It could very well be argued that Avenged Sevenfold’s “Hail To The King” single is the band’s most successful song. “Bat Country”, “Nightmare”, and even “Afterlife” likely have something to say about that, but it’s definitely a contender. Anyway. The album that’s culled from was where the band started to reach the arena-level status they carry now, and put them in front of the biggest audiences that they’d seen to date upon its 2013 release. Reminiscent of when Metallica released their Black Album (both in accessibility and also sound, to an extent), the single made a huge impact even to the mainstream, where it reached #83 on the Billboard Hot 100. Clearly it was a success for all involved.
The song has now reached a new milestone – a new 3x Platinum certification by the RIAA, for sales of over 3 million copies. Consequently, the album actually turned 10 years old today, so there’s that. And judging by the song (and album’s) popularity, it’s clear the more streamlined sound worked for them. Of course, it also wasn’t a surprise to see them go a more progressive route on its subsequent album, 2016’s The Stage.
