Continued from page 26
sciousness can essentially live forever, in a
state of constant bliss. But who really
wants to live forever, right?
“I mean, look, I’m talking on this
(smartphone) device that was unthinkable
30 or 40 years ago,” says Shadows. “And
now the world has become so insanely
tech-driven, who knows where this thing
could go? It’s definitely scary, and I don’t
think people realize just how scary. So one
of the reasons we wrote this album, hon-
estly, was for people to down these rabbit
holes, educate themselves on these things,
and maybe figure some things out. Then
they can make some informed decisions on
what we’re doing to this planet, and what
we’re ultimately going to be doing to each
other.” It’s a tall order, he knows. “But we
really wanted to spark a dialogue on get-
ting some answers to these big questions.”
Even though it had proudly signed to
classy Capitol, Avenged Sevenfold didn’t
want to announce The Stage through any
traditional channels. Instead, it hired a
guerilla-marketing company to beam the
identifiable Deathbat icon onto buildings
around the world. The ploy worked.
“People started sharing it on Instagram,
going, ‘What’s going on? There must be a
tour!’” Shadows laughs. “And then the
next thing you know, we’re playing on top
of the Capitol Records building, and we
drop a new album. It was just a fun way to
bring a little bit of attention to ourselves.”
As was another Avenged Sevenfold
gambit on October 19, when the members
reminded the Grammy powers that be of
their existence by playing an intimate
acoustic concert at its Grammy Museum,
complete with strings. A portion of pro-
ceeds from the evening – now available on
a digital album as Live at the Grammy
Museum – benefits various education ini-
tiatives of the Academy, to inspire youth
with music. Shameless? Shadows guffaws.
“That’s right!” he confirms. “We finally
said, ‘Let’s play the game. Let’s do some-
thing different, and do it for a good cause
as well as the Grammys. And maybe
they’ll actually think of us!’ And they did,
which was great. And when we got the
nod we said, ‘Hey – let’s just put this
recording out real quick. We record every-
thing we do anyway, and we think the fans
will love it.’ So it was a present to our fans
because we were so excited about getting a
Grammy nomination.”
And make no mistake, the band mem-
bers are counting down the days to that
Grammy ceremony. “It’s in New York, and
it sounds like it’s going to be a great time,
so we’re excited to go, and our wives are
excited to go,” Shadows enthuses. Is it
tuxedo-renting time? “It’s time for…for
something. I really want to look cool. But I’ll
have my wife get on that and pick some-
thing cool out because I am not the most
stylish person in the world. And my wife
herself will tell you that!”
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