Avenged Sevenfold Anticipated Taking Heat On Lineup Change

(Metal Hammer) M Shadows has admitted that Avenged Sevenfold knew they'd "take heat" for replacing drummer Arin Ilejay with Brooks Wackerman before the making of latest album The Stage.

Wackerman is the band's third sticksman since the death of Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan in 2009, with Mike Portnoy appearing on 2010's Nightmare and Ilejay taking the stool for 2013's Hail To The King.

Frontman Shadows tells That's Not Metal: "We wouldn't have made this change unless we knew it was the right decision. We spent a long time, and we took heat from people that don't know the situation, like, 'Oh, changing drummers again.'

"From the outside, we knew that was going to be an issue. But on the inside we were making the adjustments we knew were going to get us to the point to where we can put out something we're proud of."

He describes Wackerman, who's older than his colleagues, as "a guy we can throw ideas at, a smart guy, a great guy to be around, and just a fantastic drummer."

He adds: "We were doing our due diligence behind the scenes, from taking our time writing the record to staying off the road to getting Brooks a year and a half ago." Read more here.

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