Coming Home

This song was suggested by Hail To The King producer, Mike Elizondo. Guitarist Synyster Gates explained to MusicRadar.com: "He wanted us to do something upbeat, but we wanted to make sure that it didn't get hokey – we've done upbeat before, and sometimes things can get a little too cutesy and sugary. Our goal was to have a darker, more serious tone, which can get lost when you increase the tempo." "It's very adventurous," he added, "but it maintains that upbeat vibe. There's some great drumming on it, and I'm really excited about the guitar work. The solo is big. Instead of doing a vocal bridge, we decided to do one with the guitar and have it take you places. I think it fits with the imagery of the lyrics, which are very personal but still presented in a way that people can relate to it. The words are very 'storyteller-y,' concerning travel and endeavors, but they're not necessarily concerned with present time. The guitar stuff goes hand-in-hand with all of that."

This is a tour song. Vocalist M. Shadows explained to Kerrang! magazine: "Things in it that may seem over-the-top are things that we've experienced that we've put a little Life Of Pi twist on. We're telling a little bit of a grander story out of things that have actually happened." He added: "When I say, 'Standing in Hell,' that's a reference to the band being in Iraq in 126 Fahrenheit heat and standing in Saddam Hussein's palace. That's a place that many people in this world never get to experience, but we use the metaphor of 'Standing in Hell, staring the Devil in the eyes' looking at Saddam's picture on the wall.' That is the Devil to some people. There are quite a few stories in there about things we've done around the world but, at the end of the day, all you want to do is come home and be with all your loved ones."