Louisville’s ALT 105.1 radio station spoke with Avenged Sevenfold’s Johnny Christ ahead of their headline performance at the Louder Than Life festival, where the bassist explained why the band’s latest record has a diverse sound.
Avenged Sevenfold released their eighth studio album ‘Life Is But a Dream…’ on June 2, 2023. Crafted and recorded across a four-year period, the effort is surrounded by existential themes, like the significance, purpose, and worth of human life. Christ revealed the reason behind that:
“It’s really just what we were into at the time. This record took a long time, so where we were at the beginning to when we actually released it changed a little bit over that time, just getting it more focused — it just gave us more time to cut out all the fat. We had some extra stuff on there, and we were just, like, ‘No, it’s not really necessary for this song or for the vibe of the album.’ So we just cut all the fat. It gave us a lot of time to do that.”
He then discussed their inspirations for the album, saying:
“As far as direct inspiration, it’s all over the place, man. It’s just a bunch of artists that we listen to and take inspiration from and composers and all sorts of different crazy stuff. But we just don’t wanna make the same record twice ever in our career.”
Johnny also reflected on the evolution of Avenged Sevenfold’s musical style:
“There’s always gonna be a DNA, if you will, in our writing style, but each album has gotten us to that point. So then, when you go in and write, you’re just writing from within. It’s just, like, ‘This is my sound, and this is what I want it to do this time around.’ And then you just start tinkering with your friends and coming up with ideas. And that’s why you get ‘Life Is But A Dream…’.”
The band is currently touring the United States for the second leg of their extensive tour for ‘Life is But A Dream…’ Falling In Reverse accompanies them as the supporting act. The remaining dates include shows in Denver, Portland, Phoenix, and other cities.
You can check out the rest of the interview below.
