Razor & Tie / Sumerian Hatebreed have defeated yet another band, bringing the Connecticut hardcore heavyweights only one win away from their track ‘The Divinity of Purpose’ attaining immortality in our Death Match Hall of Fame. To give Hatebreed one last run for their money, we’ve put them against one of extreme metal’s most up-and-coming acts. Upon a Burning Body have been making deathcore, death metal, extreme metal, or whatever you choose to call it, since 2005. Hailing from San Antonio, Texas, the band released its second studio album, ‘Red. White. Green.,’ earlier this year, with ‘Sin City’ having just been chosen as the latest track to get a music video. Can Hatebreed complete their journey to the Death Match Hall of Fame? Or will Upon a Burning Body reduce their competition to ash? Vote for your favorite track below! (This Death Match ends on Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 10AM ET. Fans can vote once per hour! So come back and vote often to make sure your favorite song wins!) Hatebreed, ‘The Divinity of Purpose’ Upon A Burning Body, ‘Sin City’ ? Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. ? Email Me When Death Match Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of the weekly winner of the Death Match, as well as our top stories of each day. Email Rules of Death Match Two bands fight to the death each week. Fans can vote once per hour. The triumphant band goes on to compete in the next Death Match. If a band wins four straight Death Matches, its song will be honored as immortal in the Loudwire Death Match Hall of Fame.
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Nikki Sixx may not be a frontman, but you’d be hard pressed to find a bassist that deserved the spotlight more. As a songwriter, Sixx had a hand in creating a majority of the hard-rocking hits Motley Crue have cranked out over the years. Plus he’s shown that even outside of Crue, he’s still a creative force to be reckoned with as the namesake member of the powerful trio Sixx: A.M. He even turned in some solid work in the lesser-known bands 58 and Brides of Destruction. With that in mind, we salute Nikki Sixx’s contributions to the world of hard rock and metal with this list of his best work. So let’s kickstart our countdown of the 10 Best Nikki Sixx Songs: 10 ‘Looks That Kill’ Motley Crue From: ‘Shout at the Devil’ (1983) ‘Looks That Kill’ gave Motley Crue their first national music video exposure and the track introduced fans to Vince Neil ‘s soon-to-be-recognizable voice and some stellar guitar work from Mick Mars. Sixx penned the track, which provides a more sinister feel to describing a gorgeous woman. ‘Looks’ aren’t the only thing that kill with this song. This driving track slays in concert, as well. Listen to ‘Looks That Kill’ 9 ‘Lies of the Beautiful People’ Sixx: A.M. From: ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ (2011) Nikki Sixx’s passion for photography find its way in his second book-album amalgamation, ‘This Is Gonna Hurt.’ The Sixx: A.M. bassist took pleasure in shooting non-traditional beauty, and even leads off the song’s video by stating, “It’s okay to be different.” Musically the track ‘Lies of the Beautiful People’ is driven by Sixx’s chunky bass and guitarist DJ Ashba ‘s licks, while singer James Michael offers the requisite amount of emotion using his upper register to make the song an inspirational one. Listen to ‘Lies of the Beautiful People’ 8 ‘Girls Girls Girls’ Motley Crue From: ‘Girls Girls Girls’ (1987 Motley Crue’s partying was reaching its height in the mid-to-late ’80s and you tend to write what you know. The anthem ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ was an ode to the strip clubs where the band enjoyed some of their best times. Sixx’s chugging bass, Mars’ memorable guitar licks and the boastful wail of Vince Neil led this track. It’s still a staple today both in strip clubs and as part of the band’s live set. Listen to ‘Girls Girls Girls’ 7 ‘Shout at the Devil’ Motley Crue From: ‘Shout at the Devil’ (1983) ‘Shout at the Devil’ is the track that gave the Crue their first radio success. The song itself features Mick Mars ‘ blistering guitar and Tommy Lee ‘s cymbal mastery. Sixx, who penned the track, took some criticism over the song’s alleged satanism, but the rocker would say in ‘The Dirt’ autobiography, “It just looks