It’s no secret that Metallica has had a hard time winning over thrash fans since the release of the Black Album in 1991. Their ’90s albums don’t receive the same love as their ’80s work. And their 2003 album, St. Anger, is one of their most divisive. Some fans hate it, and others defend it. Meanwhile, bands like Avenged Sevenfold have been outwardly supportive of the record.
In an interview with Meltdown on Detroit’s WRIF radio station, A7X guitarist Zacky Vengeance discussed the band’s career. The conversation eventually turned to Metallica and what it was like to tour with them.
Avenged Sevenfold opened for Metallica on the 2017 WorldWired Tour
“We learned a ton, and it was because we’re such big fans,” Vengeance said, as transcribed by Blabbermouth. “And we learned how they treat their fans, which is how a band should treat their fans. They really care about their fans. And they put everything into their shows. They give it their best performance. They put a lot of work into it. They change setlists. They do exciting things.”
Vengeance continued by reflecting on his own band’s early days and how they came to appreciate Metallica’s polarizing album. “Honestly, and this is gonna be controversial, but we were touring in a van,” he said, “driving across the country playing small shows, and it was right at the time when St. Anger came out, and that was the most divisive Metallica album since Load and since Reload and since the Black Album.”
Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ remains the band’s highest-selling album
“You look back, and people were, like, ‘What are they doing with the Black Album?’ ‘What are they doing with Load?’ ‘Where are these guys at?’ And then with St. Anger, it was, like, ‘What are they doing?’ It was the craziest-sounding [album],” Vengeance said. He then confessed, “And then we fell in love with it.”
“It might not be our favorite Metallica album,” Vengeance continued, “but the thought behind it and the fact that it was so different and it had to be listened to, and they were just going for this thrashy raw sound using tones that weren’t perfect, studio, modern-day drum samples, which they’re fully able to accomplish, if they want — they can do whatever they want — they chose to go and just make this buck-wild album. It was, like, ‘If Metallica can do that, then we can do that.’”
Vengeance admitted that it has taken him “a little bit longer to get into Lulu,” Metallica’s 2011 collaboration album with Lou Reed. “Knowing that those guys are inspired by off-the-wall artists kind of caught me for a loop,” he said, “because they are such the epitome of a metal band. It’s, like, ‘Whoa. They stepped that far out of the box.’ It’s, like, ‘Oh, these guys just love music. These guys are just fans of music.’ And that’s probably why they’re so good at what they do, which is kind of cool.”
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