Archive for January, 2013

Love and Death vs. Voivod – Cage Match

Photos: Facebook: Love and Death / Century Media Love and Death are on a roll with ‘I W8 4 U’ as they beat out Ghost in the last Cage Match, but can they do it again against today’s competitors? The Canadian metal veterans of Voivod take the Cage Match by storm with their latest single ‘Mechanical Mind’ off of their brand new album ‘Target Earth,’ their 13th album overall and first since 2009′s ‘Infini.’ So, will Voivod and their ‘Mechanical Mind’ figure out a path to victory? Or will Love and Death and their track ‘I W8 4 U’ continue to reign? Two very different sounds but both bands have the same goal in mind — Cage Match victory. Listen to both songs and vote for your favorite in the poll below! (This Cage Match will run until Friday, Feb. 1, at 8AM ET. Fans can vote once per hour! So come back and vote often to make sure your favorite song wins!) Love and Death, ‘I W8 4 U’ Voivod, ‘Mechanical Mind’ Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. Email Me When Cage Match Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of the daily winner of the Cage Match, as well as our top stories of the day. Email Rules of Cage Match: Fans can vote once per hour for their favorite song. If a song remains the reigning champ for five straight cage matches, it is retired to the Loudwire Cage Match Hall of Fame. With so many great songs out there, we have to give other bands a chance!

Killswitch Engage Unleash New Single ‘In Due Time’

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Killswitch Engage ‘s reunion with former vocalist Jesse Leach is off to a rocking start thanks to the newly unleashed single, ‘In Due Time.’ The band officially posted the track online Wednesday (Jan. 30), giving their fans a taste of what the upcoming ‘ Disarm the Descent ‘ album will sound like. Leach’s ability to alternate between guttural screams and melodic singing is on full display on the track, with some powerhouse belting in the verses and a clean delivery in the chorus. As for the song itself, in some ways it mirrors the anticipation felt by Leach’s return. The vocalist sings, “ All in due time / I see the world through different eyes / All in due time / Shadows will give way to light .” ‘In Due Time’ will officially be able for fans to pick up as a single on Feb. 5, which is nearly two months in advance of the April 2 release date of ‘Disarm the Descent.’ The group recently revealed the cover art for the album, which can be seen here . The album is the band’s first with Jesse Leach since their 2002 effort, ‘Alive or Just Breathing.’ Leach reunited with the band in early 2012, taking over for former vocalist Howard Jones, who fronted the band for a full decade. Leach has stated, “To me, this is by far my best vocal performance, much thanks to [guitarist/producer] Adam [Dutkiewicz]‘s guidance and faith in my abilities. I am very grateful to be where I am in life, back in an amazing band with a record we are all excited for the world to hear.” Listen to Killswitch Engage’s ‘In Due Time’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/killswitch-engage-jesse-leach-speaks-about-how-music-saved-his-life/” title=”Next: Jesse Leach Shares How Music Saved His Life” align=”center”]

Trivium Frontman Matt Heafy Performs Acoustic Cover of Opeth’s ‘Harvest’ in New Video

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Trivium  frontman Matt Heafy  has been covering the Opeth song ‘Harvest’ at some recent solo acoustic shows, including one in New York that Loudwire reviewed . Now, a video of Heafy performing the song in a studio has been released. (watch below) In discussing the songs he picked to do at the acoustic shows, Heafy said, “It was just things I felt like doing, artists that I love, like Depeche Mode and Opeth so I figured I might as well. I love Opeth. I guess for the Trivium fans if they were coming, they would be like ‘What the hell are these song choices?’ but it’s just stuff that I love.” The video for ‘Harvest’ was shot in the house/studio where Trivium are in the midst of recording their sixth album. It was recently revealed that  David Draiman of Disturbed is producing the album. The band has been posting several photos of the sessions on their Facebook page , and announced last week that pre-production was finished and Heafy had begun recording scratch tracks. It will be interesting to see if any other videos of cover songs Heafy did during those acoustic shows will be released. Some of the songs he has performed include Depeche Mode’s ‘The Sweetest Perfection,’ Elvis Presley’s ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love,’ Nine Inch Nails’s ‘Hurt’ and Roy Orbison’s ‘In Dreams.’ Watch Matt Heafy Perform Opeth’s ‘Harvest’ Harvest from jonpaul douglass on Vimeo .

Halestorm Bring the Rock to ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ With ‘Love Bites’ and ‘Freak Like Me’

Facebook: Halestorm Halestorm got in a little late night action Tuesday (Jan. 29), performing on ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and sharing two of their favorite tracks for the studio audience. ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ aired on the national television broadcast, while the band also performed their current single, ‘Freak Like Me,’ as a Web-only bonus. Both performances can be seen below. Lzzy Hale , with her long hair pulled up for the evening, delivered her usual amount of energy and vitality on ‘Love Bites (So Do I).’ The track began with the combination of drummer Arejay Hale’s arms and hair flying during the hard-hitting intro, while Lzzy and guitarist Joe Hottinger traded some wicked licks. As for the Web-only bonus performance, ‘Freak Like Me,’ Lzzy Hale and bassist Josh Smith brought a perfect vocal blend during the chorus and Arejay Hale got a little bit of camera time to show off some of his stick handling on the song. Lzzy also unleashed a fairly powerful blood-curdling scream during the track. Halestorm are currently enjoying a respite from the road, but will head to Europe in March for a tour before returning to the States in April to play the ‘ HardDrive Live ‘ tour with headliners Bullet for My Valentine . Watch Halestorm’s ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Watch Halestorm’s ‘Freak Like Me’ on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lzzy-hale-2013-plans-halestorm-no-end-in-sight-to-touring/” title=”Next: Lzzy Hale Discusses Endless 2013 Touring Plans” align=”center”]

