The song was written by the band's original drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, who died in December 2009.
On December 28, 2009, the Rev was found unresponsive in his Huntington Beach home, and was later pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital.
[4][5] Parts of "Fiction" were originally written by The Rev for his and bandmate Synyster Gates' project Pinkly Smooth.
[9] M. Shadows and Gates stated in an interview to Hard Drive Radio: "The eeriest thing about it is there is a song on the album called 'Fiction' [a nickname the Rev gave himself] which started out with the title 'Death.'
[11] The Rev's favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy (then of Dream Theater), was brought on to finish drums on the album.