Zacky Vengeance

Zachary James Baker taught himself how to play the guitar when he was thirteen. He attended Huntington Beach High School, and formed Avenged Sevenfold there with M. Shadows and The Rev. Before Avenged Sevenfold, he was in a punk band called MPA*, which stands for Mad Porn Action. He implied that they were not successful. Baker came up with his stage name "Zacky Vengeance" because he wanted to get back at all the people from his youth who doubted his potential. He also came up with Johnny's stage name "Johnny Christ," saying it suited him. Vengeance was also responsible for the creation of the initialism "A7X".

Despite being left-handed, Vengeance recalls the first guitar he learned to play on was actually a right-handed his parents had bought him for his thirteenth birthday. He learned by playing upside-down, watching his favorite bands and other people he knew who played, and practiced as much as he could. He would also read each edition of Guitar World cover to cover, learning the tabs of the songs published there and watching the professionals perform them until he could play just as well.

In high school he played baseball. He claims that if not for his music career, he would have played in college and might have gone pro. He was scouted by the New York Yankees. He played first base, third base, and catcher for his high school baseball team. His favorite Major League Baseball team is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has an Angels tattoo behind his left ear.