MTV HIVE
3. Avenged Sevenfold, TBA
In a recent interview with Revolver, Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows said he’d been schooling the group’s drummer, Arin Ilejay — who will make his full-length debut with the band on their forthcoming LP — on their most important influences: Pantera, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and so on. “Right now, we’re handing him [Pantera's] Far Beyond Driven and [Metallica's] Master of Puppets and saying, ‘Learn these albums…’ because when we’re talking about ‘groove metal,’ we’re not talking about some Warped Tour band,” he said. “We’re talking about fucking Pantera. We’re talking about Black Sabbath, you know?” For a band whose last album, 2010′s Nightmare, had the sort of hooks and epic-length songs that their inspirations in Metallica pioneered in the ’90s, the bar is already pretty high. Until the new album comes out, we have the song they wrote for the latest Call of Duty to tide us over.

LOUDWIRE
3. Avenged Sevenfold
Over the past decade, Avenged Sevenfold have become one of the biggest hard rock bands on the planet, and it sounds as if the band is aiming high for their next album. Singer M. Shadows recently told Metal Hammer that the disc has a Black Sabbath / Led Zeppelin vibe and that the album will take the band to a “whole new level.” The band is planning to head into the studio in late January or early February and release the new album in the summer of 2013.

I must say, when I found this list, I got a little giddy.  The list is made up of veterans and senior citizens of what we know as rock.  

My most anticipated for 2013 are TOOL and Alter Bridge.  What new music are you looking forward to?  Which one on the list gets you giddy?  

• Most Devoted Fans
• New Artist
• Drummer
• Bassist
• Guitarist
• Vocalist
• Metal Band
• Rock Band
• Metal Album
• Rock Album
• Live Act
• Rock Titan
• Rock Goddess
• Metal Video
• Rock Video
• Metal Song
• Rock Song

(Every category is “of the year”)

That’s a LOT of categories, so make sure you vote for your favorites! You can vote once per hour.
The voting closes at January 15.
You can begin to vote here, and just move on to the next category by pressing the red button below the results.
Happy voting!

“Fuck me, I’m all out of enemies”
(Spit It Out – Slipknot)

Via deaddays’s deviantArt webpage

1.  Simon Doonan wrote an intelligent article on Slate entitled “Why The Art World Is So Loathsome:  Eight Theories,” which should interest art creators, appreciators, consumers – and those who otherwise would participate more actively in the art community but for the impact of the eight factors Doonan sets forth.  Of course, the criticisms don’t reflect the reality of every artist – on a personal level, I can name at least half a dozen folks off the top of my head with whom I am acquainted who have more than retained their integrity to their art and haven’t let the “scene” alter their respective personalities.  But the idea that the art community can be insular, mercenary, and pretentious is something that holds at least a modicum of truth and can keep otherwise interested people from enjoying artists’ works (even those who don’t engage in such undesirable behavior), ultimately suppressing the message the art is supposed to promulgate or the sentiments it is meant to elicit.

I also liked this article because, as I’ll be the first to acknowledge, the metal community is guilty of some of this same crap.  Casually mentioning that you are a fan of an artist or song that is not sufficiently obscure/”kvlt”/underground (or, heaven forbid, a non-metal pop or country alt or whatever record) will, among some folks, subject you to immediate scorn and genuine disgust.  Nevermind that different types of music can speak to you for totally different reasons – maybe Between the Buried and Me or Opeth are perfect to listen to while I’m writing, and I need Soulfly or Pantera or Lamb of God keep me motivated while I’m running, but you know what?  I absolutely will shake my butt to some Lady Gaga if I’m dancing with my girlfriends at a random bar at 1:00a.m.  Of course, I’m guilty too – putting $20 into the jukebox to preempt my friends’ Dave Matthews song selections while yelling, “get this shit out of my eardrums!”

If the angst in my soul had a color…

Similarly, there are certain protocols for how to behave at a metal/hardcore show, and deviating from them will garner unwanted attention, even if you’re not interacting with, much less harming, anyone else.  Indeed, I’ve effectively been told that my tendency to hang out by myself bouncing around in a manner that is at least as influenced by the dance club scene as it is by anything punk or hardcore is looked upon, at best, with bemusement or confusion.  The way I see it, though, metal shows are supposed to be a gathering of so-called “freaks” and outsiders and individualists and other people who don’t necessarily abide by social protocols just because they are purportedly obligated to do so.  That was part of what drew me to the metal community in the first place (in addition to simply loving the music, of course), so I don’t feel particularly compelled to conform to every group norm in the concert setting either.

