During his appearance on the Locales Only podcast, M. Shadows recently discussed the advantages of virtual reality (VR) concerts over traditional live shows.
The Avenged Sevenfold frontman said that VR concerts are different from live events, explaining:
“But VR concerts aren’t supposed to replace that, right? An artist comes to your town once every two years or once every three years. This is something that you can literally grab that beer, get in there with your friends, and go have an interactive concert. That is not like being in the front row because you are literally immersed in the production. You can go around and see any angle you want; you are on the stage. You are in the stage.”
Interactive Elements Of VR Concerts
Shadows went on to reveal what the VR concerts include:
“There’s fire and reapers and lightning and things happening. You can go through, and you can pick out. There’s pieces of skull everywhere in our particular show and you can put the skull together, and you get fire hands, and you can do all that.”
The host asked for clarification about whether attendees could be anywhere on stage and engage in interactive activities. The singer replied:
“Yes, and you’re not even on a stage. We made it so there is no stage like we are in an environment that we’ve created these environments Unreal Engine 5, which is the most powerful engine.”
Avenged Sevenfold Explores The Virtual Concert Space
The host asked if the audience could change the concert’s setting, but Shadows explained that the band creates the environment themselves. He continued:
“It’s uncomfortable for me to watch. I can see all the way down my mouth. I’m like… I was watching… Megan Thee Stallion did one, and she’s just right there, like she’s dancing. You’re just like, what the hell? Like, oh my God, but it’s not supposed to recreate. It’s actually giving you closer access in a lot of ways.”
In early March, Avenged Sevenfold launched a new VR concert titled ‘Looking Inside,’ in collaboration with Amaze VR. The 26-minute show is available on platforms like Apple Vision Pro and MetaQuest VR and features performances of songs like ‘Mattel’ and ‘Hail To The King.’ Shadows expressed his excitement about the visual aspects and the ability to walk around the virtual space.
You can have a look at the vocalist’s entire chat below.