A7X frontman defends video welcoming home freed Israeli hostages

Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows defended his decision to record a video message for freed Israeli hostages and fans Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, saying the gesture was human, not political.

“I’m a bit of a troublemaker,” Shadows told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview published on Sunday about the video message.

David and Gilboa-Dalal, who were taken hostage at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and released from captivity in Gaza a week ago, are both big fans of the heavy metal group.

After they returned to Israel, fellow freed hostage Omer Wenkert arranged for them to receive new guitars gifted to them by Israeli guitar company Wild Guitars and the Israeli fan community of Avenged Sevenfold.

Shadows also recorded a video welcoming the pair home, telling them he was “so excited” to hear of their return: “We’ve been following the story closely. We knew you guys were devoted A7X fans and we appreciate it so much. The things you guys have been through, it’s just unspeakable, terrible… hopefully we see you guys soon.”

The video, shared widely online, sparked some criticism from some pro-Palestinian fans of the band. But Shadows dismissed the idea that his message was in any way political.

“It’s not something that I’m going to worry about; I know that it’s the right thing to do,” he told Rolling Stone. “I think you have to stick to your moral compass, but I’ve definitely heard it from both sides. To me, that video is just a human doing something for another human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in someone’s eye. It really is about two human beings that have been through hell. And if we can’t agree on that, it’s really hard to agree on anything.”

We’re so deeply grateful for you, @shadows_eth. Your incredible support over these past two years has meant the world to us. pic.twitter.com/coHz3c4hIc

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— A7X Israel ???????? (@A7Xisrael) October 15, 2025

Video shared online by the band’s Israeli fan group showed Gilboa-Dalal watching the video from Shadows in shock and disbelief: “I’m in shock,” he said, expressing excitement and surprise at the idea that he could one day meet the band’s frontman.

The musician said that he has not yet heard back from Gilboa-Dalal and David since sending the video, but he is sure that A7X will play again in Israel and “do something for them.” The American heavy metal band last played in Israel in 2018, at Rishon Lezion’s Live Park arena.

There is division among A7X fans about the subject of Israel and Gaza, said Shadows, who said the band has done things for different people across different cultures and religions.

“And at the end of the day, if they’re fans, we really want to reach out and we want to support them in some sort of way. And so it just seems unfair — [this idea that] ‘if you’re not on my side, then you’re an enemy.’ It’s really kind of gross,” he said.

Shadows told the magazine that his connection to Israel goes deeper than having performed there in the past, as two women whom the band spent time with in Israel were murdered at the Nova festival.

The frontman posted on social media in October 2023 that he woke to find out that people he considered family and friends were killed on October 7 — friends who had attended their last show in Israel.

“Comments off for this because I don’t care about your copypasta talking points. X is trash. All love always,” wrote Shadows at the time.

He also sent a message in December 2023 to the family of Dror Bahat, the Nova set designer who was killed on October 7, after the local A7X fan club let him know that Bahat had been a lifelong fan of the band.

Shadows told Rolling Stone that he empathizes with Disturbed frontman David Draiman, the Jewish rocker who forged a connection with bereaved father, husband, and former hostage Yarden Bibas, and who has posted widely about his support for Israel. Draiman recently had a Belgian concert canceled over safety concerns, given threats by anti-Israel groups.

“There’s a lot of people that fall on both sides of this thing,” Shadows said to Rolling Stone. “I heard from Jewish people in the music community, and from a lot of fans in Indonesia and Malaysia, places where we do well that are much more Muslim-dominant, who are extremely disappointed that we would make a video for Israeli prisoners. This was just a humanist approach — these people have been through a lot.”