Avenged Sevenfold have surprise-released a futuristic electronic-tinged new EP titled ‘Statica’ – listen below.
The four-track collection arrived without warning earlier today (July 24), and it features the songs ‘Lights’, ‘Statica’, ‘Rejoice’ and ‘Ashes’.
It is the California metal band’s most significant release since their eighth studio record ‘Life Is But A Dream…’ in 2023, and it sees them continuing to explore the adventurous direction of that album, as well as 2016’s ‘The Stage’.
They make use of robotic vocals, sci-fi synths and electronic dance beats, moving further away from the more traditional heavy metal sound of records such as 2005’s ‘City Of Evil’ and 2013’s ‘Hail To The King’.
The band did not tease the EP beforehand and it follows the standalone single ‘Magic’, which arrived last December as part of an update for Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Listen to ‘Statica’ below.
Speaking to NME backstage at Download Festival in 2024, guitarist Zacky Vengeance said the reaction to ‘Life Is But A Dream…’ had been “the exact response that we set out to achieve”, explaining that the band wanted “to be polarising and create something that a lot of people didn’t know that they wanted”.
“If you’re just running through the motions, then I don’t think you’re succeeding as an artist,” he added.
“The easy route would be writing songs similar to our most-played hits, or the ones that go over the best at festivals. But, truthfully, I think that’s just career suicide. We want to have fun, make new memories for people, give them an experience to remember for the rest of their lives and maybe even change their whole perspective.”
‘Statica’ arrives on the eve of Avenged Sevenfold’s co-headline North American tour with Good Charlotte, which kicks off in Ridgedale, Missouri tomorrow (July 25). See the dates below and find any remaining tickets here.
JULY
25 – Ridgedale, MO – Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
27 – Shakopee, MN – Mystic Lake Amphitheater
30 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
AUGUST
1 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
4 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
6 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
8 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
10 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena
12 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
14 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
16 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
18 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
21 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
23 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
27 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
30 – Los Angeles, CA – BMO Stadium
Elsewhere, frontman M. Shadows defended recording a video message for freed Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal last October, after some fans accused the band of failing to speak out about Palestine.
The band were also forced to postpone their Latin American tour last September after Shadows suffered a vocal fold haematoma. The dates were subsequently rearranged for January and February this year.
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