Sounding the Seventh Trumpet

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was recorded in November 2000, with a budget of only $2,000. When the band members got into the studio, The Rev recorded all the drums in one take, and the other members of the band added their parts to what he had laid down. Zacky Vengeance played lead guitar originally. When Synyster Gates joined the band in early 2001, they recorded a heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture", with Gates playing lead guitar. This version was first seen on the Warmness on the Soul single, and was later featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. This is the only album to feature bassist Justin Sane, who is also credited as playing piano in the original releases. He was briefly replaced by Dameon Ash as a touring bassist after the touring cycle, who was then replaced by Johnny Christ.

The release date of this album's initial version is theorized in many sources. On the band's official website, it's given as January 31, 2001. However, on archived versions of the website, news updates explain that the album, distributed by Lumberjack Distributions, was originally planned for a late April 2001 release. Due to unknown reasons, it had to be pushed back multiple times, at first for a June 10, then for a June 20 release. A Loudwire article about the album's 17th anniversary gives July 24 as the actual release date.[1] It was later rereleased on March 19, 2002.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Kerrang!	[12]
Ultimate Guitar	8.5/10[13]

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was generally well received by critics. Allmusic rated the album three stars out of five and wrote: "Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is a magnificent album that is suitable for any fan of metal music, as Avenged Sevenfold has a firm grasp on all that is extreme." The review also praised the tracks "Darkness Surrounding" and "We Come out at Night" as being "...excellent metalcore masterpieces, as the vocal harmonies add to these cuts to evolve the songs into fully atmospheric sonic blasts."

Avenged Sevenfold later released the Warmness on the Soul, which featured a video for the single "Warmness on the Soul". The video depicted the band wandering through city streets as M. Shadows' wife, Valary, searched for them. There is a heavy metal version of "To End the Rapture" which was released on the reissue of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet after it was bought by Hopeless Records.[14]

All tracks are written by Avenged Sevenfold, except where noted.

* The "Heavy Metal Version" of "To End the Rapture" was featured on the re-release of Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, replacing the original.

Avenged Sevenfold

• M. Shadows – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
• Zacky Vengeance – guitars
• The Rev – drums, backing vocals, sound effects, additional vocals on "The Art of Subconscious Illusion"
• Justin Sane – bass, piano

Session musicians

• Valary Di Benedetto – additional vocals on "The Art of Subconscious Illusion"
• Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals on "To End the Rapture"

Production

• Recorded at Westbeach in Hollywood, California
• Produced, engineered, and mixed by Donnell Cameron and Avenged Sevenfold
• Assistant engineering by Henrah Kruzchev
• Mastered by Ramon Breton and Avenged Sevenfold at Oceanview Mastering