Many might see Avenged Sevenfold as another heavy metal/hard rock act from the cock rock explosion at the turn of the century, but the outfit has really come into its own as an artistic entity. The latest stage in the band’s evolution came from last year’s The Stage, in which the band even started adopting some prog metal elements with the 15 minute epic “Exist.”
Now, the band is taking another innovative leap by transforming The Stage into an evolving body of work, by adding various new tracks over the next couple months. Today, Avenged Sevenfold is releasing the first of many new additions with an electrifying cover of a Mexican folk song.
The new track, “Malagueña Salerosa,” is accompanied by a companion video that shows some behind-the-scenes magic as well as some footage from the recording studio. The video features the band, producer Joe Barresi (of Queens of the Stone Age, Tool) and horn players Sarah Bauza and Rachel Tate Herrmann.
“Malagueña Salerosa” is surely a welcome addition to the already phenomenal The Stage. “We’ve said all along that we want The Stage to be a different and exciting listening experience,” says vocalist M. Shadows. “For us, the idea of turning an album into a living piece of art and adding new installations is really intriguing. It expands the journey.”
“Malagueña Salerosa” is actually Avenged Sevenfold’s first-ever Spanish release. “I’ve always loved that song,” said guitarist Synyster Gates. “There have been a few interesting interpretations over the years, including Chingon’s version from the Kill Bill Volume 2 soundtrack. That’s a great example of how a timeless song can be made relevant with a creative modern take. The structure, arrangement and incredible vocal work of their rendition was inspiring.”
The band had originally planned to record the track in both Spanish and English, but they decided to stick with the traditional version for its cultural resonance.
“We wanted to do the song justice,” says M. Shadows, “and that meant singing in its original language. It was difficult, but I worked on it for weeks and had a Spanish-speaking friend come over daily to go over pronunciation. I also brought him to the studio to produce the vocals. It was important to me to get it right.”
Check out the video below.
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