Originally posted on Loudwire.com
In the greater sphere of the metal world, accepting new bands into the pantheon of legends is a constant uphill battle. Avenged Sevenfold winning Best Metal Artist of the Year, and award presented by BlackCraft, is indicative of them accomplishing this feat, as singer M. Shadows, guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman all come together to form one of modern metal’s most dominant bands.
This year, the band has accomplished one of their most impressive feats to date, releasing The Stage a year ago, and joining on some of the biggest tours in metal. Throughout 2017, the group has been headlining festivals around the globe, and acting as support for Metallica, showing that they truly are one of heavy metal’s most prominent bands.
Since 1999, the band has been building their progressive and forward thinking brand of metal by incorporating many of its disparate sounds and styles together, creating a unique sound that embodies the genre’s past and future. In a single song by Avenged, you’re sure to hear the influence of thrash metal, speed metal, metalcore, hair metal, and a lot more, all tied together in a driving, exciting package.
There was a fun moment when the band made their way to the stage a little early, kind of spoiling the announcement that they had won. It was a hard fought victory for Avenged Sevenfold, beating out some of the genre’s most dominant acts, including the veterans in Metallica, Mastodon and Body Count, as well as two of the genre’s hottest acts in Code Orange and Power Trip. Congratulations to Avenged Sevenfold for winning Metal Artist of the Year, presented by Blackcraft, in the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards.
In a hard fought victory, Orange County band Avenged Sevenfold are taking home the “Hand of Doom” for Best Metal Album of the Year, presented by Razor & Tie, for “The Stage.” It was a tough playing field, but members M. Shadows, guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman all created a lasting work with The Stage.
In an era when music is more easily available to listeners than at any other point in history, Avenged Sevenfold figured, why make fans suffer through the boring release schedule for a new album, and instead just release it into the world? Without warning, last Oct. 28 they did just that, as The Stage was released onto digital distributors and in stores.
The five thrashers saw their music continue to evolve, invoking the highly emotional power of progressive metal into their mastered craft of thrash. It’s one of the band’s most exciting albums, showing their matured take on heavy metal into a multi-faceted beast. And The Stage doesn’t end there. After treating fans to the title track and “God Damn” as singles, the band has been rolling out additional songs for The Stage to turn it into an “evolving” album, keeping it fresh in 2017.
Avenged faced off some of the biggest bands in metal for their victory, including Metallica, Mastodon, Power Trip, Body Count and Code Orange. Congratulations to Avenged Sevenfold on winning Best Metal Album of the Year, presented by Razor & Tie, at the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards.
‘The Stage’ available now
