Sounding the Seventh Trumpet

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold
Released	January 31, 2001[1]
Recorded	November 2000 - January 2001[2]
Genre	Metalcore[3]
Length	52:10 52:01 on the original version
Label	Good Life Recordings,[3][4] Hopeless[5]
Producer	Donnell Cameron Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold chronology
2000 Demo (2000) Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001) Warmness on the Soul (2001)
Original release cover
Original Good Life Recordings Cover
Singles from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
"Warmness on the Soul" Released: August 8, 2001 "Darkness Surrounding" Released: 2002

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on January 31, 2001 by Good Life Recordings, and re-released by Hopeless Records on March 19, 2002,^[6] featuring slightly different cover art. The album was recorded in November 2000 at Westbeach Recorders in California. Although the album only sold 300 copies in its first week of release, the album has sold 370,000 copies worldwide with 310,000 sold in America, as of November 2010.^[7][8] The title 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet' takes its name from the Book of Revelation, specifically referencing chapter 11 and the sounding of the last (seventh) trumpet, showing the end of the world.^[9] Valary DiBenedetto (M. Shadows' future wife) performs vocals on the track "The Art of Subconscious Illusion."^[6][10][11] The album was released as 2x12 vinyl, LP, 33 ⅓ RPM, Purple on 2008 in US.^[12] Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is widely agreed as Avenged Sevenfold's heaviest album, with chugging guitars, very little clean vocals, and The Rev's blistering drums.

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was recorded with a tiny budget of $2,000. When the band members got into the studio, The Rev recorded all the drums in one take, and the other members of the band added their parts to what he had laid down. Zacky Vengeance played lead guitar originally. Then, when Synyster Gates joined the band, they recorded a heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture" with Gates playing lead guitar. This heavy metal version was first seen on the Warmness on the Soul EP, and was later featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. On August 7, 2003, Charles Cross of Rolling Stone declared Avenged Sevenfold the, "Warped Tour 2003 Second Stage Must-See."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Kerrang!	[13]
Sputnikmusic

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was generally well received by critics. Allmusic rated the album three stars out of five and wrote: "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is a magnificent album that is suitable for any fan of metal music, as Avenged Sevenfold has a firm grasp on all that is extreme." The review also praised the tracks "Darkness Surrounding" and "We Come out at Night" as being "...excellent metalcore masterpieces, as the vocal harmonies add to these cuts to evolve the songs into fully atmospheric sonic blasts."

Videography

Avenged Sevenfold later released the Warmness on the Soul, which featured a video for the single "Warmness on the Soul". The video depicted the band wandering through city streets as M. Shadows wife, Valary searched for them. And there is also the heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture" which was released on the reissue of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet after it was bought by Hopeless Records.^[14]

Track listing

All lyrics written by M. Shadows. All music composed by The Rev, except where noted.

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"To End the Rapture* [15]"	The Rev	1:24
2.	"Turn the Other Way"	Shadows, Rev	5:36
3.	"Darkness Surrounding"	Shadows, Rev	4:49
4.	"The Art of Subconscious Illusion" (featuring Valary DiBenedetto)	Shadows	3:45
5.	"We Come Out at Night"	Rev, Shadows	4:44
6.	"Lips of Deceit"	Shadows	4:09
7.	"Warmness on the Soul"	Shadows	4:19
8.	"An Epic of Time Wasted"	Shadows, Rev	4:18
9.	"Breaking Their Hold"	Shadows	1:11
10.	"Forgotten Faces"		3:26
11.	"Thick and Thin"		4:15
12.	"Streets"	Shadows/Successful Failure	3:06
13.	"Shattered by Broken Dreams"	Shadows	7:08
Total length:			52:57

* The "Heavy Metal Version" was featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, replacing the original.

Personnel

Avenged Sevenfold

• M. Shadows – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
• Zacky Vengeance – guitars
• The Rev – drums, sound effects, additional vocals on "The Art Of Subconcious Illusion"
• Dameon Ash – bass

Session musicians

• Valary Di Benedetto – additional vocals on "The Art of Subconscious Illusion"
• Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals (only on re-release "Heavy Metal Version" of "To End the Rapture")

Production

• Recorded at Westbeach in Hollywood, California, USA
• Produced, engineered and mixed by Donnell Cameron and Avenged Sevenfold
• Assistant Engineered by Henrah Kruzchev
• Mastered by Ramon Breton and Avenged Sevenfold at Oceanview Mastering

References

1. "Official A7X Homepage - News". June 18, 2001. Archived from the original on July 11, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
2. "Official A7X Homepage". March 1, 2001. Archived from the original on March 2, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
3. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet - Avenged Sevenfold". Allmusic.
4. ""Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" by Avenged Sevenfold". spiegels.tv. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
5. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet - Avenged Sevenfold | Release Information, Reviews and Credits". AllMusic. 2002-03-19. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
6. "Avenged Sevenfold - Sounding The Seventh Trumpet CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2002-03-19. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
7. "A7X History". Avenged-sevenfold-america.webs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
9. "Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever."". Bible.cc. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
10. "Avenged Sevenfold - Fun Facts and Information". Funtrivia.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
11. "Valary DiBenedetto - Biography, Photos, Videos". Celebriton.Com. 1982-04-07. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
12. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet LP". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
13. Kerrang! issue 880 (November 24, 2001).
14. "Avenged Sevenfold - Warmness On The Soul - Vidéo Dailymotion". Dailymotion.com. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
15. The original "To End the Rapture" was replaced by the version later included on the Warmness on the Soul EP.