AVENGED SEVENFOLD's ZACKY VENGEANCE: 'I Still Have Tons Of Faith In Music'

AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance was interviewed on a recent edition of "The Kramer Show", which airs on the 104.7 WIOT radio station in in Toledo, Ohio. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.

Asked what advice he had for young, up-and-coming bands in an age when streaming music seems to be helping popular artists more than it is independent musicians, Zacky said: "Here's what I think is most important: if you love playing music, do it because you love it. And if you have that fire to go out and get in a van with a bunch of your friends and drive through the night and play shows in front of nobody because you truly love it, then keep doing it."

He continued: "To be honest, we started out as a punk rock, hardcore, screaming metal band with no intentions of ever getting to where we [are] now. We didn't have a master plan or anything; we just truly loved what we did and we were persistent. And all those times when you're in the van and you show up to a venue and the show's canceled or there's five people [in the crowd], we'd play our heart out for those five people, and we were persistent-persistent. And looking back, it's been seventeen years, and so much has happened."

Zacky added: "I still have tons of faith in music. I never leave it up to record labels. I never leave it up to what the current state of CD sales [is]. I say if you love it, stick with it, 'cause you never know what could happen. And as far as technology goes, it's only a year or two from the tides dramatically turning, so you never know which direction it's gonna go.

"It's definitely a different beast than back in the day when you could be on MTV and instantly you're selling out arenas and stuff. So bands have gotta work a lot harder now. But, you know, I have faith."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has been recording its seventh studio album, but it's not clear when the disc will be released since the band announced earlier this year that it was attempting to sever its contract with Warner Bros. Records.

The label sued the group in January for breach of contract, claiming the band owed it another studio effort and a live set on its existing deal.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD said at the time that "none of the senior management or A&R executives who were at the company and responsible for signing us are still there."

The band's previous two releases, 2013's "Hail To The King" and 2010's "Nightmare", both topped the Billboard album chart.