Pull it together, Lois. We’ve got standards here.

Which, actually, leads me to a third corollary between the criticisms levied against the art world in Doonan’s article, and the sometimes self-defeating behavior in the metal scene:  specifically, shock and controversy put forth as an ends in themselves, without any significant underlying message or other purpose for doing so.  The Slate article rails against the gratuitous use of “blood, poo, sacrilege, and porn” in art installations, whereas as my complaint is focused on certain artists and groups who incorporate being “evil” or “satanist” into their work to such an extent that ceases to be provocative and degenerates into something campy and directionless.  I understand, and actually respect, the original message; namely, that established religion is can brainwash and subdue the masses, or provoke violence or other grave wrongs in the false name of a “benevolent” higher power, or lead to manipulative or mercenary abuses of power by the religious hierarchy, or… on and on.

Circumcision by KISS: religious commentary, or just a screen shot from Brian Posehn’s “More Metal Than You” video?

I don’t need to recount the terrible things people have done under the guise of religious righteousness, as much in the present as historically, in this post.  But if those anti-religious sentiments were initially utilized to grab public attention in order to promote that message, over time it has devolved into almost a new (albeit diametrically opposed, as far as the tenets of the respective “faithful”) religion of its own.  Ultimately what people take away is not a complex social and cultural criticism or a philosophical perspective on duality and darkness in the world at large and within one’s self; rather, they remember the stunts, the dramatics, and the comically reactive denunciations of so-called “family focused” interest groups and their ilk.  The reason I find this so frustrating – in the art as well as the music scene – is because, as in the art world, when it is used sporadically and subtly, the technique can be utilized to magnificent effect, but its overuse has desensitized us, and the intellectually lazy “solution” of taking it to ever-further extremes has oftentimes rendered it a near parody of itself.

On the plus side, this rant led me to stumble upon the “Good Guy Metalhead” meme

(via)

I still have more to say on the seemingly exclusive and inapproachable nature of the art scene, as well as my occasional frustrations with the metal community; like Doonan, I wouldn’t rant about it to such an extent if I wasn’t deeply invested.  But this was supposed to be a link post, so I’ll leave off here for now.

2.  It’s the time of year where every magazine, blog, TV show, and other media outlet starts releasing their end-of-year “Best Of” lists.  Since I’m a Loudwire addict, I’ll link to the blog’s 10 Best Metal Albums and 10 Best Rock Albums of 2012.  I enjoy these lists for the same reason I’ve taken to reading album reviews:  if there’s an album repeatedly mentioned and described in a way that aligns with my general taste in music, I’m much more likely to purchase it.  Also, I get a certain sense of satisfaction when I see that certain thoughts and ideas I had about a given album or artist are mirrored in the musings of a professional music critic; as long as it stops short of groupthink, I like knowing that someone else took the work seriously, thought about it deeply, and came to a similar conclusion that I did.  I agreed with more of the Metal list than the Rock list, though; without a question, Resolution (Lamb of God), All We Love We Leave Behind (Converge), and The Parallax II: Future Sequence (Between the Buried and Me) would be in my top 5 for the year.

LOG – Resolution

BTBAM – Parallax II

Converge – All We Love…

3.  I was (and still am) listening to The Sword when I stumbled across this article from Decibel Magazine, which features the band in this month’s hard copy issue of the magazine.  (Incidentally, I loved their latest album, Apocryphon, so much from the first listen that I immediately bought Age of Winters and Warp Riders as well.  I’ve already listened to all three today.)  Anyway, “pit etiquette” is something I’ve mentioned a couple of times on this blog, and with ever-increasing frequency, I’ve been opting for the side of the stage, rather than in the middle where the pit madness is going down.  As J.D. Croncise (the band’s vocalist) notes in his interview, it can be difficult – at least for some people – to fully appreciate the music if you’re distracted by worry about getting punched in the face.  Of course, the counter-argument is that the aggression and chaos of the pit adds to the adrenaline rush of being at a metal (or hardcore or punk) show.  For me, the best compromise has been to get mostly out of the way – I don’t mind getting shoved around, I just don’t want anything to do with people windmilling or taking swings – and be grateful for the big dudes around me that inevitably offer to help act as a body shield if I so desire.  (Southern gentlemen, even at metal concerts?)  It was interesting to hear J.D.’s perspective, particularly since it would be controversial among some of his fans.  I guess the good news is, I can happily headbang and jump around to myself front-and-center the next time The Sword comes to town?

