On December 17, 2011 Avenged Sevenfold closed out 18 months of touring on their fifth album, , with a headline show at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California. It was an emotional night for the band from nearby Huntingdon Beach, a homecoming show drawing the curtains on the most intense chapter in their 12-year career. Two years previously, on December 28, 2009, the young Californians’ world had fallen apart when their drummer and lifelong friend, , passed away suddenly at the age of 28, throwing their entire future into question and leaving them with a thousand unanswered questions.
For a time, the idea of continuing as a band seemed unimaginable. Ultimately, (Matthew Sanders), Synyster Gates (Brian Haner Jr), Zacky Vengeance (Zachary Baker) and Johnny Christ (Jonathan Seward) decided to persevere, recording the nakedly emotional in tribute to their fallen brother. It became the band’s first US No.
1 album and propelled them into arenas worldwide, solidifying their bonds with one of the most hardcore fanbases in modern metal. “Without you, we’d be four miserable dudes sitting at home,” Shadows told the 11,000 strong Ontario crowd on December 17, 2011. As cheers rang out around the arena, however, one simple question remained hanging in the air for Avenged Sevenfold: “What now?” “In the back of my head there was the slightest feeling of ‘Is this the end?’” the singer concedes today.
“I didn’t know if, in a way, it would be more appropr.