Il nostro Matt ha scelto e risposto ad alcune delle domande che gli sono state poste sotto al video di “God Only Knows”. La band ha poi inviato una newsletter agli iscritti al loro sito con un riassunto di domande e risposte.

– Daniel Ceci: Who was the guy in the band that wrote the melody and the lyrics of the Higher’s ending (meet you in the stars tonight…)???. I mean, maybe it’s the best fucking melody i’ve ever heard in my life. My mother doesn’t listen to heavy metal at all. But i showed this song to my mom, and she loved so much that she made a tattoo in her arm, and it’s written: Meet you in the stars tonight. And , by the way, beautiful cover from The Beach Boys.
M. Shadows: Thanks so much. To be honest it was probably some sort of collaboration at the end of HIGHER. I remember working hard on the chords below the melody with the guys. We wanted them to be full of emotion and interesting, in themselves. After that was accomplished we went to work on the melody and trying to make sure it wasn’t anything standard – but simple enough to not step all over the chords below. Glad you and your mom likes it!
– Keith Daragon: Have you ever considered doing like Metallica did on the By Request tour? I think fans would love the experience (I know I would!) and it would be awesome to hear some of your lesser-known tracks played live!
M. Shadows: We have already done this. The big songs are big songs for a reason. We had some hacking happen at first and once that was sorted then all of the most popular songs and singles were exactly what everyone chose. I think if you are looking for deeper cuts then this isn’t the way to accomplish that, at least from our experience… many more people will vote for the “Nightmares” than deeper cuts on the albums.
– Rasmina Lintu: If you were lost on a deserted island with only one other person, one music album, one book and one other item of choice, what would these be? Second question: How does it feel like to hear loads of stories by your fans to let you know what your work actually means to them? For myself you help me through a pretty tough time right now and give me strength, so all that’s left to say is thank you so much for your music and humanity
M. Shadows: Keep your head up. Tough times and how we respond to them are the moments in which we see what we are made of as human beings. It will build character and hopefully help you later in life. You can get through anything and I’m happy to help that in some way with our music. As for the island… lets see… I’d be there with my wife, “Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd would be the album on repeat and “Lord of the Flies” would be the book of choice since it would pertain to my situation on the island. My one item of choice would be a telescope.
– Sammie McCazulley: Hey guys! Love you so much been a fan for a very very long time, before 1999. Here’s my question, Shads have you ever considered doing a duet? Kinda like Ozzy and Lisa Ford. Xoxo Samantha
M. Shadows: The idea never seemed to interest me. I don’t mind duets but something about them just doesn’t jive with me. I guess I can’t imagine one being pulled off without a certain amount of cheese being involved.

– Brennan Hunter: Hey guys, what’s your favorite part of recording covers? Specifically covers that people may not always expect you to do. You guys have made good covers since the beginning. I love the walk cover and flash of the blade cover!
M. Shadows: Covers are fun because you can mold them to fit your band and sound. I love that we made God Only Knows much darker and somber, “Runaway” got a punk makeover and “Retrovertigo” was made a little heavier. Our old covers may excite some people because they just want metal songs but the reality is we didn’t do much to make those our own. In this instance we recorded these covers with “The Stage” and were able to put twists on them and introduce people to some great bands and music.
– TYKE GAMING: Is there any new merchandise coming up soon?
M. Shadows: Yes, some of the stuff we have been working on since last November is ready to be released. Look for a lot of announcements before Christmas.
– Chen Ohana: Whats the single song that you guys would show to someone to get them into A7X?
M. Shadows: That really depends on the type of music they enjoy. If they love hardcore I wouldn’t show them “The Stage’ or “Save Me” and if they love progressive rock I’d keep them away from “Hail to the King.” I think a good compromise would probably be “Bat Country” or “Nightmare” for the average person.
– Fortesque: If I’m correct every band member gets to choose one song to cover. Which person chose which song? And is the 5th one already in the recording process?
M. Shadows: That’s pretty much how it went down. There were some misfires, meaning songs we felt we should’t cover that people had chosen. All of these songs were already recorded with “The Stage.” One thing with this cycle that has been hard for people to grasp is that all of this stuff has been planned since last year. The surprise release, evolving record, streaming only etc. In fact, we said this multiple times in the initial interviews. I’ve seen people asking us to cover certain songs but the reality is these songs have been finished since last November, we are just choosing to release them now in this fashion.
– “Malaguena” was a decision Syn, Johnny and myself made while listening to music.
– “Retrovertigo” was sort of a bonus that I wanted to attempt.
– “God Only Knows” was Syn and Johnny.
– “Runaway” was Zacky.
The others cannot be revealed at this time.
– O C: A while back you mentioned one of the tracks on The Stage was about a book on an astronaut who decided to end his life in space. What’s the name of that book? Thanks!
M. Shadows: It was based on the Apollo 1 fire, not a book.
– loc0pok: How much did The Beach Boys music influence you guys? Keep up your amazing work, you’re my favorite band and I got into metal thanks to you! Hoping to see you live one day! 😀
M. Shadows: The Beach Boys have been a part of the soundtrack to my life so I imagine a ton. Pet Sounds is one of the greatest albums of all time.
– Tim Sevenfold: Would you ever consider maintaining a Spotify playlist with music you guys listen to at the moment?
M. Shadows: I’m not sure I would keep up with something like that for more then a few days but I can give you what I’ve been listening to for the last few weeks:
Mastodon – Steambreather
Pink Floyd – Shine on You Crazy Diamond 6-9
Don Mclean – Vincent
Don Mclean – And I Love You So
Gojira – Stranded
Leonard Cohen – You Want it Darker
Roger Waters – Deja Vu
Bob Dylan – Knockin on Heavens Door
Dead Cross – Seizure and Desist
– Chiara Bongini: Why did you decide to cover some songs and add them to The Stage? Has it any kind of meaning for you or is it just for fun? Anyway, I think it was a great idea.
