First came their cover of Mexican folk song “Malagueña Salerosa”, followed by a reimagining of Mr. Bungle’s “Retrovertigo”. Now Avenged Sevenfold continue the rollout of new tracks with the release of “Dose”, a song originally intended to be part of the track listing on newest album, The Stage. Check out the track/video below.

“Musically, “Dose” was supposed to be a Part 2 to “Roman Sky” and had a very cinematic feel, but we turned it into more of a tripped-out metal song,” says vocalist M. Shadows. “The lyrics were inspired by an unsolved mystery that dates back to the 1950s about an airline traveler who, if you believe the story, supposedly fell into our dimension from another. According to reports, he showed up in a Tokyo airport with a passport from a country that didn’t exist anywhere on a map. He was detained for questioning, but mysteriously vanished from a room guarded by immigration officials, taking with him all evidence of his existence. It ties into the theory that there are infinite possibilities of our lives being played out across space and time. Don’t know if the story is true, but I’m fascinated by that kind of stuff and thought it’d be a fun idea for a song.”

The band teamed with mobile game developer/publisher Gameloft and sneak previewed “Dose” as a special level in Dungeon Hunter 5, the latest episode of the successful hack and slash series. The game features a thematic dungeon that pits players against hordes of undead minions and bewitched demons leading to a final confrontation against a character inspired by Avenged Sevenfold’s The Stage.  

The Stage is the band’s seventh studio album and first for Capitol Records. Co-produced by A7X and Barresi, The Stage is a work of immense scope and ambition, featuring 11 panoramic tracks tied together by an Artificial Intelligence theme. Inspired by the writings of Carl Sagan and Elon Musk, the album is the band’s first thematic release. Its epic 15-minute-plus closing track, “Exist”, features a guest appearance by award-winning astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson giving a spoken word performance he penned specifically for the album.

Avenged Sevenfold recently released a video for a second album track, “God Damn”, which already has 3.3 million views. The album hit #1 on Billboard’s Rock, Hard Rock and Alternative Albums charts, #4 on the Top 200 and debuted Top 5 on iTunes in over 35 countries. Its title track hit Top 5 at rock radio and its companion video has amassed over 18 million YouTube views to date.

The band recently announced that they’re transforming the album into an evolving body of work by adding a series of new tracks over the course of the coming months.

Avenged Sevenfold (vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, bassist Johnny Christ and drummer Brooks Wackerman) are currently performing select songs from the album on their stadium summer run with Metallica as well as on their own series of special headline shows (see itinerary below).

July
14 - Cadott, WI - Rock Fest Amphitheater**
16 - Toronto, ON - Rogers Centre^
18 - Gilford, NH - Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion***
19 - Montreal, QB - Parc Jean-Drapeau^
28 - Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre+++
29 - Los Angeles, CA - Rose Bowl+
31 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center+++

August
3 - Albuquerque, NM - Isleta Amphitheater+++
4 - Phoenix, AZ - University of Phoenix Stadium+
6 - San Diego, CA - Petco Park+
9 - Seattle, WA - CenturyLink Field+
11 - Salt Lake City, UT - USANA Amphitheatre+++
12 - Nampa (Boise), ID - Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater+++
14 - Vancouver, BC - BC Place+
16 - Edmonton, AB - Commonwealth Stadium+

** A7X headline show or festival date
*** A7X headline show with Volbeat opening
+++ A7X headline show with A Day To Remember opening
^ With Metallica + Volbeat
+ With Metallica + Gojira

(Photo - Jeff Forney)