The Stage by Avenged Sevenfold

The Stage, Avenged Sevenfold's seventh album, was surprise-released on Capitol Records on October 28, 2016, the Huntington Beach band's first record in 11 years to come out somewhere other than Warner Bros., thanks to a legal dispute with that label. It was also the first with former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman behind the kit, alongside M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates and Johnny Christ.

Written and recorded across 2016, it's their first concept album and a hard swerve into progressive metal, a sprawling look at artificial intelligence and a society bent on destroying itself. It runs 73 minutes and 35 seconds, their longest yet, and it's home to "Exist", their longest song at 15 minutes and 41 seconds. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, drew positive reviews, and the title track landed a Best Rock Song nomination at the 2018 Grammys.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.