Zacky Vengeance interview (excerpt)

Nikki Blakk: How did things end up progressing with Mike, because I know it got a little weird there when he was leaving Dream Theater and then was leaving you guys. It seemed really confusing in the press.

Zacky Vengeance: It was. It was something that we were not used to at all. We had never, ever experienced any kind of in-the-spotlight drama. We just always stay in the shadows and keep any of our personal business private. And he’s a very different character. He always goes straight to fans, to Twitter and whatever. That’s how he dealt with his band, and that was new to us. We like to be in touch with our fans, but we’re also very private. Because to us, it’s not about Zacky or M. Shadows or Synyster Gates – it’s about Avenged Sevenfold; it’s more important than any one of us. And I know he’d been talking about quitting Dream Theater. I heard that he wasn’t necessarily happy, and he was excited to be playing with us; we were playing huge shows and stuff. I think he got caught up in the moment, got excited. We begged him to consider what he did, because we were in no position to find a permanent replacement. Because in all honesty, you can’t replace Jimmy, who was our best friend – first and foremost – besides being an amazing drummer.

NB: It sounds like you were still in question about whether or not to keep going.

ZV: Absolutely. So it just wasn’t the right time or the place. And he told us, “Hey, I’ve got good news and bad news. I quit Dream Theater.” We were like, “Oh, no... Well if you’re happy, then that’s good.” And he’s like, “Now I can be with you guys.” And we were like, “That’s not necessarily what we decided upon, and you should take your time and reconsider.” He was like, “Well I put out my press release.” We were like, “Dude, that’s not how we do business. You should have talked to us before.” Then it was back and forth, and we were out of it; we had nothing to do with it. We were just trying to get back on our feet. So when all that was going down, it was causing us a lot of heartache, to be honest. To see our name in this kind of drama-filled love triangle.

NB: It really was [like] he divorced his wife for his girlfriend, and his girlfriend was like, “Whoa! We hardly know each other; you’re much older...”

ZV: That’s exactly how it was. He helped us out at a really vulnerable time, and for that we will always be extremely appreciative. But for us, we were so unstable at that point that any unneeded attention was just very harmful to us. Obviously, it didn’t work out, but I think it’s for the best – for him and for us.