"Beast and the Harlot"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album City of Evil
B-side"Burn It Down (Live in San Diego)"
ReleasedFebruary 28, 2006[1]
RecordedJanuary 1 – April 18, 2005[2][3]
Studio
  • The Hobby Shop (Los Angeles)
  • Ocean Way (Hollywood)
Genre
Length5:41 (album version)
4:06 (Edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Avenged Sevenfold
Producer(s)
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Bat Country"
(2005)		 "Beast and the Harlot"
(2006)		 "Seize the Day"
(2006)

"Beast and the Harlot" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released as a single from their third studio album, City of Evil. It peaked at #19 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart, #44 on the UK Singles Chart,[5] and #1 on the UK Rock Chart on March 12, 2006.

Overview

The title of City of Evil is taken from a line in this song.[6]

The song is one of the first songs recorded with M. Shadows' different vocal style avoiding unclean vocals as well as a more hard rock sound as opposed to their previous work, with heavy and fast riffs and a relatively normal song structure (with the exception of the guitar solo, which comes after the first chorus rather than the second, atypical of a three verse song).

The song's rapid main riff was voted as the 14th greatest riff ever by the guitar magazine Total Guitar in March 2007. Total Guitar wrote: "The main riff to Beast and the Harlot is a great piece of dropped-D riffing with Zacky and Synyster cleverly placing the second part of the riff across the beat to create an aggressive syncopated feel, once again avoiding all the usual metal clichés."

The cover art for the single of the song was done by Avenged Sevenfold's close friend Cam Rackam.

Live

"Beast and the Harlot" has been played 536 times by the band.[7] It is their fourth most performed song live.[8] A live version recorded during Warped Tour was featured as the B-Side to "Bat Country",[9] as well as on the Masters of Horror soundtrack.[10]

Meaning

"Beast and the Harlot is about the fall of Babylon, The Great from the Book of Revelation (particularly chapter seventeen),[11] from which many quotes are taken, such as "Seven headed beast, ten horns raise from his head", "hatred strips her and leaves her naked", and other references.[12] The Harlot referred to in the song is Great Babylon, quoted in the song, "Fallen now is Babylon The Great." On Avenged Sevenfold's All Excess DVD, Tony Petrossian, who directed the video,[13] says that M. Shadows' lyrics for this song about the fall of Babylon is comparing Babylon to Hollywood,[6][14] showing many Hollywood clichés such as the young, innocent boys being corrupted and losing their souls. In the music video the Harlot was played by actress Elizabeth Melendez.[15]

Track listings

Digital[16]
No.TitleLength
1."Beast and the Harlot (Radio Version)"4:06
2."Burn It Down (Live in San Diego)"5:45
CD[17]
No.TitleLength
1."Beast and the Harlot (Edit)"4:06
2."Beast and the Harlot"5:42
Vinyl[18]
No.TitleLength
1."Beast and the Harlot (Radio Version)" (Side A)4:06
2."Burn It Down (Live in San Diego)" (Side B)5:45

Other appearances

"Beast and the Harlot" has appeared on many other Avenged Sevenfold releases. A live version was featured as the B-Side to "Bat Country",[9] and also featured on Masters of Horror.[19] The song was featured as the second track on their greatest hits album.[20]

The song was featured in the soundtrack of the video games Burnout Revenge,[21] Guitar Hero II,[22] Guitar Hero Smash Hits,[23] Rock Band 3,[24] and Rocksmith.[25] The version in Guitar Hero II was a cover version, while Smash Hits featured the master recording. The song was also featured in The Real World Road Rules reunion. The cover art for the single of the song was done by Avenged Sevenfold's close friend Cam Rackam. The Rock Band 3 version of the original master recording of the song being notable in that it has support for Rock Band PRO mode, which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to up to three-part harmony and/or backing vocals.[24]

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[26] 19
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[27] 40
UK Singles (OCC)[28] 44
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[29] 1

Accolades

Region Year Publication Accolade Rank
United States 2015 Loudwire 10 Best Metal Riffs of the 2000s[30] 7

Personnel

Personnel listing as adapted from album liner notes.[31]

References

  1. ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold website". December 30, 2004. Archived from the original on December 30, 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  3. ↑ "News". Avenged Sevenfold.com. April 18, 2005. Archived from the original on April 25, 2005. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  4. ↑ "10 Best Metal Riffs of the 2000s". Loudwire. December 26, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  6. 1 2 Willschick, Aaron (November 9, 2005). "Interview with Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ". v13. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Beast and the Harlot performed by Avenged Sevenfold". Setlist.FM. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Songs Played Total". Setlist.FM. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Avenged Sevenfold – Bat Country". Discogs. September 26, 2005. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ "'Masters Of Horror' Soundtrack Compilation: Final Track Listing Unveiled". Blabbermouth. August 31, 2005. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Beast And The Harlot by Avenged Sevenfold". Song Facts. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Bible (American Standard)/Revelation – Wikisource". En.wikisource.org. June 22, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold: Beast and the Harlot". IMDb. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Beast and the Harlot Avenged Sevenfold". Genius. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Elizabeth Melendez". IMDb. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Beast and the Harlot – Single Avenged Sevenfold" (in Spanish). Apple Inc. February 27, 2006. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold – Beast And The Harlot". Discogs. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Beast and the Harlot – Single Avenged Sevenfold". Discogs. March 6, 2006.
  19. ↑ "'Masters Of Horror' Soundtrack Compilation: Final Track Listing Unveiled". Blabbermouth.net. August 31, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold to Release 'The Best of 2005–2013'". Loudwire. October 21, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Burnout Revenge". NFS Soundtrack. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  22. ↑ "25 of the Best Guitar Hero Songs of All Time!". String Vibe. January 17, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2022. Beast and the Harlot – Avenged Sevenfold A crowd favorite among Guitar Hero songs and a relatively easy song if you can get through the fast strokes.
  23. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold". Guitar Hero Neo Seeker. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  24. 1 2 Snider, Mike (June 10, 2010). "Rock Band 3: What's New, What's Notable". USA Today. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Rocksmith". GameSpot. October 30, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  30. ↑ "10 Best Metal Riffs of the 2000s". Loudwire.
  31. ↑ City of Evil liner notes. Warner Bros. Records. 2005. pp. 4, 10, 11.
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