won Best New Artist

After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out R&B singers Rihanna and Chris Brown , Panic! at the Disco , Angels & Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards , thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas -inspired song ” Bat Country .” They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own “Cities of Evil Tour.” In addition, their lead single ” Bat Country ” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, No.6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to No. 1 on MTV’s Total Request Live . Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold’s first Gold record. It was later certified platinum in August 2009. Avenged Sevenfold was invited to join Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known rock/heavy metal acts such as DragonForce , Lacuna Coil , Hatebreed , Disturbed and System of a Down for the first time in 2006. That same year they also completed a worldwide tour, including the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After a sixteen-month promotion of City of Evil , the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music. In the interim, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007. All Excess , which debuted as the No. 1 DVD in the US, included live performances and backstage footage that spanned the band’s eight-year career. Two tribute albums, Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: Bat Wings and Broken Strings and Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: The String Tribute were also released in October 2007.