4.  Given my predilection for hunting down late-80s/early-90s music videos and MTV clips, it’s fortunate that I appreciate the special brand of idiocy that is YouTube’s comment section.  I almost always scroll down to peek at what grammatically incorrect witticisms may have been posted.  BuzzFeed collected 25 of the funniest YouTube comments here.  Two particular gems:

5.  And speaking of YouTube videos, I would be remiss if I didn’t end with this bit of awesomeness!  On some French talent show, which I’m assuming is like most American stuff that is centered on pop or, at the most “extreme,” radio-friendly alternative rock, this beautiful girl chose to sing a metal song.  The perplexed/terrified/amused looks on the faces of the various audience members in itself makes the video worth watching.

I wouldn’t have “X”’ed her!

Also, cool cover art!

Anyway, due to the aforementioned battery issue, that’s enough lead in.  Links:

1. The premise of the “Dear Girls Above Me” blog is that two Paris Hilton/Kim Kardashian/name your own celebutante wannabes moved into the condo above some (rather witty and actually kind of a hottie) random guy, whose grave misfortune of having paper-thin ceiling/floor walls separating the two abodes accrues to the advantage of the procrastinating internet community.   For the past few years, he has regularly posted overheard snippets of their asinine conversations, together with his own commentary relating thereto.  To wit:

“Ellen DeGeneres is funny and all, but it’s really weird how much she loves her car.” Her wife’s name is Portia.  (Oct. 25)

“There’s such a thing as invisible children!? Wait, how do you see them if they’re invisible?” Kony 2012. (Mar. 9)

I changed my wireless name from ‘JonStamosCondo’ to ‘GerardButlerPad.’ “Do you think he bought it from Stamos? Hottest sale ever!”  (Jan. 21)

I’m only a little bit ashamed to admit that over the past week or so, I have read the entire thing.  All 110 pages of it.  The fact that the last entry was posted on November 12 makes me fear that this guy might be retiring from blogging.  The only way I would possibly be okay with such a fate is if he were to have realized that Claire from upstairs is his true love and he plans to eventually resurrect the blog detailing their married life.

Making friends at Smith’s , which made the top 25 douchiest. Pro tip: Atlanta has far, far worse places than Smith’s, and those spots don’t even have live music, pool tables, or a jukebox to redeem them.

2.  Introducing (at least some of) Atlanta’s 25 Douchiest Bars.  This list is, with a few notable points of contention, extremely accurate, in addition to being laugh-out-loud funny.  Glad to see East Andrews claimed its spot as the Number 1 douchiest bar; I couldn’t think of a more appropriate “winner.”  I’ve got to disagree with Neighbor’s Pub, though; obviously I’m slightly biased because they host my cornhole league and their staff is awesome, but Hand in Hand is right next door and didn’t make the list at all!  I won’t even step foot in the latter anymore; the fratbaggery is too painful.  And although they made some fair points in favor of its douchey-ness, I actually like Peachtree Tavern too; seeing live music there is pretty much the only reason I’d ever venture to Buckhead.  Indeed, it would’ve been fair to just list Buckhead and Midtown in the #1 and #2 spots, and let all the other bars battle it out for the remainder.  Okay, repressing rage.  I think the moral of this story is that Atlanta has way too many douchebags polluting the nightlife.

The gingerbread cookies are in love! (Incidentally, they also tasted delicious. TWHS.)

3.  I hate the holiday season with a passion.  The full version of this rant shall be saved for another day, but suffice to say that I am desperate to avoid any and every retail establishment for the period stretching between Halloween and New Year’s, and I have my metal cranked to full volume on my headphones if I must enter a store, so as to (hopefully) tune out the horror show that is xmas music.  Indeed, I’m struggling to think of anything I despise more than xmas music.  Call me a scrooge, and I’ll embrace it.  The only marginally tolerable parts are (1) mainlining boxes of those mini candy canes, (2) sketchy XXXmas cookie baking parties, during which I get drunk with my girlfriends and bake and decorate gingerbread men in sexually compromising positions, and (3) Metal Injection’s Heavy Metal Holiday Gift Guide.  I would like to buy just about everything for myself.  And if you’re wondering whether I purchased the (now sold out!) Slayer Christmas sweater, then clearly you haven’t realized how awesome my fashion sense is.

