We might have the first drama of the year on our hands, or at least the first legal battles taking place. According to Billboard, Avenged Sevenfold are trying to get out of their current recording contract. In turn, the label has filed a breach-of-contract suit against the band, seeking compensatory damages. While the band plans to enter the studio soon, they might also have to go to court.

The band is citing the "seven-year rule" to get out of the contract. The "seven-year rule" of the California Labor Code allows parties to leave personal service contracts under certain circumstances after seven years have passed. Upon record industry lobbying, the 70-year-old law was amended in the 1980s to allow record companies to claim lost profits on uncompleted albums. Record companies, though, only have 45 days to do so when an artist exercises the right to terminate.

"Avenged Sevenfold recently exercised the rights given them by this law and ended its recording agreement with Warner Bros. Records," the band's attorney Howard E. King said in a statement. Since the 2004 contract was signed, King says the label "underwent multiple regime changes that led to dramatic turnover at every level of the company, to the point where no one on the current A&R staff has even a nodding relationship with the band."

In its lawsuit (dated January 8th, 2016), Warner Bros. claims Avenged Sevenfold's decision to utilize the "seven-year rule" was unlawful for several reasons. The label says the band sent it a letter announcing an intent to leave the contract effective Nov. 25, 2015, but Warners did not receive it until Nov. 30. And even if such notice properly met a so-called "future date certain" requirement, Warner Bros. claims it has invested significant funds in the band's future releases and has allegedly been led on to believe the agreement would remain effective, thus making the sudden opt-out unfair and a breach of good faith and fair dealing. Furthermore, the lawsuit reveals that the band is obligated to turn in an additional CD/DVD live album, which the label purportedly already funded.

The band's original contract called for five studio albums (of which they'd completed four), though the lawsuit states than an attempt to renegotiate the contract was made in fall 2015 to include a sixth album, albeit unsuccessfully.

"The band looks forward to building a relationship with a new label," King says. "Avenged Sevenfold has every expectation that it will forge the success and personal relationships with them that it once had with Warner Bros."

Source:	billboard.com
Band profile:	Avenged Sevenfold