5 new bands to listen to if you love Avenged Sevenfold

It didn’t take Avenged Sevenfold long to transcend the Orange County hardcore scene that spawned them. Taking the formative metalcore sound as their base, they began bringing in influences as diverse as Iron Maiden, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. It worked: by the time of 2013’s Hail To The King album, they were bona fide festival headliners. But they didn’t stop there – 2016’s The Stage and 2023’s head-spinning new album Life Is But A Dream… have incorporated all manner of weird and wonderful sounds, from epic prog metal to Frank Sinatra-esque crooning and Daft Punk-inspired electronica. But which of the current generation of new bands are following in their footsteps? Here are five new bands every A7X fan should check out…

Smoulder

Smoulder represent the newest generation of the bands Avenged grew up listening to, bringing the NWOBHM grandeur of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest into 2023. The Finns’ second album, this year’s Violent Creed Of Vengeance, is seven songs of Bruce Dickinson-like wailing and proto-thrash guitar playing. The sword-and-sorcery lyricism and that Dungeons & Dragons ode of an album cover seal the authenticity of their ’80s throwback. The band have also collaborated with producer/mixer Arthur Rizk, who’s manned the dials for Power Trip, Unto Others and Xibalba. As a support act on an Avenged stage, they’d guarantee a perfectly invigorating and nostalgic opening.
Listen to: The Talisman And The Blade

Nomvdic

Avenged formed as a part of the Orange County metalcore scene, making them contemporaries to Bleeding Through and Eighteen Visions in a hub for the new wave of American heavy metal. The sound is still inspiring young, heavy bands throughout the States: Nomvdic, based 2,500 miles away in Tampa, prove it. The four-piece’s 2020 debut album Euphoria contains all the breakdowns and guitar athletics you’d find on Sounding The Seventh Trumpet, especially on the opening title track. With Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante guesting on another song, this lot seem signposted to go far.
Listen to: Euphoria