Red Black

Red Black theme by LeX

Download: RedBlack.p3t

Red Black Theme
(1 background)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Motorstorm

Motorstorm theme by LeX

Download: motorstorm.p3t

Motorstorm Theme
(4 backgrounds)

Redirect to:

Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise theme by randomhero_1

Download: BurnoutParadise.p3t

Burnout Paradise Theme
(3 backgrounds)

Burnout Paradise
Developer(s)Criterion Games[a]
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Director(s)Alex Ward
Producer(s)Peter Lake
San Shepherd
Matt Webster
Hamish Young
Designer(s)Craig Sullivan
Programmer(s)Olly Read
Paul Ross
Artist(s)Steve Uphill
SeriesBurnout
EngineRenderWare
Platform(s)Original version
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Microsoft Windows
Remastered
PlayStation 4
Xbox One
Microsoft Windows
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseOriginal version
  • NA: 22 January 2008
  • EU: 25 January 2008[1]
  • AU: 7 February 2008
The Ultimate Box
  • NA: 5 February 2009 (PC)[2]
  • NA: 6 February 2009
  • EU: 6 February 2009[2]
  • AU: 12 March 2009
Remastered
  • WW: 16 March 2018 (PS4, XBO)[3]
  • WW: 21 August 2018 (PC)
  • WW: 19 June 2020 (Switch)
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Burnout Paradise is a 2008 racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was also released on the PlayStation Store and via Xbox Live Marketplace's Games on Demand. It was later added to the libraries of Greatest Hits and Platinum Hits titles and was made backward compatible with the Xbox One in November 2016. It is the first game in the Burnout series to be released on Microsoft Windows.

Paradise's gameplay is set in the fictional "Paradise City", an open world in which players can compete in several types of races. Players can also compete online, which includes additional game modes, such as "Cops and Robbers". Several free game updates introduce new features such as a time-of-day cycle and motorcycles. The game also features paid downloadable content in the form of new cars and the fictional "Big Surf Island".

The game was very well received upon release, with aggregate score sites GameRankings reporting an average score of 88% and Metacritic reporting an average score of 88 out of 100. The game won several awards in 2008, with Spike TV, GameTrailers and GameSpot all awarding it Best Driving Game. Reviewers felt the game had an excellent sense of speed, and praised the open world gameplay, a first for the Burnout series. Burnout Paradise is considered by some to be one of the greatest video games ever made.

A remastered version, titled Burnout Paradise Remastered, which includes all downloadable content (except the Time Savers Pack) and support for higher-resolution displays, was released on 16 March 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on 21 August for Windows via EA's Origin platform. The online service for the original version of the game was permanently discontinued in August 2019.[4] The remastered version for Nintendo Switch with refreshed online servers was released on 19 June 2020.[5][6]

Gameplay[edit]

Burnout Paradise is set in an open-world environment.[7] Players have the opportunity to progress at their own pace and level; the game, unlike others, is not actually set to a rigid gameplay framework.[8] According to Alex Ward, creative director of the game at developer Criterion Games, this game is a "complete reinvention" of the Burnout series. He also said that "to create truly next-generation gameplay, they needed to create a truly next-generation game from the ground up".[9] Initially day and night cycles were not included in the game but a software update entitled "Davis" added this element to the game. For the first time in the series, records are now kept on a player's drivers license, including statistics such as fastest time and biggest crash for every street in the game. Completing events raises the driver rank, which unlocks access to new cars.[10]

In previous Burnout games, "Crash Mode" was a dedicated mode in which players were given multiple scenarios in which to cause the biggest crash. In Burnout Paradise, "Crash Mode", now called "Showtime", can be initiated at any time and place in the game. Showtime does differ from the previous incarnation of Crash Mode being that instead of crashing into a busy intersection and watching a crash play out, Showtime has bouncing the vehicle around for as long as possible to gain points. During a race players may now take any route to get to the destination.[11] Races and other events are started by simply stopping at any of the traffic lights and applying the accelerator and brake at the same time. The game features the ability to customize race settings, such as traffic, race routes, and including/excluding cars based on their boost types.[11][12]

Paradise's damage system has also been reworked. There are now two different types of crashes based on the car's condition after the crash.[13] If the player's car manages to retain all four wheels and does not break its chassis, the player can drive out of the crash and continue playing; this is called a "driveaway". If a player's car loses any wheels, the engine is damaged too much from an impact, the car lands on its side or roof or lands outside of the game's map, the car is in a "wrecked" state and the player will have to wait until their car is reset. Cars dynamically compress and deform around objects they crash into.

Cars now have manufacturer and model names, which are loosely based on real-world cars. Cars may not be "tuned up" or customized apart from color changes, which may be done in real-time by driving through the forecourt of a paint shop, or by selecting the color during vehicle selection.[14] Other real-time changes include driving through the forecourt of a gas station to automatically refill the vehicle's boost meter, and driving through the forecourt of a repair shop to automatically repair the vehicle.[15]

Multiplayer[edit]

The online lobby system used by most video games has been replaced by a streamlined system known as "Easy Drive". While driving, players simply hit right on the D-pad and the 'Easy Drive' menu appears in the corner of their screen. From there, players are able to invite other players from their friends list. Once friends have joined the game, the host can select the event to play. A "Mugshots" camera feature is available for the PC via webcam, PlayStation 3 via a PS3-compatible webcam, Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Vision,[16] PlayStation 4 via PlayStation Camera, and Xbox One via Kinect. When a player is taken down, their photo, or 'Mugshot', is shown to the aggressor, and vice versa. These photos can then be saved to the PC or console's storage device.[17]

Development[edit]

The concept of Burnout Paradise came from director Alex Ward's experience playing open world games, specifically Crackdown, Test Drive Unlimited and Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. Ward found that with a title like Mercenaries the game's world provided more entertainment than the developers likely planned and gave him a sense of freedom in playing around with inconsequential elements of the game. He wanted to take this idea into Burnout Paradise: "My philosophy was that if me and you both played it for three hours, we'd both do different things".[18] By focusing on discovery and exploration, the game ended up being a racing game without any defined tracks, a novel element at the time, which has since influenced several other racing game developers in their approaches.[18] Ward also wanted to develop the game as a social platform, leading to some of its design choices for multiplayer formats.[18]

Ward, in an interview in 2018, noted the difficulty he had in convincing Electronic Arts to follow his vision. The Burnout series at the time was already seen as a less lucrative property compared to the Need for Speed series by EA, and further, Ward found that EA was not amendable to the open world idea he presented.[18] Ward took steps that he could to make Burnout Paradise a desirable game prior to its release to show his superiors that his ideas were sound, which proved out when the game sold more than one million copies within the first three months of release.[18]

Updates[edit]

Paradise was updated to add time-of-day as well as motorcycles.

Burnout Paradise has undergone significant changes since its initial release. These have been implemented through several free patches and downloadable packs. In 2008, the first major update, codenamed "Bogart", fixed several glitches and was scheduled to be released on 24 April.[19] It was made available to Xbox 360 users on 18 April and to PlayStation 3 users on the originally scheduled date of 24 April, but this prevented store exclusive cars from being obtainable.

