The band formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California with original members M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev and Matt Wendt. a reference to the band name comes from the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible, even though they are not a religious band. Upon its formation, each member of the band also took on a pseudonym which is also the name of their calls from high school at Upper. Before the release of their debut album, the band recorded two demos in 1999-2000. Their first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were eighteen years old and still attending high school. This album was originally released on their first label, Good Life Recordings in 2001. After lead guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band, at the end of 1999 in when he was 18 years old. The song "To End the Rapture" was re-recorded featuring a full band. The album was later re-released on Hopeless Records in 2002. and
The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall and playing on the Take Action Tour. After their fourth bassist, Johnny Christ joined permanently, they released Waking the Fallen on Hopeless Records in August 2003. The band received recognition by Billboard and The Boston Globe, and also played in the "Vans Warped Tour". In 2004, Avenged Sevenfold toured again on the "Vans Warped Tour" and recorded a video for the song "Unholy Confessions" which entered the charts at MTV2's Headbanger's Ball. Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and signed a contract proposed by Warner Bros..
In an interview with M. Shadows of death The Rev, Shadows confirmed a July release for Avenged Sevenfold's fifth album "I have a lot to talk about but can not find the words so I will wait until time can allow me to find a way to express myself. As for the rest of us , it has become clear what we need to do we just finished recording with Jimmy .. I can not promise what the future holds because right now it is too painful to think about, but we know that we need to record and put out this record in honor of Jimmy. He would call me every night to talk about songs and tell me is this going to change the world. "I agree with him, unfortunately I did not know it was going to use this term Please be patient with us because we can not imagine how difficult it would be to qualify, we just knew we had to do it for his legacy .. After that, who knows? "
In a recent interview conducted by the Huntington Beach Independent newspaper, Jimmy Sullivan's parents, Babara and Joseph revealed the following information about Avenged Sevenfold's new album: "Most important to him, Jimmy had just finished writing songs for Avenged Sevenfold's new album - he even called it a masterpiece. When he writes songs, he would record, play piano and drums - then, and then when he played it all for me, he would sing the orchestra or guitar that will be added later. I am grateful that I have to tell him how much I liked and admired his music . Later, Barbara commented that, "Jimmy in the song writing is really good I'm very proud of him,. and I know that although it would be very difficult for them, the band will do a great job getting them recorded soon. Needless to say, this record 'all Jimmy' almost impossible for me to listen to, but what a blessing to have them. "They plan to dedicate their new album to The Rev..
On February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along denganmantan Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the record, in place of the Rev. "I want our fans to know that with Jimmy in our hearts, our journey to record officially begins. Jimmy helped leave this world an amazing gift and now it's our job to make sure to deliver that gift to our fans. Drummer Jimmy favorites of all time Mike Portnoy to record on behalf of him. Mike said it would be an honor and without questions that would have been desirable Jim. Highly comfortable to us that someone like Mike, who is undoubtedly revered as one of the best drummers in the world, held such respect and concern for the ability of the Rev's. Though would not be the same without our brother by our side, the essence Her stay in our hearts and through the music he helped create him a legend before any of the success or any of that nonsense and. we are very pleased to lay this to our fans, and especially for Jimmy. "
The band is preparing for a tour after the new album. M. Shadows said, "We are not sure what will happen after the touring cycle. Properly Our goal now is to just get the kids to hear the recording, because we want them to remember The Rev" Avenged Sevenfold's latest album featuring Sullivan's writing, Nightmare, will be released July 27th on Warner Bros. (Ex-Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy played the drum parts Sullivan had written on the album and will be touring with the band.) Nightmare beat sales projections easily, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 163,000 units in the week first
On December 16, 2010, Portnoy announced via Facebook that he will no longer be working with Avenged Sevenfold. The band posted a statement on their website on December 17, 2010 stating that Mike Portnoy will not be their replacement for The Rev, but one unnamed been selected for testing during the year 2011 and has the potential to become a permanent member
