Avenged Sevenfold emerged with a metalcore  sound on their debut Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, which included primarily screamed vocals. The band changed their style on their third album and first major label release, City of Evil, which featured more of a hard rock style. The band continued to explore new sounds with their self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, died of heart disease and combined effect of drugs and alcohol in his body in 2009. Despite his death, the band continued on with help of now-former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010 which debuted on the top spot of the Billboard 200, a first for the band.

Albums:

Nightmare is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. Released on July 27, 2010 through Warner Bros. Records, it was produced by Mike Elizondo and mixed in New York City by noted engineer Andy Wallace.  Nightmare is the first Avenged Sevenfold record without founding member James "The Rev" Sullivan performing drums due to his death in December 2009, although he had a large role as a songwriter, and his vocals were prerecorded for the songs "Fiction" and "Save Me". Track List:

1. "Nightmare"    - 6:14
2. "Welcome to the Family"    - 4:05
3. "Danger Line"    - 5:28
4. "Buried Alive"    - 6:44
5. "Natural Born Killer"    - 5:15
6. "So Far Away"    - 5:27
7. "God Hates Us"    - 5:19
8. "Victim"    - 7:30
9. "Tonight the World Dies"    - 4:41
10. "Fiction"    - 5:13
11. "Save Me"    - 10:56

12. "Lost It All"    - 3:57

Waking the Fallen is the second album by Avenged Sevenfold, released on August 26, 2003 through Hopeless Records. It is the last release by the band to feature their metalcore sound, although more clean vocals are featured on the album than their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. It is also their only album without any profane language to date. It is also the first album to feature Johnny Christ on bass, thus completeing the band's primary lineup (until The Rev's death in 2009).

Sounding the Seventh Trumpet is the first full album American metalcore band, Avenged Sevenfold. Initial release of this album was in 2001 by Good Life Recordings, but on March 19, 2002 Hopeless Records released  again  with  little difference in the cover of the album tracks plus one bonus track that is, "To End the Rapture (Heavy Metal Version)" is also filled by the first time  by their new guitarist, Synyster Gates.