Rapper Kanye West has served as musical inspiration for many artists across the globe.
Although they could sound more different, the “Donda” rapper and his 2010 “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” album helped inspire the metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which got its start in Huntington Beach, California, in 1999.
Kanye West Dubbed ‘A Clinic On Songwriting, Arrangement, Dynamic, The Electric, Performance, And Mixing’
The band’s guitarist, Synyster Gates, didn’t hold his back his praise for Kanye in a post on his website.
“Yo Family! This months #AOTM is very special to me because I believe that you will learn so much from this album,” he began. MBDTF by the eccentric Kanye West is a clinic on songwriting, arrangement, dynamic, the eclectic, performance, and mixing.”
“I don’t expect all of you to be thrilled about this rec but this album and this artist has elongated my bands career by inspiring us to create when it felt like we had no more to say,” he continued.
“I have to be honest, hearing someone shred or play a rad riff on the guitar no longer inspires me to pick up mine. Over the last decade I have made it my life’s work to go through the YouTube rabbit hole to source new techniques, equipment, and beyond,” he went on. “I’ve done this to help create the world’s greatest guitar school. I also use these techniques and tricks in solos and I feel that it gives me an edge so, win win.”
Gates Says That Kanye West ‘Delivers On All Fronts’
“Today, what compels me to write music and play the guitar, is when I hear someone make music sound like nothing I’ve ever heard before,” he said. “And to do it with master craftsmanship is the icing.”
“Kanye delivers on all fronts with this heavy hitter,” he wrote. “Dark Fantasy opens this brilliant body of work with a beautifully arranged pop gospel that has so much depth in tone and texture. Then we settle in with a classic R&B guitar theme with Gorgeous and we are off.”
“So I spent a lot of time in deliberation with @Jamie London trying to decide between this one and his album Ye. If you are inspired by this first record, please check out Ye,” he continued. “It might not be his best album ever but Ghost Town is my fav track he’s ever written and the dynamic throughout the entire record is like nothing I’ve ever witnessed.”
“So give em a listen and lemme know what you think,” he concluded.
Avenged Sevenfold’s Latest Album Is ‘Very Influenced By Kanye West’
In a separate interview with Metal Hammer, lead singer M. Shadows revealed that the new album is “very influenced by Kanye West.”
The lead singer revealed that there were “so many influences” when it came to making their new album, but he named Kanye West as the primary one.
“We’re very influenced by Kanye West,” Shadows said. “The thing about Kanye is that he is pulling from such great soul music.”
“I didn’t grow up with that stuff,” Shadows added. “My dad listened to Boston and Alice Cooper. I didn’t get that taste of Black music and old soul.”
“So, diving deep into jazz musicians… we’re not trying to do a jazz record, but the chord changes and progressions are so eye-opening to us,” he added.
What Do Fans Think Of This New Kanye West Influence On The Band’s Sound?
On the website, fans piled on the comments after Syn recommended Kanye to their metal fans.
“I kinda have respect for his art,” one fan wrote of Kanye. “He was weirdly influential for his genre because if I remember correctly, he was one of the first rappers that popularized the idea of singing about how you’re rich rather than being poor and how you had to rise to the top or whatnot. At least that’s how I see it.”
“Never listened to any Kanye before, gotta give this a listen,” another fan shared. “I was talking to a friend earlier about how people were complaining that the new album is gonna sound like Kanye because Matt said it’s Kanye influenced. It doesn’t mean they are gonna sound like Kanye, he’s just another one of their inspirations to write the music they write. You guys have always had a ton of different influences in your writing and that’s what make the band great.”
“This album slaps so hard,” said another. “Monster absolutely blew my socks off when I first heard it and it’s kind of what got me into appreciating rap more. I am super excited to see what people think about this after a first listen.”