The "Cagney" update was released on schedule on 10 July for PlayStation 3 and on 4 August for the Xbox 360. The update introduced three new Freeburn multiplayer modes: Online Stunt Run, Marked Man and Road Rage. Online Stunt Run involves up to 8 players who simultaneously compete for the highest stunt score within 2 minutes. Road Rage features two teams; one must race to a checkpoint while the other tries to stop them through takedowns. Marked Man is like a game of tag, with one player as the Marked Man who cannot see the other players and has no boost. In addition there are 70 new online challenges. These new challenges are different from Free Burn challenges, being timed. Timed challenges start once all players gather at a point of interest. The players then must all complete an objective within a certain time, such as jumping a ramp. "Cagney" also brought custom soundtracks and 1080i support to the PlayStation 3 version.[20]

An update in which involved motorbikes and night-day cycles appear in the Bikes Pack (originally codenamed the "Davis" update), along with tailored locations, challenges and game modes.[21] The update featured a new dynamic weather system, two starter bikes in the player's junkyard, 70 new bike-only challenges, and special "Midnight Rides" challenges that appear only at night.[22] The Bikes pack was released on 18 September on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

On 25 September another update was made available which introduced support for the PlayStation 3 trophies system. Criterion Games originally stated that the trophies could be awarded retroactively to players who had already made certain achievements, but when the update was released they said that this had proved to be impossible and that users would have to start a new game in order to achieve some of the goals.[23] Later on February 5, 2009, Criterion released the free 1.6 update, which included the addition of an in-game browser for the PC and PlayStation 3 versions, which gave users access to the Criterion Games Network. An in-game store was also added to all versions which allowed users to purchase content from within the game. Tweaks were also made to the vehicles (not including the freeburn exclusives) to steer the game more toward beginners and casual players. The stats of all of the cars were lowered, and the beginning cars were changed specifically to make them control better, and harder to crash. Events were also made easier to compensate for the vehicle changes.[24]

Windows version[edit]

Burnout Paradise is the first game in the Burnout series to be released for the PC. Criterion made use of existing graphics technology and introduced enhanced visuals and the ability to play the game across multiple monitors to enhance widescreen playing. Players can link three 4:3 monitors to play in a Polyvision aspect ratio. PC users are also able to download a trial version of the game for free. It includes the entire map and three cars but will expire after thirty minutes. All saved data will be carried over if the user decides to purchase the full game.[25]

Marketing and release[edit]

A demo was made available on 13 December 2007 for both PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Store and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Marketplace.[26][27] From January 4 through 14, Criterion raised the maximum number of players for the online Freeburn in the Paradise demo to 8 players (online play for the demo has since been shut down completely). With it, a total of 13 new Freeburn challenges were made available for players to play.[28] In 2008, Paradise was made available for download on the PlayStation Store.[29] Upon installation and first execution, all updates are downloaded and installed, which allows the player to have the latest version of Burnout Paradise.

Burnout Paradise features in-game advertisements for a number of brands, including Burger King, JL Audio, Nvidia, Gillette, Vizio, CompUSA and EVGA. From 6 October 2008, in-game billboards featured ads for the then United States Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama. Electronic Arts confirmed that the Obama campaign paid for the advertisements, marking the first time that a United States presidential candidate has bought in-game advertising.[30] The Obama campaign ran only on the Xbox 360 version of the game.[30]

The Xbox 360 version of Burnout Paradise was made available for backward compatibility with the Xbox One in November 2016.[31] On 16 December, it was made available to Xbox Live Gold members for free until 31 December.[32]

Criterion has disabled the optional online features for the original releases in August 2019.[33]

Burnout Paradise Remastered[edit]

A remastered version of Burnout Paradise was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles on 16 March 2018; a version for Windows was released for Origin Access subscribers on 16 August and was fully released on 21 August via Origin platform.[34]

The remaster contains all the previously released downloadable content, except for the Time Savers Pack (a DLC pack that unlocks all vehicles in the game without the need to progress through single-player), and support for higher-resolution monitors (up to 4K resolutions) with 60 frames per second support.[3] A version for Nintendo Switch was released on 19 June 2020.[5][35] Unlike the original, the Remastered version does not have real life in-game advertisements and are instead replaced by fictional ones.

Downloadable content[edit]

In addition to the free updates, Criterion has released several optional, premium packs that add content like new cars, areas and modes. The first update was the "Burnout Party Pack" and launched on 5 February 2009 in North America and the United Kingdom.[36] It focuses on hotseat multiplayer gameplay, which offers a Freeburn Challenge-like setting but for players on the same console, who pass a single controller between players to complete challenges. The challenges are split into 'Speed', 'Stunt' and 'Skill' with up to 8 rounds and up to 8 players can play at once. Criterion also announced the combo pack Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box that launched around the same time which contains the original game, plus the Cagney, Bikes, Party pack and Update pack all in the same package which contained "a mountain of new refinements".[37]

The first premium content pack called "Legendary Cars" featured four cars inspired by famous vehicles from film and television:[38] the Jansen P12 88 Special (based on the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future films), the Hunter Manhattan Spirit (based on the Ecto-1 from the Ghostbusters films), the Carson GT Nighthawk (based on KITT from the television series, Knight Rider), and the Hunter Cavalry Bootlegger (based on The General Lee from the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard).[39] The Legendary Cars pack was released on 19 February 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, and later in 2009 for the PC.[40]

The second one is "Toy Cars" pack. It features a collection of new vehicles designed with a "toy car" aesthetic, although modelled as full-size cars. The Toy Cars pack has been released in three packs. The full pack offers all toy cars along with the Nakamura Firehawk, a toy motorcycle, while the others split the content into two parts, minus the Firehawk.[41]

On 12 March 2009, the "Boost Specials" pack was released. It featured two cars: the Carson Extreme Hotrod and the Montgomery Hawker Mech. The Carson was described as the fastest car in the game and featured a 'locked' boost; the car continues to boost until it is brought to a stop in any manner. The vehicle dynamics system were rewired so that the Carson performs more realistically than any other car in the game. The Montgomery Hawker Mech also featured a unique boost system, which allows the player to willingly switch between the three different boost types at the touch of a button.[42]

In 2009, Criterion released "Cops & Robbers" on 30 April for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[43] The content does not involve AI Police patrol cars but instead borrows from the Pursuit modes of older Burnout games, notably Burnout 2: Point of Impact. Players are split into teams, the Cops and the Robbers. Teams attempt to return gold bars to their respective bases to score points.[44] Every Paradise car (except Carbon and Premium DLC cars) receives a Police livery with the content.[45]

Originally announced as the "Eastwood pack coming in Fall 2008",[46] the expansion known as "Big Surf Island" was released on 11 June 2009.[47] Design for the island was guided by the principle of "if you can see it, you can drive it".[48][49] The island puts emphasis on the playground aspect of Burnout. The developers mentioned that in their telemetry they noticed that players congregate in areas of Paradise City that lend themselves to stunt-driving, and so the idea was to create an entire island to accommodate player desire. Big Surf Island also features new vehicles, which includes the Carson Dust Storm buggy, a car tailor-made for stunts. In addition to the Dust Storm buggy two specially featured cars, the Hunter Olympus "Governor" and the Carson Annihilator Street Rod are also included. The unlockable cars also include toy versions of all four "Legendary Cars" pack vehicles and a special Jansen P12 Diamond awarded once all 500 freeburn challenges were completed.[50] It features several new events, billboards, smash gates, and mega jumps. New Trophies and Achievements were also added along with a new 'Big Surf Island License' to obtain.[51]

Reception[edit]

Critical reception[edit]

Upon release, Burnout Paradise was met with very positive reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[54][53][55][52][56]

Reviewers praised the game's open world, stating "Burnout Paradise is an amazing open-world racing game that stays true to the Burnout legacy", but that the large world may "feel a little daunting at first".[69] New gameplay mechanics such as gas stations and body repair shops were also praised which "mitigate potential frustration when the heat is on".[59] Hyper's Daniel Wilks commends the game for its "great sense of speed and things that go boom".[70] IGN's Chris Roper praised the vehicle unlock system, which gives the player a new vehicle with each license, and also gives the player the opportunity to "take down" certain vehicles, which earns the player a reward if completed.[61] He further lauded the game as "controlled chaos".[61] The Guardian's Keith Stuart added that the game "feels incredibly good to drive".[71]

However, some reviewers were disappointed that there was no option to restart a race or event.[61] Instead the player had to either fail the event, or cancel the race by bringing the vehicle to a stop for a few seconds, and then return to the specific place on the map to try that particular race or event again. Criterion responded to this criticism by stating that they don't feel that this is a problem and that adding a "retry" option would introduce loading screens, which they "hate with a passion".[72] Despite this, the option to restart an event was later added to the game via a free software update.[24] Eurogamer found DJ Atomika, the game's guide, to be "instantly dislikeable".[59]

The Remastered release was met with similarly positive reviews, albeit slightly less than the original release. Metacritic gave the PlayStation 4 version a score of 82 out of 100, and the Xbox One version a score of 79 out of 100.

