Tabbed by many as “the next giant crossover metal band,” Avenged Sevenfold’s last album Hail to the King topped the charts in six countries, while the Californian quintet set new attendance records headlining last summer’s Mayhem Festival alongside heroes Korn. Frontman M. Shadows recently sent fans into a frenzy, announcing plans to work on their seventh album in the summer. But first, the band will make their first foray into the Mainland, stopping off at the Mixing Room on January 9.
“Honestly, we don’t know what to expect,” Shadows admits. “We’ve been to Southeast Asia a few times and our fans there are great. When we had the opportunity to come to China, we were really excited, but we just don’t know if anyone has heard of us over there.”
“We’re more going to see the country, because we’ve heard it’s beautiful. If we do have fans there, we’re really excited to play for them.”
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The Mainland shows launch the band’s first Asian tour in three years, and will be their first live performances in four months. Shadows admits to a little nerves, but is excited about the rare opportunity to perform in clubs.
“It’s going to be fun playing in smaller venues,” he says. “The songs have only grown stronger from playing live and since it’s our first time playing in China, we’ll be playing stuff from all of our records.”
The show’s intimacy will be unique for a group that has long graduated to the stadium and outdoor festival circuit, with recent high profile shows at Rock in Rio and London’s Wembley Arena. Released in 2013, Hail to the King was their second straight American number one album, with titular song topping the Billboard rock charts for 11 weeks.
However, its more groove oriented sound, a nod to classic rock legends and metal inspirations Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, have inspired critics to question Avenged Sevenfold’s metal credentials.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” Shadows wearily sighs. “What does being not metal enough even mean?”
His incredulity is understandable considering Avenged Sevenfold’s 16-year history. At a time where TV’s Seth Cohen was extolling the virtues of Charmin soft indie rock bands like Death Cab for Cutie on The OC, the Huntington Beach band were fine-tuning a hard-edged metalcore sound.
While still highschool students, they released their debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet on a tiny indie label in 2001. It sold 300 copies in its first week, the first in the group’s global sales that now exceeds over 10 million.
Constant touring and the acclaim of their sophomore album, Waking the Fallen, led to an invitation to join the Vans Warped Tour. Shadows calls it a turning point for the band.
“At the time, we were the only metal group on an all-punk bill,” he recalls. “It helped us stand out.”
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It’s been a seemingly endless ascent to the top since. Their major label debut, City of Evil, was their mainstream breakthrough. Still heavy enough to be included in Guitar World’s list of 100 Greatest Guitar Albums, the band toned down their earlier screaming and scored hits like ‘Bat Country.’ The band memorably upset pop stars Rihanna, Chris Brown and James Blunt to win the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
Now the band is big enough that they’re able to release mobile games starring their logo and mascot Deathbat. Firmly on top of metal’s commercial mountain, Shadows disregards any notion that this motivates the band, noting “with the music industry now, we don’t have to worry about record sales and all that bullshit.”
With fans speculating on Avenged Sevenfold’s next direction, Shadows admits it’s hard to predict as the songwriting sessions are months away. However, he imagines it will be more akin to earlier records like Waking the Fallen, which was reissued last year for its 10th anniversary.
“Each one of our albums tends to counterbalance the last one,” he notes. “With Hail to the King, we were more interested in grooves and keeping it simple. I’m looking forward to hearing how wild and crazy this one will be.”
// Jan 9, 8-11pm, RMB580-680. The Mixing Room, tickets.
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