The Podcast That Rocked for June 16th, 2020 ft Geaux Gretchen. Discussion on My Chemical Romance postponing the US tour to 2021, Riot Fest postponing until 2021 (while announcing their first wave of bands), GWAR replacing Robert E Lee, new Lamb Of God, and more.
Click below to listen and scroll below for links discussed in the podcast.
“No Chemical Romance Until 2021”
The Podcast That Rocked on Spotify
Discussion Topics and Links: -Riot Fest rescheduled for 2021 and first wave of bands announce with My Chemical Romance, The Smashing Pumpkins, Run The Jewels, and more -My Chemical Romance postpone US tour to 2021 -Blue Ridge Rock Fest and Aftershock still planned for 2020 -Robert E Lee statue in Richmond, VA could be replaced with GWAR’s Oderus Urungus -New Lamb Of God album is extremely political -New Dead Posey EP this Friday -Good job Dom for getting on YouTube’s trending page (especially since you wore my shirt while doing so).
Riot Fest is postponing its 2020 festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has announced the first wave of 2021 artists, returning to Douglas Park September 17-19, 2021.
Weekend passes are on sale now, starting at $149.98. In addition, the festival will host a special Thursday preview night on September 16, 2021 with exclusive performances. (Refunds and transfers will also be available for 30 days.)
Ticket purchasers who already have their 2020 tickets—or anyone who buys a ticket in the next 30 days—will gain admission to this Thursday Preview Party, a first for Riot Fest. The extra day promises special performances from mystery bands (including one who will only play Thursday), early access to merch, and an assortment of carnival rides and food to enjoy. Anyone who’s been to a Riot Fest secret show in the past should expect a buzzworthy night of surprises.
The 2021 lineup retains the wildly anticipated reunion of My Chemical Romance, no doubt a bucket list show for many Riot Fest fans. Festival attendees will witness first-time Riot Fest performances from The Smashing Pumpkins, Lupe Fiasco (performing The Cool in full, a first), The All-American Rejects, and Les Savy Fav, returning to Chicago for the first time in 10 years; returning favorites include Pixies, Run The Jewels, Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, and the welcome return of Circle Jerks, who last played Riot Fest in 2010. The first wave also embraces a diverse spread of genres and backgrounds, with artists like Vic Mensa, Living Colour, Big Freedia, Toots and the Maytals (who coined the term “reggae”), Best Coast, L7, Meg Myers, Beach Bunny, and more added to the mix.
The festival will announce multiple waves of more artists, headliners, album plays, and other special surprises in the coming months with a second and final wave of additions. The first wave lineup offers a taste of what’s to come—and while it might be difficult to imagine a September in Chicago without Riot Fest, it’ll surely be worth the wait come September 17, 18 & 19, 2021.
Founded in 2005, Riot Fest is an independent music festival featuring the best of punk, rock ‘n’ roll, hip hop, metal, alternative, and just about everything in between. Founder Riot Mike is credited with helping to reunite iconic bands like Naked Raygun, the Replacements, the Misfits, and Jawbreaker, among other reunions—a staple feature of Riot Fest, alongside the full album performances, freak shows, carnival rides, and occasional butter sculptures.
RIOT FEST 2021 FIRST WAVE LINEUP: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, RUN THE JEWELS, PIXIES COHEED AND CAMBRIA, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, SUBLIME with ROME, DIRTY HEADS, LUPE FIASCO performing The Cool, VIC MENSA, THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS, NEW FOUND GLORY, SIMPLE PLAN, GOGOL BORDELLO, CIRCLE JERKS, THRICE, CIRCA SURVIVE, K.FLAY, TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS, JAWBOX, LES SAVY FAV, BEST COAST, BAYSIDE, L7, MEG MYERS, PUP, MAYDAY PARADE, FEVER 333, LIVING COLOUR, BIG FREEDIA, SWMRS, BEACH BUNNY, ALEX G, THURSDAY, SAVES THE DAY, DON BROCO JOYWAVE, HEPCAT, FISHBONE, FUCKED UP, BOSTON MANOR, THE SOUNDS, WHITE LUNG, KENNYHOOPLA, BEACH GOONS, MEET ME @ THE ALTAR, RADKEY, HOLY FAWN, CHUBBY AND THE GANG
Based on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart, this video looks at some of the worst songs to ever reach #1. For those of you who think rock is being hurt by a repetitive mainstream, this video is more firepower for your argument.
Click below to watch the video, and scroll below for the full Wikipedia list of every song to go #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in Billboard magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in March 1981, as Rock Albums and Top Tracks, after which the name changed first to Top Rock Tracks, then to Album Rock Tracks, and finally to its present title in 1996.
Covid19 Is Already A Romance Subgenre _ Dominic Noble
Top 10 Worst #1 Rock Songs Thumbnail Image: Getty Image of Chad Kroeger by Bill McCay Screenshot of Wes Scantlin from Nirvana cover video by Sirius XM. Ivan Moody and Sully Erna photos taken by me.
Today, GRAMMY® Award-nominated and platinum Sevendust co-founder, vocalist, and guitarist Clint Lowery surprise released the Grief & Distance EP via Rise Records. Lowery recorded the five-song set entirely in quarantine at Sawhorse Studios. The EP features three brand new songs, as well as acoustic versions of “What’s The Matter” and “Kings” from Lowery’s January 2020-released, striking solo debut God Bless The Renegades.
“This EP was my way to process the loss of my mother, and the hard hit and the uncertainty of my livelihood from the pandemic,” Lowery says. “I escaped into my basement and into the songwriting process…it never fails me.”
Watch the video for the song “Distance,” which was also recorded during the lockdown, here.
One of the architects of the turn-of-the-century’s hard rock revolution, Clint Lowery stands out as a prolific powerhouse whose discography includes chart-topping platinum albums as a co-founder of GRAMMY®Award-nominated Sevendust as well as Dark New Day, Call Me No One, and Hello Demons Meet Skeletons. Not to mention, everyone from Korn to Seether has sought him out on tour as a guitarist. He remains an accomplished songwriter with credits for Godsmack and many others.
AVATAR has shared their latest single “God of Sick Dreams” with an accompanying visualizer from their highly anticipated full-length, Hunter Gatherer, due out August 7th, 2020 via Entertainment One (eOne). The track finds the band with no shortage of chugging riffs that revolve around some of the band’s catchiest choruses and heaviest moments to date. “God of Sick Dreams” exemplifies how each song across Hunter Gatherer can stand on its own while carrying thematic threads throughout the album. The deliberate new track follows the widely praised thrashing leading single “Silence in the Age of Apes”, which passed 100,000 views in under 24 hours and has gathered 1 Million plays since its release.
Their bold manifesto, Hunter Gatherer, is an unflinchingly ruthless study of a clueless humankind’s ever-increasing velocity into an uncertain future, furthering the reach of the band’s always expanding dark roots. The forthcoming album is the darkest, most sinister version of the band yet, with deep studies of cruelty, technology, disdain, and deprivation. Hunter Gatherer is now available for pre-order here.
Earlier this year the band marked the end of the Avatar Country storyline with the heartfelt thank you video A Farewell To Avatar Country, concluding the realm created by the band and actualized in their epic featurette Legend Of Avatar Country: A Metal Odyssey that blew past a $50,000 Kickstarter campaign goal in less than 90 minutes. Released in 2018, Avatar Country debuted at #2 Indie, #4 Hard Music, #8 Rock, and #25 on the Billboard 200 Chart and gathering support from Loudwire, Revolver, Metal Hammer, Metal Injection, Rock Sound, Alternative Press, New Noise and many more for their music and storytelling ability.
In 2019, AVATAR reunited with producer Jay Ruston (Stone Sour, Slipknot, Anthrax) at Sphere Studios in Los Angeles, California, where the foundation for each song on Hunter Gatherer was laid with the band performing altogether, as they’d done only once before, on Hail the Apocalypse (2014). The old-school method of playing as one in the studio, more akin to how they are on stage, captured the essence of AVATAR. Recorded entirely to two-inch tape, Hunter Gatherer exhibits everything that makes AVATAR standouts in the vast, rich landscape of heavy metal’s past and present.
Through ambitious compositions and vibrant visual storytelling AVATAR seamlessly blurs the line between sights and sounds. AVATAR songs are new anthems for the ages, precision heat-seeking missiles targeting a cultural landscape ready for fresh songs to champion from a band with a giant persona to rally behind. The AVATAR experience is challenging, daring, and altogether captivating.
Hunter Gatherer Tracklist: 1. Silence in the Age of Apes 2. Colossus 3. A Secret Door 4. God of Sick Dreams 5. Scream Until You Wake 6. Child 7. Justice 8. Gun 9. When All but Force Has Failed 10. Wormhole
Danny Wimmer Presents Introduces A New Digital Series: OFFSTAGE WITH DWP Launching Friday, June 12 With Metallica Full Headline Set From Columbus, OH In 2017
Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent promoters in the United States, is excited to announce a new online content series, Offstage with DWP. The series will feature never before seen festival performances straight from the DWP vault, one-on-one band interviews, exclusive acoustic performances, lifestyle segments and more.
“Like so many other live event producers, we have been severely impacted by COVID-19,” says DWP Chief Marketing Officer Chamie McCurry. “We miss our festival experience and we know our fans do too, so we wanted to take this opportunity to offer some unique and original content rooted in our rock & roll lifestyle.”
