Avenged Sevenfold have been going through their discography and breaking down some of their most iconic songs for their recurring 'Breakdown' YouTube series. In a newly posted clip, guitarist Synyster Gates and drummer Brooks Wackerman examine the techniques and inspiration Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan — who tragically died on December 28th, 2009 — brought to 2005's City of Evil classic "Beast and the Harlot."
"I always loved the placement of the fills, it's brilliant how it all connects," Wackerman says of the song's intro. Gates mentions Rev coming in with a bunch of different fill ideas to help illustrate the band's desire for a big "metal-style orchestration." As the song continues, Gates notes how big of a hip-hop and pop fan The Rev was, and that he was listening to a lot of Lil Wayne and the Backstreet Boys while recording the song. During the song's more punkish beat, Gates notes that The Rev was inspired by Wackerman's drumming and approach with his own punk.
When the song hits Gates' solo, he brings up how conscientious The Rev was of not stepping over the guitar work in his parts. As the song hits its drum solo, both members are impressed by how bizarre and unexpected the solo is and how well-paced it all was.
"Even though it has the machine-gun feel, he's still letting it breathe with a sparseness," says Wackerman. "I love how it builds, it just makes sense." They wrap it up, Wackerman noting just how impressive it was that The Rev was able to modify elements of his drumming seemingly on the fly and complicate his parts with a twist. Even if you don't know shit about drumming, it's a revealing look into the creative chemistry that The Rev brought to the band.
