Whether you think it’s good, bad or just plain weird, the latest Avenged Sevenfold output has been showing off a different side of the band. The band have been very open about the fact that they wanted to try new things on Life Is But a Dream… and they’ve furthered elaborated on which artists influenced those ideas in a new interview with Tuna on Toast Podcast with Stryker.
Singer M. Shadows gave some insight into the creative process:
“The record, obviously, is rooted in some sort of raw, earthy, metallic rock. Metal abrasiveness.
“When I listen to things like the [Kanye West] Yeezus record or Daft Punk or Rammstein or any of these bands that are just off the grid, there’s like this interpretation of what they’re doing but with this sort of heavy metal flag. And I think what you’re hearing is a lot of Daft Punk. A lot of this kind of, not being afraid to use technology in a really grounded way. Like vocoders and funk, and this sort of Nile Rodgers feel and groove,” said Shadows. “We’re not being afraid that just cause you’re a metal band it shouldn’t have groove. Groove is rad. And if you can be very back and forth with it and create something that is compelling, [do it].”
“So yeah, Daft Punk was a huge influence.”
Later in the record, the first letters of tracks seven, eight and nine spell out “G.O.D.”, something that Shadows says was very intentional and inspired by rapper Travis Scott.
“It was influenced by ‘SICKO MODE’ by Travis Scott, which we were listening to and it’s got that Drake verse at the beginning and it cuts off right when you’re about to get into it and it goes to another song and it cuts off again. We were like, ‘Man, three songs in one is kind of cool.’ In this ADHD society that we live in, I was noticing that I was enjoying shorter records more recently, and so we wanted to do something where we weren’t giving you an eight-minute Sinatra song or something. We’re giving you like Wizard of Oz-meets-Frank Sinatra for like two minutes, and then something that was Daft Punk-esque for two minutes.
“The concept, lyrically the G.O.D., you’ve got God who most people when they think of God they think he’s super bummed on all of us. Like, ah, I didn’t do very good with this one, I want to wipe ’em out. There are superfans and he deletes them, and then A.I. comes up in “O,” which is very robotic and has the Daft Punk feel, and then that’s like the robot going ‘Am I human? Am I real? Am I really feeling things? Am I just programmed? What is this?’ and then it goes into “D,” which is much more existential and sad, but it’s sort of this mundane life that someone can’t find freedom until they end their own life.”
I’m still not sure who this Avenged Sevenfold record is for, but props to them for going all in.