Metal mavens Avenged Sevenfold [ tickets ] and the country conglomeration the Muzik Mafia don't seem like the likeliest of pairs, but the two collaborated on a pair of tracks for Avenged Sevenfold's forthcoming self-titled album.

"We had the opportunity to experiment with some wild s---," Avenged Sevenfold bassist Johnny Christ said Monday (10/22) during a telephone interview with LiveDaily, as fire trucks roared past him to fight the Southern California wildfires.

"We all like really super eclectic stuff. Country falls in there because we're friends with the Muzik Mafia guys, you know, like John Rich of Big and Rich. Just being around them was inspirational. The way country artists write their music is so different. There's a heavy emphasis on lyrics and melodies. It's a totally different way to write music. We had to give it a shot. We're always trying to do something different."

For Avenged Sevenfold, which kicks off its tour Oct. 29, the result is the songs "Gunslinger" and "Dear God," featuring Mafia newcomer Shanna Crooks.

"Big and Rich have been around for awhile, but they're adapting to a new style of country that's coming in," Christ said. "They had balls and took a chance on Cowboy Troy. His stuff is awesome. They're definitely, like, in a lot of ways, the Avenged Sevenfold of country music. They're definitely always trying to do something new and different. There are definitely no egos over there. They're just great guys."

"Eclectic" is a word often used in the same sentence as Avenged Sevenfold. The California-based act--which also includes vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, drummer/pianist The Rev. and guitarist Synyster Gates--is the only band to headline the Warped Tour and Ozzfest. With its hit "Bat Country," from 2006's "City of Evil," Avenged Sevenfold became the unlikeliest No. 1 band on TRL.

"We can't believe we'd actually done all these different things," Christ said. "When we did Ozzfest after having done Warped Tour for four years and being on TRL, we weren't really sure how the crowd was going to react. We were, like, the secret guest. We didn't announce we were playing until a few days before the tour started.

"But the crowds were surprisingly really responsive to what we were doing. We played our first song and there were a couple heads nodding. Our fans were there. By the time we were done, I think we won a lot of people over. It showed people we're not what they may have thought we were in the past."

Avenged Sevenfold has evolved since its early days in the screamo genre, partially due to maturity and Shadows' throat difficulties. Despite the exploration, the roots of Avenged Sevenfold are still there.

"We still have a ton of killer solos in there. We still have drums going 120 beats per minute. We're still doing some nutty stuff. But we're experimenting with groove-oriented things, some slower beats. ... I think people can look back on this one and say, 'I see the early influences.'"

So far, fans have been receptive. "Almost Easy," the first single off the self-titled album, due in stores Oct. 30, was the No. 1 most added track at rock radio for two weeks in a row, according to Avenged Sevenfold's publicist.

"That's definitely surprising," Christ said. "We never ever really wrote that thinking it would be a big radio single. As a matter of fact, it wasn't going to be a radio single. We're definitely surprised by it. It's doing really well on active and alternative, which is really surprising. That kind of speaks about how eclectic we are that we're able to have something on both genres."