4.  Finally, here is your history lesson for the day:  Ex Deo’s “I, Caligvla.”  Not only is the song ridiculously catchy, the video is deliciously absurd.

Really, are we sure I can’t get paid to just do this all day?

It’s my Epiphone Les Paul electric in heritage cherry sunburst!  Squeeee!

I could’ve spent half the day in the high-end guitars section of the store.  If I were still a lawyer, I probably would’ve been even more tempted to buy one of the genuine Les Pauls; although, even then, I probably still would’ve felt like it was sacrilege for my dumb ass to be playing such a gorgeous instrument as a total novice.  My buddy Franklin accompanied me and was a phenomenally helpful in making sure I had the right amp (the Line 6 Spider IV, mostly because I was thrilled by its various metal / crunch / “insane” functions) and accessories.  I’m sure the sales guys would’ve been great even if I had gone solo, but I would’ve been totally overwhelmed without Franklin asking the right questions and guiding me along.  So shout out to him for being awesome.

Quiet Hounds at the Goat Farm (photo lifted from my buddy’s facebook album)

I didn’t have much time to play around with the sound on Saturday, though, because I was heading to a very artsy/hipster show at the Goat Farm Arts Center in Atlanta, featuring Quiet Hounds.  It was my first time at the venue and seeing the band, and although it was a far cry from my usual hard rock/metal scene, the space was gorgeous and it was a great show and a great night with some of my favorite folks.  As a bonus, I think my metalhead style stood out slightly less among the hipsters than it did among the cowgirls at the Wild Bill’s show the week before.

And now I have a backlog of worthwhile links, dating back to last Wednesday!

1.  Of foremost importance:  check out Stone Sour’s “Gone Sovereign/Absolute Zero” music videos, played back-to-back.  Rolling Stone posted the “Absolute Zero” video early last week, but given that House of Gold & Bones is two-part concept album, and these are the first two tracks, this is definitely the preferred way to look and listen.  Also, as I may have mentioned, I’m pretty much obsessed with Corey Taylor’s voice:

2.  Here’s a brilliant idea:  LazyTruth, a plug-in that scans emails for political rumors and falsities that have been debunked by FactCheck.org and Politifact, and provides a summary of the reality with a link to more elaborate corrective information.  Right now the functionality is limited to political misinformation, but ultimately LazyTruth’s creator plans to add urban myths, hoaxes, and the like to the email filter.  I’m mostly looking forward to the latter; my relatives don’t send me too much political stuff, but they are big on forwarding hoaxes.  I’ve given up on trying to correct them, but I still wince every time I open of those ridiculous emails…

Seems plausible…

I have a near limitless supply of Slash pics for any time GNR is mentioned here.

3.  Loudwire’s list of the Top Ten Catchiest Metal Songs is pretty spot on, although I would’ve ranked AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” as Number One.  It’s pretty much guaranteed to be played at any bar with a jukebox at least once per night.  I definitely can’t argue with Pantera’s “Walk” or Guns ‘N Roses “Paradise City” either; even non-rock music fans can generally sing along, although they might not know the artist or title.  A silly but fun link.

4.  Just in time for the impending bombardment of holiday catalogues in your mailbox, Deadspin has provided us with The Hater’s Guide to the Williams & Sonoma Catalogue.  The “Notes from Drew”sections mocking each overpriced and impractical item are hilarious.  Regarding this $20 Panini Spatula:

“ZOMG THIS SANDWICH IS SO LARGE! I can’t possibly lift it using only my hands or a common spatula. If only someone out there would invent a unique tool that would allow me to lift my panini and then transfer it to a plate. I’m not just gonna pick it up myself, like a DOG. There’s hot gruyere in that sandwich! It could burn.”

And if that leaves you in the mood for more smartass catalogue commentary, check out Catalog Living – a glimpse into the exciting world of the people living in your catalogs.

Then move it somewhere else Elaine, if you truly believe the bird is “judging your necklace.” 

5.  And, finally, since tomorrow night is Lamb of God at the Tabernacle, and I am giddy excited for it, I’m going to double up on Loudwire posts and link to Part 1 of a great interview with LOG’s drummer Chris Addler.  And rather than just posting a picture to accompany the link, here’s LOG performing “The Undertow” live.

24 hours!!!!!!

Listen to the full album stream of Ill Nino’s Epidemia on Loudwire here.

