The story behind Avenged Sevenfold's The Stage video

At the time of writing, Avenged Sevenfold’s video for The Stage has garnered almost 11 million views on YouTube. And if you’ve seen it, you’ll know it’s not your typical offering from a metal band as it’s over eight minutes long and full of marionettes. In the below video, guitarist and creative mastermind Zacky Vengeance reveals his initial ideas behind the video, wanting to “capture the dark side of humanity and history repeating itself.”

Inspired by The Lonely Goatherd from The Sound Of Music, The Stage was Zacky’s “personal pet project” for two months, working with acclaimed director Chris Hopewell, known primarily for his work with Radiohead.

In 2016, we’ve seen atrocities and societal unrest across the world, and Zacky used The Stage to “remind people that ultimately when you let history repeat itself then you’re the puppets.”

Discover how Avenged Sevenfold’s new album came to be and why they’re using it as a platform to change themselves and the music industry in the latest issue of Metal Hammer.

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