American Heavy metal band, Avenged Sevenfold, was formed in 1999 by Matt Sanders, James Sullivan, Zachary Baker, and Matt Wendt. The band is rooted in Huntington Beach, California.
Avenged Sevenfold recorded and released its first creative work, a three-track Demo in 1999 before witnessing a change in lineup. The band currently consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, guitarist Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and Brooks Wackerman.
After over 2 decades of existence, Avenged Sevenfold has released 7 full-length albums that have received recognition and accolades from different brands including the Grammys. Avenged Sevenfold is popular for the use of dramatic imagery in their album covers. Also, the band is known for its diverse and evolving rock sounds that have attracted millions of listeners to the music band.
Many listeners have raised questions about Avenged Sevenfold being a Christian band. The issue has been a cause for debate in many Christian forums and crowdsourcing sites, owing to the Christian imagery the band embeds in some of their songs and the band’s name comes from a portion of the Bible. An analysis of songs by the band, comments from band members, and collective beliefs of the band will answer the question: is Avenged Sevenfold a Christian band?
Is Avenged Sevenfold a Religious band?
Being religious implies putting your faith in or supporting a particular religious group. A religious band is usually influenced by the beliefs of a particular religious group.
Avenged Sevenfold to an extent has been open about their religious stance. The band’s name is derived from a verse in the Bible and band members have confirmed that the name has a biblical meaning. Several band members have confirmed having religious backgrounds but did not fail to mention that the band is not religious.
Songs by Avenged Sevenfold are embedded with elements of religion and spirituality. Even though the band makes use of religious imagery in their songs, they disclosed that they are not promoting any religion but rather using those terms or themes to add meaning to their songs.
In a 2005 interview with the band’s frontman, M. Shadows, and Blabbermouth, he revealed that the band does not promote religion or any other controversial topic because they do not try to impose such things on people. In his words:
“Anyone that read the lyrics and knew anything about us would know we’re not promoting either. That’s one thing about this band that I love is that we never really shove any kind of, like, political or religious beliefs on people. We just, the music’s there to entertain and maybe thought-provoking on both sides, but we don’t try to, like, really shove anything down anyone’s throat. There are too many bands that do that nowadays, I think.”
Like several other heavy metal bands, Avenged Sevenfold has employed religious imagery in their songs which has given such songs a religious undertone. Let’s analyze some of those songs by Avenged Sevenfold.
Dear God
“Dear God the only thing I ask of you is
To hold her when I’m not around
When I’m much too far away
We all need that person who can be true to you
But I left her when I found her
And now I wish I’d stayed
‘Cause I’m lonely and I’m tired
I’m missing you again oh no
Once again”
In “A Little Piece of Heaven” by Avenged Sevenfold, the band makes use of religious terms to express heartbreak and anger. Here are the lyrics below:
“Before the story begins, is it such a sin
For me to take what’s mine, until the end of time?
We were more than friends before the story ends
And I will take what’s mine, create what God would never design
Our love had been so strong for far too long
I was weak with fear that something would go wrong
Before the possibilities came true
I took all possibilities from you”
In the lyrics above from “Dear God” by Avenged Sevenfold, the songwriter makes a plea to God to protect a friend he cherishes so much.
The lyrics below from “The Beast and the Harlot” refer to the scriptures. The song takes the themes and lyrical contents from the book of revelation in the Bible. Below are the lyrics:
“This shining city built of gold
A far cry from innocence
There’s more than meets the eye around here
Look to the waters of the deep
A city of evil
There sat a seven-headed beast
Ten horns raised from his head
A symbolic woman sits on his throne
But hatred strips her and leaves her naked
The beast and the harlot
I don’t believe in fairy tales and no one wants to go to hell
We’ve made the wrong decision and it’s easy to see
Now if you wanna serve above or be a king below with us
You’re welcome to the city where your future is set forever”
What kind of Music Band is Avenged Sevenfold?
Avenged Sevenfold is a Californian heavy metal band. Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that originated in the US and UK in the early 1970s. Heavy metal music draws influences from blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock genres.
