M Shadows spoke with Metal Hammer magazine about “Carry On,” being in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, the new Avenged Sevenfold album and wwhere they’re likely to head on tour first.
We also asked him whether he felt Carry On reflected where the band are musically at the moment.
“I would look at it as a one-off, and to tell the truth it sounds nothing like the album,” he admits. “This song had to be done quick, and it couldn’t be a long song, and we wanted to make it fun. The new album has a lot more of a Sabbath/Zeppelin feel to it than Carry On. There’s definitely more Sabbath in what we’re writing, and we’re proud of Carry On, but this album is going to be on a whole new level.
We’re halfway through [writing the new album],” he continues. “We’re shooting for late January-early February [to head into the studio] and to have the album out in the Summer. I’m pretty sure, with what I’ve been told already, we’re looking to go overseas first, so you guys will be seeing it before everyone else!”
ARTISTdirect’s Editor-In-Chief Rick Florino spoke exclusively with M Shadows about writing “Carry On” for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, filming the motion capture work for Avenged Sevenfold’s appearance in the game, the appeal of playing Call Of Duty, writing the new album and the ‘cool direction’ it’s going in, what the front-man is currently listening to (DBN NOTE: Lana Del Rey’s “Born To Die” album (including the Paradise Edition) is incredible), keeping the writing process balanced, visual lyrics and more. You can read the entire interview here.
Has “Carry On” sparked the writing process even more?
- After “Carry On”, we took off August and most of September. At the end of September, we started writing for the record. I’m really happy with it. It’s a very cool direction that we’re going in. There’s kind of an old school feel, but it’s still modern. It doesn’t feel dated. It’s going to be the next evolution of Avenged Sevenfold. We’re excited about it.On Nightmare, you balanced writing big hooks with the epic, expansive nature of the songs masterfully. Metallica’s one of the only other bands in history to do that. Is that balance between slamming choruses and progressive intricacy in mind?
- It’s totally in my mind. When you look at bands like Pantera, Megadeth, and Metallica, they’re way closer in their songwriting than you would think. They’re all the same sorts of riffs. You can tell the way they write songs is very AC/DC-based. Metallica gets a little more melodic. Pantera gets a little more brutal. Megadeth has more of those creepy, melodic minor types of scales. It’s riff-based. When you have a combination of that, which our band kind of does because we grew up on all those bands, you have to make sure there’s a balance between the aggressive and the melodic and the stripped-down songs and the songs that are more progressive. There’s always a balance. You have to weigh that balance on what the song needs and the album needs. At some point, you need to say, “We have a bunch of long songs, we need some compact songs”. At another point, you need to say, “Let’s make a fucking crazy eleven-minute song!” It comes to making what you want to hear.
Chris Jericho welcomed Synyster Gates to the Rock Of Jericho earlier today so the duo could talk about surfing, enjoying time off, the success of “Nightmare” and how it differed from that of “City Of Evil,” his side-project with Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan that wasn’t Pinkly Smooth, writing for the new album and what kind of challenge it brings, his guitar-work, meeting his idle John Petrucci, his favorite song to play live and much much more. Thanks to Lindsey M for sending this in so I could share it with you all and everyone else who offered to do the same.
Synyster Gates will be a guest on Rock Of Jericho today and the two chat about the new Avenged Sevenfold album, memories of Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan and Syn’s surfing expertise. You can tune in on SixxSense.com, with your XM radio at SiriusXM 164 or the iHeartRadio app (SixxSense). The segment will air today at 5pm EST and will replay Sunday at Noon EST and Tues at 10am EST.
The interview can now be heard here: Rock Of Jericho’s Interview With Synyster Gates.
Rock. Nothing But..” recently interviewed Fozzy front-man Chris Jericho and spoke a little about M Shadows and how he became involved in their new single “Sandpaper.”
["Sandpaper"] features M. Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold. How did he become involved with this song?
- Shadows and I have become really good friends over the last couple years, and when we were in the studio recording that cat scratch, whiplash, that little intro part; I thought, I’m not really feeling it like I am for most of the other stuff. I thought, Shadows might sound good with this. So, I called him up and he started to put some thoughts into it. Worked on it a little bit, and gave me a couple of ideas for the arrangement of the song. So, he kind of went above and beyond just to make it, not only what we were asking for, but kind of what he was thinking too. He put a lot of time and effort into it, so that was great.
Thanks Rena for sending this in.
Music Of The Round Table sat down with M Shadows and Synyster Gates after Avenged Sevenfold’s show in Thailand to speak a bit about how the band compose their songs, writing songs, improvising while playing live, how they fill their days on tour and off, their thoughts on music school, how they felt about their show in Thailand, advice for younger musicians and much more. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here or click the images below.
Thanks Sam for sending this in.
In a recent issue of Kerrang! Magazine a short “5 Minutes With Zacky Vengeance” interview was published where the rhythm guitarist was asked about Avenged Sevenfold’s time at Orion Music + More Festival. Deathbat News reader Sam was kind enough to send in a scan that I typed up:
K: How does it feel to be personally invited to perform by Metallica?
ZV: “We have such a deep respect for Metallica, not only as a band but as people, it’s a huge honor. We hadn’t planned on doing any shows this summer but being a part of something so special requires little thought.”K: What made Orion enjoyable compared to other festivals?
ZV: “It didn’t feel like it was a bunch of bands lined up to sell tickets. It was Metallica inviting their fans and favorite bands to a giant summer backyard party hosted by them.”K: How did you rate Lars’ performance as a peer?
ZV: “I stood behind him onstage the entire time and was thinking about how much energy he emits. The crowd and band radiate together off that energy. You can’t be taught that in music school.”K: How did you rate A7X’s performance today?
ZV: “We went up there after two years of touring and gave everything we had. I’ll let the fans decide.”
Démentièllement Vôtre on Quebec City’s CKRL 89.1 FM spoke with Zacky Vengeance while Avenged Sevenfold were out on the road for their last three live dates and touched upon playing in Quebec again, booking a few shows around Orion Music + More Festival, touring Asia and Japan, his warm-up before shows, when they plan to start writing the new record and more.
“We’ve been home for awhile, just taking a little rest, and after these shows, we’re gonna rest a little bit longer just for the summer. We’ve never really had a summer to just be home and just unwind. But after that, as soon as summertime starts winding down, it’s gonna be getting together to start writing, working on new material. We’re gonna be really excited to put out a new album. Just start the writing process. You never know how it’s gonna go once you start, but hopefully we’ll have some songs we’re really, really proud of and get to work on recording them and get back out on the road again, hopefully sooner rather than later.”
La Soleil of La Presse caught up with Avenged Sevenfold a few days before their show in Quebec to speak to the band about returning to the city, the success of “Nightmare,” starting work on a new album, their evolving sound and more.
Q. You are now a well established group, with five studio albums in your pocket. What about that has changed most over the years, beyond the loss of The Rev?
A. I think we grew up together and we learned to focus on writing and maintaining a link with the fans. Each year that passes, we are closer to fans and the Avenged Sevenfold community. We try to give the best possible product and show them how much we appreciate their support. I think we have grown into a great Avenged Sevenfold family and this is something we’re very proud of.
A new interview with M Shadows and Synyster Gates will air on June 24th at 12pm in Thailand via Music of the Round Table and Dude TV. You may be able to watch it online here though I am not positive.
Thanks Sam for sending this in.
