AVENGED SEVENFOLD Could Begin Work On New Album In The Fall

AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows has told ABC Radio that the band could start working on the follow-up to 2016's "The Stage" album this fall. "Maybe October, November we'll start thinking about getting together and just throwing ideas around," the singer said. "We usually don't even write anything the first few weeks, we just kinda talk and show each other things: 'Here's some chords, here's some ideas, what do we want this thing to sound like?' So that's still in the early stages. But it's exciting."

Shadows recently revealed that AVENGED SEVENFOLD's legal battle with its former label, Warner Bros. Records, is not yet resolved, saying that the group wants to settle the matter before it begins work on a new LP. "We have a couple things we're looking at, but right now we're still dealing with the label situation, we're dealing with the lawsuit still and just — a couple of things that we just got to kind of clean up before we move on to the next record," he told Billboard.

Warner Bros. sued AVENGED SEVENFOLD in late 2015 after the band left the label by citing the California Labor Code's "seven-year rule."

The rule allows for parties to exit contracts after seven years if certain unfavorable conditions exist. But a provision in the rule allows labels to collect money that would have been made on undelivered albums.

Warner Bros. is seeking damages based on the fact that AVENGED SEVENFOLD had one album left on its contract, while the band has argued that extensive turnover in the label's staff led to an unsatisfactory working relationship.

While that case was originally expected to go to trial in December of last year, it appears to have since been delayed to an as-yet unspecified date.

The band has since moved on to Capitol, which issued "The Stage" as a surprise release in October 2016.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD will tour North America this summer with PROPHETS OF RAGE and THREE DAYS GRACE.