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.