Vocalist Cristian Mercado states, “The recording of Epidemia was an amazing experience. We’ve set the bar higher than ever before. I truly believe this record is one of Ill Nino’s best efforts.   I really can’t wait for our fans to hear Epidemia, I know it will connect with many of them on a new level. I can definitely say it’s going to be a crusher but will not lack any of the beauty and passion that appears on our early records.”

The band’s sixth full length album showcases their signature blend of aggressive and bilingual vocals, Latin/tribal rhythms and contagious riffs that will keep you on your toes. Ill Nino is currently on tour with Static-X supporting their forthcoming release Epidemia. See a full list of tour dates below and pre-order a copy of the CD here.

ILL NINO TOUR DATES

10/16 – Amarillo, TX @ Midnight Rodeo

10/17 – Lubbock, TX @ Cactus Courtyard

10/20 – Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog Bar

10/21 – Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall

10/23 – Tulsa, OK @ IDL Ballroom

10/24 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater

10/26 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory

10/28 – Ventura, CA @ Ventura County Fairgrounds ** MONSTER JAM

And it came in handy this morning when it reminded me that I forgot to share the link to Loudwire’s Funniest Guitar Faces article.  Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying reposted it on his twitter feed — you’ve got to love that he can have a laugh over it!

Nick is feelin’ it

The article is… sexy?  hilarious?  If nothing else, it’s entertaining and worth a click through to see all the other images.

I’m inclined to appreciate anything that features an image of Dave Grohl

Also:  I also officially have a snazzy facebook page, which I finally published yesterday.  I put different content on there, so please do “like” it if you are so inclined.

If you have spoken music to our COO, Alan, lately you have probably heard him raving over Between The Buried and Me’s latest release, The Parralax 2: Future Sequence. “Killer, crushing, mind blowing, Thelonious Monk meets Maiden/Rush/Prong’s love child meets melting your face, THEE release of 2012…”- the guy won’t stop talking about it. And for good reason, this effort is five star plus with no reservations.

Unfortunately for BTBAM, the day their latest came out we got this tough touring news update- “Between The Buried And Me’s bus caught fire this morning in England. There are no injuries and no equipment was damaged. There is no effect on the band’s tour. Tour manager Courtney Warner adds: “As of now, we are at a service area awaiting transportation to a hotel. A new bus is on its way. We shouldn’t miss any shows because of this. All gear, luggage, personal items and most importantly, people, are all good. We just stink like smoke.”

Paul Waggoner elaborates: “Fuel line done broke. Dadgum flame come shootin out. Peeewwww eeehhhhh sometin’ stank. Crazy British feller come hollerin, “Bus on fire, ya’ll git.” Climb up the ol’ hill barefoot and look back at them flames shootin sky high. Firemen folk come rushin up real quick like and squirt that fire plum out. It was lucky nobody was hurt, not even a stubbed toe. Luggage stank like a Mississippi cow pie on a mid-July heat.

Hopefull, come tomorra, a new horse n’ buggy come. We’ll giddy on up to Belgium town for a good ol’ fashioned hootnanny.

Whoo-Doggies!!!”

The 12-track album was described by Tommy Rogers (vocals, keyboards) as: “A conceptual journey that takes the listener to worlds that seem familiar and worlds that make you scratch your head.” The band’s 2011 predecessor, The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues EP, laid the groundwork for the story behind the Parallax releases, Prospect I and Prospect II.

Listen to what others are saying:

Loudwire described The Parallax II as “quintessentially brilliant,” while awarding the release a perfect score. Alternative Press said the band “continue to dominate progressive metal” and are musically “expanding on every already-top-notch aspect.” Outburn called the album “otherworldly,” while Decibel added that BTBAM are “one of progressive metal’s most singular, unique and genuinely progressive bands.”

Do us a favor here at PMM- check them out, get Parallax 2, and get our boss to stop already- he had us at Between The Buried and Me.

A number of aural and visual clips have been released leading up to the release with the most recent addition audio clips from the entire release, which can be found here: http://youtu.be/HFTbp3UFmyE. The band has also released a stunning, effects laden video for “Astral Body” and a series of instructional videos (guitar, bass and drums) for “Telos”: http://youtu.be/qQZmTXCSO00.

North American tour dates for 2013 are forthcoming.

All dates below w/Periphery and The Safety Fire opening:
Oct. 10 Antwerp, Belgium Trix
Oct. 11 Amsterdam, Netherlands Melkweg
Oct. 12 Cologne, Germany Luxor
Oct. 13 Munster, Germany Sputnikhalle
Oct. 14 Copenhagen, Denmark Vega
Oct. 16 Stockholm, Sweden Debaser Slussen
Oct. 17 Gothenberg, Sweden Sticky Fingers
Oct. 18 Hamburg, Germany Logo
Oct. 19 Berlin, Germany Lido
Oct. 20 Prague, Czech Republic Rock Café
Oct. 22 Bratislava, Slovakia Randall Club
Oct. 23 Budapest, Hungary Durer Kert
Oct. 24 Vienna, Austria Szene
Oct. 25 Munich, Germany Backstage
Oct. 27 Novara, Italy Rock’n’Roll Arena
Oct. 28 Zurich, Switzerland Dynamo
Oct. 29 Stuttgart, Germany Universum
Oct. 30 Frankfurt, Germany Batschkapp
Oct. 31 Paris, France La Maroquinerie
Nov. 2 London, UK Shepherds Bush Empire
Nov. 4 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest

All dates below w/Animal as Leaders opening:
Nov. 8 Osaka, Japan Avenue A
Nov. 9 Nagoya, Japan 3Star
Nov. 10 Tokyo, Japan Aube
Nov. 11 Tokyo, Kichijoji Club Seata
Nov. 13 Perth, Australia Amplifier
Nov. 14 Adelaide, Australia Fowlers
Nov. 15 Brisbane, Australia The Zoo
Nov. 16 Melbourne, Australia Corner Hotel
Nov. 17 Sydney, Australia The Metro
Nov. 19 Wellington, NZ Bodega
Nov. 20 Auckland, NZ The Kings Arms

www.facebook.com/BTBAMofficial
www.metalblade.com/btbam
www.twitter.com/btbamofficial

10. Hatebreed – Doomsayer

Possibly one of the greatest breakdowns in hardcore. This song makes benching a cakewalk and will give you crazy eyes / a hernia.

9. As I Lay Dying – Forever

As I Lay Dying proves that Christian rock is not for pussies. Forever recently featured on Loudwire’s Top 50 Metal Songs of the 21st century, and rightly so. One of the best songs to push yourself to and break people’s jaws in the pit.

8. Poison the Well – Botchla

Poison the Well deliver all the emo angst you can possibly have within you as a 14 year old discovering his penis. Combine this with a set of 22kg dumbbells and you’re looking at some serious pumping.

7. Killswitch Engage – Rose of Sharyn

It’s Killswitch Engage. Nothing more to say.

6. High On Fire – Snakes for the Divine

This 8 minute beast gets the blood flowing faster than Kate Upton doing the Cat Daddy.

5. Hatebreed – Everyone Bleeds Now

Tasty.

4. Converge – Dark Horse

Converge are musical geniuses, and sometimes even produce something remotely catchy and kind of uplifting.

3. As I Lay Dying – Reflection

Again, these behemoths destroy your body with what is in my opinion the greatest breakdown in metalcore. Holy shit.

2. Deftones – Root

The Deftones made some pretty damn catchy and heavy music over the years, but this one tops them all. Not the most brutal track on the list, but pumps you up due to its long, angst-ridden build up.

1. Trap Them – Scars Align

This song wins because it pisses you off so badly. The breakdown, the slow droning bass line, the whole package is more aggressive than Blitzkrieg.

A masterpiece of a song from an amazing band.

Turns out that Loudwire agrees with me.  They recently released their top fifty metal songs of the 21st century (which is fancy talk for the last twelve years).
Colors is number three.

Let me say that slower.  Colors (an album) is number three on a list about the best fifty metal songs of the twenty first century.  There were a few I didn’t agree with among the fifty (I think the could have picked a better System of a Down song for example), but I think that their take on Colors is spot on.  Because really, it is just one album length song broken into parts, and it is beautiful.

I haven’t talked much about BTBAM because they aren’t a band that I worship, but Colors is an amazing album, and one that I will always love. My cousin and I were talking about this exact thing today. You rarely meet people who say “oh man I fucking love BTBAM they’re my favorite” but if you mention to Colors to almost anyone who listens to metal you’re likely to hear something about how amazing that album is. Why?  Read Loudwire’s blurb about it and find out.

If you don’t feel like reading it, BTBAM beat out bands like, Slipknot, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and System of a Down (who are all in the top ten), for the number three spot.  I highly recommend looking through the entire list if you’re a metal fan because there’s a lot of bands I’ve never heard of that I’m now totally into checking out.