Awards[edit]

Paradise won several awards in 2008, with Spike TV, GameTrailers and GameSpot all awarding it Best Driving Game.[64][66][67] Additionally, Paradise won GameSpot's award for Best Downloadable Content in 2008.[65] During the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Burnout Paradise with "Racing Game of the Year".[73]

Use in academia[edit]

The game has been the subject of several academic papers investigating a range of fields, often connected to the title's intensity and need for fast reaction time. These include studies on gamer cardiology,[74] phenomenological correspondence and control abstraction[75] and computer game pedagogy.[76]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Remastered version developed by Stellar Entertainment. D3T assisted development on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Robert Purchese (6 December 2007). "Burnout gets Euro date News". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
  2. ^ a

    Black

    Black theme by Pacman33

    Download: Black.p3t

    http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/2387/previewks7.jpg Continue reading “Black”

Black (Game)

Black theme by Mapesta

Download: Black(game).p3t

Black (Game) Theme
(3 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

Bart Simpson

Bart Simpson theme by SILV3R_

Download: Bart.p3t

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4702/previewbd0.jpg
(1 background)

Bart Simpson
The Simpsons character
First appearance
Created byMatt Groening
Designed byMatt Groening
Voiced byNancy Cartwright
In-universe information
Full nameBartholomew JoJo Simpson
Occupation4th grade student at Springfield Elementary School
Family
Relatives
Home742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield, United States
NationalityAmerican

Bartholomew Jojo "Bart" Simpson[1][2] is a fictional character in the American animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening created and designed Bart while waiting in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called to pitch a series of shorts based on his comic strip, Life in Hell, but instead decided to create a new set of characters. While the rest of the characters were named after Groening's family members, Bart's name is an anagram of the word brat. After appearing on The Tracey Ullman Show for two years, the Simpson family received its own series on Fox, which debuted December 17, 1989. Bart has appeared in every Simpsons episode except "Four Great Women and a Manicure".

At ten years old, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge, and the brother of Lisa and Maggie. Bart's most prominent and popular character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness and disrespect for authority. Hallmarks of the character include his chalkboard gags in the opening sequence; his prank calls to Moe; and his catchphrases "Eat my shorts", "¡Ay, caramba!", "Don't have a cow, man!", and "I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?". However, with the exception of "¡Ay, caramba!", these hallmarks have been retired or are not often used. Bart has appeared in other media relating to The Simpsons – including video games, The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons Ride, commercials, and comic books – and inspired an entire line of merchandise.

In casting, Cartwright originally planned to audition for the role of Lisa, while Yeardley Smith tried out for Bart. Smith's voice was considered too high for a boy, so she was given the role of Lisa. Likewise, Cartwright found Lisa uninteresting, so she instead auditioned for Bart, which she thought was a better role.[3]

During the first two seasons of The Simpsons, Bart was the show's protagonist and "Bartmania" ensued, spawning Bart Simpson-themed merchandise touting his rebellious attitude and pride at underachieving, which caused many parents and educators to cast him as a bad role model for children.[4] Around the third season, the role of the protagonist was taken over by his father, and series started to focus more on the family as a whole, though Bart still remains a prominent breakout character. Time named Bart one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century, and he was named "entertainer of the year" in 1990 by Entertainment Weekly. Cartwright has won several awards for voicing Bart, including a Primetime Emmy Award in 1992 and an Annie Award in 1995. In 2000, Bart, along with the rest of his family, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In episode 13 of Season 21, it is revealed that he is 1/64th black.[5]

Role in The Simpsons[edit]

The Simpsons uses a floating timeline in which the characters do not age or age very little, and as such, the show is always assumed to be set in the current year. In several episodes, events have been linked to specific times, though sometimes this timeline has been contradicted in subsequent episodes. Bart's year of birth was stated in "I Married Marge" (season three, 1991) as being in the early 1980s.[6] In "Simpsorama" (season 26, 2014) Bart states his birthday as February 23.[7] In The Bart Book, a book by Simpsons' creator Matt Groening, Bart's birthday is said to be April 1.[2] He lived with his parents in the Lower East Side of Springfield until the Simpsons bought their first house. When Lisa was born, Bart was at first jealous of the attention she received, but he soon warmed to her when he discovered that "Bart" was her first word.[8] Bart's first day of school was in the early 1990s. His initial enthusiasm was crushed by an uncaring teacher and Marge became worried that something was truly wrong with Bart. One day during recess, Bart met Milhouse and started entertaining him and other students with various gestures and rude words. Principal Skinner told him "you've just started school, and the path you choose now may be the one you follow for the rest of your life! Now, what do you say?" In his moment of truth, Bart responded, "eat my shorts".[9] The episode "That '90s Show" (season nineteen, 2008) contradicted much of the backstory's time frame; for example, it was revealed that Homer and Marge were childless in the early 1990s.[10]

Bart's hobbies include skateboarding, watching television (especially The Krusty the Clown Show which includes The Itchy & Scratchy Show), reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), playing video games and generally causing mischief.[11] His favorite movies are Jaws and the Star Wars Trilogy. For the duration of the series, Bart has attended Springfield Elementary School and has been in Edna Krabappel's fourth grade class. He is 10 years old.[12] While he is too young to hold a full-time job, he has had occasional part-time jobs. He works as a bartender at Fat Tony's social club in "Bart the Murderer" (season three, 1991);[13] as Krusty the Clown's assistant in "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994);[14] as a doorman in Springfield's burlesque house, the Maison Derrière, in "Bart After Dark" (season eight, 1996);[15] and briefly owns his own factory in "Homer's Enemy" (season eight, 1997).[16]

Character[edit]

Creation[edit]

A man in glasses and a plaid shirt sits in front of a microphone.
Matt Groening created Bart while waiting in James L. Brooks' office.

Matt Groening first conceived of Bart and the rest of the Simpson family in 1987, while waiting in the lobby of producer James L. Brooks' office. Groening had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts for The Tracey Ullman Show, and had intended to present an adaptation of his Life in Hell comic strip. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights, Groening decided to go in another direction.[17] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, naming the characters after members of his own family. For the rebellious son, he substituted "Bart", an anagram of the word brat, for his own name,[17] as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character 'Matt'.[18] Bart's middle initial J is a "tribute" to animated characters such as Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, who received their middle initial from Jay Ward.[19][20] According to the book Bart Simpson's Guide to Life, Bart's full middle name is "JoJo".[21][page needed]

Bart had originally been envisioned as "a much milder, troubled youth given to existential angst who talks to himself", but the character was changed based on Cartwright's voice acting.[22] Groening has credited several different figures with providing inspiration for Bart: Matt Groening's older brother Mark provided much of the motivation for Bart's attitude.[23][24][25] Bart was conceived as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn into one person.[18] Groening describes Bart as "what would happen if the son of Eddie Haskell [from Leave It to Beaver] got his own show".[26] Groening has also said that he found the premise of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.[27]

Bart made his debut with the rest of the Simpson family on April 19, 1987, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night".[28] In 1989, the shorts were adapted into The Simpsons, a half-hour series airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company. Bart and the Simpson family remained the main characters on this new show.[29]

Design[edit]

Bart in his first televised appearance in "Good Night".

