Avenged Sevenfold coming to Malaysia, gets slammed for alleged pro-Israel video from 2025

American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) recently announced their 2026 Asia Tour dates, and they’re coming to perform at the UniFi Arena in Kuala Lumpur this 28 September.

The band — consisting of vocalist M. Shadows, guitarists Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman — is known for their melodic heavy metal blended with metalcore, progressive, and hard rock elements.

Many fans of heavy metal music from the early 2000s would normally be excited to hear about A7X coming to their city.

However, a video from October 2025 by frontman M. Shadows, real name Matthew Charles Sanders, turned things sour amongst Malaysian fans.

Malaysians slam the band for Sanders’ alleged pro-Israel sentiment

Following a concert announcement on Threads by an event promoter, many Malaysians flocked to the comments section and hurled criticism against the promoter and the band.

“I could be considered the biggest A7X fan back then but now they’re pro-Zionist! We can boycott A7X now,” one user commented.

“You bring in a band that supports Israhell. Rubbish,” another user said.

Where is all this hate coming from?

In October 2025, Sanders had recorded a video in which he welcomed home a pair of Israeli men who were recently released by Palestine’s Hamas after being taken hostage while attending the 2023 Nova Music Festival.

The music festival is famously known as the tipping point of the Israel-Palestine conflict when it was attacked by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

In the video, Sanders said: “I’m so excited to hear you guys are home today. We’ve been following the story closely. We knew you guys were devoted A7X fans and we appreciate it so much. The things you guys have been through, it’s just unspeakable, terrible.”

Sanders said his message was not political

In response to the global backlash he received for posting the video, Sanders told Rolling Stone that his intent was not a political one, but rather a humanistic one.

“It’s not something that I’m going to worry about; I know that it’s the right thing to do,” said the singer.

“I think you have to stick to your moral compass, but I’ve definitely heard it from both sides. To me, that video is just a human doing something for another human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in someone’s eye. It really is about two human beings that have been through hell. And if we can’t agree on that, it’s really hard to agree on anything,” he added.

Sanders said the message was initially meant for the two men newly freed after two years, but when approached to share it publicly, he granted permission.

Avenged Sevenfold will be performing at the UniFi Arena in Kuala Lumpur on 28 September with ticket prices ranging from RM299 to RM699.