You know them, you love them, and though the singer may get most of the spotlight, we all know that a good guitarist is what typically drives a band. Whether it be a flashy solo or just keeping time with the band, hanging on a heavy chord, the guitarist is one of the most key elements to a group, especially when it comes to hard rock and heavy metal. This Loudwire Music Awards category of Guitarist of the Year to narrow down to 10, as there are simply a lot of great guitarists out there, but here are the nominees for the Best Guitarist of the Year. Check out each and our argument for them, and then let your voice be heard by voting in the poll below: ? Alex Skolnick, Testament As far as thrash metal goes, there aren’t many guitarists that are held in as high regard as Testament ‘s Alex Skolnick . This year he got a chance to shine again on the band’s ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ album. Frequently working in tandem with Eric Peterson, Skolnick’s runs and riffs remain as fresh today as they did way back when. ? Jacky Vincent, Falling in Reverse One of the emerging guitarists on the scene is Jacky Vincent, who is getting plenty of notice for his work alongside vocalist Ronnie Radke in Falling in Reverse . Vincent’s riffing helps make ‘The Drug in Me Is You’ album really go. ? Jim Root, Slipknot / Stone Sour Onstage this year, Jim Root brought his energetic licks to Slipknot ‘s North American trek, and he further showcased his axe skills in 2012 on Stone Sour ‘s latest disc, ‘House of Gold & Bones, Pt. 1.’ Working opposite Josh Rand, Root delivered some of the most in-your face licks on the singles ‘Gone Sovereign’ and ‘Absolute Zero.’ ? Herman Li, DragonForce It was a welcome return in 2012 for Dragonforce ‘s Herman Li, whose band got back in the game after changing vocalists. ‘The Power Within’ album got the group back out on tour and refreshed in the minds of fans exactly how quick and masterful that the guitarist is at his instrument. ? Kim Thayil, Soundgarden Kim Thayil has been largely out of the spotlight since the late ’90s, when Soundgarden went their separate ways, but the time apart allowed Thayil to replenish his riff bank and it’s the fans that are reaping the rewards on the stellar new disc, ‘King Animal.’ ? Kurt Ballou, Converge Hardcore rockers Converge returned after a three-year absence with ‘All We Love We Leave Behind,’ an aggressive collection featuring the superb guitar (and production) work of Kurt Ballou. Ballou gets bonus points for doing it all organically, rocking without artificial distortion, triggers or Auto-Tune. ? Mark Tremonti, Tremonti / Alter Bridge /Creed We knew Mark Tremonti was a great guitarist before this year, but the Creed and Alter Bridge member showed he was a true artist with his ‘All I Was’ solo album. If anything, it allowed Tremonti rock even harder than he usually does and show off more of his metal side. ? Paul Waggoner & Dustie Waring, Between the Buried and Me Between the Buried and Me ‘s ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence’ would not have been the standout set it was without the talents of guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring. The pair perform in tandem for the majority of the 2012 record, making it nearly impossible to choose just one of the two. ? Siouxsie Medley, Dead Sara While Emily Armstrong is getting the bulk of the attention for her powerhouse vocals, Dead Sara ‘s Siouxsie Medley is the perfect compliment on guitar. It’s her mesmerizing guitar lick that pulls listeners into the lead single ‘Weatherman,’ and her bluesy work on ‘Sorry for It All’ and ‘Timed Blues’ show her versatility. ? Slash A perennial favorite for Top 10 lists anytime he’s involved with a record, Slash got to put more of a stamp than ever on his music with the ‘Apocalyptic Love’ disc. Whether it was the chugging ‘You’re a Lie,’ the hard-driving ‘Standing in the Sun’ or the groovy ‘Bad Rain,’ Slash got a chance to show his range with no real restrictions. ? Voting for the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards closes on Jan. 15 at 11:59 PM EST. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure your favorite guitarist wins! Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bassist-of-the-year-2012-loudwire-music-awards/” title=”Next Category: Bassist of the Year” align=”center”] Get Notified When Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the daily Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of our full list of winners in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards, as well as the top stories in rock and metal. Email
