Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold are an American rock band formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1999. Built around vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, and bassist Johnny Christ, the band began in the metalcore scene before evolving into a more expansive hard rock and heavy metal sound that draws on classic metal, progressive rock and arena-ready melody. Their breakthrough came with the album Waking the Fallen and continued with City of Evil, which pushed the band toward a more traditional heavy metal identity.

The band suffered a major loss in 2009 with the death of founding drummer The Rev, which reshaped both their lineup and their music on subsequent releases such as Nightmare, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Later albums, including Hail to the King and The Stage, showed the band experimenting with darker, more conceptual and progressive material while keeping their reputation for anthemic hooks and technical guitar work.

Known for songs like «Nightmare», «Bat Country», «Afterlife» and «Hail to the King», Avenged Sevenfold have built a reputation as one of the most successful modern rock acts to emerge from the 2000s metalcore wave, headlining major festivals worldwide and maintaining a large, dedicated global fanbase.