“I wasn't trying to make a retro album. I went through a Fractal”: Avenged Sevenfold’s Zachary Baker rides alone on Dark Horse – cooking up a country album with little more than a modeler and an Epiphone acoustic

Zacky holding a Martin guitar .

Rock stars ditching walls of cranked stacks for acoustic guitars and a country twang is nothing new. If anything, it’s become somewhat of a default second-act career trajectory, claiming everyone from Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett to pop-punk royalty Jaret Reddick and even Staind frontman Aaron Lewis.

The latest rocker to make the leap is none other than Zacky Vengeance – aka Zachary Baker – guitarist of metal titans Avenged Sevenfold. Zacky is using his own name for this new project, announcing his debut solo album, Dark Horse – and by his own admission, it wasn't exactly part of the plan.