Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows thinks their late drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan would "be stoked" on the band's forthcoming album, Life Is but a Dream...
The Rev was a co-founding member of the band who not only drummed, but also sang, played piano and co-wrote many of their songs before his tragic death in 2009. While demos of his voice were included on 2010's Nightmare, The Rev hasn't actually been a part of any A7X records since their 2007 self-titled album.
But in a new interview with Metal Hammer, Shadows thinks that his fallen bandmate would really appreciate where the band went on their eclectic new album, which is being billed as their most adventurous yet.
"He'd be stoked," Shadows said, imagining the Rev's impression of Life Is but a Dream... "Me and Brian [Haner, a.k.a. guitarist Synyster Gates] know that guy better than anyone.. "He was always the biggest proponent of instigation and trying new things."
As it turns out, the Rev did actually have a couple tiny contributions to this new album. As the band told Metal Hammer, the song "Mattel" features a bridge the Rev wrote way back in the day but never found the proper song for, and the song "Beautiful Morning" includes a lyric that Gates and the Rev co-wrote in their Mr. Bungle-esque, pre-Avenged Sevenfold band, Pinkly Smooth.
"That's something him and Brian came up with a long time ago: 'It's a beautiful morning, it's a beautiful day, everybody is smiling, in a beautiful way,'" Shadows said of the "Beautiful Morning" lyrics. "That's when it [the song] gets creepy."
Life Is but a Dream... is out June 2nd and you can pick it up on Revolver-exclusive brown vinyl over at our shop.
