Good Charlotte Enlist Help From Avenged Sevenfold For New Single

01/12/07 6:30pm

by Josh Finkelman (CHARTattack)

Good Charlotte are trying something new for their Good Morning Revival album that's due on March 27. They brought some friends into the studio to help record the first single, "The River."

The band — comprised of Joel Madden (vocals), Benji Madden (guitar), Billy Martin (guitar) and Paul Thomas (bass) — have never collaborated with other artists on an album. That changed with "The River," which boasts M. Shadows and Synyster Gates of the hardcore band, Avenged Sevenfold.

"We've been friends with Avenged for a long time," Joel says. "We were sitting around listening to some new music, and they liked that song, so we asked them to jump on. It felt right and sounded really cool."

The new track, which hits radio on Monday, explores the dark side of Los Angeles and themes of sin and redemption.

"Playing on 'The River' seemed totally natural." says Shadows, who kicks in vocals on the song. "The fact that we get to perform with our friends makes it that much cooler. How many friends get to do something like this?"

The video for the song, which also features Shadows and Gates, hits television on February 5. Director Marc Webb helmed the clip, which was recently shot on location in L.A. The video, Webb's second for the band ("Festival Song" was the first), has Good Charlotte performing alongside the concrete L.A. river bank that runs through the city. While the new album is a slight sonic departure for Good Charlotte, it marks their reunion with producer Don Gilmore (Pearl Jam, Linkin Park), who produced their self-titled debut in 2000. For those of you interested in seeing the brothers Madden and company live, they're expected to launch a world tour sometime after the album's release. Avenged Sevenfold, meanwhile, are in the studio working on their still untitled follow-up to 2005's City Of Evil.