^ Take Action Tour 2003 NinerOnline. September 19, 2003.
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15. ^ Whitmire, Margo Coldplay Earns First Billboard 200 No. 1 Billboard. June 15, 2005.
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17. ^ ^{a b} 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.'"
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25. ^ Moss, Corey Avenged Sevenfold Seek Rat-Infested Garage to Record Next LP MTV News. October 4, 2006.
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32. ^ We Wanted to Cover Mr. Bungle Metal Hammer. January 27, 2009.
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42. ^ ^{a b} "Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare – Further Details Made Available!". Metal Hammer. May 7, 2010. http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/avenged-sevenfold-nightmare-further-details-made-available/. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
43. ^ "YOU’LL HAVE A NIGHTMARE ON MAY 18". Deathbat News. May 6, 2010. http://deathbatnews.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/youll-have-a-nightmare-on-may-18th/. Retrieved May 12, 2010. 
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46. ^ "Avenged 01". USO. 2010-12-10. http://www.uso.org/About-Us/News-and-Stories/Photos-and-Videos/Photo-Galleries/2010-Avenged-Sevenfold-Tour-in-Kuwait-and-Iraq/Avenged-01.aspx. Retrieved 2011-10-19. 
47. ^ ^{a b} "Message from A7X". Facebook. January 20, 2011. http://www.facebook.com/notes/avenged-sevenfold/message-from-avenged-sevenfold/487121926985. 
48. ^ ^{a b} "News | Avenged Sevenfold announce Arin Ilejay as new drummer". Alt Press. 2011-01-20. http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/avenged_sevenfold_announce_arin_ilejay_as_new_drummer/. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
49. ^ "Schon 60.000 Eintrittskarten für Ring und Park verkauft". Rock am Ring. January 13, 2011. http://www.rock-am-ring.com/news/schon-60000-eintrittskarten-fur-ring-und-park-verkauft. 
50. ^ "Avenged Sevenfold craft new track for ‘Call of Duty’ << Music News". Myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/music/blog/2011/5/2/avenged-sevenfold-craft-new-track-for-call-of-duty. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
51. ^ Citizen, Jessica (May 3, 2011). "Avenged Sevenfold in new CoD:Black Ops DLC". GamePron. http://www.gamepron.com/news/2011/05/03/avenged-sevenfold-in-new-codblack-ops-dlc/. Retrieved May 3, 2011. 
52. ^ "JamBase: Uproar Fest 2011". JamBase. http://www.jambase.com/Articles/50232/Uproar-Fest-2011-Avenged-Sevenfold-Three-Days-Seether. Retrieved 2012-03-24. 
53. ^ "Ultimate Guitar". Ultimate Guitar. 2011-08-26. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/avenged_sevenfold_to_take_break_after_touring_behind_nightmare.html. Retrieved 2011-10-19. 
54. ^ "Buried Alive Tour". http://www.avengedsevenfold.com/news/buried-alive-tour. Retrieved 2012-03-24. 
55. ^ "Upcoming Shows". Avenged Sevenfold. http://www.avengedsevenfold.com/shows?wmgref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.avengedsevenfold.com%2F. 
56. ^ Riddle, Tree (2012-04-12). "Avenged Sevenfold Win 'Best Live Band' and 'Most Dedicated Fans' at 2012 Revolver Golden Gods". Loudwire. http://loudwire.com/avenged-sevenfold-best-live-band-and-most-dedicated-fans-2012-revolver-golden-gods/. Retrieved 2012-06-05. 
57. ^ Fuoco, Christina. "Avenged Sevenfold". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/avenged-sevenfold-p484516. Retrieved 2011-07-20. 
58. ^ Avenged Sevenfold: Sounding the Seventh Trumpet Global Domination. December 20, 2007.
59. ^ ^{a b c d} "Avenged Sevenfold Dominate The 2011 Golden Gods Awards". Star Pulse. April 21, 2011. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2011/04/21/avenged_sevenfold_dominate_the_2011_go. Retrieved September 14, 2011. 
60. ^ Revolver Magazine (December 7, 2011). "What Is the Song of the Year?". Revolver Magazine. http://www.revolvermag.com/news/poll-what-is-the-song-of-the-year.html. Retrieved December 15, 2011. 
61. ^ "Upcoming shows". Avenged Sevenfold. 2011-07-02. http://www.avengedsevenfold.com/shows. Retrieved 2011-07-06.

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