AVENGED SEVENFOLD RELEASE THEIR MOST DARING ALBUM YET WITH LIFE IS BUT A DREAM…
June 2, 2023 (Los Angeles, CA) – Today, multi-platinum headliners Avenged Sevenfold (comprised of M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ and Brooks Wackerman) release their highly anticipated eighth album, Life Is But a Dream… Listen HERE via Warner Records. This genre-bending, bold and unnerving collection is their first full-length since 2016, and features the lead single “Nobody,” which has secured its place in the Top 5 at Rock Radio. A7X dig deep into the components that elicit the strongest emotions, toggling between the light and the dark in refreshingly strange and catchy ways. Transitions and tempo changes shred the rulebook, but there’s method to the madness. Order here
Written and recorded over the span of four years, Life Is But a Dream… is designed to provoke and inspire, courageously broadening the new wave of American heavy metal sound pioneered by the band with confidence, attitude and intention. Upending predictable conventions without sacrificing hooks, the band’s eighth album champions discomfort, tension, rage, and groove with esoteric abandon, exploring the absurdity of life and death.
The album opener, “Game Over”, indicts the mundanity of everyday life, particularly one without purpose or fulfillment. “Mattel” goes on the offensive about the Barbie-girl-on-steroids artificiality of cities and suburbs, from fake pleasantries to fake grass. The lead single, “Nobody”, explores the ego death sought by mystics and shamans for millennia, the recognition that the self is an illusion, that we are everything and nothing at once. “We Love You” decries the rat race and “Cosmic” celebrates love traversing time, space, and evolution. “Beautiful Morning,” by contrast, is a darker existential crisis, giving false relief by the empty promises found in “Easier.” Tracks eight, nine, and ten form a triptych of sorts – “G,” “(O)rdinary,” and “(D)eath,” or “GOD.” People wrap themselves in The Secret, manifestation, or religion, but God? God sees them all as obsessive fans who missed the point and simply hit reset. The robot that follows ponders the nature of consciousness. Following “(D)eath,” the title track is a piano number tickling toward sweet oblivion.
Far from nihilistic despair, the expansive themes and existentialist exploration of Life Is But A Dream…offer more of a celebration and liberation of life while exploring the possible illusion of free will and determinism. The aim is for the audience to aspire, in life, to what Avenged Sevenfold aspires to in art. Confrontation, reinvention, acceptance, surrender, struggle, and the courage to fail, on our own terms, with integrity. “There are no rules. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks,” Shadows points out. “One day, we’ll all be gone, and eventually, we’re all forgotten. So, once you find your own purpose, go for it.”
With Life Is But a Dream…, the band continues to prove they are well ahead of the curve, in more than just sound. Always on the cutting edge of music and technology, A7X have partnered with Berify to include an NFC tag with exclusive content and blockchain authentication on all CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and official merchandise sold on A7XWorld.com. Additionally, the album art and packaging are intricately created by renowned artist and friend, Wes Lang.
On Friday, May 26th and Saturday, May 27th the band hosted a Life is But a Dream… art exhibit at Beyond The Streets art gallery in Los Angeles, showcasing the band’s suite of 20 original Wes Lang paintings created for Life Is But A Dream…, including the iconic cover image. Over two days, the gallery saw over 1000 attendees and held an intimate discussion between M. Shadows, Synyster Gates, Wes Lang, and Roger Gastman (owner of Beyond The Streets). Watch the compelling conversation HERE.
Additionally, Avenged Sevenfold will support the release of Life Is But a Dream… with two massive live shows this month, a SOLD OUT show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on June 9 and another at Madison Square Garden on June 23. The band made its first festival appearance in five years earlier this month on Friday, May 19th at Welcome To Rockville at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. This summer, the band is taking off on an extensive North American tour; see dates below and head HERE to find tickets.
To date, A7X have sold over 10 million albums worldwide and earned two consecutive No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 album chart (2010’s Nightmare and 2013’s Hail To The King) to go along with over a billion video views and a billion-plus Spotify streams, as well as multiple No. 1 singles on rock radio. The band are equally known for their spectacular live shows, selling out arenas and headlining the world’s most prestigious rock festivals. At the forefront of rapidly changing technology, cultural mile markers, and new ways for communities to engage, Avenged Sevenfold is steadily constructing its own ecosystem in real time, existing in a symbiotic relationship with its audience based on complete trust and mutual respect. Life is But a Dream…is the natural creative anchor and sonically immersive environment for this mission.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD LIFE IS BUT A DREAM…NORTH AMERICAN 2023 TOUR:
Tue Jul 18 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Wed Jul 19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Fri Jul 21 – Québec City, QC – Videotron Centre
Sat Jul 22 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Mon Jul 24 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
Wed Jul 26 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Fri Jul 28 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sat Jul 29 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
Mon Jul 31 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
Wed Aug 02 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Centre
Fri Aug 04 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
Sat Aug 05 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
Mon Aug 07 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Sat Sep 16 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sun Sep 17 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue Sep 19 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Wed Sep 20 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Fri Sep 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Mon Sep 25 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Tues, Sept 26 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center *
Thu Sep 28 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena^
Sat Sep 30 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Mon Oct 02 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
Tue Oct 03 – Portland, OR – MODA Center
Sat Oct 07 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sun Oct 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
Tue Oct 10 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Thu Oct 12 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Fri Oct 13 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sun Oct 15 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
*Not a Live Nation Date
^Without Falling in Reverse
