Avenged Sevenfold & Prophets of Rage Discuss Upcoming Tour, Politics, and More: Exclusive
This summer, rock band Avenged Sevenfold and supergroup Prophets of Rage are joining forces for the End of the World Tour. Ahead of the venture -- which kicks off on July 22 in Mansfield, Mass. -…
This summer, rock band Avenged Sevenfold and supergroup Prophets of Rage are joining forces for the End of the World Tour. Ahead of the venture — which kicks off on July 22 in Mansfield, Massachusetts — members of the two groups sat down for their first ever interview together to discuss tour excitement, politics, and their respect for one another.
Tom Morello (Prophets of Rage, Rage Against the Machine) called the upcoming set an unapologetically, huge rock tour. “One thing about this End of the World tour that makes me very, very excited is the enduring power of rock and roll music,” he said. The guitarist then turned the tables on his tour mates to ask, “In 2018, why is rock as big as it is and why is it so off the spectrum of the media?”
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Avenged Sevenfold’s frontman M. Shadows and B-Real (Prophets of Rage, Cypress Hill) agreed that it’s about people seeking out the music they enjoy. “There’s still people out there that just want that adrenaline rush and want to go out there and get in the pit or sit in the crowd and watch a crazy show,” Shadows said. B-Real added that when it comes to their particular genre, people “won’t just wait for it to be spoon fed to them on radio or anything like that.”
The bands also shared their mutual admiration for each other during their sit down. Shadows revealed to Morello that he learned how to play guitar by observing the Rage Against the Machine guitarist. “It’s really cool to have it all come full circle,” he said. Morello first caught hold of Avenged Sevenfold with their video for “Bat Country” and explained what he thinks the two acts have in common.
“It’s always been unafraid to play the music that we really love and believe in, regardless of what trends currently are.” B-Real then admitted to A7X that their moniker “was a badass name” before Shadows explained its Biblical inspiration.
While discussing politics, Shadows alluded to Rage’s hip-hop roots and what he admired about the genre’s societal impact. “I think hip-hop does a really good job of holding up a mirror to society and kind of show certain people’s struggles, and I think rock music has a different approach sometimes,” he said. Morello then mentioned his bands’ mantra, ‘The world isn’t going to change itself; that’s up to you.'”
Keeping the powerful saying in mind, Morello continued with what he hopes to accomplish on stage. “So to speak honestly in an unfiltered way about the world in the way that it’s f—ed up and how we together might be able to forge something where there’s more peace, where there’s more justice, where there’s more equality and do that in a setting of an awesome rock and roll concert, that’s kind of what we aim for every night.”
Watch the videos below and check out the dates for the End of The World tour here.
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