NBC: The Voice Singing competition shows aren’t really our forte, unless one of the competitors happens to do a smooth jazz rendition of Slayer ‘s ‘Angel of Death’ of course. Although shows such as ‘The Voice’ don’t normally produce performances that would catch our attention, this version of the White Stripes staple ‘Seven Nation Army’ is a breathtaking exception. On Monday night (Nov. 19), ‘The Voice’ contestant Melanie Martinez performed a haunting rendition of ‘Seven Nation Army’ that left the studio audience rabid for more. With her hair color split in two by black and bleach, Martinez added some extra layers to the famously simple track, choosing to sing frontman Jack White ‘s main guitar line. The warmth of Martinez’s voice lends a beautifully haunting edge to ‘Seven Nation Army,’ which is amplified by a very Tim Burton-esque group of backing musicians and colorful murals created Martinez herself. Judges Adam Levine, Blake Sheldon and Cee Lo Green all praised Martinez’s version of the track, with Christina Aguilera holding back a bit in admiration. Sheldon even expressed regret that he hadn’t selected Martinez to join his team. Check out this very different, but captivating performance of ‘Seven Nation Army’ on ‘The Voice.’ Melanie Martinez Performs The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/white-stripes-seven-nation-army-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”White Stripes – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
Razor & Tie All That Remains are in the midst of a tour with Dethklok, Machine Head and the Black Dahlia Murder. The band is out in support of their brand new disc ‘A War You Cannot Win,’ which dropped Nov. 6. We recently caught up with All That Remains guitarist Mike Martin, and he spoke about ‘A War You Cannot Win’ and the process of recording the new album, as well as the experience of rooming with the band’s producer and friend, Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage. ‘A War You Cannot Win’ – can you talk about what this title means to you? It’s funny I always get these questions, I do a lot of interviews because when we’re on the road. Phil’s [Labonte] job, as far as a vocalist goes, is not the easiest thing in the world – not only do you have to scream and sing for an hour a night but because he’s doing that, he tries to avoid doing a hundred interviews a day on top of the show. So I always do a lot of the press and a lot of the questions have something to do with the song title or what the album means and what does this lyric mean and Phil writes that and he came up with the album title so it’s just one of those things where it’s one of his questions and it would suck for me to answer. I have no idea. [Laughs] Maybe you can tell me when he came to you with that title, the first time you heard it, what was your reaction? I’m just a black and white dude when it comes to most things so I was just like, “Okay that sounds cool, it doesn’t sound stupid.” [Laughs] It’s like “Okay cool, that’s fine.” That’s basically what everybody else does too, I don’t think anybody else in the band digs too deep into the meaning. Phil’s big into politics and all sorts of stuff so God only knows what the title means to him – it could mean a number of things. What sets this album apart from your previous efforts? I think with every album, we just continue to make steps of maturity as far as songwriting goes. I just think when you do something for 10, 12, 15 years you can’t help but learn a little bit along the way and I think that’s one thing this band continues to get better at with every album. It’s not a physical thing where everybody has to get a 100 times better at their specific instrument – I think collectively the songwriting gets better with each one. How was the recording process like overall for this specific record? For this, it was the most comfortable thing ever. We were at our normal home studio with Adam D. from Killswitch, our normal producer. I’m actually sitting in his living room right now because I live at his house. Yeah normal studio, normal producer – you know what you’re getting into and the work ethic and everybody’s methods already and everybody’s comfortable right away. Out of curiosity how is Adam Dutkiewicz as a roommate? [Laughs] He’s an amazing roommate, this is the most chill house you could possibly live in, just the quietest. We live out in the woods, it’s just farms out here – it’s amazing. It’s super quiet and calm – calm I know is something nobody expects when they see Adam onstage because he’s out of his mind, he’s actually pulling into the driveway now, I heard the garage just open. We’re both obsessed with certain restaurants and bars in our area and we go and eat there all the time – we’re pretty gross with the food. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dethklok-2012-tour-machine-head-all-that-remains-black-dahlia-murder/” title=”Check Out All That Remains’ 2012 Tour Dates with Dethklok” align=”center”]
YouTube It’s been a couple of years since we were treated to new music from Izzy Stradlin , but the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist isn’t resting on his laurels — in fact, he has unleashed a YouTube video of a new single, titled ‘Baby-Rann.’ A scorching uptempo rocker featuring a tasty solo from lead guitarist Rick Richards (who co-founded the Georgia Satellites before serving time in Izzy’s band the Ju Ju Hounds), ‘Baby-Rann’ finds Stradlin working with a crew that includes bassist J.T. Longoria and former Reverend Horton Heat drummer Taz Bentley. The video, which is can be seen below, was edited by Ed Shiers after being filmed at L.A.’s legendary Ocean Way Studios earlier this month. ‘Baby-Rann’ caps a year of sporadic activity for Stradlin, who skipped out on Guns N’ Roses’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April but turned up on the road with GN’R for a couple of London concerts in May. Perhaps, it serves as the first sign of a new album from the guitarist, who released a whopping five albums between 2007-10, but has been relatively quiet since putting out the iTunes-only ‘Wave of Heat’ in July of that year. Listen to Izzy Stradlin’s ‘Baby-Rann’
InsideOut Music King’s X drummer Jerry Gaskill has been hit with a bit of bad luck lately. Back in February, he suffered a heart attack and underwent emergency surgery before recovering and leaving the hospital after three weeks under professional care. Now, Gaskill and his wife Julie have suffered great losses due to Hurricane Sandy, including losing almost all of their belongings and being dislodged from their home on the coast of New Jersey. Friends and fans have reached out to Gaskill to offer support during this trying time, and he’s notably moved. “Hey everybody. Julie and I want to again sincerely thank everyone all over the world for the overwhelming love and support during this devastating time for so many,” he said in an online posting. “I believe somehow things will be better than ever, just like when I died. I think Julie said it the best. She said, ‘It’s been quite a banner year for us. First you died, then we got married and now we’re homeless.’ “Because of all your love, we have hope. We thank you now and we will thank you always. I have a feeling that 2013 could just be a good year.” “All our love… Jerry and Julie.” If you would like to donate to help Gaskill rebuild after Hurricane Sandy, head to Give Forward . Note that donations will be treated as a gift, meaning they won’t be tax deductible.
