Mad Hatter

Album: Black Reign (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In September 2018, Avenged Sevenfold released a four-track EP linked to the release of the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 video game. Having been featured in all three of the Black Ops releases previously, it was a no-brainer for the game-developing company Treyarch to get them involved in a new installment.

    The EP contains a completely new song, "Mad Hatter," written for Black Ops 4, plus the other three tracks the band has written and recorded for the Call Of Duty: Black Ops franchise: "Not Ready to Die," "Carry On" and "Jade Helm."
  • The game finds the central characters having to deal with a massive zombie uprising, but Avenged Sevenfold wanted to go in a slightly different direction with "Mad Hatter." M. Shadows told Kerrang: "The song is dark and brooding. We wanted to capture a difference feeling than a straight-ahead 'zombie killer' track. These songs are good places for us to experiment with our sound. I would put this in the category of 'dark alternative.'"
  • Asked whether "Mad Hatter" was written with Call Of Duty in mind or if it was a leftover cut from The Stage sessions, M. Shadows said:

    "I did a Twitter takeover where a fan asked me about doing music for Black Ops 3. The team at Treyarch saw it and asked us to participate. I went into the studio and saw what they were working on. We only had a month to get them a finished product, because of our European tour. We wrote what we felt would be a departure for not only us, but Treyarch as well."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Little Richard

Little RichardFact or Fiction

Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.