AVENGED SEVENFOLD's ZACKY VENGEANCE On His Solo Project: I Was 'Longing To Create Something Using My Own Voice'

In a new interview with Rock Feed, Zacky Vengeance, founding member and guitarist of the multi-platinum rock band AVENGED SEVENFOLD, spoke about his just-released debut solo single, "Dark Horse", which he issued under his real name, Zachary Baker. A full-length album will follow in early 2026. "Dark Horse" blends the 44-year-old musician's poignant storytelling with Americana influences, signaling a striking evolution from his hard rock background into a songwriter stepping fully into his own.

Regarding his how his solo project came about, Zacky told Rock Feed (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Honestly, it just came from a place inside of me that I didn't fully know existed. It was just this longing to create something using my own voice, telling my own story, adhering to the rules that I wanted to follow, which are far different than you'd get from a lot of producers or a lot of record labels, and just taking everything that I've ever learned — from the entirety of the first time I ever picked up a guitar to the first time we ever filled up our van with gas and drove on the back roads using a shitty old Rand McNally map to get to the next city, and driving across the country, stopping every single place, the fights we would get into, the stories that we would have, drunken nights, just everything. I wanted to capture all of that, stories of falling in love and stories of loss and all the heartache — everything that's real about me, but I wanted to sing it in my own voice, which is something that I never really loved. I never really liked my own voice, so I was, like, 'I don't have one of these great voices,' like a great rock singer or a great country artist that have all these pitch-perfect vocals. And then I was, like, 'But I gotta get it outta me.' And I didn't know why or how it even came about, but it was literally like a therapy session."

Elaborating on the musical direction of his solo material, Zacky said: "This is very real. It's not a humor album. It's not contrived in any way. I'm not gonna throw on a cowboy hat and boots and try and make my way to Nashville. I'm going to remember that I love going to Nashville. I named my son Tennessee. I've spent vacations in Gatlinburg and I've been to West Virginia and North Carolina and Texas and Georgia, and I love being in Oregon and fishing. And I've done everything in between. I've lived a lot of life, and now I get to tell my story. I get sing it in my own voice. It's gonna piss a whole lot of people off. Everything about this is great. Like, what am I gonna do with it? And then I would show some people, and they would be, like, 'Huh.'"

Asked what the initial reaction was from the people who were first presented with his solo music, Zacky said: "In the very first few songs, the reaction was completely, like, 'Huh. Yeah. Okay, okay. Well, when are you guys gonna write the next 'Hail To The King'?' And I was, like, 'Never. That's not how we operate.' And it kind of made me get in my own head a little bit. I started developing a little bit of timidness about, 'No one's gonna take this seriously.' I kind of got depressed about it. And then I just found myself, throughout the early days of bringing this to life and thinking about how it was really helping me write these songs and helping me feel better in these therapy sessions and getting stuff off my chest, I kind of got depressed again. I started drinking a whole lot, and I was, like, 'I'm just not gonna do anything. I'll wait till AVENGED goes back on tour.' And it's kind of like waiting to die."

He continued: "AVENGED, we kind of had this kumbaya moment where we're like, let's just be fearless and let's make [the 2023 album] 'Life Is But A Dream…' and do whatever the we want and make the art alongside Wes Lang, who's one of the greatest artists that we love, and let's make these songs that people are not know what to expect… And then next thing you know, we're playing in front of 40,000 people in India and selling out stadiums in Indonesia and headlining and selling out Rock In Rio off an album that the radio stations wouldn't even play. And it's just, like, we have fans that respect what we do. And it gave me this excitement, like, 'Hey, stop drinking yourself to death. Find purpose in every day. Finish these songs. When you get sad, when you're depressed, put the bottle down, march up in the studio, start saying your truth. Tell your story. Be honest and be open. You're not perfect.'"

Zacky added: "I'm so far from perfect as a person, but I'm very much myself. I'm uniquely me. My music sounds like me. It's coming from my voice. It's my story. I was, like, 'What do I like about it?' I love that it's imperfect. I haven't changed the guitar strings on this old Telecaster in three months. They're rusty. My fingers are bleeding. It's perfect. I love how it sounds. This thing's a little bit out of tune. I can't really hit that note. My voice is cracking. The mic's a little too hot. There's a buzz on it. It's perfect. I like this. I love this."

Vengeance went on to say that he intentionally wanted to keep the creative process for his solo debut as free of outside influences as possible.  "For this first attempt at it, it had to be me finding myself, creating and then breaking any rules that I thought existed," he explained. "And I didn't wanna get into a studio with a producer. I didn't want the input. I didn't want people to tell me what is possible and what's not possible. I knew it would be dead in the water because the second that I opened up and showed it certain people — and this isn't my band, by the way; this is management or friends or whatever — they instantly shut it down. They didn't like it. They didn't get it. They didn't understand it. I was, like, 'I can't show this to anybody until I do it.'"

Asked if those people were viewing his music "from a predominantly business lens", Zacky said: "Of course. Of course. And it's been the bane of our existence for so long. People look at bands as, 'Oh, you did 'Hail To The King'. It has the most amount of streams. We need another 'Hail To The King'.' It's, like, that's not how it works. We didn't set out to write 'A Little Piece Of Heaven' to try and mimic some other hit song. We didn't write 'Hail To The King' with the intention of trying to write some hit. We didn't write 'Bat Country'. Our songs are crazy. They're ambitious. 'The Stage'… It's not how it works."

On the topic of when fans might get to hear his debut solo album, Zacky said:  "I really wanna get it out early-ish next year, maybe February, maybe March. I'm so excited to share it, and I don't have this hard-pressed timeline. I know it's important. I love the artwork. I love the idea of putting out a vinyl record. All that's getting built now. Everything's completely finished. And it's just giving it enough time for people to hear 'Dark Horse' and make their determination on if it's sincere enough for them. If they like it, if they hate it, if they find it to be gimmicky — that's just not gonna happen. That's one thing that's not gonna happen. They're gonna hear in there and say, 'Okay, this is real. There's sincerity behind this. This is a side of Zack that we didn't fully know. But it makes sense.'"

Growing up in Olympia, Washington, Zacky was influenced by punk rock and metal bands. He picked up the guitar at a young age, inspired by bands like METALLICA and MISFITS. His first guitar was a hand-me-down from his father, which he used to hone his skills and develop his signature style.

As a founding member of AVENGED SEVENFOLD, Zacky has played a crucial role in the band's dynamic. His rhythm guitar work complements lead guitarist Synyster Gates, creating a powerful and cohesive sound. Together, they have crafted some of the most memorable riffs and solos in modern metal.

Outside of music, Zacky is known for his love of tattoos and his involvement in the Vengeance University clothing line. He is also an advocate for animal rights and often uses his platform to support various charitable causes.

As previously reported, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and GOOD CHARLOTTE will join together next summer for a North American tour. Promoted by Live Nation, the 16-city trek will kick off July 25 in Ridgedale, Missouri, with additional stops in Shakopee, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, New York, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, and more before wrapping August 27 at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre in Phoenix, Arizona.

For AVENGED SEVENFOLD, this run follows the release of their new song, "Magic", streaming everywhere as of December 6, 2025. AVENGED SEVENFOLD debuted the song in the recent season of "Call Of Duty" Black Ops 7, and released the track fully independently, continuing the ambition of the band's current work. The band once again partnered with the incredible world renowned fine artist Wes Lang for the single artwork. "Magic" is the first new release since the critically acclaimed 2023 album, "Life Is But A Dream…" — a boundary-pushing project that further cemented the band's reputation for reinvention, ambition, and incredible live performances.