The entire Simpson family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.[30] The family was crudely drawn, because Groening had submitted basic sketches to the animators, assuming they would clean them up; instead, they just traced over his drawings.[17] Bart's original design, which appeared in the first shorts, had spikier hair, and the spikes were of different lengths. The number was later limited to nine spikes, all of the same size.[31] At the time Groening was primarily drawing in black and "not thinking that [Bart] would eventually be drawn in color" gave him spikes which appear to be an extension of his head.[32] The features of Bart's character design are generally not used in other characters; for example, no other characters in current episodes have Bart's spiky hairline, although several background characters in the first few seasons shared the trait.[33]

The basic rectangular shape of Bart's head is described by director Mark Kirkland as a coffee can. Homer's head is also rectangular (with a dome on top), while spheres are used for Marge, Lisa, and Maggie.[34] Different animators have different methods of drawing Bart. Former director Jeffrey Lynch starts off with a box, then adds the eyes, then the mouth, then the hair spikes, ear, and then the rest of the body. Matt Groening normally starts with the eyes, then the nose, and the rest of the outline of Bart's head. Many of the animators have trouble drawing Bart's spikes evenly; one trick they use is to draw one on the right, one on the left, one in the middle, then continue to add one in the middle of the blank space until there are nine. Originally, whenever Bart was to be drawn from an angle looking down so the top of his head was seen, Groening wanted there to be spikes along the outline of his head, and in the middle as well. Instead, Wes Archer and David Silverman drew him so that there was an outline of the spikes, then just a smooth patch in the middle because "it worked graphically".[35] In "The Blue and the Gray", Bart (along with Lisa and Maggie) finally questions why his hair has no visible border to separate head from hair.

In the season seven (1995) episode "Treehouse of Horror VI", Bart (along with Homer) was computer-animated into a three-dimensional character for the first time for the "Homer3" segment of the episode. The computer animation was provided by Pacific Data Images.[36] While designing the 3D model of the character, the animators did not know how they would show Bart's hair. They realized that there were vinyl Bart dolls in production and purchased one to use as a model.[36]

Voice[edit]

Nancy Cartwright is the voice of Bart Simpson.

Bart's voice is provided by Nancy Cartwright, who voices several other child characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, Todd Flanders, and Kearney.[37] While the roles of Homer and Marge were given to Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner because they were already a part of The Tracey Ullman Show cast,[38] the producers decided to hold casting for the roles of Bart and Lisa. Yeardley Smith had initially been asked to audition for the role of Bart, but casting director Bonita Pietila believed her voice was too high. Smith later recalled, "I always sounded too much like a girl. I read two lines as Bart and they said, 'Thanks for coming!'"[39] Smith was given the role of Lisa instead.[40] On March 13, 1987, Nancy Cartwright went in to audition for the role of Lisa. After arriving at the audition, she found that Lisa was simply described as the "middle child" and at the time did not have much personality. Cartwright became more interested in the role of Bart, who was described as "devious, underachieving, school-hating, irreverent, [and] clever".[41] Matt Groening let her try out for the part instead, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot.[42] Cartwright is the only one of the six main Simpsons cast members who had been professionally trained in voice acting prior to working on the show.[43]

Cartwright's normal speaking voice is said to have "no obvious traces of Bart".[44] The voice came naturally to Cartwright; prior to The Tracey Ullman Show, she had used elements of it in shows such as My Little Pony, Snorks, and Pound Puppies.[44] Cartwright describes Bart's voice as easy to perform, saying, "Some characters take a little bit more effort, upper respiratory control, whatever it is technically. But Bart is easy to do. I can just slip into that without difficulty."[44] She usually does five or six readings of every line in order to give the producers more to work with.[42] In flashforward episodes, Cartwright still provides the voice of Bart. For "Lisa's Wedding" (season six, 1995), Bart's voice was electronically lowered.[45]

Despite Bart's fame, Cartwright is rarely recognized in public. When she is recognized and asked to perform Bart's voice in front of children, Cartwright refuses as it "freaks [them] out".[44] During the first season of The Simpsons, the Fox Network did not allow Cartwright to give interviews because they did not want to publicize that Bart was voiced by a woman.[46]

Until 1998, Cartwright was paid $30,000 per episode. During a pay dispute in 1998, Fox threatened to replace the six main voice actors with new actors, going as far as preparing for casting of new voices.[47] The dispute was resolved and Cartwright received $125,000 per episode until 2004, when the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[47] The dispute was resolved a month later,[48] and Cartwright's pay rose to $250,000 per episode.[49] After salary renegotiations in 2008, the voice actors received approximately $400,000 per episode.[50] Three years later, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were cut, Cartwright and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent pay cut to just over $300,000 per episode.[51]

Hallmarks[edit]

In the opening sequence of many Simpsons episodes, the camera zooms in on Springfield Elementary School, where Bart can be seen writing lines on the chalkboard. The sentences, which changes from episode to episode, has become known as the "chalkboard gag".[52] Chalkboard messages may involve political humor such as "The First Amendment does not cover burping",[53] pop culture references such as "I can't see dead people",[54] and meta-references such as "I am not a 32-year-old woman" and "Nobody reads these anymore".[52] The animators are able to produce the chalkboard gags quickly and in some cases have changed them to fit current events. For example, the chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic" (season four, 1992) read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag had been written as an apology to the city for a controversial song in the previous week's episode, "A Streetcar Named Marge", which called the city a "home of pirates, drunks and whores".[55][56] Many episodes do not feature a chalkboard gag because a shorter opening title sequence, where the chalkboard gags are cut, is used to make more room for story and plot development.

One of Bart's early hallmarks were his prank calls to Moe's Tavern owner Moe Szyslak in which Bart calls Moe and asks for a gag name. Moe tries to find that person in the bar, but rapidly realizes it is a prank call and (despite not knowing who actually made the call) angrily threatens Bart. These calls were based on a series of prank calls known as the Tube Bar recordings. Moe was based partly on Tube Bar owner Louis "Red" Deutsch, whose often profane responses inspired Moe's violent side.[57] The prank calls debuted in "Homer's Odyssey" (season one, 1990), the third episode to air, but were included in "Some Enchanted Evening", the first episode of the series that was produced.[58] As the series progressed, it became more difficult for the writers to come up with a fake name and to write Moe's angry response, so the pranks were dropped as a regular joke during the fourth season[58][59] but they have occasionally resurfaced on the show.[60]

The catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was in high school. Cartwright was in the marching band at Fairmont High School, and one day while performing, the band chanted "Eat my shorts" rather than the usual "Fairmont West! Fairmont West!"[39][61] It could also be an homage to The Breakfast Club, as John Bender says the phrase to Principal Vernon. John Bender would become the inspiration for another Matt Groening creation, Bender from Futurama.[62] Bart's other catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!" came from a Portuguese flamenco dancer[61] and "Don't have a cow!" had been around since the 1950s which derived from the British phrase "Don't have kittens";[61] both were featured on T-shirts manufactured during the production of the early seasons of The Simpsons.[63][64] "Cowabunga" is also commonly associated with Bart, although it was mostly used on the show after it had been used as a slogan on the T-shirts.[65] Reiss also stated the writers took the phrase from Chief Thunderthud on The Howdy Doody Show. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" (season five, 1994) in which Bart lands a popular role on Krusty the Clown's show for saying the line "I didn't do it."[66] The writers chose the phrase "I didn't do it" because they wanted a "lousy" phrase "to point out how really crummy things can become really popular".[67]

Bart's nude scene in The Simpsons Movie.

