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    Avenged Sevenfold USO Tour

    Avenged Sevenfold USO Tour

    Photo By Master Sgt. Matthew Keeler | Spc. Nathan Tanner, Unit Armorer for the 632nd Maintenance Company, 3rd Sustainment...... read more read more

    JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

    11.29.2010

    Story by Spc. Zane Craig 

    103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)

    JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— Approximately 1000 service members and civilian contractors attended a United Service Organization concert featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Nov. 29, at Holt Stadium at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

    Avenged Sevenfold extended their two-month European tour to several U.S. bases in Iraq.

    “We said, this year, if you guys are going to be over here for Thanksgiving, we’re going to come play for you,” said M. Shadows, the lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold.

    The band put on a great live show that really engaged the audience, despite a conspicuous lack of “moshing.” They played two extra songs to augment the hour-long set.

    A highlight of the show was when Shadow pulled a member of the audience onstage to share the microphone for a cover of the song “Walk” by Panterra.

    “There are no words for it,” said Spc. Linda Wiebalck, quartermaster and chemical equipment repair specialist with the 298th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Support Sustainment Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Hicksville, N.Y., native. “I’m a huge metal fan. I love Avenged Sevenfold, and I love Panterra even more.”

    Back home in New York, Wiebalck is an audio engineer at Sam Ash Music and plays bass guitar in the band Broken Life.

    “I would have felt guilty going up there if it had been any other band,” she said.

    After the show, the band posed for photos with fans in a reception room at Holt stadium. A large portion of the audience took advantage of the opportunity to meet the band and create a lasting memory.

    “It was absolutely a great show, especially the references to Panterra,” said Sgt. James Cassidy, a squad leader with the 512th QM Company, 13th CSSB, and a Savannah, Ga., native. “A picture with the band will be a good memory to have of my third tour in Iraq.”

    Avenged Sevenfold is finishing a tour to promote “Nightmare,” their most recent album and the last to feature former-drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan who died last year. The band’s current drummer is Mike Portnoy, formerly of the band Dream Theater.

    “I want to send our thanks from Avenged Sevenfold for everything you guys do for us back home, it means everything in the world to us,” said Shadows.

    The show was a great chance for JBB’s hard rock and metal fans to see a great performance by a band they know and love, and judging by the size of the crowd, it was a chance well taken.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 11.29.2010
    Date Posted: 12.04.2010 12:10
    Story ID: 61366
    Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ

    Web Views: 1,083
    Downloads: 3

    PUBLIC DOMAIN