IndonesiaBeginning (1999-2004)
The band was formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California with original members M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, The Rev and Matt Wendt. named his band whose references come from the Cain and Abel stories of the Bible, however, they are not religious bands. During its formation, each member of the band wore a pseudonym which is also their nickname while attending High School. Before the release of their debut album, the band recorded two demos in 1999 and 2000. Their first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, was recorded when the band members were still eighteen years old and also still attending high school. The album was originally released by their first label company, Good Life Record in 2001. After guitarist Synyster Gates joined the band, in late 1999 entered when he was 18 years old. The song "To End the Rapture" was re-recorded by displaying full members of the band. The album was later re-released on Hopeless Records in 2002.
The band then began to receive recognition, they performed with bands like Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall and played on the Take Action Tour. After their fourth bassist, Johnny Christ joined permanently, they released the Waking the Fallen album at Hopeless Records in August 2003. The band received recognition by Billboard and The Boston Globe, and also played on "Vans Warped Tour". In 2004, Avenged Sevenfold toured again on "Vans Warped Tour" and recorded a video for the song "Unholy Confessions" which entered the charts on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball. Shortly after releasing Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and signed a contract submitted by Warner Bros..