Bart often appears nude in the show, although in almost every case only his buttocks are visible.[68] In The Simpsons Movie (2007), Bart appears in a sequence where he is skateboarding while fully nude; several different items cover his genitalia, but for a brief moment his penis can be seen. The scene was one of the first worked on for the film, but the producers were nervous about the segment because they thought it would earn the movie an R rating.[69] Despite this, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for "Irreverent Humor Throughout".[70] The scene was later included by Entertainment Weekly in their list of "30 Unforgettable Nude Scenes".[71]

Personality[edit]

Like any good punk rocker, Bart had the nihilism thing down from the very beginning. Though not so much pissed off as extremely undisciplined, the Bart Simpson of the Ullman shorts is either fighting with his sister, inciting his father into murderous levels of rage, executing dangerous stunts that end in cartoonish levels of disaster, or simply spitting snarky one-liners at whatever authority figures cross his path. This appetite for destruction continued to be the defining feature of the smart-assed boy who dominated many episodes of the first few seasons of The Simpsons–the version that spawned Bart-mania–though his methods and motivations show considerably more nuance than the white-trash Bart of the Ullman era.

— Chris Turner, author[72]

Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority have been compared to that of America's founding fathers, and he has been described as an updated version of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one.[73] In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist, a philosophical position that argues that existence is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.[72]

Bart's rebellious attitude has made him a disruptive student at Springfield Elementary School, where he is an underachiever and proud of it.[74] He is constantly at odds with his teacher Ms. Krabappel, Principal Skinner, and occasionally Groundskeeper Willie.[75] Bart does poorly in school and is well aware of it, having once declared, "I am dumb, okay? Dumb as a post! Think I'm happy about it?"[74] On one occasion, Lisa successfully proves that Bart is dumber than a hamster, although Bart ultimately outsmarts her.[76] Bart's thoughts are often illogical; he once thought if he died and reincarnated as a butterfly, he would be able to burn the school down without being suspected, thinking that he would be able to hold a gas can as a butterfly.[77] He has also thought if he wrote his name in wet cement, people who see it after it dries will wonder how he managed to write his name in solid cement.[78] In "Separate Vocations" (season three, 1992), Bart becomes hall monitor and his grades go up, suggesting that he struggles mainly because he does not pay attention, not because he is stupid.[79] This idea is reinforced in "Brother's Little Helper" (season eleven, 1999), in which it is revealed that Bart has attention deficit disorder.[80] His lack of smarts can also be attributed to the hereditary "Simpson Gene", which affects the intelligence of most male members of the Simpson family.[81] Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity. He has, on a few occasions, helped Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel:[82] In "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song" (season five, 1994), Bart accidentally got Skinner fired and befriended him outside the school environment. Bart missed having Skinner as an adversary and got him rehired, knowing that this would mean that the two could no longer be friends.[83]

Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent, jaded, violent, and at times borderline sadistic relationship. Bart regularly addresses Homer by his first name instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy".[84] Homer has a short temper and when enraged by Bart will strangle him on impulse in a cartoonishly violent manner.[85] One of the original ideas for the show was that Homer would be "very angry" and oppressive toward Bart, but these characteristics were toned down somewhat as their characters were explored.[86] Marge is a much more caring, understanding and nurturing parent than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics.[87] In "Marge Be Not Proud" (season seven, 1995), she felt she was mothering Bart too much and began acting more distant towards him after he was caught shoplifting. At the beginning

Avenged Sevenfold

Avenged Sevenfold theme by LeX

Download: A7X.p3t

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Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold in 2016. From left to right: M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, Synyster Gates, and Brooks Wackerman
Avenged Sevenfold in 2016. From left to right: M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Johnny Christ, Synyster Gates, and Brooks Wackerman
Background information
Also known asA7X
OriginHuntington Beach, California, U.S.
Genres
DiscographyAvenged Sevenfold discography
Years active1999–present
Labels
SpinoffsPinkly Smooth
Members
Past members
  • Matt Wendt
  • Justin Sane
  • Dameon Ash
  • The Rev
  • Arin Ilejay
Websiteavengedsevenfold.com

Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead guitarist Synyster Gates, bassist Johnny Christ, and drummer Brooks Wackerman.

Avenged Sevenfold are known for their diverse rock sound and dramatic imagery in album covers and merchandise.[1] The band emerged with a metalcore sound on their debut album Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and largely continued this sound through their second album Waking the Fallen. The band's style had evolved by their third album and first major label release, City of Evil, into a more traditional heavy metal style. The band continued to explore new sounds with its self-titled release and enjoyed continued mainstream success before their founding drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, died in 2009. Despite his death, Avenged Sevenfold continued on with the help of Dream Theater member Mike Portnoy, and released and toured in support of their fifth album Nightmare in 2010, which debuted atop the Billboard 200, their first number one debut.[2]

In 2011, drummer Arin Ilejay joined the band on tours and recording. The band's sixth studio album Hail to the King, which was released in 2013, marked the only Avenged Sevenfold album featuring Ilejay. It would feature a heavy metal and hard rock style, with it being written as a tribute to their influences. Hail to the King charted as number 1 on the Billboard 200, the UK Albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts. Ilejay left the band in late 2014 and was replaced by former Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman, but the lineup change was not announced to the public until 2015. The band then surprise-released their seventh studio album The Stage in October 2016, which debuted as number 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in the US. The Stage is their first conceptual album and marked another stylistic change for the band, moving towards a progressive metal sound. The band released their eighth studio album, Life Is But a Dream..., a highly experimental record, in June 2023.

To date, Avenged Sevenfold have released eight studio albums, one live album/DVD, two compilation albums and eighteen singles and have sold over 8 million albums worldwide,[3] and their records have received numerous certification awards, including five platinum album awards from their home country's institution (RIAA). They have also created four original songs for the Call of Duty: Black Ops series, all of which were compiled together in the 2018 EP Black Reign. The band were ranked No. 47 on Loudwire's list of Top 50 Metal Bands of All Time.[4]

History[edit]

Formation and Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (1999–2002)[edit]

Avenged Sevenfold was formed in 1999 in Huntington Beach, California by Matt Sanders, James Sullivan, Zachary Baker and Matt Wendt.[5][6] Although they are not a religious band, Sanders came up with the name as a reference to the story of Cain and Abel from the Bible, which can be found in Genesis 4:24.[7] All four members already had experience performing in bands, with Sanders being the vocalist and Wendt the bassist for the punk band Successful Failure,[8] Baker playing guitar in the punk bands Society Down and MPA (short for Mad Porn Action/Addiction),[8][6] and Sullivan being the drummer for the ska band Suburban Legends (formerly known as Bomb Squad).[8]

