Album
City of Evil
City of Evil is the third studio album by Avenged Sevenfold, released on 6 June 2005 through Warner Bros. and Hopeless Records. Andrew Murdock co-produced it, and it marks a clear change of direction. The metalcore of the band's first two records gives way to a more traditional heavy metal and hard rock sound, and the screamed vocals are dropped altogether. M. Shadows spent months working with vocal coach Ron Anderson, whose clients include Axl Rose and Chris Cornell, while The Rev drilled his pedal work until he could reach 210 beats per minute.
It is the band's best-selling album, with more than 2,500,000 copies sold worldwide, and it holds a gold or platinum certification in the US, Canada and the UK. "Bat Country" is the standout, one of two singles of theirs certified gold in the US. Guitar World, Kerrang! and Rolling Stone have all placed it in their best-of lists.
City of Evil: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 1:12:54Tracklist
- 1Beast and the HarlotGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance5:41
- 2Burn It DownGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance4:59
- 3Blinded in ChainsGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance6:34
- 4Bat CountryGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance5:13
- 5Trashed and ScatteredGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance5:53
- 6Seize the DayGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance5:33
- 7SidewinderGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance7:02
- 8The Wicked EndGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance7:11
- 9Strength of the WorldGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance9:15
- 10BetrayedGates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance6:48
- 11M.I.A.Gates, Rev, Shadows, Vengeance8:46
- Produced by
- Fred Archambault, Avenged Sevenfold, Synyster Gates, Mudrock, Scott Gilman, M. Shadows
- Recorded at
- Ocean Way Recording (Hollywood), The Hobby Shop (Los Angeles)
- Recorded
- 1 January – 18 April 2005
- Mixed by
- Andy Wallace
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros., Hopeless
- Length
- 1:12:54
Line-up
- Johnny Christ · bass, vocals
- David Mergen · cello
- Bruce Dukov · violin
- Alma Fernandez · viola
- Samuel Fischer · violin
- Samuel Formicola · violin
- Matt Funes · viola
- Synyster Gates · piano, guitar, vocals
- Larry Greenfield · violin
- Alan Grunfeld · violin
- Brian Haner · guitar, pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar
- Victor Lawrence · cello
- Songa Lee‐Kitto · violin
- David Low · cello
- Liane Mautner · violin
- The Rev · drums (drum set), piano, vocals
- Mark Robertson · violin
- Zacky Vengeance · guitar, vocals
- David Walther · viola
- Avenged Sevenfold
- Colton Beyer-Johnson · choir vocals
- Zachary Biggs · choir vocals
- C.J. Cruz · choir vocals
- Nathan Cruz · choir vocals
- Stephen Cruz · choir vocals
- Alan Hong · choir vocals
- M. Shadows · vocals
- Sally Stevens · choir vocals
- Sean Sullivan · choir vocals
- Nico Walsh · choir vocals
- Josiah Yiu · choir vocals
Singles
- “Burn It Down” · 5 June 2005
- “Bat Country” · 9 August 2005
- “Beast and the Harlot” · 28 February 2006
- “Seize the Day” · 11 July 2006
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2005–2006 | 30 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2005–2006 | 63 |
| New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RIANZ) · 2005–2006 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2005–2006 | 4 |
| Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA) · 2005–2006 | 8 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2005–2006 | 13 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2005–2006 | 16 |
| Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) · 2005–2006 | 55 |
| Scottish Albums · 2005–2006 | 70 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 2006 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2010 | Gold |
| United States · 2009 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
84.7
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
7.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
113k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
41k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 6 June 2005 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 6 June 2005 | |
| Wikidata | 6 June 2005 | |
| US release | 7 June 2005 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 6 June 2005 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624861324 | other |
| 2005 | US | Hopeless Records | 0790692068210 | other |
| 2005 | XE | Hopeless Records | 093624861324 | other |
| 6 June 2005 | GB | Hopeless Records | 093624861324 | original |
| 7 June 2005 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624861324 | other |
| 7 June 2005 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624861362 | other |
| 27 June 2005 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624861324 | other |
| 28 June 2005 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624937920 | other |
| 7 June 2006 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674063772 | other |
| 21 September 2007 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624937920 | other |
| 28 June 2010 | GB | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| July 2013 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 790692068210 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1450x1450, upscaled to 1500 (x1.03)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1450×1450 | upscaled: minor: best source 1450x1450, upscaled to 1500 (x1.03) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |