M. Shadows' Honest Thoughts on Avenged Sevenfold / Metallica Comparisons

[jeremystephens]

Brace yourselves
A7X haters are coming

[KittelMD]

I definitely heard some Metallica in HttK, but I saw it more as the influence of the album than just ripping them off.

[Shigellosis]

I actually almost shat myself from happiness when I heard that this means war sounded like sad but true, I love both bands, so I prefer to say: "inspired". it's not like either of them lacks any fucking talent or anything

[drummer]

It was called Hail To The King because they were deliberately trying to sound like bands they LIKED. Duhh. He said that a long time ago. There are also songs that sound like G n R, Motely Crue, and a few others. They were paying homage to those bands. At a Metallica concert on different occasions James even said this is Sad But True and we dedicate this to Avenged Sevenfold. I thought people knew this?

[marco]

I'm a big Metallica fan and I didn't think that Shepherd of Fire sounded anything like Metallic at all.

[HeavyRaiden]

Hail To The King is a tribute to the golden age of metal (70s-90s)

[diosati]

Idk, but, I fucking loved HTTK, yeah, it sounded like Metallica and other bands but, their melodies and rifts were fucking beautiful, coming home, best song of the album.

[TKxDemon]

I love Metallica but I'd honestly pick avenged sevenfold over them any day

[midnightreverie_]

The Stage is a fuckin masterpiece.. In my opinion, better than Hardwired 😉

[Trx-eprg]

A7X is a kickass band. Its sad but true that people are hating the band keeping metal alive

[ostanprithesh]

im i the only one who loves both the bands.

[leandrometfan]

What? Coming home, Shepered of fire, Planets and Hail to the king sound NOTHING like Metallica

[silvestersourn]

"shadows, what do you have to say about you comparison to metallica and how your album hail to the king sounds so much like them??"
"..true."

[jackboulter]

It would be great if Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica do an album together. With James' heaviest riffs and Synyster's ear piercing leads!!

[datboi_gee]

When HTTK first released I was not happy with it. Personally, Metallica is a band I've absolutely could not stand since my childhood. And because HTTK sounded SO similar, sonically speaking, I was immediately turned off by it and figured Avenged was well on their way to legitimately selling out. Which, much to my own dismay, was a bummer since I've been a fan of A7X for a VERY long time. Waking The Fallen, City of Evil, their self-titled, and Nightmare were all remarkable in their own ways. Seventh Trumpet isn't bad by any means but it's definitely a record that feels more like an experiment than a band -- perfectly understandable considering Avenged was very much in its' infancy as a band in a scene they quickly grew out of. I always adored their musicianship and they were crucial influences on not only developing my music tastes but inspiring me to pick up the guitar which eventually ignited a passion of writing and playing music myself. But I digress.

Eventually I came back around and Hail to the King clicked. Eventually I found myself loving it and considering it classic rather than associating it with a sound popularized by bands writing music simply to sell records. What changed my perspective was understanding from THEIR perspective what the function of the record was. When I saw them talking about the creation of the record it was clear that they wrote the album with the intention of having a clear, clean-cut vibe. They wanted a record you could figuratively stomp your boots to and rock back and forth for an hour, and they absolutely succeeded in that endeavor. Furthermore, they've always had raw talent in the members of the band. They write with precision and the records ALWAYS sound EXACTLY how they wanted them sounding. Tracks filled with talent laid under vocals with passion and significant messages worth dissecting.

TLDR: HTTK does sound like Metallica but once you understand from their perspective what the record is supposed to embody, you'll see the similarities to Metallica fade away into an abyss of insignificance. Mad respect for these dudes.

[julie]

Idk why this video is being recommended to me now but just gott say that I LOVE the fact that it sounds like Matallica.
Been listening to Metallica ever since I can remember probably before I was even born lol so it's really nice to see my favourite band throw in a few tributes to the band I literally grew up listening to...

[Ljwinter]

I disagree, Avenged Sevenfold has established their own sound!!! Metallica needs to focus on staying relevant & put out more then one album every ten years!!!

[sloppyjhoppy]

As soon as I heard This Means War I thought of Sad but True, although I've heard other bands copy that riff as well

[Trx-eprg]

Pretty much all bands, including Metallica, sound a lot like their influences, especially in their early albums. A7x did in their 6th album.

[hazardgaminghg]

Avenged Sevenfold got permission from Metallica to make an album sounding similar. It's stated that the Hail To The King album was a tribute album to Metallica and other bands. Such as Guns n' Roses.