Avenged Sevenfold made it well known that part of the reason they couldn't complete work on their new album during the pandemic was because they couldn't safely get an entire orchestra into a room. Now, two years after the start of the pandemic and nearly four after the release of The Stage, Avenged Sevenfold has completed recording the orchestra.
Both drummer Brooks Wackerman and vocalist M. Shadows have provided a few photos of the sessions, with Wackerman adding that the new record is "unlike anything we've ever released."
"Well… this Happened on Tuesday. We-Avenged Sevenfold– started writing this record 4 years ago and I can't believe we are 90% done…One of the perks-in the creative process- is that we are able to track a 78 piece orchestra on our records," said Wackerman. "The fact that we are able to bring incredible musicians together to enhance our art still gives me chills.. I can't wait for the the world to hear this.. all I can say it's unlike Anything we've ever released.. ALRIGHT and good night! Photo by @rafacore"
Shadows previously mentioned that Avenged Sevenfold would like to begin touring on the new album this October, preferably at the Aftershock festival.
"It's just that we have to be very careful about getting everything going, building a whole new stage set, hiring everybody, renting buses and then having one person get sick and the tour gets canceled and we get to be on the hook for everything. And it's not that we don't wanna do it.
"People compare us to bands that are going and playing clubs. It's not the same thing. Getting an arena tour going and playing these festivals, it's just not the same thing. And also we wanna be mentally ready.
"These are all gonna sound like crazy excuses, but these are real. We have a huge stage that we wanna get built. We can't get people to work. We can't get the supplies we need to build it, which there's a supply chain problem as well. Go look at the Long Beach, at the port right now, and these boats are just stuck out there. And so we have all these things going on where we're not gonna come back on stage and have the stage from The Stage record and then just go, 'Well, same show four years later. Sorry, guys. The record's not done 'cause we couldn't finish it.'
"So, I would just say starting in January, we are gonna put our nose to the grind and we are gonna finish this record. And then we're doing a couple of shows in Europe. And then I would love to — and I don't wanna step on Danny Wimmer's toes here — but I would love to start at Aftershock and then book a tour out from there.
"So, we're gonna be doing stuff. But, yeah, it's just kind of making sure we're mentally there and we put our best foot forward when we do come out and make sure that it's all good."
