Afterlife (Avenged Sevenfold song)

"Afterlife"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album Avenged Sevenfold
Released	January 29, 2008
Format	Digital download, CD single
Recorded	2007 at Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California, Eldorado Recording Studios, and Burbank & Capitol Studios in Hollywood, California
Genre	Hard rock[1]
Length	5:55 (album version) 4:01 (radio edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	The Rev
Producer	Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Almost Easy" (2007) "Afterlife" (2008) "Crossroads" (2008)

"Afterlife" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold. The song is released as the third single from their self-titled album. The song itself features a string orchestra and was written by the band's drummer, The Rev. It was voted the best song of the new album on the band's homepage. The single and a live-action music video were released in early 2008.
The music video is directed by Wayne Isham who has shot videos for bands like Bon Jovi, Judas Priest and Mötley Crüe. As a side note, in the album version, there are violin parts in the intro and later in the song, both of which are cut out of the video, along with the bridge of the song, which features The Rev's vocals.
The song is available as downloadable content for Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5, and is featured in the video game NHL 09. It was released for Rocksmith on October 30th, 2012.

Music video

The music video (legally released on March 12 by Avenged Sevenfold and Warner Bros.) consists of the band performing, on a small stage and shows clips of M. Shadows running shirtless, ZackBat Country]] music videos.

Lyrical meaning

The song is about a man who dies early and finds himself in heaven. Upon entering, he realizes that he has too many things to do on Earth, and to go back and make it right he has to escape from the afterlife. (This part was mentioned by Zacky Vengeance in the "Making of 'Afterlife'" video).