New wave heavy metal juggernauts Avenged Sevenfold have announced their 2014 spring tour plans. The Shepherd of Fire Tour is set to kick off at the EnCana Events Centre on April 12 in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and culminated on May 17 with their headlining performance at Rock On The Range. “We are so honored to be headlining Rock on the Range,” says Avenged Sevefold frontman M. Shadows. “We take pride in our show and always try to outdo ourselves from the time before. Rock on the Range will be the perfect place to celebrate with our fans from all over the world and put on the killer show that they have come to expect from us. We are pulling out all the stops.”The band is touring in support of their massively successful new album, Hail To The King, which debuted at #1 back in August 2013 on the Billboard Top 200. The album was one of TheRockRevival.com’s Top 50 Rock Albums of 2013. In addition to Rock On The Range, the band will be making stops at some of the country’s biggest festivals, including Welcome to Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, Rise Above Fest, and the Beale Street Music Festival.
In 2010, Avenged Sevenfold released Nightmare. Arguably the best effort of 
theircareer, the album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200, and sold over 163,000 copies in it’s first week of sales. On January 20, 2011, Avenged Sevenfold announced that Arin IIejay would be the band’s touring drummer. That summer, the band headlined the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival, with supporting acts Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Escape The Fate, and more. In October 2011, the band co-headlined the 48 Hours Festival in Las Vegas, NV along with Korn, Godsmack, and Five Finger Death Punch. In November, they embarked on a brief headlining tour, The Buried Alive Tour, with special guests Asking Alexandria, Hollywood Undead, and Black Veil Brides. The band took a break from touring in 2012 to relax and write.
In April 2012, they took to the stage again, touring through Asia, and played Metallica’s Orion Music + More Festival in Atlantic City, NJ in June. On September 24, they released a new single, “Carry On”, which was featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and is nominated for the award for Best Song at this year’s Revolver Golden God Awards on May 2. In late 2013, Avenged Sevenfold headlined Musikfest in Bethlehem,PA, performed at Rock in Rio in Brazil, and went on a brief U.S. arena tour with Deftones and Ghost B.C. The band’s new album, Hail To The King, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and was one of the top rock albums of 2013. With two Top 10 Billboard 200 albums, 7 Revolver Golden God Awards, 1 Kerrang! Award, and over 8 million albums sold worldwide, Avenged Sevenfold are one of the definitive bands of their generation. – by Matt Bishop (@The_MattBishop)
4/12 Dawson Creek, BC – EnCana Events Centre
4/13 Prince George, BC – CN Centre
4/16 Moose Jaw, SK – Mosaic Place
4/17 Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre
4/19 Winnipeg, MB – MTS Center
4/21 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
4/23 Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center
4/25 Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
4/26 Jacksonville, FL – Welcome to Rockville
4/28 Lafayette, LA – Cajundome
4/30 Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
5/02 Virginia Beach, VA – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
5/03 Charlotte, NC – Carolina Rebellion
5/06 Knoxville, TN – Knoxville Civic Coliseum
5/08 Hershey, PA – Giant Center
5/10 Bangor, ME – Rise Above Fest
5/12 Quebec City, QC – Colisee Pepsi Arena
5/13 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
5/15 Syracuse, NY – Oncenter Complex
5/17 Columbus, OH – Rock on the Range