Groups in the segment started to hold shows and excursions with nostalgic themes, but there are exceptions among the big names in the style
It has become very common for popular rock and metal bands to carry out commemorative tours. It’s an opportunity for musicians to revisit old songs under some pretext. In this sense, a common type of tour features these groups performing old albums in full.
This, however, does not suit the Avenged Sevenfold. Two of its members revealed that they have no interest in providing something like this to the public. The closest thing to this ever done was a special show, in an intimate house in the American city of Santa Ana, playing material from the albums Waking the Fallen (2003) and City of Evil (2005) — a one-off initiative restricted to members of the official fan club.
THE Rolling Stone Indiathe guitarist Synyster Gates recalled the occasion when asked if the A7X planned any action to celebrate the 20th anniversary of City of Evil. Initially, he said:
“We did something like this for our Deathbats Club. It’s a really cool fan club that’s on the blockchain, and all the rewards and things come directly from the blockchain. It’s incredible technology. The NFT cycle just tanked and from the remains came this really wonderful way to reward fans and spend time with them. We played a very small show where we played all the old songs and dressed like idiots. It was really fun.”
However, when it comes to promoting an entire tour in this format, it gets complicated. Gates stated:
“I know that some bands are doing a whole cycle of tours with this theme, which is cool, but we don’t really care. We’re just trying to find new, unique and original ways to present and create music.”
Avenged Sevenfold imposes limits on nostalgia
In another interview, with Rock Feed (via Blabbermouth), the vocalist M. Shadows revealed to have the same reasoning. For the singer, honoring an album on stage only makes sense if it occurs at a specific event, not on a months-long tour.
“We’re not a band that wants to tour with an old album at the moment. It doesn’t interest us, it doesn’t excite us. For one night, yes. This is not a criticism of anyone, because almost everyone does this type of tour. It’s just that in our case, personally, it doesn’t make us want to get out of bed. For one night, though, this sounds like fun.”
Last September, Avenged was in Brazil for a show as the main attraction of the “rock day” of Rock in Rio 2024. At the time, the band covered almost all the albums in their discography and placed greater emphasis on the most current: four tracks in the repertoire came from Life is But a Dream…released in 2023.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