The band combines elements and influences of alternative metal, heavy metal, metalcore, hard rock, and progressive metal. Their music is characterized by extended guitar solos, distorted guitars, emphatic rhythms, loud and vigorous vocals, dense bass and drum sound, misplaced guitar riffs, a blend of aggressive and melodic vocals, occasional blast beats, a combination of thrash vocals and clean singing.
Avenged Sevenfold combines these elements to produce thought-provoking and anthemic songs that resonate with fans from diverse backgrounds. These songs are laced around themes like; faith, hope, religion, anxiety, love and relationships, breakups, fear, spirituality, leadership, and other societal and political issues.
Avenged Sevenfold currently has 7 studio albums that have been nominated and have won several music awards. Their songs have been nominated in the Grammys and Kerrang music awards and they have won others like; the MTV Music Award in 2006 as the Best New Artist, Kerrang Awards as Album of the Year, Loudwire Music Awards in 2011 as Live Act of the Year amongst others.
Is Avenged Sevenfold a Christian Band?
To determine if avenged Sevenfold is a Christian band or not, we’ll first examine what it means to be a Christian band. Christianity is a religion based on the teaching and practices of Jesus Christ who is regarded as the founder of the religion.
A Christian band believes in the principles and teachings of Christianity. Songs by such band portray Christian beliefs, make references to the Bible, and is used to spread Christian messages. One can easily notice all these elements embedded in songs by a Christian band.
To be labeled a Christian band, such a band must have publicly identified as one and have members who have openly declared their faith in the religion.
For Avenged Sevenfold, Christian symbolism has always been a big part of their music. Though the band has refuted all claims of being a Christian band, their use of Christian elements in their music is very evident but this does not make them a Christian band.
The band’s name Avenged Sevenfold was derived from the book of Genesis chapter 4:24 about the tale of Cain and Abel. The King James Version of the Holy Bible reads:
“Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.” This alone says a lot about the spirituality of the band. Many members of Avenged Sevenfold are Christians. Five members of the band had revealed that they have a Catholic background and were once in a Catholic school, where they were later expelled from school.
The band has produced many songs and albums with Christian messages and terms. The band even released Christmas songs to celebrate Christmas with their fans, a celebration by people who believe in Christianity. Some other songs with Christian imagery by the band are; Dear God, Chapter Four, The Wicked End, and A little Piece of Heaven, amongst others.
The song “Chapter Four” by Avenged Sevenfold recounts the story of Cain and Abel contained in the book of Genesis, chapter four. Below are the song lyrics
“Give me your hand (conceived and born was one of light)
Blood is spilled and man will follow
Infernal man (rain and dark, the other born black night)
Punishment too great to bear
Raise your head and taste the courage (the one of the light)
Fall from grace, unholy night
I’ve come here to kill you
Won’t leave until you’ve died
Murder born of vengeance
I closed my brother’s eyes tonight.”
Even with all the links to Christianity, the band has maintained that they are not a Christian band. In an interview with Jaylon Boyer of Movie Cultist, M. Shadows stated:
“I don’t believe in those things. I try not to get into that because a lot of our fans are Christians and a lot aren’t. I have my own beliefs, but I don’t believe in any kind of religion that we have nowadays. But we’re not a Christian band.”
Avenged Sevenfold Christian Songs
Christian songs are intended to share personal or communal messages about Christianity. The songs must promote Christianity and should be an expression of faith and belief in God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other structures of Christianity.
Though some songs by Avenged Sevenfold contain Christian imagery, they can not be categorized as Christian songs because they do not meet the criteria to be categorized as such. Their songs are not exclusively “Christian.”
Is Avenged Sevenfold a Satanic Band?
No! Avenged Sevenfold is not a Satanic band. A Satanic band promotes the Devil, Satanic beliefs, and practices. Their music features dark and creepy lyrics, videos, or concepts.
Members of Avenged Sevenfold have not shown any form of association with Satanism, their songs do not promote demon worship or other Satanic practices, so we do not consider the band a Satanic band.
Wrapping Up
Avenged Sevenfold has always been linked to Christianity, owing to the band’s choice of name and consistent use of Christian symbolism. They have revealed that they use these Christian messages just to make songs that can appeal to any type of audience and not necessarily promote Christianity. Band members have clearly stated that they are not a Christian band, and we see no reasons to disagree with them.
Think we were wrong? Write your reasoning in the comments and prove us wrong!