Archive for December 4th, 2012
Guitarist of the Year – 2012 Loudwire Music Awards
December 4th, 2012 
Metalkult 
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Tags: band, earth, loudwire, loudwire music awards, loudwire-music, metal, Music, rock, singer, siouxsie-medley, time, work 
No Comments »Dave Grohl’s ‘Sound City’ Documentary Set for Sundance Premiere
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult Justin Sullivan, Getty Images We’ve all been curious to see ‘Sound City,’ Dave Grohl ‘s star-studded documentary tribute to the legendary L.A. studio of the same name, and now the wait is almost over — provided you have a ticket to next year’s Sundance Festival. Sundance 2013, set to kick off Jan. 17 in Park City, Utah, will play host to a wide variety of new films from across the spectrum, and ‘Sound City’ will be among the new documentaries getting their first public screenings. It’s one of the most high-profile premiere outlets a filmmaker can ask for, and Grohl is understandably enthused. As he put it in a press release, “As a first time director, I am humbled to be able to share my passion for songwriting and storytelling with this incredible cast of legendary musicians, as seen through the extraordinary story of America’s greatest unsung recording studio, Sound City. Being included in this group of artists is a true honor, and the Sundance Film Festival is the perfect place to premiere a film about craft, integrity, and passion for art. I am over the moon!” Grohl has been hard at work on ‘Sound City’ over the last year, interviewing a long list of former studio clients and organizing jams with everyone from his former Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic to Rick Springfield to Slipknot ‘s Corey Taylor, not to mention kicking off a SiriusXM radio show dedicated to the studio’s history. Check out the trailer below, and start saving up for a plane ticket to Utah. Dave Grohl’s ‘Sound City’ Trailer [button href=”http://loudwire.com/foo-fighters-dave-grohl-taylor-hawkins-swap-places-to-honor-led-zeppelin/” title=”Next: Dave Grohl Drums in Foo Fighters Tribute to Led Zeppelin” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: a-long-list, a-plane-ticket, a-wide-variety, America, extraordinary, festival, grohl, krist-novoselic, moon, nirvana, press-release, rock, sundance No Comments »Vocalist of the Year – 2012 Loudwire Music Awards
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult The human voice comes in many forms, and in our list of nominees for 2012 Vocalist of the Year, an incredibly wide range is covered. Along with your classic clean style of singing, we’ve got musicians who wail, scream, yell and, in a few cases, create evil gutturals. In another Loudwire Music Awards category that pits veterans against debuting artists and everything in between, we’ve got 10 singers who have helped shape the sound of 2012. Check out the nominees and be sure to vote in the poll below: Bobby Blitz, Overkill Overkill’s 2012 album, ‘The Electric Age’ just barely missed our 2012 Top 10 list, but there’s no way that the vocals of Bobby Blitz could be left out of our 2012 awards. Blitz delivered a diamond-sharp performance for the album, as well as one of the sickest high notes ever unleashed during the intro of ‘Wish You Were Dead.’ ? Chino Moreno, Deftones As one of modern rock’s most iconic voices, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno strung together another masterful group of vocal tracks to tape on ‘Koi No Yokan.’ There are few modern rock bands as original and reliable as Deftones, and Moreno makes it simple to understand why. ? Corey Taylor, Stone Sour/Slipknot Corey Taylor had himself a massive 2012, both with Slipknot and Stone Sour. During Slipknot’s headlining spot on the 2012 Mayhem Fest, Taylor’s voice was in fine form. OnStone Sour’s 2012 album, ‘House of Gold & Bones – Part 1,’ Taylor shows a different yet equally powerful side to his voice. ? Chris Cornell, Soundgarden Still legendary, still solid. Chris Cornell has been a vocal force in the rock world for nearly three decades, and the Soundgarden frontman delivered once again with ‘King Animal.’ Along with the success of Soundgarden, Cornell went around the world for a string of solo tour dates. ? David Gold, Woods of Ypres The deep and haunting vocals of the late David Gold will be sorely missed in the metal community. As Woods of Ypres’ central figure, Gold played guitar and drums on ‘Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light,’ but his singing is the standout feature of the brilliant album. ? Emily Armstrong, Dead Sara Having exploded onto the scene in 2012, Dead Sara ‘s Emily Armstrong brings soul and ear-splitting aggression to the up-and-coming band. Although displayed prominently within the single ‘Weatherman,’ Armstrong’s versatile voice is captivating throughout the band’s entire self-titled album. ? Joe Duplantier, Gojira With warmongering screams, narrative gritty singing and a little French twang, Gojira vocalist Joe Duplantier left a massive stamp on 2012. His vocals captivate the listener throughout the band’s 2012 full-length, ‘L’Enfant Sauvage,’ and steered Gojira in a direction which would greatly shape 2012. ? Lzzy Hale, Halestorm Yet another breakout artist of 2012, Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale made a massive impact in the world of hard rock. Whether listening to ‘The Strange Case of…’ or seeing the band live, Lzzy Hale’s vocal prowess is undeniable. ? ? Myles Kennedy, Slash/Alter Bridge Myles Kennedy made some major strides in 2012. Along with providing vocals for Slash on his latest “solo” album, Kennedy was also featured in Alter Bridge’s 2012 live album, ‘Live at Wembley.’ The singer also stepped in to deliver a stellar performance during Guns N’ Roses’ set at the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. ? Randy Blythe, Lamb of God Nobody has had a year like Randy Blythe . The vocalist hit soaring heights with Lamb of God’s ‘Resolution’ album, but also had to undergo the hardship of being imprisoned for five weeks in the Czech Republic. Regardless, Blythe’s gutturals remain terrifying, like serpentine constriction coiling tightly around the listener. ? Voting for the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards closes on Jan. 15 at 11:59 PM EST. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure your favorite vocalist wins! Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/guitarist-of-the-year-2012-loudwire-music-awards” title=”Next: Vote for Guitarist of the Year” align=”center”] Get Notified When Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the daily Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of our full list of winners in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards, as well as the top stories in rock and metal. Email
Posted in News Tags: band, chris-cornell, corey taylor, emily-armstrong, img-class, rock, strange, taylor, vocalist, voice No Comments »Tom Morello Unsure If Rage Against the Machine Will Ever Perform Again
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images With the recent release of ‘Rage Against the Machine – XX,’ the 20th anniversary edition of Rage Against the Machine ‘s self-titled debut disc, fans had plenty of reason to celebrate in hopes that it marked only the beginning of fresh new things to come from the band. However, guitarist Tom Morello has squashed that dream for now, even going so far to say that the band may never play together again at all. Say it isn’t so, Tom! In a new interview with Rolling Stone , the Rage guitarist gave his honest assessment on the current status of the band and what the future holds. “Whether or not we ever play music again in any capacity is unknown,” Morello said. “I’m grateful for the music we played together, and thank goodness the cameras were rolling.” Morello made it very clear that the resilience to record new music and tour is not coming from him directly. “If it were up to me, I would’ve made two records a year,” Morello confided. “As it is, we have just three records of original material over 20 years.” He also talked about what he hoped the anniversary release might spawn, explaining, “It was my great hope that we’d celebrate the 20th anniversary with a five-continent world tour.” Without a tour in sight, Morello is still grateful about everything the box set stands for and hopes that in addition to making longtime fans happy that it will turn on some new fans as well. “The reason why we’re doing this is very clear and simple: it’s for our fans, which I believe are the single most dedicated, wild in concert, and patient fans maybe in the history of rock music,” said Morello.