2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl – Semifinals

Loudwire Rock Bowl Semifinals And then there were four! That’s right, after beginning with 16 rocking tracks that represented the spirit of football, the 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl has four football-ready songs still standing. Metallica ‘s hard-hitting classic ‘Seek and Destroy’ advances to face  Avenged Sevenfold and their inspirational track ‘Seize the Day. Meanwhile, in the other half of the bracket, Pantera ‘s thrashy ‘F—ing Hostile’ survived and advanced to meet up with the equally brutal ‘Wait and Bleed’ from Slipknot . Which of the remaining four acts have the best football anthem? That’s for you to decide. You can vote for your favorites in the semifinals between now and this Friday (Feb. 1) at 10AM ET to see who will advance to face each other in the 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl championship round. And remember, voting is allowed once per hour, so vote now and vote often to see your favorite football anthem advance. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/metallica-vs-avenged-sevenfold-2013-loudwire-rock-bowl-semifinals/” title=”Start Voting in the 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl Semifinals” align=”center”]

Pantera vs. Slipknot – 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl, Semifinals

Loudwire Rock Bowl Semifinals You may need some padding after this 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl semifinal matchup is complete. It’s the circle-pit favorite ‘F—ing Hostile’ from Pantera squaring off the brutality of Slipknot ‘s own slamming anthem ‘Wait and Bleed.’ Pantera eeked out the narrowest of victories against Drowning Pool’s ‘Bodies’ in the first round, taking home 53 percent of the vote, but they had an easier time in the quarterfinals against Korn’s ‘Freak on a Leash,’ earning 72 percent of the final tally. With the full-force guitar work of Dimebag Darrell, Vinnie Paul’s speedy yet powerful beats, Rex Brown’s thumping bass line and Phil Anselmo’s pent-up aggression, this song is as energetic as they come and captures the fighting spirit represented on the football field. And speaking of aggression, Corey Taylor certainly delivers while singing about the hate rising up inside of him. Much like an NFL player psyched up for competition, Slipknot ‘s ‘Wait and Bleed’ comes out of the gate ready to erupt. ‘Wait and Bleed’ easily bested P.O.D.’s ‘Boom’ in round one with 71 percent of the vote, while Slipknot also had a decisive victory in the quarterfinals against Rob Zombie’s ‘Superbeast,’ with 72 percent of the final tally. It’s Pantera vs. Slipknot in a battle to advance to the 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl semifinals and you can hear both songs below. You can vote once per hour between now and Friday (Feb. 1) at 10AM ET, so vote as often as you can. And if you haven’t yet, click on the red button below to vote in our other semifinal matchup of Metallica against Avenged Sevenfold . Listen to Pantera’s ‘F—ing Hostile’ Listen to Slipknot’s ‘Wait and Bleed’   Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/metallica-vs-avenged-sevenfold-2013-loudwire-rock-bowl-semifinals/” title=”Next Rock Bowl Matchup: Metallica vs. Avenged Sevenfold” align=”center”]

Metallica vs. Avenged Sevenfold – 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl, Semifinals

Loudwire Rock Bowl Semifinals Well, isn’t this an interesting matchup? Metallica ‘s ‘Seek and Destroy’ squares off against Avenged Sevenfold ‘s ‘Seize the Day’ to determine which act will advance to the finals of the 2013 Loudwire Bowl. Two very different songs, but each with a title that helps define football. Metallica’s ‘Seek and Destroy’ has enjoyed a relatively easy patch to the semifinals, besting Volbeat’s ‘A Warrior’s Call’ in the first round earning 71 percent of the vote and staving off Papa Roach’s ‘Last Resort’ in the quarterfinals with just shy of 64 percent of the final tally. As for ‘Seek and Destroy,’ the hard-hitting song has what it takes to amp up just about anyone and the talk of starting a fight is just the competitive spirit you want out of a football song. As for Avenged Sevenfold, they outlasted Shinedown’s ‘Devour’ in Round 1 by earning just shy of 64 percent of the vote. Then, in the quarterfinals, their fans rallied to boost them past Disturbed’s ‘Indestructible’ with 60 percent of the vote. Though the track may not be as hard as some of their competitors, the song is no less inspiring. Name an NFL player, especially during playoff time, that can’t identify with the sentiment “Seize the day or die regretting the time you lost.” The song rings true with the idea of making every moment count. Will ‘Seek and Destroy’ advance and survive or will ‘Seize the Day’ live up to its title? The battle begins now and you can vote once per hour to help ensure your favorite moves on to the 2013 Loudwire Rock Bowl. Voting continues through this Friday (Feb. 1) at 10AM ET. Listen to both tracks below, vote in the poll provided, then click the red button to vote in the other semifinal matchup — Pantera vs. Slipknot . Listen to Metallica’s ‘Seek and Destroy’ Listen to Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Seize the Day’   Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/pantera-vs-slipknot-2013-loudwire-rock-bowl-semifinals/” title=”Next Rock Bowl Matchup: Pantera vs. Slipknot” align=”center”]