Weezer, Ghost, Kendrick Lamar and Arctic Monkeys: here are Avenged Sevenfold's favourite albums of 2022

(Image credit: Travis Shinn)

Avenged Sevenfold may have gone another year without unveiling that long-awaited new studio album, but it certainly doesn't mean that the OC metal heavyweights haven't been paying attention to music over the past twelve months.

Over Christmas, all five members of the band revealed their top five albums of 2022 (plus two honourable mentions in the case of guitarist Zacky Vengeance). Depending on your view of Avenged, some of their picks may surprise you, or, if you've been paying closer attention to what the band have had to say about contemporary music in recent years, you likely won't be too shocked.

The most glaringly obvious take from the band's picks is that there's a lot of love for Weezer in the Avenged Sevenfold camp - like, a lot, with all five members picking at least one of the four SZNZ projects that the LA rockers put out last year.

Hip hop icon Kendrick Lamar's critically acclaimed Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers also seems popular with the Avenged boys, appearing in Vengeance, frontman M. Shadows and guitarist Synyster Gates' lists.

In terms of metal, it was pretty slim pickings, with only bassist Johnny Christ picking an out-and-out heavy metal album with Megadeth's The Sick, The Dying...And The Dead! (though Vengeance did give a bonus shout-out to Rammstein's Zeit, at least).

Check out Avenged Sevenfold's full list of favourite albums from last year below.

ZACKY VENGEANCE:
Neil Young & Crazy Horse – World Record
Arctic Monkeys – The Car
Polyphia – Remember That You Will Die
Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers

Honorable Mentions:
Orville Peck – Bronco
Rammstein – Zeit

M. SHADOWS:
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn
Weezer – SZNZ: Summer
Steve Lacy – Gemini Rights
Drake / 21 Savage – Her Loss

SYNYSTER GATES:
Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn
Kanye West – Donda 2
Kendrick Lamar – Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
Dirty Heads – Midnight Control
Björk – Fossora

JOHNNY CHRIST:
Alterbridge – Pawns & Kings
Megadeth – The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!
Ghost – Impera
Willow – Coping Mechanism
Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn

BROOKS WACKERMAN:
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Unlimited Love
The Smile – A Light for Attracting Attention
The interrupters – In The Wild
Weezer – SZNZ: Autumn
Dead Cross – II

Artists

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.