Zacky Vengeance called in to KISW Rock’s BJ Shea Morning Experience yesterday to chat about Pain In The Grass, how he was born in Olympia, being the product of his surroundings in Washington and California, if Avenged Sevenfold wish they could take certain songs off their set-lists, being in the studio from morning to night and the new Avenged Sevenfold album needing “a couple more weeks” of work until it heads into mixing, being thrilled to be in Avenged Sevenfold and much more.
In March 2013′s Issue (Issue 171) of Rock Sound Magazine M Shadows opened up about having a good time making “Carry On,” writing the new album while ‘missing a few key elements,’ the vibe of the record, stepping up to the next level in 2013 and ambitions for the year ahead including working on the DVD. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-size interview.
Hollywood Undead’s new album “Notes From The Underground” is available in stores now and SMNnews caught up with Johnny 3 Tears in early December for an interview in which he proclaimed he would steal Avenged Sevenfold’s fan base… but for good reason. December of 2011 in San Jose, California Da Kurlzz joined them on stage to perform “Chapter Four.”
SMNnews: I completely understand. So, if you could pick one other band to steal their entire fan base, which bands fans would you steal?
J3T: Um, I would go with Avenged Sevenfold. Because their fan base is big, but they’re also very dedicated. They have an army behind them. We toured with them a couple times and I was always envious because the kids really like them, but for good reason. But they’re very dedicated; they know every word to every song and stuff like that.
Thanks Vinnie for sending this in.
ARTISTdirect asked a few artists including M Shadows to share their thoughts on Soundgarden and the newest release “King Animal.” This is what he had to say:
AD: Can you share a Soundgarden memory or your thoughts on King Animal?
M Shadows: I haven’t heard “King Animal” yet, but I have it downloaded! It’s on my iPod. I’ve been a Soundgarden fan. When the alternative explosion happened, I liked Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Nirvana. I was still very much into Megadeth, Pantera, Metallica, and Anthrax though too.
In the new issue of Metal Hammer out Feb 13th” they’ll be previewing 2013 with the year of metal ahead. M Shadows is featured on the cover along with a quote from the story where it’s said the new Avenged Sevenfold album is “classic metal.” You can order your copy online or pick it up in stores when it hits shelves.
Avenged Sevenfold are set to head into the studio next month to record their “groove-oriented” follow-up to “Nightmare.”NME spoke with M Shadows who confirmed the band will begin recording their new album in January.
Avenged Sevenfold have confirmed that they will be in the studio next month to record the follow-up album to their 2010 album ‘Nightmare’
Singer M Shadows confirmed to NME that their sixth album is almost ready to record: “This album’s a little more groove orientated,” he said. “There’s a little bit more groove to it, a little bit more focused on bigger riffs. So that’s where it’s headed – every song has gotta have a huge riff and every song has to have a groove to it.”
The California metallers have also written a new song called ‘Carry On’, which appears on Call Of Duty Black Ops II and features the band performing the song as digital characters during the end credits.
Speaking about the game, M Shadows revealed that the band were “really honoured to be made into, you know, immortalised on a video game”. He added: “At the same time, it’s really cool that it’s on the Call Of Duty game ’cause we’re big fans of the game.”
G1 have published a short interview with M Shadows about Avenged Sevenfold’s return to South America for Rock In Rio 2013, whether the band will be play more dates in the area, being popular without making pop music and more. Thank you to Deathbat News reader Iago J. who was kind enough to type up the translated interview for everyone to read.
G1 – You’ve reached the top of the list of best selling albums in the United States. How is it to be popular without making pop music?
M. Shadows – It is possible, and we are not the only example. Iron Maiden and Metallica are two of the greatest bands of all time and pass away from pop. Pantera was well on the charts and has one of the best selling albums of all time. You have to build a fan club, have to know to do a good job in the alternative scene and then know how to grow up. Pop music listeners will not buy our records. We just want to play heavy rock.
