Versatile enough to be showcased on the Warped Tour, Ozzfest and TRL, rock band Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled full-length album last fall and are currently touring to support it. Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Zacky Vengeance held a conference call with college journalists to discuss their most recent album, touring plans and other aspects of their career.
Q: Your music spans a wide array of genres and it seems that the music industry is kind of hell-bent on classifying music into little, tiny boxes. Do you think that the classifications of the genre are dividing the music industry or helping it?
A: I think dividing music into categories ... I think it works on a lot of occasions because I think a lot of bands kind of stick to one, uniform sound that kind of falls in their genre. I do think there's bands that definitely, completely conquer those barriers. But for the most part I think the biggest problem right now is the music industry and music scene [are] so diluted with so many bands that are copying other bands ... They all sound the same, and it's really hard to break through. It's like finding a needle in a haystack at this point because there's so many bands, but every now and then, you know, I think with tools like the Internet and stuff, kids can come across enough music to where they actually find a band that they love. And once they do, they appreciate them that much more. And I think that's what we've been very fortunate about is our fans; they really stick with us once they find us and they kind of realize that we're attempting something brave, and we're accomplishing something a lot different than a lot of other music.
Q: What made you decide to decide to self-produce your upcoming album?
A: Well, it's something we've always talked about and we learned a lot on our previous two albums -- previous three albums actually. From being in the studio for so long and practicing stuff, we kind of got to the point where ... we were pretty much taking care of the arranging duties ourselves, and the idea came across to produce this album ourselves, and anytime a major labels hears that they get a little scared. So, they proposed, all they wanted was us to talk to other producers just to make sure that we [were] making the right decisions. So, we did and we had some really good meetings with people like [Rob Cavallo]. He produced Green Day. We were excited to maybe work with him, but he was busy doing a Kid Rock album and scheduling conflicts didn't really work out. So, you know, we sat down, we had meetings every day of how to produce a song, how we wanted them to turn out, how we would, you know, accomplish that ... with instruments and equipment. And then, we just went for it and we worked extra hard to make sure it happened.
Q: My first question has to do with something I read on your Web page ... It says you were "literally sweating every detail with the same conviction they had years earlier in trying to prove themselves to the masses." What exactly were you trying to prove with this album and do you think you've achieved that?
A: Back when we first got any kind of commercial success, you know, people were taunting us with, you know, sell out. Then people were labeling us with metal. I think what we wanted to accomplish and achieve with this album that we did was, you know, break open any kind of pigeonhole of what Avenged Sevenfold might be ... and incorporate all sorts of styles of music that we love -- all sorts of instrumentation that we love to hear. And, you know, just being very brave. I think we always have been, but it's come across as 'oh, you know, it's a metal band that does some different things'. Or, it's, you know, a hardcore band that's trying to play punk rock and metal influences and realistically, we're so much more than that, you know.
Q: I also read that you guys had a lot of outside influences and ... you listen to like Toby Keith and T.I. What was the biggest influence that you guys found while doing this album?
A: Oh, wow. I think the great thing about this album is that there wasn't one particular influence. There was our lifetime of influences put to work. There was everything ranging from listening to the stuff that we grew up with when we were young kids, you know, whether that was bands like Michael Jackson or, you know, Johnny Cash. From Social Distortion to, you know, Mr. Bungle.
Q: Being a band from California, how do you feel about when you have to tour in the cold, oftentimes snowy, Midwestern area?
A: It definitely is a big change. It's really nice to be able to see the seasons. That's one great thing about touring. I can honestly tell you that I wasn't quite as prepared for the weather. I've been sitting on the Weather Channel for this tour. Being from California, I guess I'm a little naïve ... I think I definitely underpacked as far as warm clothes go. But it's great, you know. We try our best to go, you know, snowboard and just be active instead of, you know, fighting off the cold -- try and embrace it a little bit. But, you know, as long as we try and keep warm and as long as our hands aren't too cold to play, it's really a great thing.
Q: And also what do you think about becoming the only band to both headline Warped Tour and Ozzfest while also being on a show like MTV's TRL?
A: I think that's just a great, you know, a great compliment to our band; everything that we've tried to do for so long. Because we've always set out to break all sorts of boundaries and barriers and, you know, being able to play Ozzfest and be well-received and being able to play Warped Tour and ... create a die-hard fan base and being able to, you know, like you said, be on TRL and have a song or songs that appeal to the pop culture that, you know, only like melody. They only like music that is just catchy.
