"Not Ready to Die" is a song by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. It was created specifically for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), appearing as an easter egg in the game's "Call of the Dead" Zombies map. The song, along with the 3 other originals the band wrote for the Black Ops series, was later released on the Black Reign EP in 2018.[1]
| "Not Ready to Die" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Avenged Sevenfold | ||||
| from the EP Black Reign | ||||
| Released | May 2, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | April 2011 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length |
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| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Mike Elizondo | |||
| Avenged Sevenfold singles chronology | ||||
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Background
edit"Not Ready to Die" was written for map "Call of the Dead" from the zombies gamemode in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The lyrics of the song are based of the story and lore of the game, which singer M. Shadows is a big fan of.[2] This song would mark the first collaboration between Avenged Sevenfold and the Black Ops franchise, with the band contributing 5 more songs to the series. The bridge of the song features an interpolation of "Damned", the Black Ops Zombies theme song.
The song was written in four days between the band's Nightmare After Christmas and Welcome to the Family tours, and was recorded in April 2011.[2]
Chart position
edit| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[3] | 73 |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[4] | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[5] | 70 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Tidal.[6]
Avenged Sevenfold
- M. Shadows — lead vocals
- Zacky Vengeance — rhythm guitar, vocals
- Synyster Gates — lead guitar, backing vocals
- Johnny Christ — bass guitar, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Arin Ilejay — drums
Production
- Mike Elizondo — production
- Adam Hawkins — mixing engineer
- Ted Jensen — mastering engineer
References
edit- ^ "Avenged Sevenfold Announce New EP, Black Reign — Kerrang!". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2018-09-18.
- ^ a b "AVENGED SEVENFOLD'S M. SHADOWS TALKS "CALL OF DUTY" AND NEW SONG "NOT READY TO DIE"". Revolver. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ "Avenged Sevenfold Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ "Credits / Not Ready to Die". Tidal. Retrieved 14 April 2023.