Avenged Sevenfold silent on FREE PALESTINE at warm-up band it chose, after singer blessed returned hostages

At the concert that kicked off Avenged Sevenfold's Asia tour in Kuala Lumpur, 'FREE PALESTINE' appeared on the big screen during the set of the Malaysian warm-up band Langsuir, which Avenged Sevenfold chose themselves. During the song 'Manusia Terindah,' the words appeared alongside a red triangle in Palestinian flag colors. The American band, whose singer warmly blessed Gai Galboe Dalal and Avitar David upon their return from captivity, has as far as is known not publicly said a word about it to this day.

Let's start with facts, because in this column they are the entire story. On Saturday, September 26, 2026, Avenged Sevenfold performed before 12,000 people at Unifi Arena in Kuala Lumpur, formerly Axiata Arena, at a sold-out show that kicked off their Asia tour. The evening was opened by Malaysian warm-up band Langsuir, and during their set, in the song 'Manusia Terindah,' the words 'FREE PALESTINE' appeared on the big screen alongside a red triangle in Palestinian flag colors. It's important to say honestly: this screen was part of the warm-up band's set, not Avenged Sevenfold's performance itself, and fans on the web even thanked the warm-up band for the message.

But the warm-up band didn't end up there by chance. The local promoter Hitman Solutions presented it with the words 'Specially invited by Avenged Sevenfold,' and the Malay Mail reported that it was 'selected by Avenged Sevenfold,' meaning chosen by the band itself. Who created the graphics and who uploaded them to the screen is unknown, and there is no evidence that Avenged Sevenfold knew about it in advance. But whoever chooses who will perform in front of him on stage before thousands of fans cannot behave as if it's a stranger who happened to pass by the microphone.

And now to the other side of that band. In October 2025, days after they were released from captivity in Gaza, Gai Galboe Dalal and Avitar David received a video from singer M. Shadows, who warmly blessed them and said the band knew they were sworn fans of his. According to ynet, the video was initiated by an Israeli fan club. In December 2025, two months after his release and after 738 days in Hamas captivity, Galboe Dalal met with the singer and wrote: 'Today I met M. Shadows, the band's singer, and I have no words to describe how crazy this meeting was for me.' This is the young man who at age 17 attended the band's first and only concert in Israel in June 2018, and who said: 'Avenged Sevenfold has songs that saved me.'

When the video stirred criticism, M. Shadows told Rolling Stone it was 'simply one person doing something for another person,' and that it was 'not taking a political stance.' In the same interview, he said he had heard from many fans in Indonesia and Malaysia, where the band has a large audience, that they were 'very disappointed' by the video. Elsewhere in the interview, when discussing the band's performances in Iraq, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, he said: 'We want to play music for every person who wants to come to our concerts.'

In March 2026, when the Kuala Lumpur concert was announced, users in Malaysia called for a boycott of the band because of that video. The concert nevertheless sold out.

Here, in our opinion, the double game begins. If blessing two hostages who returned from hell is 'not taking a political stance,' then the words 'FREE PALESTINE' on the screen, during the set of a warm-up band that Avenged Sevenfold chose themselves, is clearly a political stance. The singer, who spoke about the disappointment of fans in Malaysia, well knew how charged the issue was there. As far as is known, neither the band nor the singer publicly responded to the screen, not on stage and not after the concert. So, as it appears from here, they are trying to keep both audiences: the Israelis received a warm video, and the audience in Malaysia received an evening where 'FREE PALESTINE' appeared on the warm-up band's screen, without anyone from Avenged Sevenfold distancing themselves from it.

Avenged Sevenfold owes an answer to its Israeli fans, and to Gai Galboe Dalal and Avitar David, whom its singer warmly blessed. It should simply say whether it knew what would appear on the screen during the warm-up band's performance that it chose, and whether it stands behind it or distances itself from it. M. Shadows himself said the video was about 'two people who went through hell,' and someone who spoke that way about two freed hostages cannot excuse their silence by claiming it was just the warm-up band. Silence, in this case, is also an answer.