Avenged Sevenfold's "City Of Evil" Unleashed June 7

Band Makes a Rare In-Store Appearance in Hollywood as Fans Show Off A7X Ink

Band Is Currently Performing on Vans Warped Tour

Southern California's Avenged Sevenfold released their third album, and first for Warner Bros. Records, "City Of Evil" on June 7 with much fanfare. The disc moved 33,050 units at retail in its first week. It's a terrific showing for the band whose fan base has largely been developed through a combination of near-constant touring, word of mouth and the previous release of two critically acclaimed independent albums, "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" and "Waking The Fallen." Most importantly, the overwhelming positive fan and media reaction to "City Of Evil," shows that the album is a gleaming example of an artist that has found their musical roots, and invested in them heavily. It's a record that has a universal appeal: a hard-rocking metal sound anchored with a punk rock sensibility, all the while pushing the musical boundaries beyond the wildest of expectations of the listener.

It was a combination of both rock music fans and punk rock Warped Tour-esque devotees that made it out to Tower Records in West Hollywood on June 7 for an exclusive Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) record signing for fans. Nearly 500 of them waited for hours prior to the signing in order to meet the band, buy the new album and show off various Avenged tattoos adorning many a body part at hand and on display. Both male and female supporters were flying the Avenged "colors" in permanent ink, and it's that kind of fan dedication that sets this band apart (see attached images) from others. Tattooed fan Ashley Zimmerman, age 18 of Huntington Beach, California, had this to say about Avenged's new album while waiting to meet her musical heroes: "This new musical sound is a better move for the band, and I like that they are experimenting with it." Zimmerman added, while displaying her fine A7X tattoo work for the camera, "M. Shadows is an amazing vocalist and I cannot wait to see these songs performed live!"

Both fans and critics agree that "City Of Evil" manages to embrace both a punk and rock genre while reaching out into the hardest and most musical places a listener can go. Ben Wener of the band's hometown daily newspaper, the Orange County Register, said this about "City Of Evil": "Making a huge sonic leap for its jump to the big leagues is Huntington Beach's Avenged Sevenfold, which proves more than capable of a convincingly heavier, at times near-operatic sound on its impressive major-label debut...A7X hurtles past contemporaries to re-emerge a seasoned powerhouse...issuing a superior, tuneful metal album that ranks among the genre's best this decade!"

With these accolades, it's no secret where the band is headed musically: straight to the top of a long list of artists who dared to expand their musical horizons outside of the movement that originally embraced them. It's a daring move, yet the core audience that helped define them over the past six years of their existence is embracing it in full force.

"I've loved Avenged since day one," says 20-year-old Scott Rice, of Southern California, at the signing. "I think the new album shows a lot of growth musically, especially the guitar work...it's amazing!" Scott adds, "I really liked the band's old albums, but the new one shows me they really have a future. I can't wait to see them on the Warped Tour this year."

Scott won't have to wait long as Avenged Sevenfold is currently focusing on what they do best, performing live. And, with the release of "City Of Evil" now official, the band is doing just that -- as headliners on the Vans Warped Tour which kicked off this Saturday in Columbus, OH. Vans Warped Tour 2005 is the band's fourth trek on the punk rock traveling circus (see dates below).

Sat   18-Jun   Columbus, OH         Germain Amphitheatre
Sun   19-Jun   Milwaukee, WI        Marcus Amphitheatre
Tue   21-Jun   St. Louis, MO        UMB Bank Pavilion
Wed   22-Jun   Kansas City, MO      Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Fri   24-Jun   Dallas, TX           Smirnoff Music Centre
Sat   25-Jun   Houston, TX          Reliant Arena
Sun   26-Jun   Selma, TX            Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Tue   28-Jun   Las Cruces, NM       N.M.S.U. Practice Field
Wed   29-Jun   Peoria, AZ           Peoria Sports Complex
Thu   30-Jun   San Diego, CA        Coors Amphitheatre
Fri    1-Jul   Long Beach, CA       Cal State Long Beach
Sat    2-Jul   San Francisco, CA    Pier 30/32
Sun    3-Jul   Ventura, CA          Seaside Park
Mon    4-Jul   Fresno, CA           Save Mart Center
Wed    6-Jul   Pomona, CA           Pomona Fairplex
Thu    7-Jul   Sacramento, CA       Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Fri    8-Jul   Boise, ID            Idaho Center Amphitheatre
Sat    9-Jul   George, WA           Gorge Amphitheatre
Sun   10-Jul   Deer Island, OR      Columbia Meadows
Tue   12-Jul   Vancouver, BC        Thunderbird Stadium
Thu   14-Jul   Calgary, AB          Race City Speedway
Fri   15-Jul   Bozeman, MT          Valley Ice Garden
Sat   16-Jul   Salt Lake City, UT   Utah State Fair
Sun   17-Jul   Denver, CO           Invesco Field at Mile High
Wed   20-Jul   Noblesville, IN      Verizon Wireless Music Center
Thu   21-Jul   Cleveland, OH        Tower City Amphitheatre
Fri   22-Jul   Cincinnati, OH       Riverbend Music Center Lot
Sat   23-Jul   Chicago, IL          Tweeter Center
Sun   24-Jul   Minneapolis, MN      Metrodome
Tue   26-Jul   Buffalo, NY          Darien Lakes PAC
Thu   28-Jul   Quebec, QC           Colisee Pepsi Parking Lot
Sat   30-Jul   Toronto, ON          Molson Park
Sun   31-Jul   Pontiac, MI          Pontiac Silverdome
Mon    1-Aug   Pittsburgh, PA       Post Gazette Pavilion
Wed    3-Aug   Atlanta, GA          HiFi Buys Amphitheatre
Thu    4-Aug   Jacksonville, FL     Jacksonville Fairgrounds
Fri    5-Aug   St. Petersburg, FL   Vinoy Park
Sat    6-Aug   Pompano Beach, FL    Pompano Beach Amphitheatre
Sun    7-Aug   Orlando, FL          Tinker Field
Mon    8-Aug   Charlotte, NC        Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Tue    9-Aug   Virginia Beach, VA   Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Wed   10-Aug   Bristow, VA          Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
Thu   11-Aug   Scranton, PA         Montage Mountain Amphitheatre
Fri   12-Aug   Camden, NJ           Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
Sat   13-Aug   New York, NY         Randall's Island
Sun   14-Aug   Englishtown, NJ      Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Mon   15-Aug   Northampton, MA      Three County Fairgrounds

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