AUDIO PREVIEW: The Stage is set for Avenged Sevenfold's debut at Sheffield Arena

The band, also known as A7X, are on a world tour promoting their latest and seventh studio hit album The Stage.

And in an exclusive chat frontman Matt Sanders, aka M. Shadows told why fans old and new should join the party and their growing legion of fans.

"The music will be loud, the beer will be flowing and we promise an awesome time," said Matt, lead vocalist, songwriter and founding member.

"We are going to give you the best, most energy packed set list and visually it will be very stimulating. A good night even if you just want to roll up and check us out to see what all the hype is about.

" I would go see us just for the fans. The community is so tight knit that it's like a cult following and it feels like a place that you are welcome."

AUDIO: Listen to Matt's full 10-minute chat with Graham Walker - CLICK HERE.

BUY TICKETS: Tickets for Sheffield Arena are £42 and £50.40 online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk or by calling 0114 256 56 56; £39.38 and £47.25 bought in person at the venue. Prices including booking fees.

Still need convincing. Then check out their résumé.

Eight million albums sold world wide, seven studio albums, one live album/DVD, two compilation albums and 18 singles.

Their last three albums have all been in the UK top 20 and in 2013 they went number one globally with Hail the King. The eight date UK tour promotes The Stage, which was released in October.

Hit singles include Bat Country, Almost Easy, Scream, Nightmare, Welcome To The Family, So Far Away, Hail To The King, Shepherd of Fire and their latest The Stage.

The rockers have also hit the big time in the world of computer games - appearing as characters in Call of Duty Black Ops 2, the biggest-selling video game of all time, which featured the band’s performance of Carry On.

They also turned up in 2015’s Guitar Hero: Live including an industry first playable live performance and released their own action-adventure mobile video game Hail To The King: Deathbat.

But the band, also known as A7X, which emerged with a metalcore sound and hails from Huntington Beach, California, is still best known for spectacular, breath-taking live shows, routinely selling out arenas and headlining some of the biggest and most prestigious music festivals.

Their last arena tour sold out in Manchester, Birmingham and London’s Wembley Arena. They followed that with an awe inspiring headline slot at Download Festival.

Now they are back, promising to be bigger and badder than ever.

But the growing army of A7X fans are also in for a surprise this time around, says Matt, who will take the stage with rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Synyster Gates, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.

"Without giving it all away we are going to be changing our live show drastically from what people are used to," he revealed.

"People have known us for taking an eighties approach, big shows, with fire. This time we are going to take more of a cerebral approach. The new record is based on space and artificial intelligence so we are going to work those things into our show and try to do something completely innovative and different.

"We will sprinkle in our bigger songs and some deeper cuts that we haven't played in the UK before, so a little bit of all the best parts.

"While we do want to gain new fans, obviously, we also know what we are getting when we come to the UK which is pure awesomeness."

Matt, who admits he is not spiritual, explained how he found the band name in high school by looking through The Bible and came across it in the story about Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:24.

"Avenged Sevenfold is about the first murder on earth and I thought it sounded metal. So we decided on it. I don't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing because every time we say the name we have to say it like 30 times, because people can can't understand what we are saying," he laughed.

The band will have Disturbed as special guests on the tour, with In Flames opening.

BUY TICKETS: Tickets for Sheffield Arena are £42 and £50.40 online at www.sheffieldarena.co.uk or by calling 0114 256 56 56; £39.38 and £47.25 bought in person at the venue. Prices including booking fees.

For more about Avenged Sevenfold visit their official site at www.avengedsevenfold.com, follow them on Twitter @theofficialA7X, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AvengedSevenfold and Instagram on www.instagram.com/theofficiala7x