cool. It’s meaningless symbols and s–t. I’m just doing it to piss people off. It’s not like I worship Satan or something.” Listen to ‘Shout at the Devil’ 6 ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ Sixx: A.M. From: ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ (2011) When it comes to straight-up, adrenaline-filled rockers, there’s no doubt that Sixx: A.M.’s ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ deserves its spot among the 10 Best Nikki Sixx Songs. The second single from the band’s sophomore album is one of the more rocket-fueled tracks that Sixx has come up with. There’s some serious shredding by Ashba on guitar and James Michael’s vocals deliver one of the catchiest choruses in the band’s catalog. Listen to ‘This Is Gonna Hurt’ 5 ‘Dr. Feelgood’ Motley Crue From: ‘Dr. Feelgood’ (1989) One of Motley Crue’s biggest songs has Sixx’s fingerprints all over it. The chugging opening of ‘Dr. Feelgood’ immediately grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. As for the title and lyrical content, Sixx would tell Rolling Stone , “It had a whole different theme to it. It was called ‘Dr. Feelgood,’ but a whole different thing lyrically. In the end, it was inspired by drug dealers. Is there ever just one? A good drug addict always has more than one dealer.” Listen to ‘Dr. Feelgood’ 4 ‘Wild Side’ Motley Crue From: ‘Girls Girls Girls’ (1987) ‘Wild Side’ is one of the more non-traditional songs in the band’s catalog, with its shifting time signatures and equal parts swinging and rocking moments. But that doesn’t mean it rocks any less. In fact, it’s a live favorite with the band getting to show off more of their skill. Lyrically, the track deals with the band’s own hardships in the Los Angeles music scene and is meant as a rallying cry to those who’ve lived life on the ‘Wild Side.’ Listen to ‘Wild Side’ 3 ‘Life Is Beautiful’ Sixx: A.M. From: ‘The Heroin Diaries’ (2007) ‘Life Is Beautiful’ deserves its spot on the 10 Best Nikki Sixx Songs list as it is arguably his most personal track. The bassist lays his soul bare on this one, expressing the emotions he felt upon almost dying from his drug addiction and what he endured while kicking his habit. Beautifully and powerfully delivered by singer James Michael, the song is one of the most affecting songs in Sixx’s arsenal. Listen to ‘Life Is Beautiful’ 2 ‘Home Sweet Home’ Motley Crue From: ‘Theatre of Pain’ (1985) Look up power ballad in the dictionary and this song should be the definition. ‘Home Sweet Home’ finds drummer Tommy Lee delivering the opening piano notes and Vince Neil joining Sixx and Lee in receiving writing credits. After the opening stanza, the song rocks out with Lee returning to drums and Sixx’s bass work keeping the pace in place of the piano. The song is also notable for arguably the band’s most recognizable guitar solo from Mick Mars. Listen to ‘Home Sweet Home’ 1 ‘Kickstart My Heart’ Motley Crue From: ‘Dr. Feelgood’ (1989) While Nikki Sixx has penned some serious songs about his drug addiction and near-death experience, this one offers a lighter take. It was inspired by the two adrenaline shots needed to revive him after he was clinically declared dead. Sixx told Rolling Stone he initially considered the track “a throwaway,” but that it fit the band’s album better than expected. Luckily the band held onto the song, as it yielded a Grammy nomination and turned into one of their most requested live tracks. Listen to ‘Kickstart My Heart’ What Is Your Favorite Nikki Sixx Song? So there you have it — a pretty impressive list of songs that Nikki Sixx has had a hand in recording over the years. Did your favorite Nikki Sixx song make the cut? Would you like to make an argument for a Brides of Destruction or 58 song to make the list? Here’s your chance to give us feedback on this list. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire The Danish metallers of Volbeat are gearing up for a massive headlining tour of the United States and Canada in 2013. The band will be supported on the trek by Danko Jones, who recently released their latest album ‘Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue.’ Volbeat, meanwhile, will continue to support their fourth studio album, ‘Beyond Hell / Above Heaven,’ but are also expected to reveal details on their upcoming fifth studio album in the coming weeks. We recently reported that Volbeat will debut some new material during their Danish tour in February. The North American tour kicks off March 6 in Dallas and wraps up April 11 in Philadelphia. Check out the full list of tour dates below: Volbeat 2013 North American Tour Dates: 3/06 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom 3/07 Oklahoma City, OK Diamond Ballroom 3/09 San Antonio, TX Freeman Coliseum 3/10 El Paso, TX Speaking Rock Entertainment Center 3/11 Lubbock, TX Lonestar Pavilion 3/12 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre 3/14 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues at Mandalay Bay 3/15 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues 3/16 Anaheim, CA House of Blues 3/17 Reno, NV Knitting Factory 3/19 Boise, ID Revolution Center 3/20 Missoula, MT The Wilma Theater 3/22 Seattle, WA Showbox At The Market 3/23 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory 3/24 Calgary, AB MacEwen Hall 3/25 Prince George, BC CN Centre 3/27 Dawson Creek, BC EnCana Events Centre 3/28 Edmonton, AB Shaw Conference Centre 3/30 Regina, SA Brandt Centre 4/01 Saskatoon, SA Credit Union Center 4/02 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre 4/06 Ft. Wayne, IN Piere’s 4/09 New York, NY Best Buy Theatre 4/10 Baltimore, MD Rams Head 4/11 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero [button href=”http://loudwire.com/volbeat-michael-poulsen-talks-success-in-u-s-upcoming-album-more/” title=”Read Our Interview With Volbeat Frontman Michael Poulsen” align=”center”]
Frank Micelotta, Getty Images Few musicians possess the talent and character to retain ‘Rock God’ status nearly 20 years after their demise, but since 1994, the memory of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has not faded one bit. Countless tributes have been paid to Cobain since his suicide, with the latest being a strange and multidimensional stage show featuring Sonic Youth ‘s Thurston Moore . The artistic tribute , simply called ‘Kurt,’ was showcased at the Gusman Center for the Arts in Miami, Fla., on Dec. 6, as part of the city’s Art Basel extravaganza. The Cobain experiment began with a 12-minute film by contemporary artist Adarsha Benjamin, which depicted a Cobain-like figure wandering through a Super-8 world and tearing up musical instruments while Pacific Ocean waves violently crash along Northwestern shores. The face of the Kurt Cobain figure was never fully revealed, although flashes of the late musician’s physical characteristics were shown as a mysterious tease. After the film’s conclusion, a bizarre dance based off Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ video began, complete with flannel shirts and a smokey atmosphere. After some strange conceptual dancing, a proverbial snake charmer with a left-handed guitar blasted out a solo guitar piece with piercing distortion, entrancing the grunged-out dancers. To conclude the night, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore introduced himself, speaking informally about his own life before focusing on the life of Kurt Cobain. “I want to read a couple of things I wrote,” Moore stated, “now or maybe later, with Kurt in mind. I thought the film was beautiful and I was happy to see that film. I love the idea that we can just be expressionistic in our feelings towards people, whether we were intimate with them or not, as long as they brought beauty and feeling into our lives.” Moore concluded the night with a multitude of spoken-word poetry along with an experimental and massively distorted noise piece. Check out some of Moore’s performance from ‘Kurt’ below. Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore Performs in ‘Kurt’
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Sevendust have a busy year ahead of them in 2013, as the band is set to drop its ninth studio album, ‘Black Out the Sun,’ on March 26 of next year, with the lead single ‘Decay’ debuting Jan. 22. The band will also embark on a headlining trek with Italian rockers Lacuna Coil. Loudwire recently had the opportunity to catch up with singer Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist John Connolly as they were aboard the ShipRocked 2012 cruise. Sevendust, having been ShipRocked veterans, talked all about how much they enjoy the experience of rocking out on a boat, as well as Witherspoon’s snorkeling fail. They also spoke about the new album, the upcoming tour with Lacuna Coil and plans to hit the road with Coal Chamber. Sevendust Talk Shiprocked 2012, ‘Black Out The Sun’ + Upcoming Tour [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lacuna-coil-sevendust-early-2013-u-s-tour/” title=”Sevendust + Lacuna Coil 2013 Tour Dates” align=”center”]
