Avenged Sevenfold

The members of metalcore outfit Avenged Sevenfold (or A7X) were still in high school when they formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, CA. Still, it didn't take long for M. Shadows (vocals), Zacky Vengeance (guitar), Synyster Gates (guitar), the Reverend (drums), and Johnny Christ (bass) to make an impression with their aggressive hybrid of metal and punk-pop. The band debuted in July 2001 with Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (Good Life), and followed two years later with the Hopeless release Waking the Fallen before jumping to Warner Bros. for June 2005's City of Evil.

That summer they supported the album (which began their breakthrough into the mainstream) with a live run on the Warped Tour's main stage. City of Evil hit number 30 on Billboard's Top 200, propeled in part by the Top Ten success of their single "Bat Country." The video for that song was heavily rotated on MTV and Fuse, where live appearances also helped Avenged's growing profile, and the guys wound up winning the Best New Artist Award (though they were hardly newcomers) at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Christina Fuoco, All Music Guide