Avenged Sevenfold's first creative output was a three-song-demo recorded in October 1999 at the A-Room Studios in Orange County, California.[9][10] The band played their first show at the Walnut, California City Hall on February 11, 2000.[11] Around this time, they were asked by Sadistic Records to contribute to two compilations,[6] so the band recorded two new songs and released them along with the previously recorded songs on a second demo.[10] They sent this demo to the Belgian label Good Life Recordings and were subsequently signed.[12] Afterwards, the band participated in another two compilation albums, their label's GoodLife 4 and Novocaine Records' Scrape III compilations.[13] Around this time, Matt Wendt left for college and Justin Meacham, the previous bassist of Suburban Legends, joined Avenged Sevenfold. In late 2000, the foursome took on their initial stage names – M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Justin Sane and The Rev – and recorded their debut album, Sounding the Seventh Trumpet.[14] In early 2001, lead guitarist and old friend Synyster Gates joined the band and they re-recorded the introductory track "To End the Rapture" for the album's lead-single/EP, Warmness on the Soul, released in April 2001. Although their debut album's release was initially planned for the same month, it was pushed back multiple times and eventually released on July 24, 2001, on Good Life Recordings.[15]

Around August 2001, Meacham attempted suicide by drinking excessive amounts of cough syrup.[16][17] This event was the reason for Avenged Sevenfold to join the Take Action Tour in 2003.[16] During Meacham's hospitalization, he remained in poor condition and had to leave the band.[17] In an interview, lead singer M. Shadows said of Meacham that "he perma-fried his brain and was in a mental institution for a long time, and when you have someone in your band who does that, it ruins everything that's going on all around you, and it makes you want to do something to prevent it from happening to other people."[17] His replacement was Frank Melcom, stage name Dameon Ash, who performed with the band for the following months, but does not appear on any releases.

On January 18, 2002, Avenged Sevenfold left Good Life Recordings and signed with Hopeless Records.[18] They re-released their debut album on March 19 and also appeared on the Hopelessly Devoted To You Vol. 4 sampler in April. The band started to receive recognition, performing with bands such as Mushroomhead and Shadows Fall.[19] They spent the year touring in support of their debut album and participated in the Vans Warped Tour. In September, Dameon Ash left Avenged Sevenfold and their current bassist Johnny Christ joined them, completing their best known line-up.[20]

Waking the Fallen and City of Evil (2003–2005)[edit]

Having found a new bassist, the group released their second studio album titled Waking the Fallen on Hopeless Records in August 2003. The album featured a more refined and mature sound production in comparison to their previous album. The band received profiles in Billboard and The Boston Globe, and again played on the Vans Warped and Take Action tours.[21][22][23] Shortly after the release of Waking the Fallen, Avenged Sevenfold left Hopeless Records and were officially signed to Warner Bros. Records on November 1, 2003.[24] In 2004, Avenged Sevenfold toured again on the Vans Warped Tour and recorded a video for their song "Unholy Confessions" which went into rotation on MTV2's Headbangers Ball.[25]

City of Evil, the band's third album and major label debut, was released on June 6, 2005, and debuted at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 30,000 copies in its first week of release.[26][27] It utilized a more classic metal sound than Avenged Sevenfold's previous albums, which had been grouped into the metalcore genre.[28][29] The album is also notable for the absence of screamed and growled vocals; M. Shadows worked with vocal coach Ron Anderson—whose clients have included Axl Rose and Chris Cornell—for months before the album's release to achieve a sound that had "grit while still having the tone".[28][30] The album received positive reviews from several magazines and websites and is credited for propelling the band into international popularity.

Avenged Sevenfold (2006–2008)[edit]

The band performing in 2008

After playing Ozzfest in 2006, Avenged Sevenfold memorably beat out R&B Singers Rihanna and Chris Brown, Panic! at the Disco, Angels & Airwaves and James Blunt for the title of Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, thanks in part to their Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-inspired song "Bat Country."[31] They returned to the Vans Warped Tour, this time headlining and then continued on their own "Cities of Evil Tour."[32] In addition, their lead single "Bat Country" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, No.6 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts and the accompanying video made it to No. 1 on MTV's Total Request Live.[33] Propelled by this success, the album sold well and became Avenged Sevenfold's first Gold record.[34] It was later certified platinum in August 2009. Avenged Sevenfold was invited to join Ozzfest tour on the main stage, alongside other well known rock/heavy metal acts such as DragonForce, Lacuna Coil, Hatebreed, Disturbed and System of a Down for the first time in 2006.[35] That same year they also completed a worldwide tour, including the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. After a sixteen-month promotion of City of Evil, the band announced that they were cancelling their Fall 2006 tour to record new music.[36] In the interim, the band released their first DVD titled All Excess on July 17, 2007.[37] All Excess, which debuted as the No. 1 DVD in the US, included live performances and backstage footage that spanned the band's eight-year career. Two tribute albums, Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: Bat Wings and Broken Strings and Strung Out on Avenged Sevenfold: The String Tribute were also released in October 2007.

On October 30, 2007, Avenged Sevenfold released their self-titled album, the band's fourth studio album. It debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with over 90,000 copies sold.[38] Two singles, "Critical Acclaim" and "Almost Easy" were released prior to the album's debut. In December 2007, an animated video was made for "A Little Piece of Heaven". Due to the song's controversial subject matter, however, Warner Brothers only released it to registered MVI users over the internet. The third single, "Afterlife" and its video was released in January 2008. Their fourth single, "Dear God", was released on June 15, 2008. Although critical reception was generally mixed the self-titled album went on to sell over 500,000 copies and was awarded "Album of the Year" at the Kerrang! Awards.[39]

Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2008 Taste of Chaos tour with Atreyu, Bullet for My Valentine, Blessthefall and Idiot Pilot.[40] Footage from their last show in Long Beach was used for the band's next release, Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough, released on September 16, 2008. Its content includes live DVD from their performance at Long Beach, and a CD containing B-sides from Avenged Sevenfold, and other rarities, such as covers from Pantera's "Walk" and Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade".[40][41][42]

Death of The Rev and Nightmare (2009–2011)[edit]

Avenged Sevenfold performing at the Sonisphere Festival on August 2, 2009. This was The Rev's final show with the band before his death.

In January 2009, M. Shadows confirmed that the band was writing the follow-up to their self-titled fourth album within the upcoming months.[43] They also played at Rock on the Range, from May 16–17, 2009.[44] On April 16, they performed a version of Guns N' Roses' "It's So Easy" onstage with Slash, at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.[45] On December 28, 2009, the band's drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan was found dead at his home at the age of 28.[46] Autopsy results were inconclusive,[47] but on June 9, 2010, the cause of death was revealed to have been an "acute polydrug intoxication due to combined effects of Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Diazepam/Nordiazepam and ethanol".[48] In a statement by the band, they expressed their grief over the death of The Rev and later posted a message from Sullivan's family which expressed their gratitude to his fans for their support.[49][50] The band members admitted in a number of interviews that they considered disbanding at this point in time.[51][52] However, on February 17, 2010, Avenged Sevenfold stated that they had entered the studio, along with Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, to drum for the album, in place of The Rev.[53]

Zacky Vengeance and Synyster Gates live in Norway in 2011

The single "Nightmare" was digitally released on May 18, 2010.[54][55] The song was leaked on May 6, 2010, on Amazon.com, but was removed soon after.[56][55] Mixing for the album had been completed in New York City, and Nightmare was finally released on July 27, 2010,[57] in the United States. It met with mixed to positive reviews from music critics but was well received by the fans. Nightmare beat sales projections easily, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 163,000 units in its first week.[58] After finishing recording, in December, Portnoy and the band posted simultaneous statements on their websites stating that he would not be their replacement for The Rev. However, Portnoy did travel with the band overseas in December 2010 for three shows in Iraq and Kuwait sponsored by the USO. They played for U.S. Soldiers at Camp Adder, Camp Beuhring, and Balad Air Base.[59] On January 20, 2011, Avenged Sevenfold announced via Facebook that former Confide drummer Arin Ilejay would begin touring with them that year. He was not yet considered a full-time member at this point.[60][61]

Avenged Sevenfold performed at the Rock am Ring and Rock im Park festivals on June 3–5, 2011 alongside other bands such as Alter Bridge, System of a Down, and In Flames.[62] In April 2011, the band headlined the Golden God Awards held by Metal Hammer. The same night the band won three awards for "Best Vocalist" (M. Shadows), "Epiphone Best Guitarist(s)" (Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance), and "Affliction's Album of The Year" for Nightmare, while Mike Portnoy won the award for "Drum Workshop's Best Drummer" for his work on the album.

