AVENGED SEVENFOLD's JOHNNY CHRIST: 'We Challenge Ourselves To Sound Different' On Every Album

In a new interview with I-Rock 93.5, AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ spoke about how he and his bandmates evolve musically on every album while still maintaining the core AVENGED SEVENFOLD sound. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's not a conscious thing. Pretty much every record that we've always done, we challenge ourselves to sound different and do something different. Like I said, we've done it every time in our career. Each time you do that, we put so much of us into creating that art that it becomes part of our DNA. And whether we know it or not, it's still there in the next writing process and the next writing process and the next writing process. So much so that at this point — we all talk about it internally — no matter what we say… We can say we wanna sound like the craziest hip-hop thing or a classical thing or whatever, but once you put it through us, it goes through the quote-unquote AVENGED SEVENFOLD filter. And that's just us. That's where you get that character of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, really.

"So, to answer the question, it's not like a direct thought of, like, 'Oh, no. We went too crazy. Let's bring it back and make it more AVENGED-y.' It's, like, no. We're going for it," he continued. "This is what it sounds like when we go for it.

"We have distinct players in this band. You've got a lead vocalist like M. Shadows — a very distinct, awesome voice. You've got the guitar work of Synyster [Gates] and Zacky [Vengeance] — just so distinct. And who's gonna mix up Brooks Wackerman's style with anybody else? It's just we have a bunch of unique players together that I think no matter how far out we go, it's gonna fall into that uniqueness anyway, and it just sounds like AVENGED SEVENFOLD by the end of the day."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's new album "Life Is But A Dream…", is set to arrive on June 2 via Warner.

Written and recorded over the span of four years, "Life Is But a Dream..." was inspired by the writing and philosophy of Albert Camus. Accordingly, the lyrics are rooted in existentialism and absurdism.

Earlier this month, AVENGED SEVENFOLD announced the second leg of its extensive "Life is But A Dream…" North American tour featuring support from FALLING IN REVERSE. Produced by Live Nation, leg two includes stops in Nashville, Denver, Austin, and more before concluding at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on October 15. Fans will have the opportunity to hear the group's first single in seven years, "Nobody", and "Life Is But A Dream…" for the first time live during the 30-show outing.

The first leg with support from ALEXISONFIRE includes thirteen cities across the U.S. and Canada, such as Mansfield, Québec City, Tinley Park, Calgary, and more. The group kicks off their 2023 solo touring run with two unique one-night-only arena shows in New York and Los Angeles this June.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD has kept a low profile since 2018. A blood blister on M. Shadows's vocal cords forced the band to cancel a tour that year with PROPHETS OF RAGE and THREE DAYS GRACE.

To date, AVENGED SEVENFOLD has sold over 10 million albums worldwide and earned two consecutive No. 1 albums on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart (2010's "Nightmare" and 2013's "Hail To The King") to go along with over a billion video views and a billion-plus Spotify streams, as well as multiple No. 1 singles on rock radio. The band is equally known for their spectacular live shows, selling out arenas and headlining the world's most prestigious rock festivals.