A hacker apparently used deepfake AI technology to emulate singer M. Shadows’ voice and falsely announce the cancellation of Avenged Sevenfold’s upcoming festival appearances.
On a recently uploaded episode of the band’s “Trax” podcast, a voice appearing to be that of M. Shadows revealed that Avenged Sevenfold would no longer appear at two upcoming US festivals — Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple — as the band completes work on a long-awaited new album.
The entire announcement was convincingly professional overall. But as it turns out, the podcast upload was entirely bogus.
The episode was uploaded to Spotify and shared on the band’s Twitter account. Shadows soon replied: “Yikes! This is NOT TRUE. We are still playing. Getting to the bottom of this.”
“Literally walking in the streets of Mexico and listening to this,” Shadows later posted. “What the actual fuck… NOT ME!”
The “Trax” podcast has since been taken down, but you can read the full transcription [via Metal Injection] of the deepfake voiceover below:
“Hey, Trax listeners, we’re so sorry to bring bad news to you all, but I wanted you to hear it straight from the horse’s mouth. We’ve had some unexpected delays on the new album and have decided to cancel our appearances at Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple to focus on finishing it up. It breaks our heart to do this, but some things have to be done.
I understand this is disappointing news for everyone, and I want to let you know that we are truly sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Creating new music is a passion we have dedicated our lives to, and we believe our fans deserve nothing but the best from us. We put our hearts and souls into this new project to make it the best it can be.
We’ve been working tirelessly on this new music and are committed to bringing it to you as soon as possible. We know that cancelling more shows is a major disappointment, and I want to assure you that this is a decision we did not make lightly. Many of you will be let down and frustrated. And for that we are deeply sorry.
We want to thank you for your understanding and support during this time. Your dedication to our music and your unwavering enthusiasm for our shows inspire us every day. We promise to make it up to you, and we will see you soon. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and we thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Some are speculating that Avenged Sevenfold themselves were in on the fake announcement, as a way to promote their new album. In reality, a new Avenged Sevenfold album is expected to be released sometime this year, but it won’t stop them from playing the Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple festivals. Pick up tickets here.
Update: Avenged Sevenfold have officially addressed the hack, tweeting on Monday, “Our accounts were compromised over the weekend and have now been recovered. Our festival appearances have not been cancelled. For the time being, please go to our Discord for all future communications. Thank you for your patience.”
Yikes! This is NOT TRUE. We are still playing. Getting to the bottom of this. https://t.co/dQ9yC3mc1T
— M. Shadows (@shadows_eth) February 26, 2023
Literally walking in the streets of Mexico and listening to this. What the actual fuck… NOT ME! https://t.co/PmCLrWX4NT
Advertisement— M. Shadows (@shadows_eth) February 26, 2023
Our accounts were compromised over the weekend and have now been recovered. Our festival appearances have not been cancelled.
For the time being, please go to our Discord for all future communications. Thank you for your patience. https://t.co/VfoJYA4Mh1
— Avenged Sevenfold (@TheOfficialA7X) February 27, 2023
