avengedsevenfold_march2017

Avenged Sevenfold prefer a rock nomination to metal at the Grammys

Avenged Sevenfold have landed their first-ever Grammy nomination for best rock song for “The Stage,” and they’re stoked on their nomination. As frontman M. Shadows explains, he’s equally happy it’s in the rock category rather than metal.

Read more: Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows on depression: “The stigma is disheartening”

“I've said the Grammys messed up metal because it's not on TV,” Shadows tells Billboard

“What I'm saying is when you're in a metal category it's not televised and it doesn't move the needle forward for metal artists, and I wish they had more respect for the genre. So we're actually really excited to be in the rock category.”

And considering the bands they’re nominated against, including Metallica, Foo Fighters and Nothing More, in addition to their non-traditional rollout of the record, the band are just excited to be considered, Shadows explains.

“Man, we're just really excited and honored,” Shadows says. “We're really excited to be even talked about in the same breath as Foo Fighters or Metallica. It's the big boys club, so it's nice to even be noticed. 

“It makes us feel really good about the whole rollout of this record and what this record is about. We know it didn't go over everyone's head and there's people who appreciate it, and that's cool to us.” 

Read more: Avenged Sevenfold debut first-ever acoustic performance on new album—listen

Plus, the band tells Billboard that they’re not hoping to drag out The Stage too much longer, and although they haven’t started working on new music—and might take a few months before they even start writing—they are already starting to throw around ideas for a record that's “different and cool.”

“We're really excited where our head space is. Just musically we feel like we want to express ourselves with an album and maybe not go drag (The Stage) out too much longer,” Shadows says. 

“There's no new songs. We'll probably talk for a couple months before we even start writing. There's just so many cool new influences and all these new things we've been talking about, sparking us to think about different things outside of the box. I'm sure we'll throw those ideas around. I already know it's going to be different and cool, and that's just exciting for me.”

With a previously mentioned North American headlining tour and that Grammy nomination, clearly 2018 is shaping up to be Avenged Sevenfold’s year.

Are you happy to see Avenged Sevenfold in the rock category versus the metal category? Let us know in the comments below!

Categories: