Shadows' Revolver Interview - New Album Timeline, etc.

[Ed Seith]

M. Shadows: New Avenged Sevenfold Album "Very Influenced by Kanye West"

Frontman says to "expect very wacky ideas" in future material

www.revolvermag.com

Okay, so leaving aside the clickbait headline (we've known Syn and Matt were into Yeezy forever, so nothing new here), there's a lot to digest.

"In January, we're going in to finish the strings on the record," Shadows said. "The record's been recorded for a year, but we haven't been able to put the real strings on it, because we couldn't fly out to Prague. When an orchestra have to social distance and they aren't sitting next to each other, they can get out of tune, and we have just finally got to a place where we can use this 70-piece orchestra as we intended. We finish the record in February, mix it in March."

This is the clearest indicator we've gotten to date. I think we all pretty much knew the entire album was in the can except the orchestra and maybe some vocal and percussion overdubs, but this lays out that it's ALL been on the back burner for a year waiting until they could put 70 classical musicians and a few engineers in one room in California. Let's hope they get this done before fucking Omicron ruins everything. Let's hope these fine California musicians are vaxxed and boosted so they can go forward with REASONABLE confidence. From there, it's on to Andy in March - assuming they've spent the downtime getting to at least 95% on artwork and promotional materials, we could be looking at May, as predicted. April seems a little too optimistic, with manufacturing needed for physical media, but perhaps they'll stagger that, too - we don't know.

"Later in the interview, he showed more disinterest in pleasing the upper echelons of the music business by noting that they won't be signed to a record label after this new record, making them free agents with full control over the music and the way they want to release it. "This next record, I don't know exactly how it comes out, but the record after that, we have no label," Shadows said. "At that point we start implementing all the new ideas of going straight to the base of people that really care more. The new frontier excites us; expect very wacky ideas!""

This lines up with some very vague discussion items about decentralizing the recording business and how they hope to integrate NFT ownership into things. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I've been waiting for this a long time. Not necessarily on the NFT front, but a serious, arena-capable band eschewing record labels and contracts for a significant release. That is an old, outdated and predatory model that I've seen ruin good friends' careers. I'm so excited that Syn and the guys are embracing their power and being so visionary and forward-thinking here. I'm excited to see what it will do, how it's received, and how it will affect the future of the music business.

Thoughts?

 

[iridecently]

Honestly, I don't really care about the timeline, I'm fine to wait another year if that means it is exactly the way they want it to be. Same with the logistics of the next album release, I don't really have strong feelings about it, all I know is that record labels seem outdated and gross.

A 70-piece orchestra has me hyped though

 

[Christian Schulze]

Im hyped I gotta say, like finally! Also yeah....screw record companies, they enslave the artists and it just a a living fossil of the last century. This event got me excited for their album after this one.

 

[Jamie London]

Everything about this interview has me so excited. I’m a massive fan of Kanye’s music and creative mind. Regardless of how some may feel about the man, Kanye has been adding progressive and avant garde elements to his music for YEARS. The album “Yeezus” has always given me a7x vibes. And this coupled with everything else that’s been (lightly) said about the album over the last week or so in the discord tells me that we’re in for something unbelievably special this time around

 

[Saphyra]

M. Shadows: New Avenged Sevenfold Album "Very Influenced by Kanye West"

Frontman says to "expect very wacky ideas" in future material

www.revolvermag.com

Okay, so leaving aside the clickbait headline (we've known Syn and Matt were into Yeezy forever, so nothing new here), there's a lot to digest.

"In January, we're going in to finish the strings on the record," Shadows said. "The record's been recorded for a year, but we haven't been able to put the real strings on it, because we couldn't fly out to Prague. When an orchestra have to social distance and they aren't sitting next to each other, they can get out of tune, and we have just finally got to a place where we can use this 70-piece orchestra as we intended. We finish the record in February, mix it in March."

This is the clearest indicator we've gotten to date. I think we all pretty much knew the entire album was in the can except the orchestra and maybe some vocal and percussion overdubs, but this lays out that it's ALL been on the back burner for a year waiting until they could put 70 classical musicians and a few engineers in one room in California. Let's hope they get this done before fucking Omicron ruins everything. Let's hope these fine California musicians are vaxxed and boosted so they can go forward with REASONABLE confidence. From there, it's on to Andy in March - assuming they've spent the downtime getting to at least 95% on artwork and promotional materials, we could be looking at May, as predicted. April seems a little too optimistic, with manufacturing needed for physical media, but perhaps they'll stagger that, too - we don't know.

