# Spin Doctors’ Aaron Comess Nails Avenged Sevenfold’s “Afterlife” As He Hears It for First Time: Watch

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/spin-doctors-aaron-comess-nails-avenged-sevenfolds-afterlife-as-he-hears-it-for-first-time-watch/
- Published: 2026-07-20T19:25:24+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-20T20:10:51+00:00
- Original publisher: Consequence
- Original article: https://consequence.net/2026/07/drumeo-spin-doctors-avenged-sevenfold-first-time/
- Topics: Americas, Art, Culture, Entertainment, Music, World

## Key points

- Spin Doctors' Aaron Comess improvised Avenged Sevenfold's "Afterlife" in one take
- Used backbeat-driven rock style instead of metal's technical flourishes
- Both bands are currently on separate US tours

## Summary

Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess took part in Drumeo's "For the First Time" series, in which drummers hear a song with no percussion and must improvise a performance on the spot. He was set the challenge of playing along to Avenged Sevenfold's "Afterlife," a track originally recorded by the late A7X drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and impressed host Brandon Toews by completing it convincingly in a single take.

Comess put his success down to carefully charting the song beforehand, and brought a groove-heavy, backbeat-driven rock approach rather than the technical flourishes typical of metal drumming. He swapped out the original's heavy double-bass passages for more pocket-focused grooves, yet the result still closely echoed Sullivan's version. The video comes as Spin Doctors are on a US tour supporting Blues Traveler and Gin Blossoms, while Avenged Sevenfold prepare to launch a co-headlining North American tour with Good Charlotte on 25 July.

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.