Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M Shadows says his band aren’t daunted with the fact their new album The Stage is going head-to-head with Metallica’s Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
The band sneak released their seventh studio album last month, with Metallica’s 10th record set for release later this week on November 18.
And Shadows says the fact both bands are putting out new material so close together can only be a good thing for rock and metal fans.
He exclusively tells Metal Hammer: “I think it’s great for the consumer and it’s great for the fans. I think a lot of fans are streaming anyway.
“We had this plan before Metallica released Hardwired in Minneapolis. Our first plan was to release a song in Minneapolis, with that show we played with them in Viking Stadium. We then decided to drop the record as a surprise and I’m glad we did otherwise we’d really be going head-to-head, single to single.”
He adds: “They’re vastly different singles, a three-and-a-half minute song compared to an eight-and-a-half minute song, but they’re doing what they’re doing.
“I told Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich what we were doing and he thought it was awesome. It’s going to be a great lead-up to Christmas for rock and metal fans that like our two bands.”
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Shadows says he hasn’t heard the new Metallica album but says: “I love Moth To Flame – I think it has some stuff to sink your teeth into. I think Hardwired was obviously a song to shut up a lot of the haters, but to me I like when Metallica get into deeper stuff, and they do it brilliantly.
“Looking at how long the record is going to be, they’re going to have some of those songs. I like all Metallica, I like hearing them, hence why they still do stadiums. They sound good, it feels like home sweet home.”
As for whether the modern Metallica sound has influenced Avenged Sevenfold, Shadows adds: “I don’t think there’s anything Metallica-esque about the new Avenged Sevenfold record. I think the record is too ‘out’ – I’d put it more in a Soundgarden, Faith No More vein.
“But in terms of how they run their career, I love everything they do. They’re on top of everything, they service the fans in a great way, put on killer shows with great production, and they change with every record.
“I like how we do whatever we want, they do whatever they want, and you never know what it’s gonna be.”
They’ll hit the road across Europe in early 2017.
Avenged Sevenfold tour dates 2017
Jan 10: Glasgow SSE Hydro
Jan 12: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Jan 13: Birmingham Genting Arena
Jan 15: Sheffield Arena
Jan 16: Manchester Arena
Jan 18: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Jan 19: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Jan 21: London O2 Arena
Jan 22: London O2 Arena
Feb 12: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 15: Berlin Arena, Germany
Feb 16: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
Feb 18: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Feb 20: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Feb 21: Milan Forum, Italy
Feb 23: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 25: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 26: Zurich Halle 622, Austria
Feb 28: Lille Zenith Arena, France
Mar 01: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Mar 02: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France
Mar 04: Copenhagen Valby Hallen, Denmark
Mar 07: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
Mar 09: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
Mar 10: Oslo Telenor, Norway
