Avenged Sevenfold's 2007 self-titled album remains a cornerstone of the band's discography, boasting standout tracks like "Afterlife" and "A Little Piece of Heaven," and earning platinum certification from the RIAA. Yet despite its success, Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows recently opened up about his frustrations with how the album's rollout was handled, particularly when it came to the selection and treatment of its singles.
In a new interview with Ryan J Downey for FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), Shadows reflected on the heightened influence that their then-label, Warner Bros., had during the release process — a stark contrast to the band's more independent approach on previous records like Waking the Fallen and City of Evil.
"I love Tom Whalley [former Warner Bros. CEO who helped sign Avenged Sevenfold in the early 2000s]. I think he did amazing things for our career," Shadows said. "He's still a friend – a close friend – [A&R executive] Andy Olyphant as well. But we brought them in to hear the white album [the self-titled record], and we thought, 'Afterlife, no brainer, this is a massive song. This is a huge single. This is where we wanna roll.' We played it for Tom Whalley and he turned around and he said, 'That's a little Warped Tour isn't it?'"
That single comment, Shadows explained, changed the room. "That just took everybody else in the room, everyone in the label, off of it. You could see it shift. Then it started going to these other things that were clearly not the right play."
While the band had previously fought to push major singles like "Unholy Confessions" and "Bat Country," Shadows said this was the first time Avenged Sevenfold let the label steer the ship. "We were like Almost Easy, then we went to something else and we were all over the place."
With the benefit of hindsight, Shadows believes "Afterlife" and "A Little Piece of Heaven" are the two definitive tracks from the album. "They're just the lights," he said. "And then when we finally did get around to 'Afterlife' – it was the fourth single – they cut the solo out. And so it's one of those things where it's like, every decision that could be wrong to completely mess up that record and that song was done."
The full version of Synyster Gates' guitar solo remains intact on the album version of Afterlife, but the official single — and the music video — features a trimmed version, with several bars from the beginning edited out. Despite the missteps, the Avenged Sevenfold album remains a fan favorite and a defining moment in the band's evolution. But as Shadows' comments reveal, even the most successful records can be marked by behind-the-scenes compromises that still echo years later.
