Avenged Sevenfold's new self-titled album, out today, has more of a pop-oriented sound than the band's previous efforts. It's not really a pop CD, it's just not as "metal" as their other albums.
Anyway, per usual, when a band makes even the slightest move toward popular music, a bunch of people come forward with the "sell-out" chants. Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows has responded to critics by unapologetically admitting that he is a fan of pop music.
He says, "We've always been very ambitious in terms of our goals and our dreams of where we want the band to be. We're interested in making something palatable that still has heavy guitars. We like pop music and we want to get more people listening."
I'm laughing because I'm picturing M. Shadows singing along to Rihanna in his car. Regardless, good for him. The sell-out concept is stupid, and it comes up way too often. If you don't like the direction of a band, that's fine, you don't have to buy their albums, go to their shows, or ever listen to them. But Avenged Sevenfold is good, and it's not even pop (it's straight-up rock). Maybe you wanted them to put out a metal album, and if so, that sucks for you, but oh well, tough break. The only people who get to decide the direction of a band are the actual guys in the band, their producers, maybe the record label, and possibly an overbearing girlfriend. You get to decide whether or not to buy the album.
FYI: Avenged Sevenfold is currently streaming at MTV.
Check out the band's latest video here.
