M. Shadows Biography

M. Shadows
M. Shadows in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Matthew Charles Sanders
Born	July 31, 1981 (1981-07-31) (age 28)
Origin	Huntington Beach, California
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, hardcore punk, metalcore
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, singer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass, synthesizer, organ
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Warner Bros., Good Life Recordings, Hopeless Records
Associated acts	Avenged Sevenfold, Slash, Good Charlotte, Steel Panther, Cowboy Troy, Death by Stereo, Bleeding Through

Matthew Charles Sanders, (born July 31, 1981) better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is the vocalist and founding member for the American metal/rock band Avenged Sevenfold. His sister is former Detroit Shock player, Amy Sanders

Contents 1 Biography

Biography

In Matthews's youth, he was notorious for his disorderly conduct and misbehavior. He was quoted as saying "I was in between a good kid and a terrible kid - I had a good heart, but a terrible attitude." He attended Huntington Beach High School after being expelled from his middle school in the eighth grade. As the band was just starting out, he was the darker character of the group (hence the name "Shadows") but he also wanted to incorporate his first name, Matthew, into his stage name. Matthew was reduced to "M" because it had a "better ring" when combined with his stage name and ever since he has been known as M. Shadows.^[1]

Although he makes references to the Bible (as demonstrated in his songs Beast and the Harlot, Dear God, Chapter Four, etc.,) M. Shadows stated that the band does not wish to force their political or religious views upon anyone.

On October 17, 2009 Matt married his high school sweetheart, Valary Dibenedetto. ===Early Life=== Sanders used to play the piano before he became a member his first band, Successful Failure. When he was growing up, he favorited punk rock bands such as H2O and The Misfits and got into the scene when his father bought him Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses after he had seen them on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.

In following years, Shadows formed a number of bands with Avenged Sevenfold's rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance. Vengeance was previously a member of a punk rock group called MPA. While Shadows was in the previously mentioned "Successful Failure", The Rev was slotted to play drums (but was admittedly too good).^[2] While in this band he penned the song "Streets," which would later be recorded after Avenged Sevenfold was formed, and released on the first album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet. The album was a mix of metalcore and punk rock but also includes a softer, more ballad-like song (Warmness On The Soul). Sounding the Seventh Trumpet was first recorded and produced while Shadows and the rest of Avenged Sevenfold were still in high school.