If you don’t have time to look through 50 songs, here’s the top ten:

Ten: Slayer, “Disciple”
Nine: Slipknot, “Heretic Anthem”
Eight: Killswitch Engage, “The End of Heartache”
Seven: Converge, “Fault and Fracture”
Six: Cannibal Corpse, “Make them Suffer”
Five: System of a Down, ‘Toxicity”
Four: Iron Maiden “The Talisman”
Three: Between the Buried and Me, “Colors”
Two: Opeth, “Blackwater Park”  (I could not contain my excitement. I love me some Opeth)
One: Tool, “Laterlus”

So, that’s that. Take it from me, and Loudwire. Go listen to Colors. Right now, that’s an order.

Over and out.

If you’ve got a knack for recognizing album art, then this is a spoiler alert. (Volcano)

Today Loudwire released its list of the Top 50 Metal Songs of the 21^st Century.  The site provides an embedded video of each song on the list, one song per band, in addition to (generally) a summary of the band’s sound and history and the album on which the song appears.  It’s this last part that’s been killing me – I’m up to three new albums downloaded this afternoon, simply because I’ve been asking myself, “how the heck did I not have that one in my collection yet?”

Of course there’s room for debate – both with respect to the rank order and to the particular song selected for each band – but overall I think it’s a solid list.  Special shout out for ranking Between the Buried and Me’s entire album “Colors” in the number 3 spot and describing it as “one album-length song, broken up into eight tracks.”  Go figure, I was actually listening to “Colors” last night and reflecting on (1) how badass it is, obviously, but also (2) how the album exists as cohesive whole and ought to be enjoyed as such, straight through, from the first to last track.  Indeed, I don’t think I’ve ever not listened to it as a single, hour-long song.  Nice to have some sort of confirmation that [not all of] my private musings are completely out of my rear.

Anyway, it merits a click-through; although if you’re at all a metal fan, I wish you and your wallet good luck on sticking to your music download budget.  On that note, I’ll leave you with the Number 8 song, my beloved Killswitch’s “The End of Heartache”:

Appropriately enough, I was just asked what I was working on that left me sitting here with a big ol’ grin on my face and typing away.  OBSESSED!

The song, “Chalk Outline”, is available on iTunes, and an official lyric video has been posted on the group’s YouTube page.

The song was given a score of 4/5 by Loudwire, stating “Adam Gontier attacks the track with as much angst and aggression as ever.”

The song features a lot of familiar elements from some of TDG’s earlier work as well as a much more mature writing style and a much more refined overall sound.

Here’s to the new album! October 2nd can’t get here fast enough!

Check out the lyric video for “Chalk Outline” below!

Shinedown’s ‘Unity’ beat out Hoobastank’s ‘This Is Gonna Hurt,’ but will singer Brent Smith and the gang be able to do it again against today’s popular opponent?

Evanescence takes the Cage Match by storm with their brand new single ‘The Other Side’ off of their very successful 2011 self-titled third album. The band is set to headline Carnival of Madness 2012 tour in the United States with Chevelle, Halestorm, Cavo and New Medicine.

So will Evanescence make it to ‘The Other Side’ and come out a winner or will Shinedown continue on the path to Cage Match victory? Get in on the action and vote for your favorite song below!

(This Cage Match ends Friday, June 8, at 8AM ET.)

Visit LoudWire.com to listen to each song and vote! Be sure to make the right decision!

(Via: Loudwire.com [http://loudwire.com/shinedown-vs-evanescence-cage-match/])

I know the motto is “Go Big or Go Home”, but I guess that’s hard when you are getting tattooed in your own kitchen.

Loudwire just unleashed their 3rd installment of “World’s Worst Rock Tattoos” and we though we’d share some of our favorites. You can view more tattoos along with the first and second Worst Rock Tattoo Galleries on Livewire.

Loudwire gives a brief overview of the show and provides a list of the award winners and performances. The awards include Slipknot winning “Comeback of the Year,” Avenged Sevenfold with “Best Live Band,” and Korn with “Album of the Year.”

An LA Times article highlights the most talked about performance from this show which is Johnny Depp performing with Marilyn Manson. He performed a cover of the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams” and his own “The Beautiful People.”

Deathbat News focused on Avenged Sevenfold’s appearances throughout the show. Including the acceptance of their two awards and presenting of the “Album of the Year” award. They also mention that the recap was not as action packed as last year. I’m not entirely sure if it was meant as Avenged Sevenfold was not featured as much or overall the show was not as action packed. I personally cannot judge because I could not watch it this year. But, I would not be surprised if they were talking about the show as a whole because I did watch it last and it was amazing.

