Avenged Sevenfold’s M. Shadows Says Bands Selling Multiple Different Pressings & Versions Of Their Albums To Pad Chart Numbers Are Committing “Fan Abuse”

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows have publicly criticized one of the more divisive long-standing music industry traditions of padding chart numbers. In a tweet shared last night (November 07th), Shadows explained his distaste for the various tricks labels and artists have used to sell additional copies of what is essentially the same album over the years:

Given the timing of his tweet, some readers took to interpreting Shadows‘ comments as being aimed at Taylor Swift and her fans. The perpetual chart-topper recently shifted an astonishing 1.578 million units in the United States alone amid the first week of her latest album “Midnights” being available.

Shadows denied those claims and gave Swift her proverbial flowers. He also further discussed his opinion on these now commonplace industry tactics with various Twitter users. Some excerpts from his conversations include:

According to one tweet from Shadows, his mind was on the topic as the band’s label have been presenting them ‘options’ regarding the release strategy for their long-awaited eighth studio album.