Avenged Sevenfold have been adamant that they won't release their next album during pandemic times due to the inability to support it on tour. That said, the band has been nearing the finish line for their first record since 2016's The Stage of late, and during a recent appearance on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast (heard below), M. Shadows revealed a revised timeline for the record's arrival.
In July of 2021, Shadows was quoted as saying he thought the new album would be out ahead of a proposed summer tour in 2022. But as the summer months fast approach, that timeline has apparently shifted a little further back. Speaking with Lefsetz, Shadows suggest that a late 2022 or early 2023 was now more likely.
"Status is interesting. We recorded an album, you know, a few years ago. We haven't finished it yet. We kind of took some time off for family, COVID, weird touring circumstances, some changes within our team… And we are still currently with one record left on Warner Brothers Records. We'll be finishing that record up – I think we have May locked out [for when] our producer can get back to work on it, and then we're going to mix with Andy Wallace in August," explains the singer.
So with that timeline, the band will definitely miss the initial summer 2022 prediction. So where does that leave the album release status as of now? Shadows stated, "We're going to figure out if it's the first quarter, or fourth quarter, or what we're going to do. So, the status is that, and then we're going to be booking tours, put the tickets on sale when the record comes out, and the whole nine yards."
Little is known about the album at this point, as Shadows previously shared his desire to keep things close to the vest because things tend to change over the course of recording and something said publicly is often taken as gospel. The one thing that has been said about the album is that it has influenced by Kanye West, while also adding, "We’re not trying to do a jazz record, but the chord changes and progressions are so eye-opening to us."
In February of this year, drummer Brooks Wackerman shared that the band was "90 percent" done with the new album and offered photos from a session with 78-piece orchestra for the upcoming release.
As of yet, no dates have been booked by the band, but as Shadows stated, concerts will definitely be part of the plan surrounding the release of the album.
Listen to Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast
