James Sullivan, far right, known as
The Rev, poses Jan. 17, 2006, at MTV with the rest of Avenged Sevenfold, from left, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, M. Shadows and Johnny Christ.
Sullivan, who was found dead in his southern California home on Monday 28 Dec, appeared to have died of natural causes, Huntington Beach police Lt. John Domingo said. He was 28.
Founded in 1999, Avenged Sevenfold won Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2006.
The five-man metalcore band hit No. 4 on the U.S. pop album chart in 2007 with its most recent album, a self-titled release that went on to ship more than 500,000 copies, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Sullivan contributed "A Little Piece of Heaven," a tongue-in-cheek, eight-minute paean to necrophilia and mass murder. The band shot an appropriately gruesome videoclip.
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