Sounding the Seventh Trumpet

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on July 24, 2001 by GoodLife Recordings. The album was later rereleased on March 19, 2002 by Hopeless Records,[6] featuring a slightly different cover art. Although the album only sold 300 copies in its first week of release, it has sold 370,000 copies worldwide, with 310,000 sold in the United States, as of November 2010.[7][8] The title 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet' takes its name from the Book of Revelation, specifically referencing chapter 11 and the sounding of the last (seventh) trumpet, showing the end of the world.[9] Valary DiBenedetto (M. Shadows' future wife) performs vocals on the track "The Art of Subconscious Illusion."[6][10][11] The album was released on vinyl for the first time in 2008 in the US.[12]

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
Studio album by Avenged Sevenfold
Released	July 24, 2001[1]
Recorded	November 2000[2]
Studio	Westbeach Recorders
Genre	Metalcore
Length	53:12
Label	Good Life[3][4] Hopeless[5]
Producer	Donnell Cameron Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold chronology
Demo (2000) Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (2001) Waking the Fallen (2003)
Singles from Sounding the Seventh Trumpet
"Warmness on the Soul" Released: April 10, 2001

Production

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was recorded in November 2000, with a budget of only $2,000. When the band members got into the studio, The Rev recorded all the drums in one take, and the other members of the band added their parts to what he had laid down. Zacky Vengeance played lead guitar originally. When Synyster Gates joined the band in early 2001, they recorded a heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture", with Gates playing lead guitar. This version was first seen on the Warmness on the Soul single, and was later featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. This is the only album to feature bassist Justin Sane, who is also credited as playing piano in the original releases. He was briefly replaced by Dameon Ash as a touring bassist after the touring cycle, who was then replaced by Johnny Christ.

Release

The release date of this album is theorized in many sources. On the band's official website, it's given as January 31, 2001. However, on archived versions of the website, news updates explain that the album, distributed by Lumberjack Distributions, was originally planned for a late April 2001 release. Due to unknown reasons, it had to be pushed back multiple times, at first for a June 10, then for a June 20 release. A Loudwire article about the album's 17th anniversary gives July 24 as the actual release date.[1] On Spotify album's page, it's given as March 19, 2002.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Kerrang!	[13]
Ultimate Guitar	8.5/10[14]

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was generally well received by critics. Allmusic rated the album three stars out of five and wrote: "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is a magnificent album that is suitable for any fan of metal music, as Avenged Sevenfold has a firm grasp on all that is extreme." The review also praised the tracks "Darkness Surrounding" and "We Come out at Night" as being "...excellent metalcore masterpieces, as the vocal harmonies add to these cuts to evolve the songs into fully atmospheric sonic blasts."

Videography

Avenged Sevenfold later released the Warmness on the Soul, which featured a video for the single "Warmness on the Soul". The video depicted the band wandering through city streets as M. Shadows' wife, Valary, searched for them. There is a heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture" which was released on the reissue of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet after it was bought by Hopeless Records.[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Avenged Sevenfold, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"To End the Rapture"	1:24
2.	"Turn the Other Way"	5:40
3.	"Darkness Surrounding"	4:53
4.	"The Art of Subconscious Illusion" (featuring Valary DiBenedetto)	3:45
5.	"We Come Out at Night"	4:46
6.	"Lips of Deceit"	4:09
7.	"Warmness on the Soul"	4:19
8.	"An Epic of Time Wasted"	4:18
9.	"Breaking Their Hold"	1:11
10.	"Forgotten Faces"	3:26
11.	"Thick and Thin"	4:15
12.	"Streets" (written by M. Shadows & Successful Failure)	3:06
13.	"Shattered by Broken Dreams"	7:12
Total length:		53:11

* The "Heavy Metal Version" of "To End the Rapture" was featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, replacing the original.

Personnel

Avenged Sevenfold

• M. Shadows – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
• Zacky Vengeance – guitars
• The Rev – drums, backing vocals, sound effects, additional vocals on "The Art of Subconscious Illusion"
• Justin Sane – bass, piano

Session musicians

• Valary Di Benedetto – additional vocals on "The Art of Subconscious Illusion"
• Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals on "To End the Rapture"

Production

• Recorded at Westbeach in Hollywood, California, USA
• Produced, engineered, and mixed by Donnell Cameron and Avenged Sevenfold
• Assistant engineering by Henrah Kruzchev
• Mastered by Ramon Breton and Avenged Sevenfold at Oceanview Mastering

References

1. "17 Years Ago: Avenged Sevenfold Introduce Themselves With 'Sounding the Seventh Trumpet'". Loudwire.com. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
2. "Official A7X Homepage". March 1, 2001. Archived from the original on March 6, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
3. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet - Avenged Sevenfold". Allmusic.
4. ""Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" by Avenged Sevenfold". spiegels.tv. Archived from the original on 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
5. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet - Avenged Sevenfold | Release Information, Reviews and Credits". AllMusic. 2002-03-19. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
6. "Avenged Sevenfold - Sounding The Seventh Trumpet CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2002-03-19. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
7. "A7X History". Avenged-sevenfold-america.webs.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-12-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever."". Bible.cc. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
10. "Avenged Sevenfold - Fun Facts and Information". Funtrivia.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
11. "Valary DiBenedetto - Biography, Photos, Videos". Celebriton.Com. 1982-04-07. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
12. "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet LP". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
13. Kerrang! issue 880 (November 24, 2001).
14. "Avenged Sevenfold: Sounding The Seventh Trumpet | Reviews @ Ultimate-Guitar.com". Ultimate Guitar. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
15. "Avenged Sevenfold - Warmness On The Soul - Vidéo Dailymotion". Dailymotion.com. 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2014-02-15.