JAMES HETFIELD It's hard to believe that, in 26 years of Metallicadom, there's a continent we still haven't played. For me, what-ifs can't exist. This story was originally published in August 2005. HETFIELD Well, St. Anger obviously took years for other reasons, you know? HETFIELD It's changed a lot. I just read in his lyrics his obsessiveness about it. Ever. In an interview, Shadows says that he chose his stage name because he thought of himself as "the darker character in the group". Keeping a marriage together and creating three healthy kids — I just never would have thought it was possible! I'm not going to miss my kids growing up, you know? So we've got kind of a kinship that way. M. Shadows was featured on the Steel Panther album ‘Feel the Steel’, and also produced The Confession's album, ‘Requiem’ in 2007. You realise he’s not there to be with you, it’s much harder to deal with than just recording it.”, “When you lose your best friend, you get a little older. Later tonight, they'll be up there again, this time in Arnhem, Holland, providing the backing vocals on a cover of the Misfits' "Die, Die, My Darling." Capetown is a beautiful city. 10 on the US Billboard 200. [Laughs]. But when I've put the kids to sleep and I've got an hour of Lars time, I'll just sit and find some Sonny Boy Williamson or old Sam Kinison on YouTube. I went out and bought
the entire back catalogue. [Laughs] I pretty much take care of my kids, and that's really it. We had fog machines and intros and all that stuff just to piss people off. And it's pretty weird, because I still feel like a kid inside. M. Shadows joins Ryan J. Downey on the first ever episode of Speak N’ Destroy, a podcast about all things Metallica. It's helped us plug into our history again and made us feel good about what we've done. Please refresh the page and try again. HOW HAS HAVING A FAMILY CHANGED YOUR LIFE ON THE ROAD?
 You guys spit stuff back in our face, and it keeps us on our toes and fresh. Bath Seriously! My mom said to me, ‘Never give a shit what any of these people think, they’re never going to know you when you’re older, these people don’t matter.’ I was still nervous as hell but I’ve always kept that. We really knew each other so well. In his My Year 2020 interview, M. Shadows opens up about the Black Lives Matter movement, the lessons he learned this year, and how the new Avenged … Avenged Sevenfold Frontman M. Shadows Talks New 'Malaguena Salerosa' & Continuing to 'Evolve' Band's 'The Stage' Album. JAMES, YOU RECENTLY SANG ONSTAGE WITH ALICE IN CHAINS. Backstage in Arnhem with Shadows, Hetfield and Ulrich, it becomes immediately clear to Revolver that, despite their difference in age, the Metallica guys have a healthy respect and admiration for the A7X singer, as well. Matt was reduced to "M" becaus… A lot of that comes from losing Jimmy, and from going through some things. The rest is history, but that was really nutty. ", How Deftones Pulled Together After Trauma, Tragedy to Make 'Koi No Yokan'. Family becomes more important. We had spent 18 years with him. That's fun. "The first Metallica record I ever got was …. Can anybody answer that? HETFIELD Anything we'd change in our career? You have to make mistakes. I have to really be right now. He is still here in spirit and he lives on with us, but every once in a while I'd love to look over and see Cliff at the side of the stage and find out what he thinks about what we're doing now. It just kind of morphed into, ‘Hey, let’s rock out together’. [Laughs] YOU'VE SAID THAT THE LYRICS TO "MAD HATTER" WERE INSPIRED BY THE STORY OF JOHN B. McLEMORE ON THE S-TOWN PODCAST. We made a lot of those but we also made some good decisions, otherwise we wouldn’t be here now.”, “When we write songs, communication is key. Now seven albums into their career, they’ve become one of metal’s biggest modern day success stories. I had my wife there, and we went on a safari. HETFIELD The hokey answer is that we're proud of them all, because as Lars says, that's just history. Now seven albums into their career, they’ve become one of metal’s biggest modern day success stories. He has a tenor voice but his vocal style and way of singing have progressed significantly through the years. Though Shadows is a little nervous about interrogating his heroes for the magazine — "If you don't want to answer any of these questions, I won't be offended," he tells them at the start of the interview — Hetfield and Ulrich are never less than friendly and candid when talking about everything from Metallica's album-in-progress to the joys of watching their children play together. [LAUGHS]
 This form needs Javascript to display, which your browser doesn't support. I was like, "Aw, man!" In October, the band had announced their decision to delay the follow-up to 2016's The Stage.. During a recent interview with Kerrang!, Shadows was asked whether the decision to delay the release of the new album was unanimous or not. There's so many ups and downs and so many dynamics in the relationships. Also, when you evolve in life, you listen to music differently than when you were younger. You're gonna live together, so you've got to get along." That’s the important stuff.”. He got me the tape, and I just flipped out. It was easy for most band members to keep it a secret. I CAN'T LIE — I WAS UP ON YOUTUBE THE OTHER NIGHT, LOOKING AT THE NEW SONG. The Rev always played drums I suppose but we were mostly into sports. Just a couple of weeks ago, before we came out here, we threw a little Memorial Day barbecue. BA1 1UA. "The video for … M. Shadows, frontman for the band Avenged Sevenfold, has written an eloquent essay in which he pleads for rock and metal fans to consider getting behind Black Lives Matter, offering an … I feel like we're of the same generation, because all my heroes — like Sabbath and AC/DC and Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and Deep Purple — they're all a generation older than us. You guys put out music that inspires us, and I appreciate the love we get from all of you guys, from Trivium, from Bullet for My Valentine — everybody. MUSIC HAS CHANGED A LOT SINCE YOU BEGAN, AND I'M SURE YOUR INFLUENCES HAVE CHANGED, AS WELL. Just a fan page not affiliated with Avengedsevenfold or M shadows himself in anyway. That's it — once you have kids, there's no other answer. He is currently married to Valary Sanders (formerly DiBenedetto). By Gary Graff. ULRICH My kids. kerrang.com. [Laughs] It's good to go to a place that you've never been and experience it for the first time. [Laughs]. Matthew Sanders – aka M Shadows – has been the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold since he and best friend Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan co-founded the band formed the band alongside guitarist Zacky Vengeance in 1999. It's like, what more do you need in life than YouTube? And they're getting to see you for the first time — we could have gone up there and farted in a mic, and it would have been, "Yeah, the best!" Taking something that's been put out to pasture like some old junk, and then you bring it back ... ULRICH What I do is not nearly that poetic. (Metal Hammer) 08 August 2016, From metalcore upstart to multi-million selling superstar, frontman M Shadows looks back on life as part of Avenged Sevenfold. Then you come out here and you hang out, and all of a sudden it's like, "Fuck! [Laughs] It's really a big metaphor for my life, you know? Interviews \ NOFX’s Fat Mike on His Sobriety, Sexuality: ‘I Think I Came Out of the Closet Even More’ ... NOFX Share ‘Linewleum’ Video Featuring M Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold So I'll sit back with a glass of wine and watch YouTube for an hour before I go to bed. Matthew Sanders – aka M Shadows – has been the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold since he and best friend Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan co-founded the band formed the band alongside guitarist Zacky Vengeance in 1999. Drummer change and The Stage (2015–2017) Hopefully they help people but we’re a lot more realistic about how the world works now. And I'd say just being in a musical environment that continues to reinvent itself and be stimulating is what inspires us. JAMES, I KNOW YOU'RE INTO HOT RODS AND BIKES ...
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