Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil |
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| | Released: | 2005 |
| | Genre: | Metal | | Total duration: | 73:10 |
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City of Evil (2005-2007)
City of Evil is the third studio album and first
major label release by American
metal band
Avenged Sevenfold. The album was released on June 7, 2005 under the
Warner Bros. Records label.
Co-produced by
Andrew Murdock,
City of Evil contains a more
hard rock and classic
heavy metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous two albums, which showcased a predominantly
metalcore sound. The album is also notable for the absence of
screaming vocals. M. Shadows worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson, whose clients have included
Axl Rose and
Chris Cornell, for months before the album's release to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone".
The album contains some of Avenged Sevenfold's most popular and famous songs, including "
Bat Country", "
Beast and the Harlot", "
Burn it Down", and "
Seize the Day". All four of these songs were released as singles between June 2005 and July 2006.
City of Evil was very successful after its release, debuting at #30 on the
Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified as a
platinum record by the
Recording Industry Association of America in August 2009, and has gone onto sell over 1,500,000 copies in the United States, and 2,500,000 total worldwide. As of 2010, it remains the best-selling out of Avenged Sevenfold's discography. It is also their longest studio album, tracking at over seventy-two minutes.
Three of the songs off of the album, "Bat Country", "Beast and the Harlot" and "Seize the Day", were also released as
music videos. Directors for these videos included
Marc Klasfeld,
Tony Petrossian, and
Wayne Isham, respectively.
The Rev performs
backing vocals on the tracks "Bat Country", "Strength of the World", and "M.I.A."
In 2006, the album was placed number 63 on
Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time.
