Avenged Sevenfold Unleash Hard Rocking ‘Hail to the King’ Video

Avenged Sevenfold stick to the basics in their video for 'Hail to the King.' It's no flash, all thrash ... and we don't necessarily mean the thrash genre. But the band does thrash and smash away at its instruments.

The black and white clip features the band performing -- and frontman M. Shadows is rocking some long locks, which is a different look for him, since we're used to him sporting a close-cropped style.

Coif aside, there are images of despots, shirtless warriors, swords, crests with banners boasting A7X lyrics and other medieval signposts that certainly aesthetically align with the anthemic, ride-your-steed-into-battle nature of the song, thanks to its galloping solos and gnarly riffage. It's not a complex clip by any means, but the narrative, thanks to the visuals, keep things highly entertaining from start to finish.

Plus, we could watch Avenged Sevenfold play all day long, since it feels like we were invited to an intimate gig where we're the only members of the audience and the band is playing just for us, especially when Shadows rocks the invisible oranges pose. You know, the hand in the air, looking like he's gripping an orange that isn't there. If you're not familiar, you should be. It's this generation's version of metal horns.

'Hail to the King' is a stark clip that gives us an up close and personal few minutes with Avenged Sevenfold.