AVENGED SEVENFOLD
“We have the greatest fans in the world,” bassist Johnny Christ tells us, when we ask him what he thinks it is that attracts so many people to the band. “It’s cool we are able to do something different with every album that comes out and doing just what we want to do and I think people can identify with that,” he explains. “People can see that what we do is real and when people come and see us live, they notice that we’re not just some band that’s been thrown together. We’re honest and people seem to like that in us.”
This is certainly true of their aforementioned eponymous album released late last year, which Johnny Christ tells us is “the most honest representation of us so far.” The album is a landmark for the band, in the fact that the record is totally of their own making, from writing the tracks through to producing the long player themselves, with the results not just pleasing to fans around the world, but obviously to the band themselves.
“Every time we release a record, we always think it’s our best to date,” he shares. “We decided we wanted this record to be self-titled too because we wrote, recorded and produced it ourselves. There’s nobody else involved in the making of it except us,” he outlines proudly. “We’ve had a great response since it was released and we took a lot of time to put it together, so to get all this great feedback is cool.”
With tickets snapped up quickly for their recent UK tour leaving many disappointed, the new found interest in one of the hottest tickets out of America will be appeased with the news that the band are to return to these shores again in the not too distant future. This is hardly surprising given Avenged Sevnfold’s continued hunger and intensity to tour the world and play to as many people as is humanly possible, just as they did when they toured the States in a van when they first formed., something that after seven years would see most bands kill each other in such circumstances.
“You’d think we’d get fed up of each other by now after all this time, but we haven’t,” he laughs. “We’re five best friends who grew up together and since day one this is all we’ve ever wanted to do and it just seems to be becoming more fun as the years go on because we’ve always got new stories to tell each other,” he shares warmly. “We’re gonna be touring our asses off for this record for what we hope will be a couple of years and will definitely be back touring the UK a lot too.”
In America Avenged Sevenfold are big news. Exploding onto the U.S circuit thanks to their aggressive brand of metalcore and punk, the Californian five-piece were just out of school when debut album Sounding The Seventh Trumpet was released in 2001 and after second album Waking The Fallen was released in 2003, major label Warner snapped the band up, seeing the potential that was on show. It was this move to Warner, which coincided with a shift away from the more metalcore style of screaming on the tracks, combined with the band’s incessant and workmanlike attitude towards touring that saw them release their breakthrough album City Of Evil in 2004, earning them almost 1 million albums sales in America and a top ten Billboard single in ‘Bat Country’, plus picking up an MTV Award for Best New Artist (although the band had been going five years at this point!)
Meanwhile in the UK, City Of Evil planted a seed for the band. Although it sold what many would term meagre sales of around 50 000 copies, high profile support slots with the likes of Lostprophets saw their British fanbase swell with each visit. Fast forward to October 2007 and the release of their eponymous, self-produced Avenged Sevenfold album, the band announced a small UK tour including a show at the miniscule 100 Club. This may seem modest and inconsequential when trying to argue that a band are becoming big over here; in the three months since that show (and by the time you read this) Avenged Sevenfold will be fresh from headlining Brixton Academy as well as conquering several of the other large halls this country has to offer, such is the appeal for the band both sides of the Atlantic these days.
Meanwhile in the UK, City Of Evil planted a seed for the band. Although it sold what many would term meagre sales of around 50 000 copies, high profile support slots with the likes of Lostprophets saw their British fanbase swell with each visit. Fast forward to October 2007 and the release of their eponymous, self-produced Avenged Sevenfold album, the band announced a small UK tour including a show at the miniscule 100 Club. This may seem modest and inconsequential when trying to argue that a band are becoming big over here; in the three months since that show (and by the time you read this) Avenged Sevenfold will be fresh from headlining Brixton Academy as well as conquering several of the other large halls this country has to offer, such is the appeal for the band both sides of the Atlantic these days.
“We have the greatest fans in the world,” bassist Johnny Christ tells us, when we ask him what he thinks it is that attracts so many people to the band. “It’s cool we are able to do something different with every album that comes out and doing just what we want to do and I think people can identify with that,” he explains. “People can see that what we do is real and when people come and see us live, they notice that we’re not just some band that’s been thrown together. We’re honest and people seem to like that in us.”This is certainly true of their aforementioned eponymous album released late last year, which Johnny Christ tells us is “the most honest representation of us so far.” The album is a landmark for the band, in the fact that the record is totally of their own making, from writing the tracks through to producing the long player themselves, with the results not just pleasing to fans around the world, but obviously to the band themselves.
“Every time we release a record, we always think it’s our best to date,” he shares. “We decided we wanted this record to be self-titled too because we wrote, recorded and produced it ourselves. There’s nobody else involved in the making of it except us,” he outlines proudly. “We’ve had a great response since it was released and we took a lot of time to put it together, so to get all this great feedback is cool.”
With tickets snapped up quickly for their recent UK tour leaving many disappointed, the new found interest in one of the hottest tickets out of America will be appeased with the news that the band are to return to these shores again in the not too distant future. This is hardly surprising given Avenged Sevnfold’s continued hunger and intensity to tour the world and play to as many people as is humanly possible, just as they did when they toured the States in a van when they first formed., something that after seven years would see most bands kill each other in such circumstances.“You’d think we’d get fed up of each other by now after all this time, but we haven’t,” he laughs. “We’re five best friends who grew up together and since day one this is all we’ve ever wanted to do and it just seems to be becoming more fun as the years go on because we’ve always got new stories to tell each other,” he shares warmly. “We’re gonna be touring our asses off for this record for what we hope will be a couple of years and will definitely be back touring the UK a lot too.”
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