Avenged Sevenfold drop surprise new album

Avenged Sevenfold surprise release new album The Stage. 

Avenged Sevenfold surprise-released their seventh studio album The Stage, becoming the first-ever rock band to drop an unannounced album in both digital and physical form.

The Southern California-based quintet (featuring vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman) revealed the news earlier this week, surprising the millions of fans who were watching their recent live-streamed performance from the rooftop of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood.

The Stage is the band first themed record

The Stage is the follow-up to Avenged Sevenfold’s 2013 release, Hail To The King, which entered The Billboard 200 at number one. Co-produced by the band and Joe Barresi (Queens of the Stone Age, Tool), The Stage is inspired by the writings of Carl Sagan and Elon Musk and has a Artificial Intelligence theme – marking the band’s first thematic release. While the term “AI” conjures up images of robots and fantasy films, the band have said they have steered clear of a science fiction story line.

Listen to the title track ‘The Stage’

Two weeks ago, the band released a companion video for lead single/title track ‘The Stage.’ Directed by Chris Hopewell (Radiohead, The Killers), the clip has already amassed well over six million YouTube views. The album also marks the band’s first release with acclaimed drummer Brooks Wackerman, known for his work with Bad Religion and whose discography also includes albums from Tenacious D and Suicidal Tendencies.

The Stage is out now via Capital Records.