A few months ago I sat down with Johnny Christ to talk about the single ‘Nobody’ which at that time was our only taste of new music from Avenged Sevenfold. At that time he used a phrase that stuck with me until the album was released.
‘if we’re going to continue to do this thing that we absolutely love doing together we gotta make everything bold. Why mess around and…tippy toe around ideas…if it’s not bold enough it’s not making the record.’
Upon hearing the rest of the record, bold became a subtle word for the amount of artistry A7X threw into their latest album …Life Is But A Dream. From the first time I listened all the way through the record I knew I needed to know what the mind of these guys was like. So I went to Aftershock and sought out Zacky to chat about the record I consider top 3 of the year and take a peak as to what went down in the studio.
One of the major points Zacky returns to often is how the band felt like they had reached a point of ‘phoning it in’ where they could have decided to just stick to a formula and churn out songs that would get them ‘slots opening for Metallica’ and that was a scary thought.
‘As you get older and have successes you have formulas that work and songs that work and people want to pigeon hole you and stick you in that box and if you’re willing to break free from those shackles and just say “Hey there’s no rules as to what our band can be and what it should be or what this album should sound like.” It’s exciting it makes you excited, you can’t wait to try different things. You push yourself…push the boundaries musically and performance wise but you incorporate new things…It was exciting not knowing what the future holds is the entire reason why you pick up an instrument in the first place, or at least it should be.’
He gives major props to the fans saying this record was for the fans that want to see the band push forward and for the genre to continue to be pushed forward and be bigger than ever. Zacky wants the world of heavy music to move into the future and wishes bands would do the same, slightly calling out some bands that he says are ‘phoning it in’.
‘It’s especially safe (to make the same music over and over again) when you have kids, you have mouths to feed. But that’s not why we started the band, and when I see other bands phoning it in and going through the motions to play it safe…to keep that same level of success, it’s like would I have ever followed their lead when I was 14 and picking up a guitar? And the answer is “No”. I want to be the band that inspired my teenage self to want to do this and I didn’t feel like a lot of bands were doing that for me in this point of my life. And my band mates felt the same. You kinda have to be the change you want to see.’
The interview was only dwarfed by the concert which was easily a top3 performance of the year! Avenged Sevenfold if you’re reading this, and I know you are you sly dogs you, PLEASE COME TO WISCONSIN!!
[Razor Wisconsin] [Spreaker: Decker] [YouTube: Avenged Sevenfold]
