Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows has defended the video message he recorded for 2 Israeli hostages after their launch.
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The singer recorded a message for Evyatar David and Man Gilboa-Dalal, with the latter being a diehard fan of the band and saying that their music helped him get by his time in captivity.
Within the message, he mentioned that was “so excited to listen to you might be residence,” including: “The belongings you guys have been by are unspeakable, horrible.”
Gilboa-Dalal mentioned: “Yesterday we listened to their songs. It was overwhelming. It was so a lot better than imagining it for 2 years. It felt like my soul had left my physique. I’m not even joking. I can’t consider he made this video.”
We’re so deeply grateful for you, @shadows_eth. Your unbelievable assist over these previous two years has meant the world to us. pic.twitter.com/coHz3c4hIc
— A7X Israel 🇮🇱 (@A7Xisrael) October 15, 2025
He and David are two of the remaining residing hostages launched by Hamas earlier this month after spending over two years in captivity in Gaza, whereas Israel has freed virtually 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees (per BBC Information) following a deal brokered by the US.
Shadows’ choice to ship the message proved divisive – some followers have praised it whereas others have accused the band of not being vocal about Palestine – however he has defined to Rolling Stone that it wasn’t a political one.
The singer, who revealed that the band misplaced two “buddies” when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, mentioned: “It’s not one thing that I’m going to fret about; I do know that it’s the correct factor to do. I feel you must keep on with your ethical compass, however I’ve undoubtedly heard it from each side.
“To me, that video is only a human doing one thing for one more human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in somebody’s eye. It truly is about two human beings which were by hell. And if we will’t agree on that, it’s actually arduous to agree on something.”
He continued: “We’ve accomplished issues for lots of various folks throughout totally different cultures and totally different religions. And on the finish of the day, in the event that they’re followers, we actually need to attain out and we need to assist them in some form of method. And so it simply appears unfair — [this idea that] ‘for those who’re not on my facet, then you definately’re an enemy.’ It’s actually sort of gross.”
Avenged Sevenfold has a large fanbase in Israel, and so they’ve performed there previously, and Shadows mentioned about David and Gilboa-Dalal: “I’ve not heard from them but. However I’m positive we are going to play over there and do one thing for them.”
Elsewhere within the interview, Shadows mentioned that he revered Disturbed frontman David Draiman, who has been vocally pro-Israel and signed an Israeli Defence Forces artillery shell final 12 months.
Earlier this month, a Disturbed present was cancelled in Belgium following threats of protests exterior the venue, and Shadows mentioned of Draiman: “I actually respect David, not only for the place he stands, however that he believes in one thing and he’s full-force into it.”
Avenged Sevenfold, in the meantime, needed to postpone their Latin American tour dates, scheduled to start final month, on account of an vocal harm to Shadows. The dates are rescheduled for January 2026.