Offstage with DWP will kick off this Friday, June 12 with a full headline set from Metallica’s sold out performance at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH in May 2017. Additional content to be posted in the coming weeks includes selected songs from the Foo Fighters’ headline set at Sonic Temple 2019, interviews conducted by DWP EVP of Talent Gary Spivack, with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach, Brent Smith of Shinedown, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless, as well as brand new acoustic performances from Tim McIlrath of Rise Against, Lzzy Hale &Joe Hottinger of Halestorm, a mixology session with Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise, and so much more.
#OffstagewithDWP will be shown on the following digital outlets: Facebook | Youtube | Twitch | Website (Archive)
The Podcast That Rocked episode for June 9th, 2020 featuring Geaux Gretchen. Discussion on conflicting opinions within bands like System Of A Down, Bad Wolves, and Five Finger Death Punch, Talking about Black Lives Matter in the rock and metal community and supporting bands with black members, Ice Nine Kills VS Disney, and more. Click below for discussion topics and links.
We Will Never Get New System Of A Down
The Podcast That Rocked on Spotify
Discussion Topics: -Serj and John from System Of A Down have wildly different political opinions. -Tommy Vext from Bad Wolves is all in with conspiracy theories. -Discussing bands with black members. -Ice Nine Kills gets revenge on Mickey Mouse -Mainstream Top 3 (STILL GODSMACK!)
Ice Nine Kills – The Disney Revenge Show [Documentary]
Ice Nine Kills was scheduled to play at a Disney owned venue in Orlando, FL on April 26th 2019. A few weeks prior to the performance, the band was notified that they were no longer welcome to play because of their evil and disturbing imagery. This mini-documentary provides a glimpse of what went down on July 25th when they returned to the city for revenge. Commenting on the rescheduled show, Ice Nine Kills frontman, Spencer Charnas says,
“Looking back at the Disney incident fills me with nothing but laughter. When I first heard about the ban I was perturbed strictly because we love playing in that city. But rather than mope and cry about it, I had the idea to poke fun at the situation by creating a merch line of beloved Disney characters and inserting them in slasher movie scenarios.
This mini documentary chronicles our triumphant sold out return to Orlando and the chaos that ensued..“
To compliment the release of ‘The Disney Revenge Show’, Ice Nine Kills have dropped their latest Nightmare On The Ninth merch capsule – ‘Too Evil For Children II’ – with a number of bone-chilling designs featuring horror themed reimaginings of Classic Disney characters. As with every Nightmare On The Ninth drop, this capsule is only available for a limited amount of time from www.nightmareontheninth.com and will sell out, so grab yours while you can.
Ice Nine Kills also revealed that they will have a vey special Record Store Day exclusive this year. The Silver Scream: Killer Cuts 10″ Vinyl will feature 6 tracks on a blood-splattered, buzz saw shaped vinyl and will be available on Saturday, October 24th. Head to recordstoreday.com for info.
The Silver Scream: Killer Cuts Records Store Day Exclusive 10″ Vinyl
SIDE A Savages Your Number’s Up Thriller
SIDE B Stabbing In The Dark (Acoustic) feat. Matt Heafy Savages (Acoustic) Thank God It’s Friday (Acoustic) feat. Ari Lehman
In a landscape littered with celebrity fakes and would-be influencers, Ice Nine Kills stand apart. Visionary trailblazers and multimedia raconteurs, INK has steadily built a thrilling new underworld for a growing legion of devoted true believers, with theatrical shows, high-concept videos, and inventive band-to-fan communion.
Ice Nine Kills summon the most captivating elements of metal, punk and hard rock and combine it with melody, cinematic obsession, and a literary fascination.
Loudwire hails them as “one of the most unique acts in metal right now,” a declaration supported by the band’s Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart topping slab, The Silver Scream.
The Silver Scream and the subsequent extended edition, The Silver Scream: Final Cutgenerated anthems for the disenfranchised and subculture obsessives, like The American Nightmare, A Grave Mistakeand Savages and broke them into Active Rock radio, with hit track A Grave Mistake peaking at #9.
After a decade of studio wizardry and live theatricality, Ice Nine Kills draws favorable comparisons to rock icons like Slipknot, Rob Zombie, and Marilyn Manson, via a likeminded synergy of music, lifestyle, and cult following reverence. With 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify, a combined social media reach of over 762k and over 70 million views on Youtube, the band are firmly cemented as one of modern metal’s most ferocious forces.
Finding the perfect album you can listen to from beginning to end is difficult. That’s why it hurts when you find an album that has one song that just doesn’t work. This video looks at 10 bad songs on great albums.
Click below to watch the video and scroll below for links to each song discussed.
