M. SHADOWS On Why AVENGED SEVENFOLD Are Always Ahead Of The Game: “My Brain Right Now Is Just Somewhere Way Far Away From Our Last Record”

While it is common for artists to be often tempted to stick with what’s familiar, Avenged Sevenfold seems to be on a mission to defy expectations. Frontman M. Shadows recently joined Fire With Fire, a new longform video series hosted by Ryan J. Downey, for a conversation about innovation, evolution, and staying creatively restless. The series, created by Downey and directed by Gus Black, is produced in partnership with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

Asked about the band’s constant push to challenge their audience and themselves, M. Shadows offered a glimpse into the drive that fuels their boundary-pushing work.

“I don't know where it comes from. It's just something that you can't really tap into. I just know that when I wake up in the morning, I wanna be excited. I wanna get up and work on something that I wanna work on, and then I wanna show the world,” he explained (via Blabbermouth)

He pointed to The Stage, Avenged Sevenfold’s 2016 release, as an example of being ahead of the curve: “I think [where Avenged Sevenfold's 2016 album] The Stage was, we were talking about themes that literally weren't even relevant till now. We were talking about A.I., nanotechnology, we were talking about the Big Bang, and Fermi paradox, and exploration. We were talking about all these things that literally just went [over people's heads] when it came out. And now everyone's, like, 'Oh my God. You guys were…”

Shadows sees this not as clairvoyance, but as a natural extension of following instincts and cultural currents that haven’t yet hit the mainstream.

“But I think that comes down to us being kind of on the cutting edge of what we felt was happening, a groundswell, and it inspired us to write about it. And then it just takes some time. The same way that I think when we do a VR concert in 2023, or whatever it is, and it might be till 2030 that everyone's doing these, but ours will still be there to go back to.”

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(SOURCE METAL INJECTION)