M. Shadows has added tattoos since he was a teenager, alongside Avenged Sevenfold’s rise. The photos show dense sleeves, Deathbat artwork, large chest pieces, color and black-and-grey shading. The details look different across years and camera angles, but the collection keeps growing.

M. Shadows’ tattoos are not one clean style. Some pieces use traditional rock imagery, while others connect to the band, his faith or people he has lost. He has said he wanted to cover most of his body but leave his face alone, so the collection remains a work in progress.

Older photos and concert shots show the tattoos most clearly. Some have clear histories; other marks are easier to describe than to identify with certainty. Stage lights can also make black ink look heavier than it does in other settings.

M. Shadows’ Horsemen sleeve

Older write-ups describe the large upper-arm piece as a Horsemen of the Apocalypse sleeve. The photos show why: several dark figures and shapes flow together across the arm instead of sitting as separate designs.

Faces, bones, shadows and curved lines wrap around the arm. The shading is heavy in places, with lighter areas breaking it up so the details don’t disappear into one dark block.

The imagery is dramatic and a little grim, but it reads as a tattoo design rather than a band logo. In older photos, the sleeve is one of the collection’s largest pieces and appears to set the tone for the work that followed.

The Deathbat and Avenged Sevenfold pieces

The Deathbat ties M. Shadows’ tattoos to Avenged Sevenfold and the years he spent making music with the band.

Album-related artwork also appears among the sleeves. It ties some tattoos to particular records and periods in the band’s history, so the collection reads partly as a timeline.

If you want another example of tattoos connected to a musician’s work, compare the ink of Kerry King. The styles differ, but both artists bring parts of their music and stage identity into their tattoos.

Color work across both arms

Clearer concert photos show color tucked into the sleeves: red, green, blue and warm skin tones beneath the dark outlines. From a distance, the arms can look almost black and grey. Up close, brighter sections appear inside the larger designs.

Those color breaks separate one piece from the next. Some areas use old-school shapes; others look more illustrative. The mix makes the arms feel layered, like work added over time rather than a sleeve planned in one sitting.

Hand and wrist tattoos are harder to see when he’s holding a microphone or moving onstage. The close photos show that the ink continues past the forearms, and the smaller marks carry the larger sleeve work onto his hands.

The chest lettering, stars, and figures

The chest is another large part of the collection. Lettering runs across the upper chest, surrounded by stars, figures and bold traditional-style shapes. Posture, lighting and necklaces often cross the center, so the piece looks different from photo to photo.

The stars give the chest piece a clear outline, while figures and darker shading fill the space toward the shoulders. That keeps the lettering connected to the rest of the design instead of leaving it on its own.

The chest and sleeves share black outlines and old-school colors, which ties pieces from different periods together. Repeating a few colors or shapes can make work added over several appointments feel connected.

The Rev tribute and hand ink

Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan remains part of the story. After Sullivan died in 2009, M. Shadows continued to refer to him through Avenged Sevenfold’s music and the tattoos on his body. The hand and forearm photos show smaller pieces beside the larger sleeve, including imagery linked to the Deathbat and the band.

The hand pieces finish the line of ink down the arm. They frame his hand around the microphone or guitar pick, while the forearm designs draw the eye back toward the shoulder. The area is small, but it helps the sleeve read as a whole.

Older online photos don’t always show enough detail to name every small symbol. Lists that claim to identify every mark may be guessing. The larger pieces are clearer; the tiny hand details are better described as shapes unless M. Shadows has explained them himself.

How the older photos fit with the newer ink

Photos from different years show the sleeves filling out, the chest work becoming clearer and the wrist and hand pieces extending the coverage. That fits his earlier statement that he planned to cover most of his body while leaving his face alone.

One photo can’t serve as a final map. A bare patch in a concert shot may have been filled later; a vest can hide details visible in a sleeveless shoot. Red stage lights also change how the colors read compared with daylight.

For another rock singer whose tattoos became part of his stage identity, see Jonathan Davis. M. Shadows’ collection leans more toward sleeves, band history and dark imagery, while both sets of tattoos remain closely tied to the music.

What M. Shadows’ tattoos say about his style

No single theme covers every tattoo. The collection mixes stars and hearts, religious images, skulls, band symbols, portraits and memorial pieces. The shared mood is heavy rock, even where the colors are brighter.

The tattoos don’t all have the same finish. Some are crisp and colorful; others have softened with age or only show up at a certain angle. The difference fits a collection added over many years.

M. Shadows’ tattoos combine band history, memorials, dark sleeve work and old-school color. The collection grew with him over time instead of following one fixed plan.

Watch an Avenged Sevenfold tattoo tour