Less than a year after the release of their covers EP Explorers, Canadian melodic power metal quartet UNLEASH THE ARCHERS are back with a brand new 10-track masterpiece in the form of their fifth full-length album, Abyss. Lifted by the urgent, breathtaking vocals of frontwoman Brittney Slayes, on Abyss, the band re-cements themselves as an unequalled, undeniable metallic force with their strongest album to date.
Colossal, heart-stopping and heavy-as-hell while often exploring a noteworthy aura of addictive pop sensibility, Abyss further proves the indelible songwriting and technical talents of UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – not only reinforcing how high a modern band can soar within the atmosphere of power metal, but introducing an unbridled array of diverse sonic elements into the fold. Poised to make its mark amid a new generation of epic metal concept albums, listeners will be itching to hit replay within seconds of its satisfying end.
Check out a new teaser of the album’s title track “Abyss” HERE, and stay tuned for more new music and videos coming very soon!
Abyss is set for release via Napalm Records on August 21, 2020, and beginning today, is available for pre-order in CD format, as well as 2LP gatefold vinyl format in original black, limited editionred/yellow swirl (mailorder only, limited to 300 copies), and limited edition purple (North American mailorder only, limited to 100 copies). A limited edition Deluxe Earbook format is also available – the only edition including instrumental versions of each track and bonus alternate single versions (also featured in a standalone 7” only available with the Earbook format) – as well as several additional bundles including t-shirts and more! The album will be available to pre-order digitally in mid-June.
Starting today, pre-order Abyss in available formats HERE!
Beginning with a dreamlike acoustic introduction accented by the smoky beckonings of singer Brittney Slayes, opener “Waking Dream” quickly punches into a colossal wall of sound, setting the stage for the auditory escape that is Abyss. Powerful anthems such as the immense power metal-encapsulated title track “Abyss” and metallic pop-tinged earworm “Through Stars” conjure classic elements while maintaining an entirely fresh, forward-thinking approach. Guitarists Andrew Kingsley and Grant Truesdell turn heads with wicked work on stellar tracks such as “Legacy” (fans of artists like Devin Townsend and Astronoid, take note), while Slayes showcases her incredible vocal diversity and range on mighty epics like “Return To Me” and “The Wind That Shapes The Land”. Drummer Scott Buchanan makes technical strides on burners “Soulbound” and “Faster Than Light” – setting breakneck twists and turns ablaze with his bandmates. UNLEASH THE ARCHERS rounds the edge of Abyss with throwback-hued “Carry The Flame”, and wraps up with the soaring, rewarding concept closer “Afterlife”.
Thematically, Abyss is the direct sequel to the band’s 2017 album Apex. Frontwoman Brittney Slayes explains about the concept:
“Our protagonist, The Immortal, is once again awakened at the beginning of our story, but this time he is in an unknown place: a ship out in deep space. He wanders alone for a time, reflecting on his misdeeds, searching for his new master. Finally, he finds him, and learns that it is the Grandson of The Matriarch, our antagonist. The Immortal had taken The Grandson’s father away some sixty years before, to be sacrificed by The Matriarch in a ritual to achieve immortality (the events from Apex) and now the Grandson seeks revenge against The Matriarch with the aid of her own weapon, The Immortal.
This album is a classic take on good versus evil, light versus dark, The Grandson versus The Matriarch, but it also uses the ‘person versus self’ literary device in that The Immortal is battling with the good and evil within himself, and must decide in the end if he is simply a tool for others to use, or a man with free will and the ability to choose his own path; a struggle I think every human can relate to.”
Abyss was once again engineered, mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen of Hansen Studios in Denmark (Volbeat, Delain, Amaranthe), with production by guitarist Andrew Kingsley. Additionally, transcendent closer track “Afterlife” features orchestration contributions from Francesco Ferrini of Italian symphonic death metal machine Fleshgod Apocalypse. Fans will notice that, unlike on Apex, Abyss incorporates a weighty dose of synth in the mix, and for the first time ever, all tracks were written on seven strings – adding to the massive expanse of the album’s sound as it explores the celestial realm.
As mentioned, the Deluxe Earbook edition of Abyss features two bonus tracks – synthwave and gothic folk-pop versions of “Abyss” and “Soulbound”, respectively. This is something UNLEASH THE ARCHERS has never done before, turning their singles into something completely different!
Brittney Slayes adds: “I hope you enjoy our alternate interpretations of “Abyss” and “Soulbound”, because they honestly show a side of us as musicians that we probably wouldn’t be able to showcase otherwise. We all listen to a lot of different genres of music, but these two bonus tracks give huge insight into the music we were listening to as we recorded Abyss… not just metal, but synthwave, pop, and even a bit of country!”