A&M/Octane Hollywood Undead have unleashed the music video for the track ‘We Are,’ the first single from their upcoming 2013 album, ‘Notes From the Underground,’ due Jan. 8. The video was directed by Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan and is available below for your eyeballs to experience. The sinister video is shot masterfully by Crahan, with his creative vision complementing both the song and the performances showcased by Hollywood Undead. The clip is not one to be missed, as each member gets their own little vignette, whether it be writing messages with a massive amount of cocaine, smashing televisions, robbing liquor stores or setting people on fire. The video for ‘We Are’ has arrived just in time for fans to pre-order ‘Notes From the Underground’ at iTunes . Hollywood Undead have also revealed a string of North American tour dates beginning on Jan. 8 to celebrate the release of ‘Notes From the Underground.’ Check out the video for ‘We Are’ and the ‘Underground’ tour dates below. Watch Hollywood Undead’s ‘We Are’ Video Hollywood Undead 2013 ‘Underground’ Tour Dates: 1/8 – Hollywood, Calif. – The Key Club 1/9 – Sacramento, Calif. – Ace Of Spades 1/11 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Club Sound 1/12 – Denver, Colo. – Bluebird Theatre 1/14 – St. Paul, Minn. – Station 4 1/15 – Chicago, Ill. – The Bottom Lounge 1/16 – Detroit, Mich. – St. Andrews Hall 1/18 – New York, N.Y. – The Gramercy Theatre 1/21 – Cambridge, Mass. – Middle East 1/22 – Montreal, Quebec City – Corona Theatre 1/23 – Toronto, Ontario – Virgin Mobile Mod Club
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire In Flames kicked off the year with a headlining trek with Trivium and Kyng , and they are currently on a major U.S. tour with Lamb of God , Hatebreed and Sylosis . Loudwire recently had the chance to catch up with In Flames guitarist Bjorn Gelotte before the band played New York City’s Roseland Ballroom. Gelotte talked all about his relationship with the bands on the bill, as well as offering his view on Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe ‘s incarceration in the Czech Republic. He also spoke about owning a pub with his bandmate, what In Flames will be up to in 2013 and much more. Describe your relationship with the bands on this bill? Lamb of God is a fantastic band to work with — we’ve toured with them before and all the other guys as well. We didn’t know Sylosis before, I didn’t know them before but they are perfect English gentlemen and they’re really good at what they do and of course Hatebreed [laughs], who doesn’t love Hatebreed? When you heard about Randy Blythe’s arrest, what did you think about this whole situation? I had such a mixed feeling — of course you feel really sad about somebody getting hurt as bad as dying from it, at the same time you know how it is onstage. I highly doubt he did anything in rage; I just think that was a very unfortunate accident. I felt really bad, at the same time I felt like [Blythe] handled it really well — he stood up for it and said, “I’m here, you know where to find me if there’s anything, I won’t hide. If you guys find a case around this I’ll be there,” and that’s a standup thing to do. Whether you crowd surf or not, there’s always a possibility of getting injured at metal shows … It’s sometimes surprising that it doesn’t happen more often. I’ve seen some really crazy pits, circle pits and it could get really violent. Most of the time I think people in the pits try to take care of each other – if somebody falls down they try to pick them up and seem friendly about it. It’s a weird thing – you would never find me in a circle pit or mosh pit. Does the experience of what Randy went through affect the way you perform onstage or your mindset of what a fan might do when you are onstage? No. We’re really aware of the audience and we try obviously to spur them to stage dive, well maybe not stage dive but to crowd surf and run around a bit. At the same time we have