Walmart Soundcheck

“This record is obviously the most emotional record we’ll ever make. We felt it was important to carry on his legacy…” That’s M. Shadows discussing Avenged Sevenfold’s new record, ‘Nightmare,’ a tribute to the band’s late drummer, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Dark and melancholy, ‘Nightmare’ chronicles a difficult time in the California rockers’ history, but it’s a startling and raw album that would’ve made ‘The Rev’ proud. Check out our exclusive interview with Avenged Sevenfold - and go pick up a copy of ‘Nightmare’ online and in Walmart stores nationwide!

-The Crew at Walmart Soundcheck

On Jimmy's Legacy:
M. Shadows: “The significance of the album is obviously huge to us. We wrote the whole record with 'The Rev' throughout the last six months before he passed away. We were two weeks out from recording it, and he suddenly died. He’d written everything with us; he approved everything. There’s nothing written after his death. This record is obviously the most emotional record we’ll ever make. We felt it was important to carry on his legacy...”

On Making A Nightmare:
M. Shadows: “’Nightmare’ was originally supposed to be a concept album, a big concept album where every song flowed into each other and worked as one story. I’d written the lyrics to [‘Nightmare’] because I knew that the song was going to be first on the record. ‘The Rev’ loved them. He loved them so much that when he passed away I didn’t want to change them. A lot of the rest of the record is written about him and for him. It’s exactly how we felt and still feel about what has been going on. Some kids are going to hear [‘Nightmare’] and see the title and think it completely has to do with ‘The Rev.’ Basically it was just something that he loved, so we kept it.”

On Staying Raw:
Synyster Gates: “We definitely wanted to go back to our roots. It’s definitely a real heavy rock record. There’s a lot of long, heavy ridiculous songs. I think the overtone of this is just so raw and emotional and real. It runs the gamut as we usually do, but it’s definitely an eclectic real heavy rock metal record.”

On Group Approval:
M. Shadows: “Nothing gets recorded unless it has every member’s stamp of approval, and the fact of the matter is that 80 percent of the time it gets thrown out. It’s garbage. We just keep working on things until we’re all completely satisfied. We’ll always be bringing things in, sending demos to each other. We just put things together 12 hours a day ‘til we know for a fact that we’re so excited about it that we want to run out and show everyone. I think we do it differently than other people. A typical songwriter can take a great song and sell it to anybody. You’re not going to sell ‘Nightmare’ to somebody, or you’re not going to sell an eleven minute song called ‘Save Me,’ which is on the end of our record. It’s only our band that can perform that song and do it justice.”
Synyster Gates: “But we’re not opposed to having Britney Spears perform ‘God Hates Us.’”

On The Best Avenged Sevenfold Song Ever Written:
M. Shadows: “Another song that’s consistent for me is a song called ‘Buried Alive.’ It’s seven minutes and has two choruses, and the song just completely evolves from this Zeppelin-type feel and completely switches gears. It’s very cinematic. That’s one of my favorite songs. Our manager calls it the best Avenged Sevenfold song ever written.”

On Goodbyes:
M. Shadows: “I don’t know of anytime in history where someone has basically said goodbye on a track, and then they pass away and their music comes out six, seven months later with them singing it. It’s pretty crazy. It’s pretty surreal…”

On Reaching Out To The Fans:
M. Shadows: “Our fans have been extremely supportive. It’s time to share all these things with the fans. They’ve had unanswered questions for a long time now. This is what we’re doing. They love Jimmy; they love us. We love them back. This is our message. It’s time to share what we know, how we felt, with them.”