Following a series of juicy leaks involving their forthcoming new album, lords of the shred Avenged Sevenfold have gone full Beyoncé, dropping their seventh studio album The Stage right into our laps after streaming new material to fans online in a huge streaming event.
Earlier in the week, A7X announced a live-streamed, 360-degree VR experience for their performance on top of the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles. Soon after, the album’s release date (Friday, 28th October) was leaked, and the title of the record was revealed to be the same as its lead single, The Stage.
Now, following the live stream that kicked off at 2:30 AEDT, we’ve not only heard tracks from the album, we have it in its entirety. The record marks the first full-length offering from the band since 2013’s Hail To The King, and the first with new drummer Brooks Wackerman.
Featuring 11 tracks tied together by an Artificial Intelligence theme, The Stage is inspired by the writings of Carl Sagan and Elon Musk, and is Avenged Sevenfold’s first thematic release.
The album’s 15-minute closing track Exist features a guest appearance from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who gives a spoken word performance which he put together specifically for the album.
Listen to the album’s title track, below, and the full album right here.
Watch: Avenged Sevenfold – ‘The Stage’
Avenged Sevenfold ‘The Stage’ Tracklist
‘The Stage’
‘Paradigm’
‘Sunny Disposition’
‘God Damn’
‘Creating God’
‘Angels’
‘Simulation’
‘Higher’
‘Roman Sky’
‘Fermi Paradox’
‘Exist’