“It was past due that we really did something that honored their commitment to us over the course of 20 years.” While this might not breed a lot of hope for a future Rage Against the Machine tour, the idea is always on the table. “Once a year, the band meets and very seriously discusses and turns down awesome offers to tour the world,” admitted Morello. “That’s part of the program.” Morello doesn’t seem to harbor any resentment regarding the frustrating situation though, he considers his Rage bandmates family, “I love them,” he said. “I consider them brothers and brothers-in-arms.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-rage-against-the-machine-songs/” title=”10 Best Rage Against the Machine Songs” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: 20th, against, anniversary, frustrating, history, machine-songs-, over-the-course, resilience, rock, what-the-future, with-the-recent No Comments »Metal Band of the Year – 2012 Loudwire Music Awards
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult Here we have a batch of stellar bands who just happened to shape the metal music landscape in 2012. The accomplishments made by the following acts cannot be underestimated, as metal as a genre continues to dominate the underground music world. Once again, we’ve got veterans facing new-school heroes for the title of Metal Band of the Year, and it’s the fans who will decide who deserves the award. Check out the 10 nominees in the Metal Band of the Year and be sure to vote in the poll below: Anthrax Having released ‘Worship Music’ in 2011, the thrash legends of Anthrax released ‘I’m Alive’ as a single in 2012, along with headlining the second stage at this year’s Mayhem Festival and touring extensively with Testament and Death Angel. ? ? ? As I Lay Dying Metalcore leaders As I Lay Dying had a strong year in 2012, releasing the album ‘Awakened’ to critical acclaim. The band turned the tracks ‘Cauterize’ and ‘A Greater Foundation’ into singles this year, along with performing on the 2012 Mayhem Festival. ? ? Between the Buried and Me Guitarist Paul Waggoner was hoping to create similar excitement for their 2012 album, ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence’ that they conjured with ‘Colors’ in 2007. From fan reaction, Between the Buried and Me succeeded with their 2012 masterpiece. The prog metal act even gave fans a taste of ‘The Parallax II’ during the 2012 Summer Slaughter tour. ? Down Phil Anselmo and the rest of Down crunched their Southern sludge into an EP this year with ‘Down IV Part 1 – The Purple EP.’ Fans are absolutely rabid to check out these new tracks live, and they’ll get the chance to do so when Down hit the road early next year. ? ? Gojira The French mad scientists of Gojira absolutely exploded in 2012 with the album ‘L’Enfant Sauvage.’ The masterful album brought in a massive new group of fans while keeping the old ones happy, a feat that is among the most difficult of accomplishments for a progressive act. ? ? Lamb of God Having released ‘Resolution’ in early 2012, Lamb of God embarked on various tours before being stopped in their tracks by the arrest of vocalist Randy Blythe in the Czech Republic. Lamb of God persevered through the controversy, hitting the road once again later in the year to a red-hot ‘Welcome Home’ from fans. ? Machine Head Along with creating a more-than-impressive video for the song ‘Darkness Within’ in 2012, Machine Head treated fans worldwide to a string of live performances. After headlining a tour with support from Suicide Silence and Darkest Hour, Machine Head continued to play gigs with Dethklok, All That Remains and the Black Dahlia Murder. ? Napalm Death The British grindcore legends of Napalm Death blew away grind fans with their 2012 album, ‘Utilitarian.’ Having created one of this year’s most brutal and imaginative albums, Napalm took grindcore into a new realm proceeding their tour with Municipal Waste and Exhumed. ? ? Pig Destroyer After a five-year wait, grind masters Pig Destroyer released yet another pummeling triumph, ‘Book Burner.’ Under the influence of mastermind Scott Hull, ‘Book Burner’ showcases brilliant sonic attacks by all involved, including Kat Katz, Richard Johnson and broadcasting legend Larry King via his reading of Henry Miller’s ‘Tropic of Cancer’ audiobook. ? Testament Boasting one of metal’s most purely talented lineups, Testament crushed the world of thrash with their ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ album. The band made memorable videos for ‘True American Hate’ as well as ‘Native Blood,’ while touring with fellow thrash legends Anthrax and Death Angel. ? ? Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. Get Notified When Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the daily Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of our full list of winners in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards, as well as the top stories in rock and metal. Email
