These guys are a true family and it is an incredibly emotional experience to be here with them for the first time without their lost brother. Not wanting to hire a permanent replacement for The Rev for the time being, the band selected Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater (a major influence on The Rev and the rest of the band) to finish recording the drum tracks for the album:Įven under normal circumstances, I would've been happy to help the guys out in any way I could as I think Avenged Sevenfold are a great band But under these incredibly sad and tragic circumstances, I must say I am truly honored to have been asked to play with them and I didn't even have to think twice about saying yes. Afterwards, the band suspended work on the album for some time. On December 28, 2009, drummer Jimmy Sullivan (a.k.a. In late 2009, two years after Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled album, and four years after they had issued their breakthrough studio set, 2005's City of Evil, the band started working on their next record, their 'most personal and epic that will definitely take you on a very dark journey.' However, as recording was in session, a few casualties arose.

The cover of the album features a tribute to Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan, the tombstone reads 'FOREVER' with emphasis on 'REV'. As of December 2016, the album has sold 964,000 copies in the United States.

The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 in the United States and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. They then hired drummer Arin Ilejay, who played with the band from 2011 to 2015. The rest of the drum tracks were handled by Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, who also played with the band for all their tours through the end of 2010. However, he did write parts that were used for the final recordings, making this the last album he would write on, and his vocal takes are still on the album as a tribute to him. Nightmare is Avenged Sevenfold's first album to be recorded without Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan performing drums due to his death in December 2009. It was produced by Mike Elizondo, mixed in New York City by audio engineer Andy Wallace, and mastered by Ted Jensen. Isham previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the 'Seize The Day', 'Afterlife', 'Nightmare' and 'So Far Away' videos.ĪVENGED SEVENFOLD's sixth studio album, 'Hail To The King', sold 159,000 copies in its first week of release, giving the California band their second straight chart-topper after 2010's 'Nightmare'.ĪVENGED SEVENFOLD kicked off its first major tour in support of the new CD on October 3 in Chicago.Nightmare is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on July 23, 2010, through Warner Bros.

At the same time, we're just doing our thing, we're trying to create our own legacy.'ĪVENGED SEVENFOLD recently filmed a video for the song 'Shepherd Of Fire' with director Wayne Isham, who has helmed clips for such artists as METALLICA, PANTERA, GODSMACK, DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI. We have an album now which is being compared to the 'black' album, which is very… For us, we kneel at the throne. We lost a member during one of our most important times. Shadows said: 'To me, we have so many eerie similarities to METALLICA, it's ridiculous. You can now watch the chat below.Īsked how it feels to be compared to METALLICA, M. recently conducted an interview with AVENGED SEVENFOLD vocalist M.

Avenged sevenfold so far away studio