"Later in the interview, he showed more disinterest in pleasing the upper echelons of the music business by noting that they won't be signed to a record label after this new record, making them free agents with full control over the music and the way they want to release it. "This next record, I don't know exactly how it comes out, but the record after that, we have no label," Shadows said. "At that point we start implementing all the new ideas of going straight to the base of people that really care more. The new frontier excites us; expect very wacky ideas!""

This lines up with some very vague discussion items about decentralizing the recording business and how they hope to integrate NFT ownership into things. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I've been waiting for this a long time. Not necessarily on the NFT front, but a serious, arena-capable band eschewing record labels and contracts for a significant release. That is an old, outdated and predatory model that I've seen ruin good friends' careers. I'm so excited that Syn and the guys are embracing their power and being so visionary and forward-thinking here. I'm excited to see what it will do, how it's received, and how it will affect the future of the music business.

Thoughts?

I am so hyped about that they worked so hard to release this album,
We waited yes but it was worth it ❤, I prefer to wait and listen a good album than they rush and miss something they could do in the album

Fuck Covid, I have enough with this thing which ruins music projects in general
And the labels companies, how can they stop creativity, it's a shame...

 

[ari.mac]

I am hyped!!!!!!

 

[ari.mac]

Everything about this interview has me so excited. I’m a massive fan of Kanye’s music and creative mind. Regardless of how some may feel about the man, Kanye has been adding progressive and avant garde elements to his music for YEARS. The album “Yeezus” has always given me a7x vibes. And this coupled with everything else that’s been (lightly) said about the album over the last week or so in the discord tells me that we’re in for something unbelievably special this time around

I need to listen to this record

 

[Jamie London]

I need to listen to this record

It’s a little.. gnarly haha it’s a gritty, mean, wild album with some solid industrial and dare I say metal influence. It’s heavy in it’s own right as well. Just be prepared for some… in your face lyrics haha it’s a very unhinged chaotic album.

 

[ari.mac]

It’s a little.. gnarly haha it’s a gritty, mean, wild album with some solid industrial and dare I say metal influence. It’s heavy in it’s own right as well. Just be prepared for some… in your face lyrics haha it’s a very unhinged chaotic album.

Sounds promising! I'll give it a go soon, thank you!!

 

[Calvin Phillips]

I'm not shocked they wint chase a label..many artists have proven pateon sites will supply what a label would and the band had many projects on the fly that could support the financial side. They wont be the last band to go this route.

 

[Ed Seith]

Can we just take a moment to look at this through their eyes? I mean, here they are, sitting on a record that's been largely DONE for over a year. They're suoer proud of it. They WANT it out. They want to gig it. They want people to hear it, they want to do the press junkets and the meets and the ups and downs of it all, but mostly to tell everyone "LOOK WHAT WE CREATED. WE'RE SUPER PROUD OF IT," and instead they have to play it down, be hyper-vigilant about their word choices every time they talk about it, AND they have to hear all these entitled cry-baby whiners call them poor, shilling their fans, out of ideas, all this toxic bullshit, and for a fucking YEAR, they've just had to sit back and take it all in, knowing full well they've done something they're dying for people to hear but world events are preventing it.

That's just gotta be so goddamn frustrating, seriously.

 

[Jamie London]

Can we just take a moment to look at this through their eyes? I mean, here they are, sitting on a record that's been largely DONE for over a year. They're suoer proud of it. They WANT it out. They want to gig it. They want people to hear it, they want to do the press junkets and the meets and the ups and downs of it all, but mostly to tell everyone "LOOK WHAT WE CREATED. WE'RE SUPER PROUD OF IT," and instead they have to play it down, be hyper-vigilant about their word choices every time they talk about it, AND they have to hear all these entitled cry-baby whiners call them poor, shilling their fans, out of ideas, all this toxic bullshit, and for a fucking YEAR, they've just had to sit back and take it all in, knowing full well they've done something they're dying for people to hear but world events are preventing it.

That's just gotta be so goddamn frustrating, seriously.

