Avenged Sevenfold have long been public super-fans of Call of Duty, and they’ve become a recurring part of the game’s continued success over the years. Now, as frontman M. Shadows becomes a playable character in Operation Apocalypse Z, the newest update of Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4, their collaborative legacy runs even deeper.
With the launch this past Tuesday (July 16), Shadows joins a long list of prominent celebrities to collaborate with the storied gaming franchise and be presented as a character, joining the ranks of John Malkovich, Jeff Goldblum, and Danny Trejo, among others. Understandably, Shadows is excited about the opportunity to help you thwart a zombie apocalypse.
“I’m a huge gamer. I totally get a kick out of it. My kids get a kick out of it, it’s something they can actually relate to,” says Shadows in an interview on the band’s YouTube channel. “When my wife saw the character, I think I could tell she thought the character was a little bit better looking than I am in real life, so that kind of hurt my feelings a little bit.”
The new collaboration is just one of many between the Orange County metal band and the franchise, as they’ve contributed a number of original tracks to past incarnations, with “Not Ready To Die” (featured on Call Of Duty: Black Ops), followed by “Carry On” (Call Of Duty: Black Ops II), “Jade Helm” (Call Of Duty: Black Ops III) and “Mad Hatter,” their most recent track for the game, featured on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
Check out Shadows’ full interview below.