JOHNNY CHRIST: 'It Would Be A Huge Honor' For AVENGED SEVENFOLD To Get Inducted Into ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

In a new interview with The Jesea Lee Show, AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ was asked if he thinks his band will ever get inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know, first off. That is up to the powers that be, the fans, I guess, and whoever votes on that shit. I don't actually even know who votes on that. Do I care? Um, no, not really, because it's not on the radar in that sense. Would I be honored and humbled if we were? Would we be happy about that? Uh, sure. Yeah, that would be a huge honor. Absolutely. When you think of all the other artists that have been inducted over the years, to put AVENGED SEVENFOLD's name in a place next to theirs would be a huge honor. Absolutely. But it wouldn't make or break my life, I'll put it that way. But it'd certainly be a notch on the old belt if we were ever put in there. Absolutely. It'd be a huge honor."

Christ's bandmate, singer M. Shadows, discussed the possibility of AVENGED SEVENFOLD being inducted into the Rock Hall during a 2017 interview with the 102.7 WEBN radio station. He said at the time: "The thing with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is it's a lot of bands that are… they have a lot of success but also a lot of critical acclaim, and I don't think AVENGED SEVENFOLD has really had much of its due in terms of that [from] the people that vote for it or bring these bands up. But I think with [then-latest AVENGED SEVENFOLD album] 'The Stage', we've seen that kind of change a little bit. There's actually major publications that are respecting us now, where they didn't really respect us or the genre for a long time. So who knows, at some point? And it would be awesome, because fans love that kind of thing."

There haven't been that many metal or hard rock acts inducted into the Rock Hall: BLACK SABBATH, METALLICA, AC/DC, DEEP PURPLE, GUNS N' ROSES, VAN HALEN, LED ZEPPELIN, KISS and JUDAS PRIEST, to name a few.

Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible 25 years after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation.

Despite being eligible for induction since 1999 — 25 years after the release of its first disc — KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014.

DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.

JUDAS PRIEST received the Musical Excellence Award at the 2022 Rock Hall event, which honored Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.