Although Avenged Sevenfold has been fairly prolific this decade, it wasn’t until 2005’s City of Evil that the tide truly turned for the Huntington Beach band. The decision to abandon pure metalcore for a more alternative/straightforward rock approach driven by guitar harmonies seemed to be a wise move in terms of popularity, as vocalist M. Shadows and the gang suddenly found them thrust into the mainstream music world (including MTV’s Total Request Live and Guitar Hero II).

The self-titled 2007 release left you all severely divided (Avenged was at the top of both the annual “best” and “worst” polls), and we can only hope that the upcoming fifth full-length produces a similar love/hate relationship with our readers. It’s just too entertaining.