Avenged Sevenfold headlined the 2011 Uproar Festival with supporting acts Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet for My Valentine, Escape the Fate, among others.[63] In November and December 2011, the band went on their "Buried Alive" tour with supporting acts Hollywood Undead, Asking Alexandria, and Black Veil Brides.[64]

Hail to the King and Waking the Fallen: Resurrected (2012–2014)[edit]

On April 11, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold won the award for "Best Live Band" and "Most Dedicated Fans" at the Revolver Golden Gods awards.[65] The band toured through Asia into April and early May, and played at the Orion Music + More, Festival on June 23 and 24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey alongside Metallica and Cage the Elephant among many others.[66]

M. Shadows at Rock im Park, Germany, 2014

On September 24, 2012, Avenged Sevenfold released a new song, titled "Carry On"; it was featured in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II.[67] On November 15, 2012, vocalist M. Shadows said that the band had been working on a new album since the recording of "Carry On" in August 2012.[68] The band began recording material for the album in January 2013.[69] The band then started streaming snippets of the album in May 2013 on their new radio app.[70] There, Arin Ilejay was confirmed as an official band member and replacement of deceased The Rev. M. Shadows said that the album would sound more blues rock-influenced and more like classic rock/metal like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.[71]

The band was confirmed to play at the 2013 Rock in Rio festival on September 22, 2013.[72] On May 24, 2013, the band have announced dates for their European tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Device serving as their support bands.

The album, entitled Hail to the King, was released on August 23, 2013.[73] This is the first Avenged Sevenfold album without any musical contributions from late drummer, The Rev. The album's lead single and title track was released on July 15, 2013. Hail to the King charted as No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, the UK albums chart, as well as the Finnish, Brazilian, Canadian, and Irish charts, and was commercially and critically acclaimed. The band headlined Monster Energy's Welcome to Rockville two-day music festival in Jacksonville, Florida, April 26–27, 2014, joined by more than 25 rock acts, such as Motörhead, Rob Zombie, Chevelle, Korn, Staind, Alter Bridge, The Cult, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, Black Label Society, and Seether.[74] On June 13, the band headlined the Friday night of Download Festival 2014. The band also headlined the Mayhem Festival 2014 with Korn, Asking Alexandria, and Trivium.

In March 2014, vocalist M. Shadows revealed in an interview with Loudwire that the band had plans in the works to put something out for the overdue 10th anniversary of Waking the Fallen.[75] Waking the Fallen: Resurrected was released August 25, 2014.[76] The reissue charted No. 10 on the US Billboard 200.[77]

Drummer change and The Stage (2015–2017)[edit]

In October 2014, M. Shadows confirmed that the band would begin writing their seventh album during mid-2015.[78]

In July 2015 the band announced on their website that they would part ways with drummer Arin Ilejay, due to "creative differences".[79] In October 2015, the band announced on their website that they had been working with a new drummer for over a year, making sure that it was a good fit before making sudden changes.[80] On October 21, in an interview with Kerrang! magazine, guitarist Zacky Vengeance revealed that the band had been working on the new album for the past couple of months and that a couple of songs had already been completely written.[81] On November 4, 2015, the band announced that Brooks Wackerman would replace Arin Ilejay as the drummer for Avenged Sevenfold.[82] In an interview with Kerrang! magazine on December 3, guitarist Zacky Vengeance said that the new album went in all sorts of aggressive and melodic directions and described it as very "aggro".[83]

On January 14, 2016, Billboard reported that Avenged Sevenfold had been sued by Warner Bros. for trying to leave the label. The band later released a statement clarifying that they wanted to leave because a majority of the executives who helped sign the band to Warner Bros were no longer at the label. They also revealed that the band was going to be entering the studio to record their new album very soon, intending to release it later in 2016.[84] On March 31, the band posted a teaser of their upcoming album on their website.[85]

On August 18, 2016, the band performed a free live show for 1500 people in Minnesota, marking it the first live performance with new drummer Brooks Wackerman.[86] The band was announced as support for Metallica with Volbeat in the U.S. Bank Stadium on August 20, 2016, making it the first ever rock show in the stadium.[87] The band was announced as a headliner of Monster Energy Rock Allegiance 2016, along with Alice in Chains, Slayer, The Offspring, Breaking Benjamin and others.[88] Avenged Sevenfold also performed on "Louder Than Life" festival as headliners on October 1, with Slipknot, Slayer, Disturbed, Korn and other artists.[89] On June 21, the band announced a U.S. Fall tour with Volbeat, Killswitch Engage, and Avatar.[90] The band also announced a UK tour for January 2017 with Disturbed and In Flames.[91] Avenged Sevenfold was announced as a headliner of 2016 edition of Knotfest Mexico.[92] The band also announced the European Tour for February and March 2017 along with Disturbed and Chevelle.

On October 3, 2016, the band's logo Deathbat started appearing as a projection in London. After that, Deathbat also started appearing in Berlin, Toronto and Paris, indicating a release of the new album. On October 12,

Apple: Mac OS X Leopard v2.0 (with Dock)

Apple: Mac OS X Leopard v2.0 (with Dock) theme by Erik Garrot

Download: MacOSXLeopardV2.p3t

Apple: Mac OS X Leopard v2.0 (with Dock) Theme
(3 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.

AFC South

AFC South theme by Pacman33

Download: AFCSouth.p3t

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/3218/previewho6.jpg
(1 background)

AFC South
ConferenceAmerican Football Conference
LeagueNational Football League
SportAmerican football
Founded2002
No. of teams4
Most recent
champion(s)
Houston Texans
(7th title)
Most titlesIndianapolis Colts
(9 titles)
AFC South Teams Location

The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. Since its creation, the division has had the same four members: the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.

Before the 2002 season, the Texans did not exist, the Colts belonged to the AFC East, and the Titans and Jaguars were members of the AFC Central. The AFC South is often regarded as the NFL's "newest" division since at the time of its establishment none of the new division's members had played more than eighteen seasons in their current cities. The Colts had played in Baltimore until the end of the 1983 season, the Jaguars commenced play in 1995 and the Titans had been based in Houston (where they were known as the Oilers) until 1996. However, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Jacksonville had all won multiple division titles and wild card berths in their prior respective divisions.

The Colts hold a 534–474–7 record and a 23–25 playoff record with two NFL league crowns, four Super Bowl appearances and two wins. The Titans hold a record of 451–475–6 with a playoff record of 17–21 including two AFL championships (as the Houston Oilers) and a loss in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Jaguars hold a 177–239 record and a 7–7 playoff record. The Texans made the playoffs for the first time in their ten-season existence in 2011 and hold a 135–169 record and a 4–6 playoff record.

The Colts' Super Bowl XLI victory in 2006 is the only Super Bowl win from the AFC South to date, although the Colts have won another Super Bowl while playing in a different division (and a different city). The division owns the longest active Super Bowl victory drought, since at least one team from each of the other seven divisions has won one of the eighteen subsequenct Super Bowls — in fact seven divisions won seven Super Bowls between 2009 and 2015 — although the Colts did participate in 2009’s Super Bowl XLIV.

