Album
Hail to the King
Hail to the King is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on 23 August 2013 through Warner Bros. Records. Mike Elizondo produced it, and it arrived as the band's first record made without any musical contributions from Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, their late drummer. The bonus track "St. James" was written in his memory. It is also the only album to feature drummer Arin Ilejay, who left in July 2015.
The record did well on both sides of the Atlantic. It went to number one on the Billboard 200, their second album to do so after Nightmare, and it became their first chart-topper in the UK. It also led the charts in Canada, Brazil, Finland and Ireland. The title track and "Shepherd of Fire" both reached number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, with the title track spending 11 weeks on top. It went Platinum in the US and Canada.
Hail to the King: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 53:24Tracklist
- 1Shepherd of FireChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance5:24
- 2Hail to the KingChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance5:05
- 3Doing TimeChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance3:27
- 4This Means WarChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance6:09
- 5RequiemChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance4:24
- 6Crimson DayChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance4:57
- 7HereticChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance4:55
- 8Coming HomeChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance6:26
- 9PlanetsChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance5:56
- 10Acid RainChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance6:41
- Produced by
- Mike Elizondo
- Recorded at
- Can-Am (Los Angeles), Capitol (Hollywood)
- Recorded
- 2013
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 53:24
Line-up
- Brent Arrowood · effects · guest
- Rick Baptist · trumpet
- Mike Elizondo · effects, keyboard
- John Fumo · trumpet
- Steve Holtman · bass trombone
- Alan Kaplan · trombone
- Suzie Katayama · cello
- Andy Martin · bass trombone
- Ed Meares · bass
- Joe Meyer · French horn
- John A. Reynolds · French horn
- Doug Tornquist · tuba
- John Acosta · cello
- Songa Lee‐Kitto · violin
- Natalie Leggett · violin
- Dane Little · cello
- Sara Parkins · violin
- Michelle Richards · violin
- Tereza Stanislav · violin
- Josefina Vergara · violin
- John Wittenberg · violin
- Jessi Collins · vocals · guest
- Storm L. Gardner · vocals · guest
- Sharlotte Gibson · vocals · guest
- Ran Jackson · vocals · guest
- Brian Haner · guitar · guest
- Synyster Gates · vocals · guest
- Jeff Babko · piano · guest
Singles
- “Hail to the King” · 15 July 2013
- “Shepherd of Fire” · 7 November 2013
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2013 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2013 | 1 |
| Brazil · 2013 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2013 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums · 2013 | 1 |
| Irish Albums · 2013 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2013 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2013 | 1 |
| US Alternative · 2013 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2013 | 1 |
All 27 charts
| US Top Rock Albums · 2013 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2013 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 2013 | 3 |
| New Zealand Albums · 2013 | 3 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2013 | 3 |
| Swedish Albums · 2013 | 4 |
| German Albums · 2013 | 5 |
| Swiss Albums · 2013 | 5 |
| Danish Albums · 2013 | 6 |
| Dutch Albums · 2013 | 6 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2013 | 8 |
| Italian Albums · 2013 | 8 |
| Spanish Albums · 2013 | 12 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2013 | 15 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2013 | 23 |
| French Albums · 2013 | 25 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2013 | 30 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | Platinum |
| Denmark · 2025 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 2024 | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2020 | Gold |
| United States · 2021 | Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
85.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
8.0k
ListenBrainz listeners
92k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
103k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 23 August
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 23 August 2013 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 August 2013 | |
| Wikidata | 2013 | |
| Deezer | 23 August 2013 | |
| US release | 27 August 2013 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 27 August 2013 | earliest UK or European date |
12 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624943099 | other |
| 23 August 2013 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 093624942306 | original |
| 23 August 2013 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624942283 | original |
| 23 August 2013 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 093624943082 | original |
| 26 August 2013 | FR | Warner Bros. Records | 093624943099 | other |
| 26 August 2013 | XW | Warner Bros. Records | 093624941170 | other |
| 27 August 2013 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624942818 | deluxe |
| 27 August 2013 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624943105 | other |
| 27 August 2013 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624942818 | deluxe |
| 27 August 2013 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624942818 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147984 | other |
| 28 August 2013 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674147984 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1425×1425 | upscaled: minor: best source 1425x1425, upscaled to 1500 (x1.05) |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |