Avenged Sevenfold took a dramatic change to get their own hands on the whole production when producer Rob Cavallo was not available to work on their self-titled LP. Over all, this risky decision was obviously not such a poor one because the two singles they launched in anticipation of the album proved to be fantastic results to influence their audiences to purchase the LP. To offer the first sample of the sea, the single ‘Critical Acclaim’ was released, but it was the second one, ‘Almost Easy’, that really showed the integrity of the entire album. After its release in the middle of September, the album has peaked at #67 in the UK. Singles list, which helps maximize the amount of purchases for the album published a month back. The album soon took fourth spot on the Billboard Hot 200 after shipping 94,000 copies in the first week, ‘Avenged Sevenfold.’
While the concept of calling a band after an extract from the Bible is that when you destroy someone, the penalty would be sevenfold, the band is not as frightening as they look, nor are they as religious. In 1999, Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) was founded in Huntington Beach, California. Matthew Sanders, the vocalist who adopted the stage name of M. Ever since high school, Shadow and guitarist Zachary Baker, who goes by the tag Zacky Vegeance, have been friends. The two of them had been in many punk bands but were not successful until they founded A7X and roped in two more members, bassist Justin Meacham aka Justin Sane and drummer Jimmy Sullivan aka The Rev. When still in their teens, the band recorded an album named ‘Sounding the Seventh Trumpet’ that would later be published under Good Life Records’ independent label. The album that was dropped in January 2001, though, was not necessary for them to attain national success, but the second one did.
Soon after the introduction of the ‘Seventh Trumpet’, they went through a line-up transition. Brian Haner, Jr. aka Synyster Gates was brought in as lead guitarist when the old bassists Sane and Dameon Ash were replaced by Jonathan Seward aka Johnny Christ. They re-released the band’s debut album in 2002 with their current line-up when recording new materials for their sophomore collection in Houston, Texas. ‘Walking the Fallen’ was released on August 26, 2003 on Under Desperate Records. Not only were the new players told of the album, but also a tweak in the tone of Shadows. As part of the metalcore origins that were projected on the first record, the vocalist no longer yelled. After he allegedly exploded a blood clot when extending his vocal, it changed to a more melodic tone. In a later interview, Shadows had disputed that because of his vocal problem, the band shifted its creative course, pointing out that he was simply great at screaming during the procedure. ‘Walking the Fallen’ gradually gained the interest of Warner Bros. executives. Records, who brought the band under their wing suddenly in 2004.