The Stage

Avenged Sevenfold, one of the world's biggest rock bands, release their next opus, 'The Stage.'

The album's epic 15-minute-plus closing track, "Exist," features a guest appearance by award-winning astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson giving a spoken word performance he penned specifically for the album.
 
Working with new label Capitol Records, the band's plans for a stealth release were months in the making, and kicked off a few weeks ago with a guerilla campaign that saw projections of their deathbat symbol mysteriously appearing on landmarks around the world. Fans and media reported sightings and shared images from Paris, Sydney, London, Japan and Berlin, to name but a few. Anticipation and conspiracy theories reached fever pitch when rumors regarding supposed album titles and a December release date began to spread.