M Shadows has revealed that he’s kept late Avenged Sevenfold bandmate Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan’s number in his phone.
The drummer died in 2009 – but the vocalist says that, no matter how much time goes by, he’ll never complete get over the tragedy.
Shadows tells 2 Hours With Matt Pinfield: “18 years of my life, he was literally at my house every single day.
“When you lose some that close, it’s at times worse than losing a family member. Your whole world is ripped apart – everyone that knew him is a wreck emotionally.
“It goes on for years and years and years. You never fully recover from it – it’s something you live with for the rest of your life.”
He adds: “There’s all those moments where you’re like, ‘Man, this would be great if he was here for this,’ or you want to call him – his number’s still in your phone.
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“It’s bizarre, but it’s also part of life. It teaches you mortality. We learned it at an age that I wish I didn’t learn it at.”
Shadows reports that it’s been difficult to keep the band going since Sullivan died, but says: “I think the band’s done a good job of being able to put on a happy face, get out there and get back to business.”
Avenged Sevenfold sneak-released seventh album The Stage last month. They’re featured in the current edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now in print and via TeamRock+. They tour Europe starting in January – dates below.
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Avenged Sevenfold tour dates 2017
Jan 10: Glasgow SSE Hydro
Jan 12: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Jan 13: Birmingham Genting Arena
Jan 15: Sheffield Arena
Jan 16: Manchester Arena
Jan 18: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Jan 19: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Jan 21: London O2 Arena
Jan 22: London O2 Arena
Feb 12: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 15: Berlin Arena, Germany
Feb 16: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
Feb 18: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Feb 20: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Feb 21: Milan Forum, Italy
Feb 23: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 25: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 26: Zurich Halle 622, Austria
Feb 28: Lille Zenith Arena, France
Mar 01: Luxembourg Rockhal, Luxembourg
Mar 02: Paris AccorHotels Arena, France
Mar 04: Copenhagen Valby Hallen, Denmark
Mar 07: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
Mar 09: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
Mar 10: Oslo Telenor, Norway
