M. Shadows: Legacy Bands Must Get ‘Bored’ Only Playing Old Music and Not Evolving

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M. Shadows: Alfred Nitsch, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT, Wikimedia Commons
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Avenged Sevenfold recently released their brand new album, and compared to their previous releases, this record features a plethora of bold stylistic and technical elements.

For M. Shadows and company, there is a desire to innovate, push boundaries, and build upon the band’s artistry. And per the frontman, this is something he would like to see from “legacy” bands as well.

While talking to MetalSucks recently, Shadows spoke about how refreshing it would be to hear “legacy” bands “pushing the boundaries,” and how A7X wants to “challenge” their listeners.

A unique reference the singer brings up at one point is how the Apple iPhone “never stops evolving,” and through its evolution, provides users with surprising changes. This reference serves for the singer to further express his want for “older” bands to innovate upon their sound.

Here is what the Avenged Sevenfold frontman had to say about his desire for “legacy” bands to push boundaries (as transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

“I think a lot of people get very comfortable, and they know that if they put out a version of what they’ve done before, there’s a fan base that are waiting for that, and you can kind of coast. And I think that what we’ve done is we just said — we’re not going to coast, we’re going to continue to challenge you.

“And one example I give is, like, the iPhone never stops evolving, and there’s things they do to it, where you’re like, ‘I can’t believe they got rid of the button!’ I can’t believe they’re doing this!’ And then you get so used to it, you’re like, ‘Oh, it was for the better.’

“You want to explore this whole musical landscape. And I think legacy bands or bands that are older should be pushing the boundaries. Because, if not, you just kind of get in this sameness. And then, at some point, you got to be bored to play that stuff on stage.”

What do you make of M. Shadows’ points?

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