History[edit]

2000s[edit]

When the NFL realigned for the 2002 schedule, the newly created AFC South was formed from two former AFC Central teams, an AFC East team, and an expansion team. Its inaugural season was won by the Tennessee Titans who went on to play in the AFC Championship game. For the next five years, the Indianapolis Colts won the division including their victory in Super Bowl XLI. In 2007, the AFC South had the best division record of all time based on the combined 42–22 (.656 winning percentage). The record was previously held by the 1975 AFC Central's .643 winning percentage.[1] In 2008, the Tennessee Titans won the division, ending Indianapolis' five-year streak of division titles. However, in 2009, the Colts would storm back to win their 6th division championship in Week 12 of the season with a win over the Houston Texans and a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the San Francisco 49ers.

2010s[edit]

In 2010, the Indianapolis Colts again won their division by winning their final four games, including a victory over the Jaguars that tied the records of the two teams. The Colts controlled their own destiny, with the Jacksonville Jaguars losing its last three games of the season. In 2011, the Houston Texans won their first AFC South title, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In Week 14, Houston had to beat Cincinnati and New Orleans had to beat the Tennessee Titans to secure the playoffs for Houston. Houston won 20–19 and New Orleans won 22–17 against the Titans, giving Houston its first ever playoff spot. The Texans had won their first Playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals 31–10 but then lost to the Baltimore Ravens 20–13 in the Divisional game. The Texans repeated as AFC South champions in 2012 as well after beating Indianapolis 29–17 in Week 15 that season. In the playoffs, the Texans beat the Bengals once again, 19–13, but lost to the New England Patriots 41–28 during the Divisional Weekend. The Colts would retake the AFC South division crown in 2013. Indianapolis swept all three of its divisional opponents during the 2013 campaign to reclaim its first division title since 2010. Again in 2014, the Colts claimed the division title by defeating the Texans in a week 15 matchup, 17–10. The Texans took over as AFC South champions in 2015 following their 30–6 win over Jacksonville in week 16. Houston repeated as division champions in 2016; despite finishing with matching 9–7 records along with Tennessee, the Texans earned the AFC South's automatic berth into the NFL playoffs based on finishing better against the division (5–1) than the Titans (2–4). In 2017, the Jaguars won their first AFC South title after a Titans loss to the Rams in Week 16. In the previous week, the Jaguars had clinched their first playoff berth since 2007, with a win against the Texans. The Texans reclaimed the division crown with an 11–5 record in 2018, though the Colts also made the playoffs as a wild card and defeated the Texans in Houston in the first round by a score of 21–7. In 2019, the Texans won their sixth division title with a 10–6 record, and the Titans reached the Wildcard with 9–7. The Texans would win in the Wildcard vs. the Buffalo Bills and make it to the divisional round, losing 51–31 to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Titans, however, would make it to the AFC Championship, also losing 35–24 to the Chiefs.[2]

Division lineups[edit]

Place cursor over year for division champ or Super Bowl team.

AFC South Division
Years
02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tennessee Titans
  Division Won Super Bowl   Division Won AFC Championship

Division champions[edit]

Season Team Record Playoff results
2002 Tennessee Titans (1) 11–5 Won Divisional playoffs (Steelers) 34–31 (OT)
Lost AFC Championship (at Raiders) 24–41
2003 Indianapolis Colts (1) 12–4 Won Wild Card playoffs (Broncos) 41–10
Won Divisional playoffs (at Chiefs) 38–31
Lost AFC Championship (at Patriots) 14–24
2004 Indianapolis Colts (2) 12–4 Won Wild Card playoffs (Broncos) 49–24
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 3–20
2005 Indianapolis Colts (3) 14–2 Lost Divisional playoffs (Steelers) 18–21
2006 Indianapolis Colts (4) 12–4 Won Wild Card playoffs (Chiefs) 23–8
Won Divisional playoffs (at Ravens) 15–6
Won AFC Championship (Patriots) 38–34
Won Super Bowl XLI (vs. Bears) 29–17
2007 Indianapolis Colts (5) 13–3 Lost Divisional playoffs (Chargers) 24–28
2008 Tennessee Titans (2) 13–3 Lost Divisional playoffs (Ravens) 10–13
2009 Indianapolis Colts (6) 14–2 Won Divisional playoffs (Ravens) 20–3
Won AFC Championship (Jets) 30–17
Lost Super Bowl XLIV (vs. Saints) 17–31
2010 Indianapolis Colts (7) 10–6 Lost Wild Card playoffs (Jets) 16–17
2011 Houston Texans (1) 10–6 Won Wild Card playoffs (Bengals) 31–10
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Ravens) 13–20
2012 Houston Texans (2) 12–4 Won Wild Card playoffs (Bengals) 19–13
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 28–41
2013 Indianapolis Colts (8) 11–5 Won Wild Card playoffs (Chiefs) 45–44
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 22–43
2014 Indianapolis Colts (9) 11–5 Won Wild Card playoffs (Bengals) 26–10
Won Divisional playoffs (at Broncos) 24–13
Lost AFC Championship (at Patriots) 7–45
2015 Houston Texans (3) 9–7 Lost Wild Card playoffs (Chiefs) 0–30
2016 Houston Texans (4) 9–7 Won Wild Card playoffs (Raiders) 27–14
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 16–34
2017 Jacksonville Jaguars (1) 10–6 Won Wild Card playoffs (Bills) 10–3
Won Divisional playoffs (at Steelers) 45–42
Lost AFC Championship (at Patriots) 20–24
2018 Houston Texans (5) 11–5 Lost Wild Card playoffs (Colts) 7–21
2019 Houston Texans (6) 10–6 Won Wild Card playoffs (Bills) 22–19 (OT)
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Chiefs) 31–51
2020 Tennessee Titans (3) 11–5 Lost Wild Card playoffs (Ravens) 13–20
2021 Tennessee Titans (4) 12–5 Lost Divisional playoffs (Bengals) 16–19
2022 Jacksonville Jaguars (2) 9–8 Won Wild Card playoffs (Chargers) 31–30
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Chiefs) 20–27
2023 Houston Texans (7) 10–7 Won Wild Card playoffs (Browns) 45–14
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Ravens) 10–34

Wild Card qualifiers[edit]

Season Team Record Playoff results
2002 Indianapolis Colts 10–6 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Jets) 0–41
2003 Tennessee Titans 12–4 Won Wild Card playoffs (at Ravens) 20–17
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 14–17
2005 Jacksonville Jaguars 12–4 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Patriots) 3–28
2007 Jacksonville Jaguars 11–5 Won Wild Card playoffs (at Steelers) 31–29
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 20–31
Tennessee Titans 10–6 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Chargers) 6–17
2008 Indianapolis Colts 12–4 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Chargers) 17–23 (OT)
2012 Indianapolis Colts 11–5 Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Ravens) 9–24
2017 Tennessee Titans 9–7 Won Wild Card playoffs (at Chiefs) 22–21
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 14–35
2018 Indianapolis Colts 10–6 Won Wild Card playoffs (at Texans) 21–7
Lost Divisional playoffs (at Chiefs) 13–31

Grand Turismo HD

Grand Turismo HD theme by MetalHaze

Download: GTHD.p3t

GT HD Theme
(6 backgrounds)

P3T Unpacker v0.12
Copyright (c) 2007. Anoop Menon

This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!

Download for Windows: p3textractor.zip

Instructions:

Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.

The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.

The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].

For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following:
p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.