SYNYSTER GATES Says AVENGED SEVENFOLD's New Album Is "By Far" Their Most Guitar-Centric Effort

Avenged Sevenfold's latest record Life Is But A Dream has been pretty divisive among fans, and rightfully so – it's a hard left turn into more experimental and progressive territory. Though despite the split in opinion and change-up in their sound, guitarist Synyster Gates still feels it's their most guitar-centric record Avenged Sevenfold has ever done.

In an interview with Brian Ball of Ernie Ball, Gates explains that Life Is But A Dream digs deeper into using the guitar in more unconventional ways and layering them to make huge, not-quite-guitar-like sounds.

"Having all this time to experiment with a really, really big sound library and getting on maybe the keyboards first or the little ROLI keyboard that makes all the crazy different sounds and playing through a myriad of effects – the Axe-FX by Fractal [Audio] is an amazing, amazing tool – there was endless sources of inspiration in the last five years, and that was kind of by design," said Gates. "And because of the time that we had to set up all these different playgrounds, these sonic playgrounds, to really experience and build new scenes that we hadn't heard before.

"It's, by far, the most guitar-centric record that we've ever done. By far, leaps and bounds. But ostensibly, it's not just coming at you with loads of guitar. To me at least, it doesn't have that aesthetic. To me, it's deeper. But we were able to get that effect with a lot of fucking guitar. And I'm super proud of that. At this point, I have no interest in picking up a guitar just for the sake of writing a record. It has to be like, 'I don't know why I walked into my fucking creative room, I don't know why I'm in my studio right now, I'm just moving and shit's coming out and I'm pleased.' That's it."

Catch Avenged Sevenfold at one of the dates below, and get your tickets here.

w/ Falling In Reverse

7/31 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
8/2 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
8/4 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
8/5 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
8/7 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

w/ Alexisonfire

9/16 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
9/17 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
9/19 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
9/20 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
9/22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
9/25 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO
9/26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
9/28 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena (no Falling In Reverse)
9/30 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
10/2 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
10/3 – Portland, OR – MODA Center
10/7 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/8 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/10 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
10/12 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/13 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
10/15 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena