With Hail To The KingAvenged Sevenfold ventured into simplified musical territory, far from their usual complex compositions. If this 2013 album marked a turning point in the group’s career by becoming one of its biggest successes, singer M. Shadows confides today that the “watered down” approach was not natural for the group, even if it bore fruit.
An assumed but difficult turn
In a recent interview with Bradley Hall, Mr. Shadows explained that Hail To The King had been intended as an attempt to create their own version of the Black Album from Metallica or classics from AC/DC: “We were a big band, but none of our songs could be played in a bar. Our pieces were too complex, too neoclassical. So we wanted to simplify and proudly display our influences, even if it’s not what we do naturally.”
The goal was clear: to produce a mainstream Hard Rock/Heavy Metal album that could rival the classics of the genre. However, this approach required moving away from the complex harmonies and elaborate structures that characterized their previous albums. Shadows specifies: “It’s a simplified version of our sound. Sober but imposing percussion, low gain guitars that sound more powerful with the bass. A single voice, without harmonies, almost shrill. The idea was to create melodies so simple that they could be sung like lullabies.”
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A deserved, but confusing success
The bet of Hail To The King proved to be a winner, but left the singer with mixed feelings: “Unfortunately, Hail To The King worked. It’s our biggest song, almost a billion views. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it’s disconcerting that it’s the first song people are introduced to our music through.”
According to Shadows, this album was also a response to the era when many heavy bands were adopting electronic sounds: “We chose to return to our influences, the opposite of this trend.”
A group in constant evolution
From Hail To The KingAvenged Sevenfold explored very different horizons with their following albums, notably Life Is But a Dream… released in 2023, once again showing its ability to evolve while remaining true to its musical DNA.