Deathbat News also features the next upcoming award show that Avenged Sevenfold will take part in. The Kerrang Awards where you can nominate them for “Best Single,” “Best Live Band,” and Best International band.”

It’s the fourth year in row, where hard rock/heavy metal magazine, Revolver, hosts their own “Anti-Grammys”, The Golden God Awards. But this is not your typical award show. Hosted by wrestler Chris Jericho at Los Angeles’ Club Nokia, the event combines the prestige of an award ceremony with the high energy of a rock concert. For the first time, however, the ceremony was broadcasted live via facebook and xBox live.

The event opened with a performance by Nikki Sixx’s side project, Sixx: A.M., featuring producer James Michael and Guns N’ Roses guitarist DJ Ashba. The last time the group had performed together was on 2008′s Crue Fest after the success of their debut album, The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. After the release of Sixx’s latest book, This Is Gonna Hurt, the group set out on a new project and maintained massive rock radio success without any promotional touring. The band had played their latest singles, “This Is Gonna Hurt” and “Are You With Me Now?”.

Several awards were presented in honor of late musicians, such as the Paul Gray Best Bassist award, and the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement award. Recipients of the awards included newbies Black Veil Brides, and rock legends such as Rush and Gene Simmons of Kiss.

“This awards was voted for by the fans, which is my favorite part of all of this,” Rocker Nikki Sixx said after receiving the Best Bassist Award. He continued on to give the “Golden God” award to fellow bassist and tourmate, Gene Simmons, who continued Nikki’s sentiment of fan appreciation. “Without any of you guys, we wouldn’t be anywhere, so thank you.”

Other performances of the night included Trivium and Black Veil Brides. The “BVB Army”, as the band affectionately calls their fanbase, was out in full force. Fans were decked in the band’s “warpaint”. Some even went as far as dressing nearly identical to the band members themselves. During their set, they were joined by Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider in “I Wanna Rock”.

After being introduced by female rockers Christina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and Lizzy Hale of Halestorm, Evanescence took the stage. Amy Lee (who had won the Best Vocalist award), captivated the crowd with her incredible stage presence and powerful voice. The group had performed songs such as “Made of Stone”, their latest single “What You Want”, and their 2006 smash, “Call Me When You’re Sober”.

That performance was followed by guitar legend (and recipient of the “Riff Lord” award) Slash, performing with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy. They performed songs such as “You’re A Lie” and “Back to Cali”. The guitarist took the heavy metal route to memorialize creator of Marshall Amplifiers, Jim Marshall, by completely filling the club with eleven seconds of noise. Marshall had passed away a week prior to the awards. Following this, shock rock legend Alice Cooper came out and performed “School’s Out”. With that many legends on stage, it was certainly a “We’re not worthy!” performance.

The big winners of the night were Avenged Sevenfold, who had taken home both the “Best Live Performance” and “Most Dedicated Fans” award. The band thanked their fans, and were joined by an unexpected guest. While they accepting their “Fans” award, a member of the audience jumped onstage with the band, hugging all the members. “I wanna send this award out to that guy who jumped onstage,” singer M. Shadows said, “‘Cause that is one hardcore motherfucker!”

The night ended on an emotional note, with a flashback to the 2010 award show, in which Marilyn Manson spoke out about the injustice in the Damien Echols case. Echols and two of his friends, dubbed as the “West Memphis Three”, were sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. As stated in the video clip, Manson believed it was because of how they were dressed and the kind of music they listened to. Before the final performance went on, Damien Echols introduced the man who played a part in saving his life. Since the beginning of the night, it was clear fans from far and wide were excited to see the controversial band. Taylor Momsen, who’s band The Pretty Reckless is joining Manson on their upcoming tour, sang the opening song “The Dope Show” with him onstage. Manson then continued into “No Reflection”, his latest single from his upcoming album, Born Villian. The group’s cover of  Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” was also performed, when Manson announced that he was joined by friend and actor Johnny Depp on guitar. The night was closed out with a performance of their very successful hit, “The Beautiful People”.

Dee Snider describes the hard rock/heavy metal genre as the cockroach of the music industry, “Everyone hates us, but we just never die!” After being ignored in the mainstream for so many years, Wednesday night was heavy metal’s night to shine.

Loudwire has a bit of a description of what was going on in each video.  Seriously, this stuff is AWESOME!  Check it out.