Avenged Sevenfold guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance are spotlighted in the new episode of String Theory, Ernie Ball’s popular web series exploring the sonic origins of music’s most innovative players. The video sees the duo talking about their style of play, influences and approach to songwriting.

Avenged Sevenfold has announced a December 15th release date for the deluxe version of their critically acclaimed album, The Stage (Capitol). This new edition features seven additional studio songs, plus four unreleased live tracks recorded during the band’s recent shows at The O2 arena in London.

Among the seven bonus tracks is the band’s cover of the Pink Floyd classic, “Wish You Were Here”, which can be heard here. The “Wish You Were Here” companion video can be seen below.

Both the digital and physical deluxe versions of The Stage can be pre-ordered here (note: the CD and vinyl versions of the album will include a special lenticular cover).

About Avenged Sevenfold’s version of “Wish You Were Here”, lead singer M. Shadows says, “This is the song that started us down the rabbit hole with our recent cover recordings.  I’ve always loved this song and though I felt it would be impossible to capture the sombreness of the original, we approached it with another purpose. There’s a poignancy to the song that seems appropriate with everything going on in the world today. We put a bit of a modern twist on it to reintroduce it at a time when it might help capture what some of us are feeling.”

The deluxe edition is the latest chapter in an innovative album cycle that began 12 months ago when Avenged Sevenfold “surprise-released” The Stage, becoming the first-ever rock band to drop an unannounced album in digital and physical form. The band (vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman) announced the album’s release to millions of surprised fans who had been watching their live-streamed set from the rooftop of the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood, CA. That groundbreaking event saw the quintet give a 3D/360-degree virtual reality performance that enabled fans around the globe to experience Avenged Sevenfold’s electrifying show as if they were there for the first-of-its-kind immersive event.

Months later, the forward-thinking band announced plans to transform The Stage into an evolving body of work by adding a series of new tracks over the course of several months.

Those songs - which began with a scintillating rendition of Mexican folk song “Malagueña Salerosa” - have been previously unavailable for purchase, but fan demand for the tracks brings the album to its current stage as a deluxe release.

In addition to the album’s original 11 tracks, the deluxe version features A7X’s reimagining of Mr. Bungle’s “Retrovertigo”, original track “Dose”, a cover of Del Shannon’s 1961 No. 1 hit, “Runaway” (featuring a guest appearance by Vandals’ guitarist Warren Fitzgerald and lead vocals by Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Zacky Vengeance), the band’s version of The Beach Boys’ 1966 hit, “God Only Knows” and most recently, their rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “As Tears Go By”. The four concert recordings included on the album are title track “The Stage”, “Paradigm”, “Sunny Disposition” and “God Damn”.

Tickets are on sale now for Avenged Sevenfold’s 2018 North American arena headlining tour, set to kick off January 12th at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville with special guests Breaking Benjamin and Bullet For My Valentine. The band has partnered with CID Entertainment to offer VIP Tour Experiences, including access to a VIP-only viewing area, an official signed show setlist, an invitation to the pre-show lounge featuring Avenged Sevenfold memorabilia and an exclusive A7X tour book including never-before-seen photos. For full package details, please visit CID Entertainment.

Tour dates:

January
12 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
14 - Grand Rapids, MI - The Van Andel Arena
16 - Reading, PA - Santander Arena
17 - University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Ctr - Penn State University
24 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center
25 - Peoria, IL - Peoria Civic Center
27 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford Premier Center
31 - Biloxi, MS - Mississippi Coast Coliseum

February
2 - North Little Rock, AR - Verizon Arena
3 - Evansville, IN - Ford Center
6 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena
8 - Lincoln, NE - Pinnacle Bank Arena
9 - Cedar Rapids, IA - US Cellular Center
11 - Fargo, ND - Fargodome