In the newest issue of Kerrang!, City of Evil is revisited 10 years after it’s release. Vocal coach Ron Anderson shared an excerpt from the story in which he discusses helping M. Shadows recover 5 notes he lost from his voice after having surgery on his vocal chords before recording the album and working on his technique.

In truth, M. Shadows did undergo surgery on his vocal chords prior to recording City of Evil but, rather than preventing him from screaming, the procedure actually affected the clean singing he’d always planned on bringing to the fore. “He had a cyst, and when they removed the cyst he had lost five notes from his voice,” recalls vocal coach Ron Anderson, who also worked with the likes of Axl Rose and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. “I helped him get those notes back and we also worked on his technique. He started studying with me every day for five or six months, and the tone started changing as everything was coming back. He had a style in mind that he wanted to achieve for this record. I helped him towards it, but he knew what he wanted, so I simply showed him how to do it. He was incredibly determined, and I’d say he’s one of the best singers in the world right now.” With his vocal abilities improved and his confidence boosted, the band finally felt ready to take the plunge and to revisit their earliest rock influences.