James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), more commonly known by his stage name The Rev (shortened version of The Reverend Tholomew Plague), was an American musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer and founding member for the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. The Rev was critically acclaimed for his work on Avenged Sevenfold albums, and contributed entire songs written by himself, such as Chapter Four, Afterlife, "A Little Piece of Heaven" and Almost Easy.