Album · 10 years old this year
The Stage
The Stage is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on 28 October 2016 through Capitol Records. It followed Hail to the King in 2013 and was the first of their records in 11 years not to come out on Warner Bros., after a legal dispute with the label. It also introduced drummer Brooks Wackerman, who joined in November 2015.
This is where the band turned to progressive metal, and it is their first concept album, built around artificial intelligence and the self-destruction of society. At 73 minutes and 35 seconds it is their longest record, and it includes "Exist", their longest song at 15 minutes and 41 seconds. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and drew positive reviews, while the title track earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song.
The Stage: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 1:13:42Tracklist
- 1The StageChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman8:33
- 2ParadigmChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman4:19
- 3Sunny DispositionChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman6:41
- 4God DamnChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman3:42
- 5Creating GodChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman5:35
- 6AngelsChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman5:41
- 7SimulationChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman5:31
- 8HigherChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman6:29
- 9Roman SkyChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman5:00
- 10Fermi ParadoxChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman6:31
- 11ExistChrist, Gates, Shadows, Vengeance, Wackerman15:41
- Produced by
- Avenged Sevenfold, Joe Barresi
- Recorded at
- Capitol Studios (Hollywood), Joe’s House of Compression, Serenity West Recording (Los Angeles), United Recording Studios (Hollywood), Joe's House of Compression (Pasadena, California)
- Recorded
- 2016
- Mixed by
- Paul Suarez, Andy Wallace
- Mixed at
- Premier Studios
- Engineered by
- Joe Barresi
- Mastered by
- Bob Ludwig
- Labels
- Capitol Records, Capitol
- Length
- 1:13:42
Line-up
- Johnny Christ · electric bass guitar, background vocals
- Jason Freese · keyboard
- Synyster Gates · electric guitar, background vocals
- Zacky Vengeance · electric guitar, background vocals
- Brooks Wackerman · membranophone
- M. Shadows · lead vocals
- Walter Adam Kibby II · brass · guest
- Angelo Moore · brass · guest
- Brian Kilgore · percussion
- Daphne Chen · violin · guest
- Nick Daley · trombone · guest
- Eric Gorfain · violin · guest
- Jordan Katz · trumpet · guest
- Leah Katz · viola · guest
- John Krovoza · cello · guest
- Stephanie O'Keefe · French horn · guest
- David Ralicke · trombone · guest
- Ian Walker · double bass · guest
- Brian Haner · electric guitar · guest
- Michael Suarez · effects · guest
- Tennessee James Baker · background vocals · guest
- Valary DiBenedetto · spoken vocals · guest
- River James Sanders · background vocals · guest
- Quishima Dixon · background vocals · guest
- Angela Fisher · background vocals · guest
- Nikki Grier · background vocals · guest
- Amber Sauer · background vocals · guest
- Tiffany Smith · background vocals · guest
- Alexandria Threat · background vocals · guest
- Neil deGrasse Tyson · spoken vocals · guest
Singles
- “The Stage” · 13 October 2016
- “God Damn” · 21 March 2017
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2016 | 4 |
| UK Albums Chart · 2016 | 13 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2016 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| US Alternative · 2016 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2016 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2016 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 2016 | 4 |
| UKDigital · 2016 | 5 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2016 | 6 |
All 27 charts
| New Zealand Albums · 2016 | 9 |
| Austrian Albums · 2016 | 10 |
| Finnish Albums · 2016 | 10 |
| Scottish Albums · 2016 | 12 |
| German Albums · 2016 | 14 |
| Ireland 2 · 2016 | 16 |
| Norwegian Albums · 2016 | 16 |
| Swiss Albums · 2016 | 17 |
| Italian Albums · 2016 | 35 |
| Spanish Albums · 2016 | 36 |
| Swedish Albums · 2016 | 37 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2016 | 40 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2016 | 42 |
| French Albums · 2016 | 47 |
| Dutch Albums · 2016 | 68 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2016 | 79 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2016 | 85 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
66.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.7k
ListenBrainz listeners
86k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
610
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz + wikidata
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 28 October 2016 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 28 October 2016 | |
| Wikidata | 28 October 2016 | |
| Deezer | 28 October 2016 | |
| US release | 28 October 2016 | earliest US date |
14 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 October 2016 | FR | Capitol Records | 602557097733 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | DE | Capitol Records | 602557762518 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | US | Capitol Records | 602557097757 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | US | Capitol Records | 602557097733 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | DE | Capitol Records | 602557171662 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | JP | Capitol Records | 4988031196595 | original |
| 28 October 2016 | IT | Capitol Records | original | |
| 2 December 2016 | US | Capitol Records | 602557218411 | other |
| 22 December 2017 | US | Capitol Records | 602557646610 | deluxe |
| 22 December 2017 | JP | Capitol Records | 602557646603 | deluxe |
| 22 December 2017 | — | Capitol Records | 00602557656473 | deluxe |
| 22 December 2017 | XW | — | 825324413486 | deluxe |
| 22 December 2017 | US | Capitol Records | 6025576466610 | deluxe |
| — | — | Capitol Records | 602557109788 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| deezer | 1800×1800 | native |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |