Heavy metal outfit Avenged Sevenfold will be taking an entirely new direction on their upcoming studio album, according to their lead vocalist M. Shadows. The performer was speaking to Kerrang! in a 2020 retrospective, where he discussed what the band has been up to this year and their plans for the future.

Shadows stated that the new record will be nothing like The Stage, their most recent studio album which came out in 2016. As opposed to their more typical heavy metal style, The Stage saw the group tackle a more progressive metal sound, with a more complex concept which discussed artificial intelligence and the self-destruction of society.

“Well, we’ve had strings on every record, but the [new] record sounds nothing like The Stage – it’s a completely new direction, and it sounds nothing like anything we’ve done,” the singer explained in the interview. “That’s all I’ll say about it: it’s over the top, and it’s very eclectic and wild!”

It’s been a busy year for Shadows, who joined the heavy metal outfit Atreyu and Aaron Gillespie of Underoath for the new song “Super Hero.” Avenged Sevenfold made an appearance at the Weekend At Fatty’s live stream earlier this year, hosted by NOFX. This stream also held appearances from Fishbone and Bad Cop/Bad Cop.

Earlier this year, Shadows expressed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and urged the larger metal community to do the same. In that same statement he apologized for the group’s past use of problematic imagery, such as the Confederate flag.

Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado