Avenged Sevenfold’s seventh studio album ‘The Stage’ has celebrated its eighth anniversary. The album was released secretly, using Beyonce’s secret release tactic. M. Shadows dropped the news that the album is eight years old on his X account.
M. Shadows opens up on the matter
A user responded to his post with, “I remember this, M. Shadows said he liked how Beyonce secretly released her album, so he wanted to follow suit but ultimately regretted it and said he’d never do it again lol.”
“I take that back now… It couldn’t have happened any other way and I’m so proud of this album and the way it was released,” the frontman clarified.
The rocker revealed multiple times in different interviews why they decided to be the first metal band to drop a surprise album the way Beyonce did.
“I think it came down to being off for two and a half years, and sitting at home and watching what other people were doing,” Shadows explained.
“And I hate throwing other bands under the bus, but with a lot of bands I would get excited by the announcement that a new record was coming—but then there would be teaser after teaser after teaser after teaser, and there would be three or four singles before the album came out. It just became one of these things that we didn’t want to do.”
“Eventually, we got so far down the line with the record that we were like, ‘Let’s just put this thing out as a surprise!’ It was exciting to us; you had five guys who were actually excited about releasing a record, instead of dreading [having to do] all the advance press and everything that comes with a record release,” he continued. “It’s not that we didn’t want to do the work—it’s that you get asked a bunch of questions by a bunch of guys that have never heard the record. ‘Is it fast? Is it melodic? Is it heavy? Are you screaming?’ I feel like it’s been easier to let people hear it first and form their own opinions on it, and then talk to them about it.”
Following the album’s release on October 28th, 2016, the band released six cover songs on various dates the next year. The first additional track, a cover of the Mexican folk song ‘Malagueña Salerosa,’ premiered on Sirius XM Octane on June 8th, 2017.
The second track, a cover of Mr. Bungle’s ‘Retrovertigo,’ was released on June 30th. An original song titled ‘Dose’ came out on July 12th as an easter egg in ‘Dungeon Hunter 5.’
The band then released Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway,’ followed by covers of The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows,’ The Rolling Stones’ ‘As Tears Go By,’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here.’ These tracks were later compiled into a deluxe edition of the album. It was set for release on December 15th, 2017. However, it was delayed to December 22nd due to unforeseen circumstances.
I take that back now…. It couldn’t have happened any other way and Im so proud of this album and the way it was released. 🙏
— Shadows (@shadows_eth) October 28, 2024