M. Shadows: We just wanna have fun with music. We have never been huge fans of cover songs on the actual album but we felt this way was cool, original and fresh. We also like the idea of releasing fun stuff in-between albums instead of radio silence for 3-4 years.
– diego macias: You’ve all known each other for a really long time. What’s your advice on how to make friendships last a long time?
M. Shadows: Learn about what makes other people upset and stay away from doing that! When adults have to live with each other on the road for expended amounts of time it can get tough. Just give people their space and be understanding.
– Christian Harrison: How involved was Brooks Wackerman in the writing process for The Stage and how much influence did he have on the band? And vice versa.
M. Shadows: Brooks comes from the same school of music that we do and when discussing the direction he was instantly excited. We got to work and he showed up every day adding invaluable ideas and grooves to the process. He was awesome and added a ton.
– Mihai Doan: Last year on the Avenged Sevenfold fan club there was a video with M Shadows at karaoke in Iceland (I think) where he sings runaway, was that some kind of tease or was it coincidental?
M. Shadows: Little bit of a tease.
– Zach White: Hey guys so ever since I got my car, I’ve noticed some of your albums are mixed differently especially the bass, feeling how on albums like City of evil and The white album have less where as Nightmare and Hail to the King have more bass. Is that something you guys, the band itself, decide or is it more of the producers and sounds guys making the music that make it sound best?
M. Shadows: We make all of those decisions. Andy Wallace mixes all of our albums with us in the studio and a lot of those questions come down to the material and also how its compressed during mastering. The bass guitar being loud and over compression can be confusing to the listener. When you over compress the low end comes up and gives you the feeling that the bass guitar is louder when that’ not always the case. For a record like “City of Evil” there is so much speed and nuance happening that loud bass would muddy everything up. For ‘Hail to the King” there was a ton more space so we wanted a thicker, meatier sound.
– Taylor Ramsey: I have been loving these covers. Awesome job, can’t wait for the next two! Now for the Question, if one of your influences would cover one of your songs, what song would it be, and who would cover it?
M. Shadows: Elton John Covering “Fiction.”
– AChubbyChode 34: I would like to know what the song “Simulation” is about. It’s such a cool song and I would love to know! Thanks!
M. Shadows: Look up “Simulation Hypothesis” in GOOGLE and you will have a fun night surfing down the rabbit hole. Nick Bostrom has some papers and speeches that are also worth looking into.
– AwesomeAdiena: What song was the most fun to create/cover, regarding your newest releases (Dose, God Only Knows, etc.)?
M. Shadows: “Malaguena” was a fun one and “God Only Knows” was the most difficult. The chords and structure of “God Only Knows” are brilliant and it was difficult to make sure everything was transposed properly.
– Joe Condon: The Stage is my favourite Avenged album regarding lyrical content, with “Sunny Disposition” and “God Damn” having some of the most intelligent and thought provoking lyrics I’ve heard! Matt, what would you say is your favourite set of lyrics written for an Avenged Sevenfold song?
M. Shadows: I like “The Stage,” “Fermi Paradox” and “Exist” in terms of lyrics. It’s a style that I hope to master as the years go on.
– Captain Ghoul: Will the covers eventually be available to buy on iTunes instead of just Apple Music?
M. Shadows: We may do that because while the streaming thing is obviously the future, we are getting some push back from fans that want to purchase. “The Stage” experiment may have been a little early and thats OK. It’s sort of a “damned if you do/ damned if you don’t” situation. If we give songs out for free through streaming then people complain that they can’t purchase… and if you put them in a package to sell, then people will complain about that and say it’s a cash grab. You can’t win but we will try and see what can be done.
– Eric Sowder: Will the song “Exist” ever be played live? I figured it would be when The Stage released, but I’ve yet to hear it live. If it was played live, would it be edited down so it wouldn’t be so long? Or how would you make that work? Also, thanks for all the amazing music you make. You’ll forever be my favorite band. Keep rockin’ Guys!
M. Shadows: I think we will get around to it at some point. I have some ideas how it can work and not take up 16 min. of a show. You have to remember that “The Stage” tour has barely even started. We haven’t gotten deep into it because of the Metallica tour. We will see where we are after we hit the USA on our own.
– Nadim Captan: In an interview (Carolina Rebellion 2017), Synyster said “we are never ever gonna cover another song for as long as we live”. What changed and made you guys want to cover songs like “Malaguena Salerosa” and “God Only Knows?”
M. Shadows: All of these covers were done well before Carolina Rebellion. Syn also likes to fuck around in interviews. These reasons combined is the best answer.
– Tread Orochi: Shadows, I always miss getting an answer to this on your AMAs through Reddit, so my question is: What is your favorite Zelda game?? I gotta know, man.
M. Shadows: I try not to let nostalgia dictate my opinions on things… I try and stay objective and in this case I feel “Breath of the Wild” is by far the best “Zelda” game.
– TheBradyLife: During the songwriting process, are songs mostly completed in demo form with a good general idea and then transferred to the studio? Or are there ever any spontaneous creations/additions to songs while in the studio?
M. Shadows: We try and have the songs 100 percent complete in terms of structure. Things happen in the studio especially in terms of tones, lyrics and dynamics and see where it takes us.
Thanks to everyone for submitting your questions.
Stay tuned for many more exciting announcements to come.
– Avenged Sevenfold
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Giada e Camilla.