Huntington Beach, CA · metal

Avenged Sevenfold

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Huntington Beach metal titans — prog ambition welded to arena hooks, from 'Bat Country' to Life Is But a Dream.

Avenged Sevenfold formed in Huntington Beach in 1999, founded by Matt Sanders, James Sullivan, Zachary Baker and Matt Wendt, all of whom had already played in other local bands. Sanders, who performs as M. Shadows, took the group's name from the story of Cain and Abel, despite the band having no religious focus.

Early albums Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and Waking the Fallen worked in metalcore before City of Evil, their first major-label release, moved the band toward the twin-guitar heavy metal and hard rock sound that carried into their self-titled record and made them a mainstream rock act.

Drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan died in 2009. With Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy helping out, the band finished and toured Nightmare, released in 2010, which became their first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. Hail to the King followed in 2013, also topping charts in several countries.

Drummer changes continued through Arin Ilejay and then Brooks Wackerman, whose arrival wasn't announced until 2015. The Stage, released in 2016, was the band's first conceptual album and pushed them toward progressive metal, a direction taken further on the experimental Life Is But a Dream in 2023. The band has sold more than 8 million albums and earned five platinum certifications from the RIAA.

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