In a recent interview with Bradley Hall, M. Shadows shared insights into the making of ‘Hail to the King’ and the band’s decision to simplify their sound for the album.
The vocalist explained that the band wanted to create a more accessible hard rock and heavy metal album, similar to Metallica’s ‘Black Album.’ Even though they felt that the approach was ‘unnatural,’ the band moved forward with it in hopes of making a mainstream-friendly album.
“‘Hail to the King’ was a response to the fact that we were a big band, but none of our songs could be played anywhere in a bar. We had nothing that lived up to AC/DC, or Metallica’s ‘Black Album’, or all these albums that we love. All of our stuff’s a little too complex, a little to neoclassical,” the singer revealed.
He added: “So, we started really cutting close; wearing our influences very much on our sleeves in this sort of dumbed-down version of rock music. And that’s not a shot at those bands, ’cause they do it brilliantly. They do it better than us. But we wanted to try our hand at doing something like that. It’s very unnatural for us, it’s not what we do.”
Although Avenged Sevenfold aimed to create a more ‘Black Album’-inspired sound with ‘Hail to the King,’ their earlier albums reflected a different approach. “With each album we’re becoming a little more fearless,” Shadows said during a 2007 interview.
He added: “The scene’s also stagnating. There are five million shitty, disgraceful heavy metal bands. What would be the point of being just another imitator of Iron Maiden or Metallica?”
Looking ahead, Avenged Sevenfold will wrap up their festival gigs in 2025 before hitting the road in June for a European tour. The tour will begin on June 14th in France, with stops in Slovenia, Italy, Germany, and more, finishing on June 29th in Sweden.
