So Far Away (Avenged Sevenfold song)

"So Far Away" is a song by the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, released as the third single for their fifth studio album, Nightmare. The single was released on April 5, 2011 via Warner Bros.[2] The song is a tribute to the band's original drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who died in December 2009.

"So Far Away"
Single by Avenged Sevenfold
from the album Nightmare
ReleasedApril 5, 2011
RecordedNovember 2009 – April 2010
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length
  • 5:28 (album version)
  • 4:34 (radio edit)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Synyster Gates
Producer(s)Mike Elizondo
Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology
"Welcome to the Family"
(2010)		 "So Far Away"
(2011)		 "Not Ready to Die"
(2011)

Overview

It is the band's third single released without former drummer The Rev, who died of an accidental opioid overdose on December 28, 2009. In late March All Access Music Group mentioned that the third single from the album Nightmare would be "So Far Away", scheduled to be played on the radio starting on April 5, 2011.[3]

This was the first Avenged Sevenfold song Synyster Gates wrote completely by himself since "I Won't See You Tonight Pt 1" on Waking the Fallen. During most concerts, the band performs the song as a tribute to the Rev by having the audience hold up their lighters or cell phones during the song as the stage background features a banner commemorating the Rev's legacy. This song was dedicated by Gates for the Belated James Owen "Jimmy" Sullivan (The Rev) on December 28, 2009.[4][5]

Avenged Sevenfold posted a countdown on their official website that showed the time until release for a new video for "So Far Away". SFA7X When the video was released, the site crashed due to so many people attempting to watch the video at once. After a second failed attempt to release the video, they solved the problem by hosting the music video on YouTube.

Music video

The music video (directed by Wayne Isham) features the four remaining members of the band playing in a studio and also riding in a Chevrolet Impala through a neighborhood (possibly Huntington Beach, where the band originated). Throughout the video, flashbacks of the four play. They are shown as children playing in a garage, then teens playing and hanging out, and stealing beer from a liquor store. There is a scene in the video in which a young Sullivan is depicted riding the handlebars of a bike being ridden by a young M. Shadows, kicking over a metal trash can on the street. Shadows referenced this when talking about Sullivan before playing So Far Away at Rock am Ring 2014. ("we've known this guy since we were this big, rolling round the neighborhood, knocking over trash cans; just being dickheads"). During the bridge, a collection of photos and videos of the Rev play. It ends with a clip of the remaining band members embracing.

This was the second video not to feature the current drummer for Avenged Sevenfold; the first being Nightmare. For this music video, Synyster Gates uses a custom Schecter guitar, similar to his usual black/silver pinstriped guitar. However instead of the inlays on the fretboard reading "SYN", it displays "REV". Johnny Christ also wore a guitar strap with the word "foREVer" written on it.

As of August 2020, it has over 223 million views on YouTube.

Charts

The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 15 on the Alternative Songs chart. This is the band's first number-one single.

Track listing
No.TitleLength
1."So Far Away"5:27

Chart position
Chart (2011) Peak position
US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 1[6]
US Billboard Alternative Songs 15
US Billboard Rock Songs 6
Canadian Hot 100 73
Canadian rock/alternative chart 25

Personnel
Avenged Sevenfold
Additional musicians
Production

References
  1. "So Far Away by Avenged Sevenfold". RateYourMusic.
  2. "Avenged Sevenfold – So Far Away". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  3. "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". March 20, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  4. "Avenged Sevenfold pays tribute to late drummer with 'So Far Away' - Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  5. "Avenged Sevenfold pay tribute to The Rev in video for "So Far Away" |". Devilbearrock.com. 2011-05-11. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  6. "Rock Music: Top Mainstream Rock Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
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