Avenged Sevenfold 'Nightmare' Single Breaks Big

The Deathbat flies again! New single Nightmare – the first track to be released from the upcoming album of he same name from California metallers Avenged Sevenfold – has been scoring raves since its debut Tuesday. The band just posted the song's impressive numbers, and you can get more details on the album and the band's summer tour plans – and of course, listen to the song in its entirety – after the jump!

According to the stats, Nightmare is not only the top rock song download on iTunes this week in both the US and England (selling 23,666 units in the US on the first day alone), but it's also earned “Most Added Track” status at Active Rock Radio, and an official YouTube video containing the song and animated lyrics was played over a quarter-million times within the first 24 hours of posting.

The single comes well ahead of the July 27th release date for the band's fifth studio album – also named Nightmare. The record was produced by Mike Elizondo (whose diverse credits include Snoop Dogg, Fiona Apple, Eminem and Pink), mixed by Grammy-winner Andy Wallace (who has worked with Slayer, Sepultura, White Zombie, Slipknot and dozens more), and dedicated to the band's longtime drummer James “The Rev” Sullivan, who died late last year.

While The Rev's backing vocals were captured in the early recording sessions, Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy had to step in on drum duties during the later tracking of Nightmare, and reportedly will also join the band for their upcoming venues on the Rockstar Uproar Festival tour – for which A7X will be joined by Stone Sour, Hellyeah and Halestorm. The tour kicks off in August, but tickets go on sale June 12th.