The band was formed in 1999. Avenged Sevenfold's first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was originally released on their first label, Good Life Recordings. After lead guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band (right after Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was recorded in 2000), the introductory track "To End The Rapture" was re-recorded with Gates playing, and the album was re-released on Hopeless Records. Their follow-up album, entitled Waking the Fallen, was also released on Hopeless Records and was awarded a positive rating in Rolling Stone magazine. Shortly after its release, Avenged Sevenfold was signed to Warner Bros. Records. Their first release with WBR was "City of Evil" in 2005.
Avenged Sevenfold released their first DVD, All Excess, on July 17 2007. The DVD includes a documentary and live footage dating back to 1999 along with music videos and the making of the Seize The Day music video. It is a region-free DVD and is approximately 156 minutes long. Before the actual release of the DVD, there were several theatrical premiers around the United States on July 16 2007.
The self titled album was released on October 30 to early success, debuting at #4 on the Billboard 200 with approximately 94,000 copies sold.[1] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" along with its music video, were released prior to the album. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video will be released in early 2008. A third music video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven." It is currently available on iTunes.
The band's name is a reference to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, where Cain is sentenced to live in exile for murdering his brother. God marked him so that none would kill him on account of his sin; the man who dared to kill Cain would suffer "vengeance seven times over" (KJV). The title of Avenged Sevenfold's song "Chapter Four" references the fourth chapter of Genesis, in which the story of Cain and Abel takes place. The song's subject also appears to be this story. "Beast and the Harlot", yet another song derived from the Bible, comes from the book of Revelation only it is written in the first person and refers to the punishment of Babylon the Great, world empire and seat of false religion. Another biblical reference occurs in the song "The Wicked End". In this song, several times it is said "dust the apple off, savor each bite, and deep inside you know Adam was right." making reference to Eve eating the forbidden fruit. Although the band's title and members' stage names make references to religion, Shadows stated in an interview that they are not a religious band. "Anyone that reads the lyrics and really knew anything about us, they would know we're not promoting either," he said. "That's one thing about this band that I love is that we never really shove any kind of, like, political or religious beliefs on people. We just, the music's there to entertain and maybe thought-provoking on both sides, but we don't try to, like, really shove anything down anyone's throat. There's too many bands that do that nowadays, I think."[2]
While often categorized as metal or hard rock, Avenged Sevenfold's material ranges across many genres, often leaving the concept of genres altogether (especially in their most recent album). For example, Avenged Sevenfold's debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet consisted almost entirely of a metalcore sound, however consisted of several deviations to this genre, most notably in "Streets" which adopts a Punk style, and "Warmness on the Soul". Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album, again, consists of several deviations to less consistent genres and styles, most notably in "Dear God", which adopts a country style, and "A Little Piece of Heaven", which includes elements of broadway show tunes, using primarily brass instruments and stringed orchestra to take over most of the role of the lead and rhythm guitar. Avenged Sevenfold does not restrict itself to a certain specific genre[citation needed]. The band has, though, changed considerably since its first album, which was characterized as very heavy, to being more of a hard rock type band.
When Avenged Sevenfold first started out, they were considered hardcore, but through the albums and the years, they have evolved past having a specific genre. Their music has no boundaries and they have crossed over into different genres time and time again.
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