Ozzy Osbourne Celebrates 64th Birthday Recording Vocals for New Black Sabbath Album
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult Twitter: @OfficialOzzy Yesterday (Dec. 3) was Ozzy Osbourne ’s birthday and if you’ve spent any time wondering how the Prince of Darkness celebrated his 64th, all you had to do was follow him on Twitter to find out. Ozzy posted the photo seen here of him working in the studio along with the tweet: “Spending my birthday tracking vocals on the new Black Sabbath album.” Although various reports have speculated that several songs for the Sabbath disc have already been recorded, guitarist Tony Iommi said that’s not the case in a recent interview. On ‘The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show’ (via Blabbermouth ) Iommi cleared things up, explaining, “We’ve written 15 songs and we’ve played them all. But now, at the moment, we’re recording them.” He continued, “We recorded them at my house first, in England, just as demos, but now we’re doing them for real. So we’re about six tracks in now, at the moment.” Osbourne also recently went on record talking about the writing and recording process, calling it a lot of fun in comparison to their earlier years when the drugs, alcohol and egos got in the way. He talked about the music taking center stage, stating, “So what it boils down to now is the music — and that’s what got us where we are in the first place. We have come through the other side, we’re still able to work together, and that’s where the enjoyment comes from. It’s been a lot of fun making this record.” Ozzy certainly looks like he’s having fun in the studio … even while working on his birthday! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-ozzy-osbourne-solo-songs/” title=”10 Best Ozzy Osbourne Solo Songs” align=”center”] ?
Posted in News Tags: birthday, black-sabbath, england, house, osbourne-solo, ozzy osbourne, songs, Studio, went-on-record, what-it-boils, with-the-tweet, working-on-his No Comments »Disturbed Singer David Draiman Urges Fans to Support Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe
December 4th, 2012 Metalkult Ethan Miller, Getty Images As reported yesterday (Dec. 3), Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has been indicted on manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic by the State’s Attorney Office in Prague and, as a result, will likely stand trial in the near future. Following the news of Blythe’s indictment, Lamb of God’s manager offered a lengthy statement . Many musicians are also speaking out, one of them being Disturbed frontman David Draiman who took to the band’s official Facebook to speak his mind about this situation. Draiman states: “MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS MY BLOOD, OUR FRIEND RANDY BLYTHE OF LAMB OF GOD HAS NOW OFFICIALLY BEEN INDICTED ON CHARGES OF MANSLAUGHTER. THIS IS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE. HE IS BEING A MAN AND STANDING UP TO THESE CHARGES. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE AND TWITTER PAGES, RAISE AWARENESS AMONGST YOUR FRIENDS, AND TAKE THE TIME TO DONATE TO HIS DEFENSE FUND ON BOTH PAGES. YOU CAN ALSO HELP BY WRITING YOUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND PRESSURING THE U.S. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS/STATE DEPARTMENT TO GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED. WE STAND BEHIND RANDY, HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL AS WELL. AS ALWAYS, MUCH RESPECT. -DAVID P.S. BEEN USING CAPS FOR YEARS, NOT CHANGING. BIGGER PROBLEMS IN LIFE. BUILD A BRIDGE AND GET OVER IT.” Blythe was arrest was arrested in June of this year in regard to an alleged incident where a man died a few weeks after an apparent stage fall at a Lamb of God concert in the Czech Republic in 2010. The vocalist spent five weeks in a Czech prison before being released in early August. If Blythe is convicted of manslaughter, he could face 5-10 years in prison. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lamb-of-god-randy-blythe-indicted-manslaughter-charges-czech-republic/” title=”Next: More on Randy Blythe’s Indictment” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: a-few-weeks, attorney-office, david-draiman, facebook, lamb of god, life, news, randy-blythe, rock, show, state No Comments »
