Black Reign
EP by
Avenged Sevenfold
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2018
Recorded
  • April 2011
  • August 2012
  • November 2015
  • March 2018
GenreHeavy metal
Length21:14
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Avenged Sevenfold chronology
Live at the GRAMMY Museum
(2017) 		Black Reign
(2018) 		Life Is But a Dream...
(2023)
Singles from Black Reign
  1. "Mad Hatter"
    Released: September 17, 2018

Black Reign is the second EP by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released on September 21, 2018, through Warner Bros. Records. It is a compilation of all their original songs created for the Call of Duty: Black Ops series from 2011 to 2018.

Background

In September 2018 it was announced the band would release all previous non-album collaborations with the Call of Duty: Black Ops video game series in one collected EP, including a brand new single made specifically for Black Ops 4 as well as "Jade Helm", which was previously only available in-game on Black Ops III.[1][2][3]

On September 23, 2018, M. Shadows took to Avenged Sevenfold's Reddit to address the criticism regarding the mixing of "Mad Hatter". He subsequently published a second version to download for free and explained that the song would be replaced on all radio stations and streaming websites.[4]

After the release of this EP, M. Shadows was featured as a playable character in Black Ops 4's "Blackout" gamemode.[5]

Musical style

M. Shadows spoke to Kerrang! about the EP saying "We felt that we should go for something bigger, darker and more cerebral" referring to the brand new song "Mad Hatter". He continued "We have a very deep relationship with the team at Treyarch. We're proud to be part of the family and extremely excited for people to enjoy this next chapter and our contribution to it."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Avenged Sevenfold

No.TitleCreated forLength
1."Mad Hatter"Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (2018)5:03
2."Carry On"Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)4:15
3."Not Ready to Die" (from Call of the Dead)Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)7:05
4."Jade Helm" (instrumental)Call of Duty: Black Ops III (2015)4:51
Total length:21:14

Personnel

All credits adapted from Tidal.[6]

Avenged Sevenfold

Session musicians

Production

Charts

Chart (2018) Peak
position
Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[7] 65

References

  1. ^ a b "Avenged Sevenfold Announce New EP, Black Reign — Kerrang!". Kerrang!. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  2. ^ "Avenged Sevenfold to release Black Reign EP on Friday". Metal Hammer Magazine. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Avenged Sevenfold announce Black Reign EP, release new song, "Mad Hatter": Stream". Consequence of Sound. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "AVENGED SEVENFOLD Releases New Version Of 'Mad Hatter' In Response To Fan Complaints". blabbermouth.net. September 23, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Childers, Chad (July 9, 2019). "Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows Will Be a Playable Character in 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 4'". Noise Creep. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Black Reign / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "TOP CURRENT ALBUM SALES". Billboard. October 6, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
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