Kevin Mazur, Getty Images – AC/DC have dropped their longtime resistance against digital sales. The band’s entire discography is now available on iTunes. Check out the details here. [ Loudwire ] – We’ve got the exclusive premiere for Hellyeah ‘s new music video for ‘Drink Drank Drunk. Check it out here, and only here, now. [ Loudwire ] – Metal innovators Death may no longer be around, but we’re honored to be the exclusive host of their upcoming deluxe reissue of ‘Spiritual Healing.’ Listen to the 3-CD deluxe edition with never-before-released material here. [ Loudwire ] – We’ve yet another exclusive premiere for fans of Bullet for My Valentine . The band has given us a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of their new album ‘Temper Temper.’ Check it out! [ Loudwire ] – Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland has announced that he and photographer Jamie Wachtel have gotten engaged. Read all about it here. [ Loudwire ] – Dropkick Murphys announce 2013 St. Patty’s Day tour. [ Rock Music Report ] – Kiss drummer Eric Carr’s ‘Animalize drumstick sells for $699 on eBay. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Mike McCready and Duff McKagan cover ‘Voodoo Child’ at Jimi Hendrix Experience music project concert. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Here’s an interesting quote: “Somebody should shoot Simon Cowell. Find out what this veteran band made this statement. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted has detailed his plans for returning to music. Check out what he has up his sleeve. [ Ultimate Metallica ]
Mike Lawrie, Getty Images When it comes to love, Scott Weiland is counting on the old adage that the third time’s a charm. The Stone Temple Pilots singer recently announced that he’s now engaged to girlfriend Jamie Wachtel. The couple have been dating for about a year, and the upcoming nuptials will mark Weiland’s third marriage. Weiland gushed to Rolling Stone about his special lady, saying, “She’s the greatest thing that’s happened to me in a long, long time.” He continued to share his feelings about her, explaining, “She is incredibly beautiful in every aspect of the word. Lovely, smart, passionate.” The couple first met on a video shoot for Weiland’s Christmas album released last winter, ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.’ Wachtel was working on set as a photographer and the two hit it off almost instantaneously as Wachtel helped calm Weiland’s nerves during the shoot with a little bit of humor. “I was leaning against this fireplace, and she’s like, ‘You might want to tuck in your belly a little bit,’” Weiland recalled. “It was around the holidays – it was after Thanksgiving, and you know how that tends to be. I was kind of caught off guard, and I started laughing and she started laughing. And I don’t know . . . something magical happened.” Weiland admits that he had pretty much given up on love before meeting Wachtel. “I had fallen in love a couple times in my life and then for a long time, I’ve been very disappointed and to the point where I’ve been resolved to the fact that possibly it would never happen again and almost accepted that it would be OK,” confessed Weiland. “And then I met her.” The two are planning a spring wedding, but before that Weiland has a handful of solo dates in late November, including stops in Pa., N.Y. and N.J. Tickets are available here . Congrats to the happy couple! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/scott-weiland-musician-mug-shots/” title=”Next: Scott Weiland – Musician Mug Shots” align=”center”]
Brendon Thorne, Getty Images / Nuclear Blast This week in irritating poser news (we assume), R&B singer Chris Brown was recently spotted in a leather jacket covered in the logos of legendary punk and crossover thrash acts. Brown, who once made headlines for physically abusing then-girlfiend Rihanna, spent a night on the town adorned with both blue and zebra-striped patches, along with the logos of Municipal Waste , Suicidal Tendencies , Cro-Mags , Corrosion of Conformity , D.R.I., The Exploited and more. The world of someone like Chris Brown is deeply rooted in fashion, so apparently the sarcastic adoption of underground passion is in this winter. Obviously we can’t prove it, but it seems pretty safe to assume that Chris Brown has never listened to any of these pulverizing, aggressive, circle pit-starting acts. Predictably, fans who have found genuine purpose and solace within the underground scene aren’t pleased with Brown’s jacket, with a sentiment of bastardization shared between proud supporters of their favorite bands. Municipal Waste tweeted a reaction to their inclusion on Chris Brown’s jacket: For the record. Chris Brown can sport our shit all he wants. We still think he is a fucking moron. — MUNICIPAL WASTE (@MUNICIPALWASTE) November 18, 2012 There’s always the chance that Brown is an out-of-the-closet metalhead, but we doubt that. Click below to check out the pictures of Chris Brown in his ironically hip jacket. [button href=”http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/tfTvYMl7KLM/Chris+Brown+Steps+Out+Flashy+Jacket/1JhsKqP7_aQ” title=”See Pictures of Chris Brown’s Jacket” align=”center”]