M. SHADOWS Recalls AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s Creative Shift When Making Their Best Selling Album

When Avenged Sevenfold dropped Hail to the King in 2013, fans and critics alike were struck by its stark departure from the band’s earlier works. The album, defined by its stripped-down, arena-ready sound, was a deliberate attempt to craft a hard rock classic in the vein of Metallica‘s Black Album. As frontman M. Shadows admitted in a recent interview, the decision stemmed from the realization that their music — layered with neoclassical complexity — was too niche to achieve true mainstream appeal.

Hail to the King was a response to the fact that we were a big band, but none of our songs could be played anywhere in a bar. We had nothing that lived up to AC/DC, or Metallica‘s Black Album, or all these albums that we love. All of our stuff’s a little too complex, a little too neoclassical,” Shadows told Bradley Hall (via Ultimate Guitar)

The band’s solution was to simplify. According to Shadows, they intentionally streamlined the music, drawing heavily on their influences. “We started really cutting close; wearing our influences very much on our sleeves in this sort of dumbed-down version of rock music. And that’s not a shot at those bands, ’cause they do it brilliantly. They do it better than us. But we wanted to try our hand at doing something like that.”

This approach led to creative choices that felt unnatural to the band. “It’s simplified,” Shadows explained. “But I think we were smart enough to piece together… Oh, it’s simple drums — it’s huge drums. It’s a more scooped sound on the toms. It’s a lower-volume guitar that actually feels bigger with the bass. It’s a very simple vocal; there’s not a lot of harmonies. It’s one vocal that’s kind of yelling at you, and it’s almost like, can you take this vocal melody and sing it to your kid as a lullaby?”

Despite these challenges, the band pressed forward, creating what would become their biggest song. “And so, we took all those things, and we made Hail to the King. And, unfortunately, ‘Hail to the King’ worked.,” Shadows said. “It’s our biggest song. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it’s funny that that’s the song that has almost a billion views and a song that people hear first. I don’t know if that’s more of a commentary on us or the typical rock listener. But, yeah, ‘Hail to the King’ is one of those things where it’s just a funny little experiment.”

The album’s impact can’t be overstated, even as Shadows and the band later pivoted toward a more experimental and genre-defying sound with 2023’s Life is But a Dream. The evolution between the two records reflects the tension between creative freedom and commercial success—a balancing act Avenged Sevenfold has navigated for decades.

Want More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter

Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.


Source link

20% off

Especially For You

Sign up to receive your exclusive discount, and keep up to date on latest releases, new inventory and exclusive offers!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *