Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King (2013)

Avenged Sevenfold - Hail to the King (2013)

Tracklist front / back album covers

1. "Shepherd of Fire"   5:25

2. "Hail to the King"   5:06

3. "Doing Time"   3:27

4. "This Means War"   6:09

5. "Requiem"   4:23

6. "Crimson Day"   4:58

7. "Heretic"   4:56

8. "Coming Home"   6:26

9. "Planets"   5:57

10. "Acid Rain"   6:40

Total length:   53:27

Deluxe version bonus tracks

11. "Hail to the King" (music video)   5:13

12. "St. James"   5:01

Total length  : 63:41

 

Avenged Sevenfold Band Members / Musicians

M. Shadows – lead vocals

Zacky Vengeance – rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Synyster Gates – lead guitar, backing vocals, additional vocals on "Planets", co-lead vocals on "Doing Time"

Johnny Christ – bass guitar, backing vocals

Arin Ilejay – drums, percussion

Storm Lee Gardner – choir vocals on "Requiem"

Ran Jackson – choir vocals on "Requiem"

Jessi Collins – choir vocals on "Requiem"

Sharlotte Gibson – choir vocals on "Requiem"

Rick D. Waserman – voice-over on "Requiem"

Brent Arrowood – sound effects on "Shepherd of Fire"

Brian Haner Sr – outro guitar solo on "Coming Home"

David Campbell – orchestral arrangement & conductor

Suzie Katayama - cello on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem", "Crimson Day", "Planets" and "Acid Rain"

Dane Little, John E. Acosta – cello on "Requiem", "Crimson Day" and "Acid Rain"

Charlie Bisharat, John Wittenberg, Josefina Vergara, Michelle Richards, Natalie Leggett, Sara Parkins, Songa Lee, Tereza Stanislav – violin on "Requiem", "Crimson Day" and "Acid Rain"

Ed Meares - upright bass on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

John Fumo, Rick Baptist – trumpet on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

Jeff Babko – piano on "Acid Rain"

Alan Kaplan – trombone on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

Steven Holtman, Andrew Martin, Jaime Ochoa - bass trombone on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

Douglas Tornquist – tuba on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

Joe Meyer, John Reynolds – horn on "Shepherd of Fire", "Requiem" and "Planets"

Mike Elizondo – production, keyboards on "Crimson Day", "Heretic" and "Coming Home", sound effects on "Shepherd of Fire" and "Acid Rain"

Allen Wolfe – A&R

Joanna Terrasi – A&R

Brent Arrowood – assistant engineer

Chris Sporleder – assistant engineer

D.A. Frizell – illustrations, treatment

Adam Hawkins – engineer

Paul Suarez – pro-tools

Cam Rackman – paintings, portraits

Andy Wallace – mixer

Bob Ludwig – mastering engineer

Hail to the King is the 6th studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 23, 2013, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Mike Elizondo. Hail to the King is the only Avenged Sevenfold album to feature drummer Arin Ilejay, prior to his departure in July 2015. It is also the first Avenged Sevenfold album without musical contributions from Ilejay's late predecessor, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan; the bonus track, "St. James", was written in his memory.

The album was a commercial and critical success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. This marks Avenged Sevenfold's second album to top the Billboard chart (after Nightmare), as well as their first to reach number one in the UK, topping the UK Albums Chart. It also topped the Canadian, Brazilian, Finnish and Irish album charts. Also, the album spawned two number one singles on Billboard's Mainstream Rock, Hail to the King, and Shepherd of Fire. The former spent 11 weeks on the top of the chart. On April 15, 2021, the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales of over 1,000,000 copies.