10 Most Controversial Metal Albums Of The 21st Century

Avenged Sevenfold were truly unstoppable by the mid-'00s. After the band dropped City of Evil, they were on their way to being one of the biggest names in metal music, all while exposing the uninitiated to this primal form of hard rock. All signs were pointing forward, but fate can be a bit cruel sometimes.

When going into recording for their new album Nightmare, drummer Jimmy 'The Rev' Sullivan was found dead in Huntington Beach of a drug overdose. This was more than just a drummer, with the Rev being an integral part of the band's makeup from the very beginning. No one could have imagined the band going on without him, but the brothers reassembled and finished off Nightmare as a tribute to their fallen friend.

Though the album does run as a concept album of sorts, it's hard not to look at all of these songs as a direct response to the Rev's passing, with his writing be peppered all throughout the project. Just listening to a song like "So Far Away" within the context of the band's turmoil is enough to leave any toughened metalhead in shambles. This may not have been a pleasant project to put together, but after years of hindsight, you can still hear the soul of the Rev laced throughout every one of these tracks.