Almost Easy

"Almost Easy" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It is the second song as well as lead single from their self-titled fourth album. The song is one of the band's most popular tracks, and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

"Almost Easy"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album Avenged Sevenfold
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2007
Recorded2007
Venue
Genre
Length3:54
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)The Rev
Producer(s)Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Critical Acclaim"
(2007)		 "Almost Easy"
(2007)		 "Afterlife"
(2008)

Background

"Almost Easy" was written by band drummer The Rev.

The song first premiered at a concert in Virginia during Avenged Sevenfold's appearances during 2007's Warped Tour.[3] The song was officially released on September 18, 2007 through online music stores such as iTunes and URGE.

Appearances

The song was included on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen soundtrack.[4] Originally, it was planned to be on the 2007 Transformers soundtrack; however, it was not finished in time.[5] The song is available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock as of March 6, 2008,[6] and featured again as part of the Avenged Sevenfold track pack for Guitar Hero 5.[7] The song is also featured in Rock Band 2.[8]

On the Diamonds in the Rough album an alternate mix of "Almost Easy" is included. This version, mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, included triggered drums, alternate vocals, and louder guitars and pianos. This is the version featured in Need for Speed: ProStreet.[9]

In December 2008 it was announced that the USC Trojan Marching Band would perform the song at the Rose Bowl halftime show on January 1, 2009.[10][11]

Music video

The band released a video for "Almost Easy" with director P.R. Brown.[12] The video debuted on Fuse's The Sauce on September 24, 2007 and MTV2's Unleashed on October 1, 2007.

The video shows the band playing on a barren wasteland whilst they appear to be aflame. Over a ridge, a huge crowd of hundreds of people appear, walking in a zombie-like fashion towards the band, only to stop at a large gaping hole and jump downwards, into what appears to be Hell. Special effects show some parts where the people have skulls for faces.

At the end of the video, when the last person jumps down the cavern, the camera zooms out from the band, showing that the hole the people were jumping into was actually the eye of the band's logo, the "Deathbat". The band stated in an interview with Fuse host Steven Smith on Steven's Untitled Rock Show that the inspiration for the video came from a Wendy's commercial they saw in Asia in which a large crowd is running toward the same hamburger.

M. Shadows then said "Wouldn't it be cool if we (Avenged Sevenfold) were playing in a fiery blaze and a bunch of people were running towards us," an idea that would eventually become the video. As of April 2020, it has over 40 million views on YouTube.

Track listing
iTunes single[13]
UK single
  1. "Almost Easy" – 3:54
  2. "Walk – 5:20
  3. "Almost Easy (live)" – 3:53
UK promo single
  1. "Almost Easy" – 3:55
UK single
  1. "Almost Easy" – 3:56
  2. "Almost Easy (live)" – 3:53

Note: All versions have exactly the same album version of "Almost Easy" (except for the live version). Simply, each version has one more second of silence at the end.

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2007–2008) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[14] 67
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[15] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16] 3
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[17] 6
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[18] 6

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Enis, Eli (June 7, 2021). "Avenged Sevenfold Albums Ranked: From Worst to Best". Revolver. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  2. Olivier, Bobby (March 20, 2023). "Avenged Sevenfold albums ranked: From worst to best". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  3. "Avenged Sevenfold at Warped Tour 2007". Setlist.FM. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  4. "Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Soundtrack - Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen The Album". digiRAMA. June 22, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  5. Chapstick, Kelsey (November 29, 2019). "See Avenged Sevenfold Reveal "Weird" Secrets Behind Song "Almost Easy"". Revolver. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  6. Faylor, Chris (March 6, 2008). "New Guitar Hero 3 DLC Packs Deftones and Thrice; Free Dropkick Murphys Songs in Mid-March". Shacknews. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  7. "The Guitar Hero(R) Music Library Gets Hotter This Summer With an Assortment of New Additions for Guitar Hero(R) 5, Band Hero(R) and This Fall's Guitar Hero(R): Warriors of Rock". Activision. July 6, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  8. "Almost Easy - Avenged Sevenfold Guitar Expert FC (Rock Band 2 Deluxe)". Web Archive. April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  9. "Need for Speed ProStreet". NFSSoundtrack.com. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  10. ""USC Trojan Marching Band to Perform Avenged Sevenfold's "Almost Easy" During Rose Bowl Halftime Show"". Earth Times. December 30, 2008. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009.
  11. "USC Band | Rose Bowl 2009 | Almost Easy | Avenged Sevenfold". YouTube. January 4, 2009. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  12. "Avenged Sevenfold: Almost Easy". IMDb. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  13. "Almost Easy - Single". Music.Apple.Com. October 14, 2007. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  16. "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  17. "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  18. "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  19. "American single certifications – Avenged Sevenfold – Almost Easy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
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