Avenged Sevenfold base video game on their songs
Like most rock stars, US headbangers Avenged Sevenfold have their share of shrieking female fans.
But the Huntington Beach heavy metallers, famed for their duelling guitars, crushing riffs and wacky stage monikers, are nonchalant about women going gaga over them.
The main reason?
"Well, everyone in the band is married," dead-panned lead guitarist Brian Haner Jr (aka Synyster Gates), 33, in a phone interview with M from his home in California.
"Once in a while, girls will come up to us and tell us how much they adore us.
"But most of our fans actually know our girlfriends and now, wives. They're extremely supportive of our significant others."
With a laugh, Haner added that the "ladies' man in the group" used to be their drummer Arin Ilejay, who at 26, is the youngest member.
"When it came to attracting female attention, Arin was that blessed guy," said Haner.
"Then recently, he got hitched too."
Avenged Sevenfold also consists of frontman Matthew Sanders (M Shadows), rhythm guitarist Zachary Baker (Zacky Vengeance), both 33, and bassist Johnny Seward (Johnny Christ), 30.
They will play in Singapore later this month as part of their 2015 South-east Asian tour.
It will be the band's fourth concert here, following SingFest 2007 and solo shows in 2008 and 2012.
"Our Singapore fans are absolutely insane. It was really fun," said Haner.
"Singapore's so beautiful and green. I have fond memories of digging into chilli crab, which I'm a huge fan of. The crabs were unbelievably big.
"I love (cocktail) Singapore Sling too."
Their local fans, as passionate as they are, are not as extreme as some of Avenged Sevenfold's fans in the West.
"During our shows, we get a lot of people running onto the stage," said Haner. "Once, this gigantic dude climbed up and propped himself onto metal bars surrounding our venue.
"The bars were more than 100 feet (approximately 30m) in the air.
"None of us had any idea how he managed to get there. He must have been high on all sorts of drugs.
"It took four bodyguards to get him down."
Away from recording and touring, Avenged Sevenfold, whose hits include Buried Alive, Seize The Day and Nightmare, have another cause for celebration.
Last October, they released their first mobile role-playing game, Hail To The King: Deathbat, available for iOS and Android devices.
"Having our own video game definitely adds a whole new dimension to our music," said Haner.
"It's like giving our fans the entire package. Besides enjoying our songs, they have the visuals now, too.
FYI
WHAT: Avenged Sevenfold Live In Singapore
WHEN: Jan 25, 7.30pm
Where: The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa
TICKETS: $118 from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg or 6348-5555) at the door
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