AVENGED SEVENFOLD’S LIFE IS BUT A DREAM… TOUR

Over the past few years, Comix have collaborated with JRC Production Services and Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows to develop screen visuals for the band’s latest tour supporting their eighth studio album, Life Is But a Dream…, which began in June 2023 and ran through March 2024. As Comix Creative Director Josh Gallagher recalled, Shadows’s core vision was one of absurdism and disorientation that would leave audiences tongue-tied.

With an endless range of references, Comix knew they’d want to leverage Notch’s Virtual Background feature to maintain as much negative space as possible, ensuring every element of the design would be implemented neatly alongside the others. The team also combined the Face Tracking Geometry node and AR Body Tracker with a homemade Light Wrap setup.

As Lead Notch Designer Emil Bardh explained, “Techniques and optimisation hacks learned during the bygone Flash era came in handy when combining screens with pre-rendered EmberGen volumetric fire and smoke.” With Notch, they could also, for example, show live footage behind a fence in front of a burning house or pour pre-rendered acid over the live feed, taking their collage technique to the furthest possible degree.

The tour has received a lot of attention and acclaim from publications such as Forbes, where Quentin Singer remarked, “To say the least, the production A7X has on display for this album cycle is some of the most awe-inspiring visuals of any rock show right now, and it’s easily the best of the band’s career.”

Additional press coverage:

Forbes, Variety.