Avenged Sevenfold announces ‘surprise’ new album

Avenged Sevenfold wanted all information concerning their new album to be kept a secret, and as it turns out, they managed to do just that. Following weeks of teasing and cryptic messages, real information about the upcoming release has been unveiled. On Thursday (Oct. 27), it was reported that not only is Avenged Sevenfold’s new album not titled Voltaic Oceans, but it will not see an early-December release date. Rather, the new record will be titled The Stage, just like the lead single, and is set to hit stores on Friday, Oct. 28.

The previously-reported information about the new album came last month when WWE superstar and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho posted an image on Instagram. The post contained the band’s Death-Bat logo, the title Voltaic Oceans, and the date 12/09/16. Quickly after he posted the image, Jericho took it down which further fueled speculations that he leaked important information. At the time, there was no reason to doubt Jericho or be skeptical that he was playing a role in promoting the new album. Most fans of the band are aware of his close friendship with the members of Avenged Sevenfold, especially frontman M. Shadows, so there was no reason to think otherwise.

Now, it looks like the joke was on the fan base who was eagerly awaiting any kind of information from the five-piece about the new record. In addition to the new album name and release date’s unveiling, the track list has also been revealed. Even though the information was supposed to be embargoed until Friday, Amazon’s Canadian website had published the 11-song track listing. At the time of this story being written, Amazon removed the track listing and posted that it is “currently available.” But while that has been taken down, it appears that someone has already received the new album. According to Loudwire, someone on Twitter posted images of the physical copy of the record.

While the band has formally to confirm all the new information, one thing fans can look forward to is their massive live stream due to take place tonight at 8:30 PST. The event will be streamed on Avenged Sevenfold’s website and can be enjoyed in 3D, 360-degrees, and Virtual Reality. During the event, the group will reportedly answer all questions concerning the new album.

The Stage will be the long-awaited follow-up to the band’s 2013 album, Hail to the King. This will also mark the band’s first album to feature former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman. The reported track listing for The Stage can be seen below.

THE STAGE TRACK LISTING (Reportedly):

01. “The Stage” (8:32)
02. “Paradigm” (4:19)
03. “Sunny Disposition” (6:41)
04. “God Damn” (3:42)
05. “Creating God” (5:35)
06. “Angels” (5:41)
07. “Simulation” (5:31)
08. “Higher” (6:29)
09. “Roman Sky” (5:00)
10. “Fermi Paradox” (6:31)
11. “Exist” (15:39)

Listen: Avenged Sevenfold hit “The Stage” with new song

It seems like during the past week, speculations of new Avenged Sevenfold tunes has reached an all-time high. With the appearance of the band’s Deathbat logo in random locations around the world like London, Paris and Ontario and “leaked” information making its rounds on the internet, we figured it was only a matter of time before the group confirmed or denied the rumors. On Thursday (Oct. 13), the band officially confirmed the new music rumors when they released their brand new song, “The Stage.” The new, eight-and-a-half minute long song can be streamed below.

While the biggest rumor was that the band would be unleashing a new song on Friday, Oct. 14, there was also a post on Instagram by Fozzy frontman (and close friend of M. Shadows) Chris Jericho. In the now-deleted post, the wrestler posted that Avenged’s new album would be titled Voltaic Oceans and would see a release date of Dec. 9.

To coincide with the new music news, the band launched a new website which features the”Deathbot”; the gatekeeper of Avenged Sevenfold information. Music publication Loudwire asked the Deathbot several questions including “new album.” According to the publication, when they typed “new album,” the Deathbot responded with “the official answer will be given during a special live event on Oct. 27.” Cool.

Earlier this year, the band announced they had severed ties with their longtime home of Warner Bros. in favor of Capitol. During an interview with Loudwire Nights, M. Shadows unveiled that things were not good between them and Warner Bros.

“We left because every single person at the label, not every single person, the radio department is still intact. But the people that signed us, the A&R people, all the people that had to do with the high up at the company didn’t know who Avenged Sevenfold was or cared at this point. So we had to leave.”

Shadows add: “It had nothing to do with anything other than if you’re at a place where they don’t care about your band, then you have to do somewhere where they do care about your band. So, as labels start morphing and changing over time, you have to do what’s best for you and that’s the main reason we left. For us, it’s about finding a home that care about rock music and they care about Avenged Sevenfold and want to further our career as we try to push through this thing.”

Whatever the new album ends up being titled or when it is set to be released, we do know that it will be the follow-up to 2013’s Hail to the King. The impending release will also mark the first record to feature new drummer Brooks Wackerman who replaced former drummer Arin Ilejay.

All we can say is, keep your eyes open for that special event on Oct. 27.