ROCK'IN blog's

City of Evil (2005—2007)

City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 7, 2005 and debuted at #30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.[9][10] It utilized a more epic, classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.[11][12] The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; M. Shadows worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson—whose clients have included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell—for months before the album's release to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone".[11][13]
After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out R&B Singers Rihanna and Chris Brown, Panic! at the Disco, Angels and Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired song “Bat Country.” [14]
They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own "Cities of Evil Tour."[15] In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Charts, #6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to #1 on MTV's Total Request Live.[16] Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first gold record.[17] It was later certified platinum in August 2009.