Well said captain, well fuckin said

 

[Saphyra]

Can we just take a moment to look at this through their eyes? I mean, here they are, sitting on a record that's been largely DONE for over a year. They're suoer proud of it. They WANT it out. They want to gig it. They want people to hear it, they want to do the press junkets and the meets and the ups and downs of it all, but mostly to tell everyone "LOOK WHAT WE CREATED. WE'RE SUPER PROUD OF IT," and instead they have to play it down, be hyper-vigilant about their word choices every time they talk about it, AND they have to hear all these entitled cry-baby whiners call them poor, shilling their fans, out of ideas, all this toxic bullshit, and for a fucking YEAR, they've just had to sit back and take it all in, knowing full well they've done something they're dying for people to hear but world events are preventing it.

That's just gotta be so goddamn frustrating, seriously.

Nowadays, it seems that many people are cry-baby just because they took their time to do an album but tbh 5 years is no so long than that. Besisdes they had new babies, Covud has arrived, M Shadows had a bloodblister which needs a surgery (if I am not wrong)
Honestly I won't spit out on them, that would be selfish after what they had to face
For SOAD it took 16 years to hear new music

A7X didn't scam anyone, DBC NFT was from a safe website

Out of idea ? Lmao, The Stage has clearly many inspiration and it was clearly a very good experience (spécial mention to Exist)

Anyways, I just want to say to A7X, thank you so much for their music and for what they brought to the music industry and us ❤

 

[Chris Johnston]

I'm so so excited, as whatever the band release always surprises me & surpasses my assumptions of what they could do next

The fact that they're going essentially unsigned is amazing for a band of their following. It'll be really interesting to see how that plays out creatively for them. If they pull it off, who knows who could follow suit in the industry and what that could mean for labels in general.

Very very exciting!

 

[Ed Seith]

I'm so so excited, as whatever the band release always surprises me & surpasses my assumptions of what they could do next

The fact that they're going essentially unsigned is amazing for a band of their following. It'll be really interesting to see how that plays out creatively for them. If they pull it off, who knows who could follow suit in the industry and what that could mean for labels in general.

Very very exciting!

Yeah that last part is what I’m excited for, beyond the next album. That they’re big enough that they can try that and make others take notice.

 

[Calvin Phillips]

Yeah that last part is what I’m excited for, beyond the next album. That they’re big enough that they can try that and make others take notice.

People have already been taking notice. Amanda palmer has had no label and has had patrons support her music for over 4 years now. This isnt actually something new but has been slowly transitioning as patron sites got bigger and bigger for bands. now it seems nfts are going to be the next "patron" item. I guess you can say its trending upwards.
I feel eventually it'll all cycle back. Just a matter of how and when things will cycle back to being managed by someone or something.

 

[StannisBaratheon]

The new album is going to be worth the wait. Really excited to hear there is more jazz influence. They already had a lot of that on The Stage especially with songs like Simulation.

I hope they do more song breakdown videos like they did during the pandemic. Those were so awesome and it would be awesome to hear them talk more about the theory behind chord progressions and arrangements.

 

[Ed Seith]

People have already been taking notice. Amanda palmer has had no label and has had patrons support her music for over 4 years now. This isnt actually something new but has been slowly transitioning as patron sites got bigger and bigger for bands. now it seems nfts are going to be the next "patron" item. I guess you can say its trending upwards.
I feel eventually it'll all cycle back. Just a matter of how and when things will cycle back to being managed by someone or something.

While this is true, it's NOT especially common (AT ALL that I'm aware of) for established traditional (record label) artists that can fill arenas around the world. It's not so much that it's new, but that's it's new at THEIR level, and that can set an important example.

Of course, there will eventually be a pendulum swing back to a more traditional model, but when they do, it will have to be less predatory and more cost effective for the artists, which is something they DON'T have to be concerned with now. That's a win for the artists.

 

[Alicia Willis]

Im stoked. I’ll admit when I first read the article and it mentioned Kanye (ye ? ) as an inspiration I had an odd moment, but inspiration doesn’t mean regurgitation (that’s a shitty word but my brain is dead right now so it’ll work lol)
I can’t wait to hear it. Knowing the backbone of the album has been done for awhile, but they were waiting to add in some flourishes and finishing touches let’s me know it’s going to be a fucking banger!!! I have a feeling this one is going to be some next level stuff.
I’m so very curious to see how the future presents itself in the absence of a label, A7X is already looking to the future and no doubt they already have a solid plan up their sleeves and I can’t wait ! They’re “setting the stage” for the new revolution in music.

 

[Anna.VG]

Know that they’re having a full orchestra for the album makes me so freaking happy! Maybe we will get a symphonic concert finally? anyways, I’m so excited for this new record!!