Jimmy sullivan avenged sevenfold biography book

The supercharged Avenged Sevenfold timekeeper keeps old-school metal alive
with brute force, machine-like precision, and a flair for the dramatic

by Michael Parillo

Avenged Sevenfold does nothing halfway. From their wacky aliases to their arm-covering tattoos to their breakneck tempos to their legendary hedonistic appetites, the five bandmembers are devoted to classic metal excess. But behind the carefully cultivated bad-boy image—which is encouraged by the press as much as by the band—lies a simple, not very sensational-sounding truth: This is just a bunch of buddies who love heavy music and have put in all the hard work that metal mastery requires, far from the roaring crowds and spoils of life on the road.

Make no mistake, it takes work. Lead guitarist Synyster Gates (a.k.a. Brian Haner) isn’t just ripping frantic shredster solos while set in a rocking pose at the lip of the stage, though that would be plenty. He’s giving his fans a proper spectacle, running miles up, down, and around A7X’s bi-level stage set, leaving burning runs of dead-on 32nd notes in his wake without skimping on guitar-hero gestures. The same goes for singer M. Shadows (Matthew Sanders), guitarist Zacky Vengeance (Zachary Baker), and bassist Johnny Christ (Jonathan Seward), who get a full cardiovascular workout every night while delivering the musical goods.

But the hardest-working man in Avenged Sevenfold is James Sullivan, The Rev—or, if you prefer, The Reverend Tholomew Plague. Perched high behind his double bass kit, below a huge red-backlit skull with flapping, smoke-blowing bat wings, The Rev punches the clock. And punches it again, and again. And then he just smashes it to bits. Advertisement

Sullivan is the rare drummer who can combine power, brains, finesse, and good old-fashioned metal showmanship. Like his lead guitarist pal, he gives the crowd a lot to watch while plowing his way through seriously

American musician (1981–2009)

For the style used when addressing clergy, see the Reverend. For other uses, see Rev (disambiguation).

Musical artist

James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), also known by his stage name The Rev (shortened version of the Reverend Tholomew Plague), was an American musician, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, where he played drums, piano and provided backing and co-lead vocals. He was also the lead vocalist/pianist in the avant-garde metal band Pinkly Smooth and drummer for the ska punk band Suburban Legends from 1998 to 1999.

Early life and education

Sullivan was born on February 9, 1981, of Irish descent and raised Roman Catholic. He received his first pair of drumsticks at the age of five and his own drum set at the age of twelve. While in high school, he started playing in bands.

Career

Before leaving to join Avenged Sevenfold as one of the band's founding members, Sullivan was the drummer for the third wave ska band Suburban Legends. At the age of 19, he recorded his first album with Avenged Sevenfold titled Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. His early influences included Frank Zappa and King Crimson. The Rev stated in an interview with Modern Drummer that he "was raised on that stuff as much as rock and metal."

He was influenced by drummers Vinnie Paul, Mike Portnoy (who would later be his fill-in with Avenged Sevenfold), Dave Lombardo, Lars Ulrich, and Terry Bozzio, stating "It's funny [...], of all my influences, Tommy Lee is a visual influence. I never thought I'd have one of those." Sullivan had a signature drum fill called "the double-ride thing" or "the Double Octopus", as the Rev called it, "just for lack of a better definition": it is a short fill consisting a full bar of sixteenth single notes played unison on double b

As far as the four surviving members of Avenged Sevenfold are concerned, everything they do from here on in is for Jimmy. Zacky recalls the day when his friend appeared with the word 'Fiction' tattooed across his sternum: when the guitarist asked Jimmy why he'd chosen this tattoo, the drummer replied, 'Because if anyone were to hear the story of my life, they wouldn't believe it.' The band's mission now, as Zacky sees it, is to ensure that the world now hears that story at maximum volume.

"The day before he died, Jimmy fucking quoted Winston Churchill, that famous quote where Churchill was asked if history would be kind to him, and he said, 'It will be kind to me, for I intend to write it,'" says the guitarist quietly. "Jimmy did it in an English accent, with a cigar in his mouth and he was right: he left us, his best friends who he put all his faith and trust in, to write the fucking book on him. The way he is going down in history is the way that we get to tell his stories. And I think that's unbelievable."

"So if we're going to be a band," says Synyster, picking up on his friend's thoughts seamlessly, as all his bandmates seem capable of doing for one another, "and if we're going to push Jimmy's legacy and tell Jimmy's stories, then we're going to have to do stuff like this: we're going to have to do press, we're going to have to do photos, we're going to have to do all the politics that go along with being a band.

"After Jimmy died, we were fucking done," he continues. "For the first week we were done. We all sat down and said, 'We gotta throw in the towel, without Jimmy there is no Avenged Sevenfold.' But when we sat and talked with Jimmy's family they were like, 'You guys have gotta do this.' His sister Katie said, 'If it were one of you guys, what would you want from the other guys? You've gotta keep going. Jimmy left you a bunch of gifts, and he'd want you to do it for yourselves, but from us, the Sullivan family, do it for him, please.' They kinda k