How does a band manage to keep things fresh over a decades-long career, especially when the tastes of fans and music trends keep changing? One way to find the answer is to study the fascinating journey and biggest radio hits of Avenged Sevenfold, one of heavy metal's most successful and significant acts.
Avenged Sevenfold, or A7X for short, has gone from attracting niche audiences in screaming metalcore music to a more refined metal sound that brought with it significant mainstream popularity and a pathway into melodic and theatrical rock. The evolved persona of Avenged Sevenfold now features harmonized guitar solos, clean vocals, and even orchestrations. From the timeline of Avenged Sevenfold hits an interesting story of music and business innovation emerges.
Early Breakthrough: The City of Evil Era (2005-2006)
Avenged Sevenfold began demonstrating its flexibility and innovative musicianship with its epic third studio album, City of Evil. Released on June 6, 2005, it marks the band's departure from its metalcore niche audience to more traditional heavy metal, progressive metal, power metal, and thrash metal. The album sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States and 2.5 million worldwide.
City of Evil yielded two chart-topping Avenged Sevenfold singles: "Bat Country," released on Aug. 9, 2005, and "Beast and the Harlot," which went public as a single on Feb. 28, 2006. "Bat Country" surged to No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. "Beast and the Harlot" was a more modest hit, reaching No. 19 on the same chart.
But here's what really got the band rolling as a music industry marketing phenomenon: the band's new style maintained its heavy sound but was more radio-friendly, producing a series of Avenged Sevenfold radio hits. That combination helped drive the band to global success, with the extremely high-energy "Beast and the Harlot" topping the U.K. Rock & Metal Singles Chart. City of Evil was certified Platinum in the United States and Gold in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Self-Titled Success: Expanding Avenged Sevenfold's Reach (2007-2008)
Momentum for the band grew with the release of its self-titled album on Oct. 30, 2007. It created an immediate milestone, becoming the first Avenged Sevenfold album to reach the top five of the Billboard 200. The album debuted at No. 4, yet another sign that Avenged Sevenfold was becoming a music business success story.
The album included the singles "Critical Acclaim," "Almost Easy," "Afterlife," "Dear God," and "Scream," lengthening the list of Avenged Sevenfold hits. With this album, Avenged Sevenfold showed more accessible songwriting while still maintaining its complexity. The album reached Platinum status in the United States, selling over 960,000 copies through 2014, and Gold in the United Kingdom. Avenged Sevenfold won the Kerrang! Award for Best Album in 2008 and scored with fans as well, being voted as the band's best album in a Revolver poll.
Chart Domination: The Nightmare Era (2010-2011)
Avenged Sevenfold reached the top of the charts with its next release, following a tragedy. Nightmare, released July 23, 2010, followed the unexpected passing of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan on Dec. 28, 2009, from an accidental drug overdose.
The album was intensely meaningful to fellow band members and to fans, as The Rev wrote 60% of its songs before his passing. The album, through the worst of circumstances, became a tribute piece to the fallen drummer.
Not only did the album perform well but so did the singles from it. The song "Nightmare" became the first No. 1 out of all the Avenged Sevenfold hits, while "So Far Away" put the band atop the Mainstream Rock chart for the first time. The buying public rewarded the grieving band with their business, allowing the album to claim Platinum status in the United States and Canada and Gold in the United Kingdom. Two other singles off the album that piqued fans' interest were "Welcome to the Family," released Oct. 19, 2010, and "Buried Alive," released Sept. 20, 2011.
Mainstream Supremacy: Hail to the King's Commercial Peak (2013-2014)
Out of tragedy came an even bigger commercial success with the album Hail to the King, which became Avenged Sevenfold's first U.K. No. 1 album and topped the Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums Chart. Two singles from the album caught fire — both the title track and "Shepherd of Fire," reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart with the latter cut climbing to No. 28 on the U.S. Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. "Shepherd of Fire" also earned Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The best was yet to come. The song "Hail to the King," was certified triple-Platinum by the RIAA, making it the bestselling Avenged Sevenfold hit. Hail to the King was the band's fifth straight album to reach Platinum status.
This success set the table for the band's next big gamble as it moved into more progressive rock with the release of the surprise album The Stage in 2016. The Stage went to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Canadian Albums Chart with its demonstration of more complex material. What followed was a period of quiet: Avenged Sevenfold next produced an album, Life is But a Dream, in 2023.
The Legacy of Avenged Sevenfold's Chart Success
From its founding in metalcore to absolute dominance of metal's mainstream, Avenged Sevenfold has reinvented itself several times and produced eight studio albums, a soundtrack album, a live album, two compilation albums, 24 singles, two video albums, and 29 music videos.
The band's accomplishments include five Platinum albums, worldwide sales of more than 8 million recordings, and a No. 47 ranking on Loudwire's Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time. Avenged Sevenfold has set the stage for the bands that follow to find ways to commercial success through pushing heavy metal further into the mainstream of music.
