Avenged Sevenfold’s Zacky Vengeance defends generative AI

Avenged Sevenfold guitarist Zacky Vengeance has defended the use of generative AI – in a statement he says was at least partially written by generative AI.

The 44-year-old, who co-founded his Grammy-nominated heavy metal band in 1999, has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to reply to a fan who said that AI-generated artwork can “kick rocks and burn”. He counters that he “fully embrace[s]” AI.

He adds that while he loves “physical art and the talented people who create it (myself being one of them)”, he believes “the majority of designers I have worked with over the past 20 years are lazy and allowed themselves to be replaced [by AI] due to complacency and greed”.

“I prefer my prompts and the collective hive mind and efficiency of the future,” he continues. “Just my opinion but I embrace it. Also it will absolutely kill us all.”

He adds in a follow-up statement, which he admits he wrote using a generative AI programme, “Every major technological advancement has been met with fear and resistance. AI is no different. It’s not the death of creativity or human ingenuity; it’s an expansion of what’s possible.

“The problem isn’t the technology itself, but how people choose to use it. Rejecting AI won’t stop progress. Learning to harness it responsibly will help shape the future – this message was made using AI.”

The guitarist continues in another post, criticising people who scream “‘fuck AI’ while consenting to terms and services giving away all your personal data to be used by AI that provides you an algorithm created by AI which then shares it to other like minded individuals via AI so they can scream ‘fuck AI’.”

The use of generative AI in creative spaces has been a topic of fierce debate since the acceleration of the AI boom a few years ago. While champions of the technology hail its ability to quickly and cheaply generate images, detractors highlight the heavy electricity usage and water consumption of AI data centres.

The extent that AI has impacted the job market is also being explored. Stanford University’s Institute For Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) found earlier this year that “a tough job market for new graduates may be partly due to AI”.

Vengeance isn’t the only champion of AI in the band. In 2023, vocalist M. Shadows wrote on X that he’d “love to help facilitate our ‘sound’ to producers and fans to create original [Avenged] songs using this technology”.

Avenged surprise-released a new EP, Statica, in July. The four-track set divided fans, as they doubled down on the electronic sound explored on 2023 album Life Is But A Dream… and used lots of AutoTune. Nonetheless, a follow-up Statica album has been teased for the near future.

(LouderSound)