While the band has met Snoop Dogg and Guns n'Roses and become friends with rapper Paul Wall, Vengeance says they learned the most from Metallica, with whom they toured Europe. "You're all trying to achieve the same thing," he said, "but when you see the band that has achieved everything you hope to accomplish, they're actually cool enough to talk to you, and, at this point, we consider them friends, that's really the most amazing thing to us."

In fact, Vengeance says getting the call to open for Metallica ranks right up there with their VMA win for Best New Artist. "Our hearts just about stopped," he recalled.