M. Shadows

About

Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. In 2017, he was voted third in the list of Top 25 Greatest Modern Frontmen by Ultimate Guitar.

Matthew Charles Sanders was born on July 31, 1981, in Fountain Valley, California, and raised in Huntington Beach, California. He was raised Catholic. His sister is former WNBA player Amy Sanders. His interest in hard rock was from listening to bands like Guns N’ Roses earlier in life after his father gave him his first cassette, and his interest in heavy metal music grew as he became older and began to play the guitar. He links his early musical experience with the piano as a major factor in developing his skills with the guitar and his voice. He attended Huntington Beach High School, where he played for a brief stint in a punk band named “Successful Failure”. Following this, Shadows formed Avenged Sevenfold in 1999 along with middle school friends Zacky Vengeance, The Rev, and Matt Wendt. He stated that he became a vocalist solely out of necessity. He said: “I didn’t want to be a singer…