Avenged Sevenfold was born in Huntington Beach, CA, in 1999. The band’s current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Synyster Gates, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.
The band’s breakthrough came with their second album, Waking the Fallen. The album sold 370,000 copies and caught the attention of Warner Bros. Records. Their third album, City of Evil, solidified the band’s stay in mainstream success. The album moved the band from a hardcore metal into a hard rock music genre. Avenged Sevenfold began selling out tickets and venues across the country.
In 2009, the band’s drummer, James “The Rev” Sullivan died and was replaced by Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy in order to tour in support of their 2010 album.
To date, Avenged Sevenfold has released seven studio albums, one live album/DVD, two compilation albums and eighteen singles and have sold over 8 million albums worldwide.