big confidence in the security working because they’re not there to save us from the fans, they’re there to save the fans – maybe from each other sometimes but they’re actually doing a really good job. It’s a lot of big men taking care of small kids, it’s really funny sometimes — they just carry them up with one arm. ‘Sounds of a Playground Fading’ is only a year and a half old, but has there been any progress on material for a new album? Not really. I know it sounds weird but being on tour, it’s not very inspirational. It’s a great forum to talk about music, it’s a forum to meet other musicians but to create it’s not — it’s also very impractical. It’s a bunch of gear that you need, the right software to work and I’m just like “F— it, I’ll just wait until I get back home.” I have a studio at home so I just push the power button and I’m rolling. What do you usually find inspiration from, when creating music? I don’t look for a theme or story or anything, I just go with whatever melodies seems to be bouncing around in this empty head of mind — melodies and riffs and when you just warm up or noodle around, ideas come up. Throughout this year, what has been the funniest moment on tour or the funniest thing a fan has said to you? We hear all sorts of s—t. [Laughs] One funny moment was on this tour actually. I came into the dressing room in San Antonio and I saw this big stuffed bear in the dressing room and at that moment I knew how this tour was going to be. Sure enough, the bear ended up on the bus and stays with us. Where did the bear come from and where is it now? It’s still here – he was a hazard being up in the front lounge so we had to have him in the merch trailer but he’s all dressed up and nice. He joins us for walks and stuff, it’s funny if you’re on the road. What are your touring plans for 2013? We have lots of plans actually, there’s going to be a lot of touring – hopefully coming back over here, fairly soon, right after New Year’s. We’re doing the 70,000 tons of metal Caribbean Cruise thingy – weather wise it should be fantastic but I don’t know about the stage conditions and all that. We’ll try to link that to some more touring. We, of course, have the summer festival season coming up and we’re going to try to hit a lot of festivals – nothing really confirmed yet. Most of that will be confirmed by a month or two. [Editor’s note: Shortly after the interview, In Flames did in fact confirm a 2013 U.S. tour with Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish and Battlecross.] You and your bandmate, bassist Peter Iwers, have a restaurant in Sweden 2112, how is that venture going? It’s great, it’s a lot of fun, it’s a lot of different things to think about. We’ve been talking about it for years — he wanted a restaurant , I wanted a bar. I like beer, he likes food. It was hard in the beginning to mix the two because it was really fine dining, great menus, a fantastic chef but now we’ve tried to relax it a little bit, so it’s not that white table cloth setting. It’s more like burgers and beer which works really good with the rock, metal attitude – for grownups. Would you ever think about bringing it to the States? I would love to, that’s a whole different ball game. We’re really strict in Sweden when it comes to alcohol and there’s a lot of bulls—t you have to deal with in order to get the license. I have no idea whatsoever how to get a liquor license here but that’s probably in the future. Have you learned any cooking techniques from being in the restaurant / bar business? Yes, to make an awesome coleslaw for instance. It’s not as easy as you think. I’ve learned to not be afraid to try out things – it’s not science, it’s very much feeling when you season food and the right temperatures and everything. When you see the [workers in the kitchen] they have a stove on all day and it’s really inspiring to see them cooking for 50 people and they do it in no time. I haven’t been in the kitchen working – I’ve just seen them and it’s like, “Okay I’ll stay in the bar,” and I’m not even working there, I’m on the outside of the bar drinking beers – one of the perks of being the owner. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lamb-of-god-in-flames-hatebreed-sylosis-rock-new-york-city-with-vigorous-show/” title=”Check Out Photos of In Flames Performing in New York City” align=”center”]