USA Today have shared an article in which they spoke to M Shadows about Avenged Sevenfold’s involvement with Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 with the song “Carry On,” gaming with his clan, how the new album is coming along and the front-man confirms a sneaking suspicion amongst fans. A congratulations is in order!
Once players finish the single-player campaign, they see the game’s villain Raul Menendez and one of the main characters Sgt. Frank Woods meet an animated version of the band backstage before joining them onstage to perform the song. Eventually, the entire cast of the game dances to the tune. “Carry On was more like these guys coming together at the end and being buddies after they have pretty much killed each others’ families,” Shadows says. “I’m proud of it and I think it’s fun and it’s actually just really cool to be in a Call of Duty game.”
Avenged Sevenfold has a new album in the works, so Shadows is busy writing. “It’s a big record for us. … All I can say is that we are really excited about it and it’s sounding really good to us,” he says. “It’s definitely different like all of our records are all different from each other. That’s fun. We are just exploring our musical boundaries.”
Shadows says that these days “I write about eight hours a day, five days a week and then play games the rest of the night and hang out with my son,” he says. “Fans don’t need to be worried that I am just playing Call of Duty.”
Thanks Justin for sending this in.
Kerrang! Magazine discussed the world of Avenged Sevenfold, writing and filming “Carry On” for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, the new Avenged Sevenfold album and the direction it’s taking, the challenge that lies ahead for Avenged Sevenfold and more with M Shadows for their “Bat In Black” piece published in last week’s issue. Cheryl, from DevilBearRock, was kind enough send in the scans and I previously typed up the article before those arrived so enjoy both versions!
K: So 2013 is shaping up as a pretty hectic year for Avenged, then?
M SHADOWS: “It really will be. But I’m incredibly proud of what we’re preparing. I know that in my heart of hearts what we’re working on is something special and we can stand tall behind this new music for the next year and however long. There’s no point in going out there on the road and putting all your energy into something if you don’t believe in it wholeheartedly. What’s inspiring is how into this everyone is and how fired up we all are about making a kick ass new record.”
Read Kerrang! Magazine’s Big Interview With M Shadows (Now With Scans!) By Clicking Here.
Revolver Magazine recently got a chance to speak to M Shadows about writing and performing “Carry On” for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, working on the new Avenged Sevenfold album, writing and working with Arin Ilejay, his favorite albums of 2013, what he likes so much about Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die” album and more.
What has it been like working with Arin on this album with writing?
M: It’s been good, man! It’s been cool. A lot of it’s been us refreshing him on what our influences are and where we’re coming from as a band. There’s a lot of things that he was never brought up on that we have to quickly get him acquired to such as Pantera and Metallica and Slayer and Megadeth and we’re introducing him to these records that were literally the biggest records when we were growing up. Just records that you have to know. He’s much younger and he grew up listening to Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine, ya know? So it’s a completely different generation and it makes me feel old to even talk about it. Right now, we’re handing him [Pantera's] Far Beyond Driven and [Metallica's] Master of Puppets and saying, “Learn these albums. You need to learn these things” because when we’re talking about “groove metal,” we’re not talking about some Warped Tour band. We’re talking about fucking Pantera! We’re talking about Black Sabbath, ya know? So we’re getting him acquired to that and I think he’s learning really quickly what we’re looking for. We’re not looking for an overly technically proficient drummer. We’re looking for a guy that knows how to fit the song and be in the groove and play the right thing in the right moment. It’s been cool. It’s been good. He’s been doing really, really well.What is it that you like about the Lana Del Rey record?
M: I just love her songwriting. I think it’s a really well-done record. It’s warm. I just love her songwriting. The melodies are brilliant, I think. The production is great. I mean, it’s something I love to listen to, throw it on, and I love every song on that record. It’s one of those things that I can throw on and push shuffle and never be bummed when something comes up.
