Album · Avenged Sevenfold
City of Evil by Avenged Sevenfold
City of Evil is an album by Avenged Sevenfold, released in 2005. 3 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 27 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Bat Country”, on 24 lists with a best position of #13.
City of Evil, Avenged Sevenfold's third album and their first for a major label, came out on Warner Bros. and Hopeless on June 6, 2005, and it's the moment the Huntington Beach crew traded metalcore's harsh vocals for the swagger of old-school heavy metal and hard rock. The band co-produced with Andrew Murdock, and M. Shadows spent months before release working with vocal coach Ron Anderson, whose clients had included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell, so he could sing with grit and still hold a tune. The Rev, meanwhile, drilled on his pedals for hours until he could hit 210 beats per minute.
The result is gloriously overblown, with the guitars of Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance going for broke and Johnny Christ holding down the bottom. "Beast and the Harlot" gave the album its title, "Bat Country" went gold as a single, and by 2020 it stood as the band's best-selling record.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from City of Evil on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bat Country | 24 | #13 | – | 2005–2023 | |
| 2 | Seize the Day | 1 | #19 | – | 2006 | |
| 3 | Beast and the Harlot | 2 | #72 | – | 2006 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.