AVENGED SEVENFOLD vocalist M. Shadows was asked on Sirius XM whether the album format is still relevant these days, to which he replied (as transcribed by Ultimate-Guitar.com):
“I enjoy albums but I’m very cognizant of the fact that I’m 36 years old and I grew up with albums. I do not think they’re necessarily relevant anymore.
“I think people need to start utilizing technology that benefits them and not see it as some sort of way to continue the status quo. So, for instance, we were able to turn that Grammy Live thing within one week of finding out we have a Grammy nod.
“We had already played this thing, it was recorded, we paid for it ourselves to record this thing. And next thing you know you get a Grammy nod and go, ‘Let’s put on a record.’ Because of technology we were able to put it out in a week.
“And I think that artist can put out five songs, two songs, four songs, whatever you’re feeling, and use technology to its advantage.
“It literally comes down to – if you have the technology at your fingertips and you have a cool idea… If you have asked us in October if this thing was gonna happen we would go ‘What are you talking about?’ And by December 8 there’s a whole new product out and people could purchase it or listen to it $9.99. And I think that’s so cool.
“Yeah, we get it, cars are not gonna have CD players, I don’t have a CD player in my house, I don’t have a DVD player. I’m on Apple TV, Netflix, Apple Music, Spotify – that’s what I use. And in my car I have Bluetooth.
“So why are we putting records out in the same way with the big build-ups and the same sorta campaigns? Obviously the new generation doesn’t want that. Look at rock music in their streaming compared to any other genre.
“Don’t be stuck in the past because the CDs aren’t coming back. We’re holding the lines for CDs – why? CDs get scratched, they get stolen, they’re not coming back.”
When the interviewer said CDs are unlikely to return the same way vinyl did, Shadows replied:
“No, vinyl sounds good. So that’s cool. I just think that rock fans need to… And I’m not telling rock fans what to do, but if you see any part of the future it is gonna be these streaming services and you’re gonna have everything that you’ve ever wanted for $9.99 a month, and that’s a freakin’ deal.
“We got stonewalled by a lot of radio stations on this record because we didn’t give it to them early and they just couldn’t wrap their head around it. And that just means a band in your genre that’s been proven at the format is giving you something and you’re still gonna stonewall because it’s against the status quo, and that’s not a good environment for a healthy genre.
“I don’t remember Power 106 having a problem with Kanye’s record when it dropped. They’re playing the crap out of it because he’s a staple. So we had a lot of people that said ‘Well, we’re kind of over this record because we didn’t really appreciate the way it was rolled out.’ Like, really? Can’t wrap your head around that? So it is what it is.
“I mean we kind of create these problems for ourselves in this genre and it’d be nice to kind of do away with them. I mean, if something’s good, if something’s works, or if it’s a band that you know it’s gonna push the needle – then we should probably gonna give it a little leeway.”
