AVENGED SEVENFOLD Performs Live With MIKE PORTNOY For First Time

July 26, 2010

On Sunday, July 25, AVENGED SEVENFOLD performed live for the first time since the tragic passing of drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan at the Heavy MTL festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who played on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's new record, "Nightmare", made his live debut with AVENGED SEVENFOLD at Heavy MTL and will tour with the Orange County, California band through the rest of 2010.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's setlist was as follows:

01. Nightmare
02. Critical Acclaim
03. Welcome To The Family
04. Beast and the Harlot
05. Buried Alive
06. Afterlife
07. So Far Away
08. God Hates Us
09. Unholy Confessions
10. Almost Easy

Photos and fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be viewed below.

Sullivan died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs and alcohol, according to Orange County Deputy Coroner Mitchell Sigal. Sigal told RollingStone.com that toxicology reports indicated that Sullivan suffered "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol," leading to his death on December 28, 2009.

Sigal added that Sullivan also suffered from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, which may have played a role in the drummer's death.

The Coroner's Department conducted "five or six" different tests to verify the cause of death, according to Sigal.

Sullivan's death was similar to that of Oscar-winning actor Heath Ledger, who also died from polydrug intoxication in January 2008.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD manager Larry Jacobson told RollingStone.com, "To all of us who loved Jimmy, the only thing relevant about December 28 is that is the night we lost, too soon, a son, brother, friend and one of the most talented artists in the world. Every day, his parents and sisters, and his brothers in AVENGED SEVENFOLD smile at the many memories they have of Jimmy and his fans around the world revel in the musical legacy he left them."

AVENGED SEVENFOLD will release its fifth studio album, "Nightmare", on July 27. Sullivan wrote much of the music for the record.

Sullivan was buried on January 6. AVENGED guitarist Synyster Gates delivered the eulogy, while the funeral was attended by Sullivan's wife and family, ex-PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE frontman Matt Tuck and members of BUCKCHERRY and MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.

Oxycodone is a painkiller that substitutes for codeine, while Oxymorphone is a painkiller similar to morphine.

Diazepam/Nordiazepam are anxiety medications and ethanol is the intoxicant found in alcohol.

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