{"id":494901,"date":"2026-03-25T18:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/494901\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:04:12","slug":"why-avenged-sevenfold-fell-in-love-with-metallicas-ever-controversial-st-anger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/494901\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Avenged Sevenfold \u201cfell in love\u201d with Metallica\u2019s ever-controversial St Anger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Avenged Sevenfold<\/a> guitarist Zacky Vengeance has explained how he and his bandmates \u201cfell in love\u201d with St Anger<\/a>, arguably the most divisive album in Metallica<\/a>\u2019s back-catalogue.<\/p>\n

In a new interview with radio station WRIF, the 44-year-old, who co-founded his California metal band in 1999, says that while the 2003 effort isn\u2019t his favourite Metallica album, he at least came to respect it for trying new things, especially its incredibly raw style of production.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe were driving across the country playing small shows, and it was right at the time when St Anger came out,\u201d Vengeance remembers (via Blabbermouth<\/a>). \u201cWith St Anger, it was like, \u2018What are they doing?\u2019 It was the craziest-sounding [album]. And then we fell in love with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continues: \u201cIt might not be our favourite Metallica album, but the thought behind it and the fact that it was so different and it had to be listened to, and they were just going for this thrashy raw sound using tones that weren\u2019t perfect, studio, modern-day drum samples, which they\u2019re fully able to accomplish, if they want \u2013 they can do whatever they want \u2013 they chose to go and just make this buck-wild album.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that the album was inspiring because it made Avenged think, \u201cIf Metallica can do that, then we can do that.\u201d The band started as part of the Orange County metalcore scene in the early 2000s before embracing a more traditional hard rock\/heavy metal sound in the vein of Metallica\u2019s self-titled 1991 chart-topper and Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/a>\u2019 Appetite For Destruction. They later went more avant-garde with the surprise-released concept album The Stage (2016) and its genre-breaking follow-up Life Is But A Dream\u2026 (2023).<\/p>\n

St Anger came out on June 5, 2003, and was famously met with mixed reviews, as well as intense fan backlash, with many detractors singling out the stripped-back sound, lengthy song structures and lack of guitar solos. The production was troubled, as it saw the band endure the departure of longtime bassist Jason Newsted and singer\/guitarist James Hetfield\u2019s admittance into rehab. The band have defended the record in the years since, with Hetfield calling it \u201cthe album that did not get the chance\u201d onstage in 2022.<\/p>\n

As much as Avenged love St Anger, though, Vengeance admits that they\u2019re still getting there with Lulu: another extremely controversial entry in Metallica\u2019s canon, made in collaboration with renowned singer\/songwriter Lou Reed<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s still taking me a little bit longer to get into Lulu,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I love Lou Reed, so knowing that those guys are inspired by off-the-wall artists kind of caught me for a loop because they are such the epitome of a metal band. And then it\u2019s like, \u2018Whoa. They stepped that far out of the box.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018Oh, these guys just love music. These guys are just fans of music.\u2019 And that\u2019s probably why they\u2019re so good at what they do, which is kind of cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, Vengeance \u2013 under his birth name of Zachary Baker \u2013 announced his debut solo album, Dark Horse. A far cry from the metal that earned the guitarist his following so far, it\u2019s going to be a dark country release, set to drop on April 3. The singles Dark Horse and Lighthouse are out now.<\/p>\n

Avenged will return to the road in the summer, touring North America with pop-punks Good Charlotte. In September, they\u2019ll play Rock In Rio in Brazil. See all dates and get tickets via their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last December, Avenged released their first piece of new music since Life Is But A Dream\u2026, the standalone single Magic. Whether it\u2019s the first taste of a new album remains to be seen, and it\u2019s unknown whether they\u2019re currently writing more material.<\/p>\n

Metallica: St. Anger (Official Music Video) – YouTube
\n\"Metallica:<\/p>\n

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