M Shadows has shared details on the progress of Avenged Sevenfold's eighth studio album.
Earlier this year, we learned via posts on drummer Brooks Wackerman and Shadows' Instagram accounts that the follow up to 2016's The Stage was heading towards the end of its recording process, and that the Orange County quintet were recording the album's 73-piece orchestral parts that got delayed due to the pandemic.
In a new interview with The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, Shadows has laid out the band's schedule, revealing that the new record could get released in late 2022 or early 2023.
"Status is interesting. We recorded an album, you know, a few years ago. We haven't finished it yet" he says.
"We kind of took some time off for family, COVID, weird touring circumstances, some changes within our team… And we are still currently with one record left on Warner Brothers Records. We'll be finishing that record up – I think we have May locked out [for when] our producer can get back to work on it, and then we're going to mix with Andy Wallace in August.
"And then we're going to figure out if it's the first quarter, or fourth quarter, or what we're going to do. So, the status is that, and then we're going to be booking tours, put the tickets on sale when the record comes out, and the whole nine yards."
Recently, in conversation with Metal Hammer, Shadows revealed that the new album was "inspired by Kanye West" and "full of wacky ideas".
He explains, "There are so many influences… we’re very influenced by Kanye West. The thing about Kanye is that he is pulling from such great soul music. I didn’t grow up with that stuff – my dad listened to Boston and Alice Cooper, I didn’t get that taste of black music and old soul. So, diving deep into jazz musicians… we’re not trying to do a jazz record, but the chord changes and progressions are so eye-opening to us.
"The new frontier excites us; expect very wacky ideas!”
Listen to the full interview with The Bob Lefsetz Podcast below:
