Avenged Sevenfold has announced a December 15 release date for the deluxe version of its critically acclaimed album "The Stage". This new edition features seven additional studio songs plus four previously unreleased live tracks recorded during the band's recent shows at The O2 arena in London. Among the seven bonus tracks is the band's stunning cover of the PINK FLOYD classic "Wish You Were Here", which was released today. About Avenged Sevenfold's version of "Wish You Were Here", lead singer M. Shadows says: "This is the song that started us down the rabbit hole with our recent cover recordings. I've always loved this song and though I felt it would be impossible to capture the somberness of the original, we approached it with another purpose. There's a poignancy to the song that seems appropriate with everything going on in the world today. We put a bit of a modern twist on it to reintroduce it at a time when it might help capture what some of us are feeling." The deluxe edition is the latest chapter in an innovative album cycle that began twelve months ago when Avenged Sevenfold "surprise-released" "The Stage", becoming the first-ever rock band to drop an unannounced album in digital and physical form. The band (vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman) announced the album's release to millions of surprised fans who had been watching their live-streamed set from the rooftop of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, California. That groundbreaking event saw the quintet give a 3D/360-degree virtual reality performance that enabled fans around the globe to experience Avenged Sevenfold's electrifying show as if they were there for the first-of-its-kind immersive event. M. Shadows, vocals Zacky Vengeance, rhythm guitar, co-lead guitar, backing vocals Synyster Gates, lead guitar, backing vocals Johnny Christ, bass Brooks Wackerman, drums Produced by Avenged Sevenfold, Joe Barresi

Avenged Sevenfold

The members of metalcore outfit Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still attending high school in Huntington Beach, California, when they formed their band in 1999. Nevertheless, it didn't take long for M. Shadows (vocals), Zacky Vengeance (guitar), Synyster Gates (guitar), the Reverend (drums), and Johnny Christ (bass) to make an impression with their aggressive hybrid of metal, hard rock, and punk-pop. The band made its official debut in July 2001, releasing Sounding the Seventh Trumpet on the Goodlife label before moving to the Hopeless roster for 2003's Waking the Fallen. Warner Bros. took interest in the band's aggressive sound and issued its breakthrough release, City of Evil, in June 2005. The album reached number 30 on Billboard's Top 200, propelled in part by the Top Ten success of the single "Bat Country." The accompany music video was heavily rotated on MTV and Fuse, where live appearances also helped boost Avenged's growing profile, and the band ultimately won the Best New Artist Award (though they were hardly newcomers) at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

As demand for their music increased, Avenged Sevenfold canceled their tour dates for fall 2006 and set to work on a fourth studio album. Boasting a grittier sound than previous releases, the self-titled/self-produced disc appeared in October 2007, debuting at number four on the Billboard Top 200 and spinning off the radio single "Almost Easy." The album also fared well in England, where three songs cracked the Top Five of the U.K. rock charts, and Avenged Sevenfold helped support the release by touring North America on the Taste of Chaos tour. Released in September 2008, the CD/DVD package Live in the LBC and Diamonds in the Rough captured the band during a tour stop in Long Beach. In 2009 the band announced plans to begin work on its third studio release. That same year, drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan passed away at the age of 28. In 2010 the band released Nightmare with replacement drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater). In 2011, they recorded the song "Carry On" for the Call of Duty Arms: Black Ops II video game, before releasing 2013's Hail to the King, which featured new drummer Arin Ilejay of Confide.

