Posts Tagged ‘America’

Get to Know While She Sleeps + Win a Prize Pack From The End Records

Facebook: While She Sleeps UK act While She Sleeps are ready to break in America after winning Kerrang’s Best Newcomer Award . Now, in addition to getting to know the band, you can win a signed copy of While She Sleeps’ ‘This Is the Six’ album, as well as a bunch of other great items from the group’s label, The End Records. Included in the bundle is a Skull t-shirt, a Paradise Lost box set, a Cradle of Filth box set, two The End Records beer cozies, an AxeWound flat, an Audio Bullys bag, a “Here’s the Metal” hot sauce, and, of course, the While She Sleeps ‘This Is the Six’ signed CD. To learn a little more about While She Sleeps, check out our interview with the band, and then enter your details in the contest box at the bottom of the story for a chance to win The End Records Bundle Contest. We spoke with While She Sleeps guitarist Sean Long, who discussed the significance of their new album title, how they’re differentiating themselves from their peers, and what it was like to win the Kerrang award at such an early stage in their career. The title track, ‘This Is the Six,’ definitely has a special meaning for the band. Can you talk about where it comes from and if it was the obvious choice to be the first song heard off this record? It’s really hard to find an album title that is original and means something to you, we are really happy we landed on ‘This Is the Six.’ It basically means that we are the 5 and 6th member of the band is the crowd, our fans, anyone who has supported us in anyway, they are the six. So together we are part of the same this, THIS IS THE SIX! Guitarist Mat Welsh has stated that the band wants ‘This Is the Six’ to be an album that people grow up on? What were the qualities that drew you to the bands you listened to growing up and do you feel this album captures that, as well? Just music that stands out to me, I am a big fan of note selection. I believe the slightest change in note selection can change how you feel instantly so picking the right note for a certain song is very important. I really hope we have captured that because there are notes on that album that make me feel great and I get a feeling in my stomach that makes me love music. While She Sleeps have gotten some credit for thinking outside of the box in terms of their sound. What’s your take on the music scene and how do you differentiate yourself from other acts? I guess we just try our hardest to be different inside of all the music we love. I believe that all the music we listen to, which ranges from folk to metal, is captured in our music even without us knowing. You have a hard-rocking sound and there’s definitely a punk ethic to how the band addresses lyrical content. How much do you value having the platform to discuss things like politics, patriotism, and issues affecting the youth in your songs? I’d like to say at least we are singing about things that are real and that we are living in, things we all have experienced and about our lives as friends. The more people who like our band, the bigger voice we will have to let everyone know our opinions and join us! What are a few of your favorite songs off the record and can you discuss why they stand out to you? If I picked one I’d be lying to myself. I honestly love them all so much. We all really surprised ourselves with this so we listen to it like another band. Haha, but why not you know, we are very proud of it and love what we have created. What did winning the Kerrang Best Newcomer Award mean to you this early in your career? You have no idea. I cried for a start and I rarely cry. It just felt so amazing to know that what we are doing is real and people are actually agreeing with what we are doing. It was the best day of my life for sure! Fans wishing to check out While She Sleeps’ ‘This Is The Six’ album can currently pre-order the effort here . To enter to win a signed copy of the disc, along with items from Audio Bullys, AxeWound, Paradise Lost, Cradle of Filth and more as part of The End Record contest bundle, be sure to enter your information in the box provided below: While She Sleeps + The End Records Giveaway Enter your e-mail address for a chance to win a singed copy of While She Sleeps’ ‘This Is the Six’ CD plus a Skull t-shirt, a Paradise Lost box set, a Cradle of Filth box set, two The End Records beer cozies, an AxeWound flat, an Audio Bullys bag, a “Here’s the Metal” hot sauce. Contest ends Nov. 19, 2012. Click here for official rules . By entering this contest, you will receive email newsletters from Loudwire. You may unsubscribe at any time. Email Watch While She Sleeps’ ‘This Is the Six’ Video

Five Finger Death Punch Offer Live Assault for ‘The Pride’ Video

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Five Finger Death Punch take pride in their live set, and they’re putting it on full display with their new video for ‘The Pride,’ the latest single from their 2011 ‘ American Capitalist ‘ album. The clip for their latest single features footage shot during the band’s touring and showcases not only their stellar live performances but the stage setup, which includes a visual assault of imagery behind the band. The song itself deals with a fair amount of commercialism, as singer Ivan Moody riffs on a number of brand names and celebrity endorsers, while the video board in the clip has plenty of brightly placed images flashing to the crowd. Five Finger Death Punch recently wrapped up their Trespass America tour, and they’ve discussed the idea of ramping up to a January start for recording their follow-up to the ‘American Capitalist’ disc. The disc has already spawned the singles ‘Under and Over It,’ ‘Back for More,’ ‘Remember Everything,’ and ‘Coming Down,’ with ‘The Pride’ surfacing as the fifth single this month. Watch Five Finger Death Punch’s ‘The Pride’ Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/five-finger-death-punch-jason-hook-discusses-next-album-coming-down-video-randy-blythe/” title=”Next: Jason Hook Discusses Next Five Finger Death Punch Album” align=”center”]

Rock Star Cameos on ‘The Simpsons’

Fox Having just begun its 24th season and with more than 500 episodes having aired, ‘The Simpsons’ is one of the most iconic TV shows in history. An incredible amount of celebrities and public figures have been animated by the cartoonists of the show, and we’ve compiled some of our all-time favorite appearances from rock musicians. ‘The Simpsons’ debuted in 1987 as television shorts on ‘The Tracy Allman Show’, and due to its popularity, the animated family got their own sitcom in 1989. Boasting the distinction of being America’s longest-running sitcom and animated program, ‘The Simpsons’ deserve to be celebrated for the years of entertainment the show has brought millions of viewers. Check out our list of Rock Star Cameos on ‘The Simpsons.’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/the-ramones-rock-star-cameos-on-the-simpsons/” title=”See the Rock Star Cameos on ‘The Simpsons'” align=”center”]

Five Finger Death Punch’s ‘American Capitalist’ Album Certified Gold

Prospect Park Congrats are in order for Five Finger Death Punch , as the group’s latest record, ‘ American Capitalist ,’ has been certified gold for shipping over 500,000 copies in the United States. The band’s previous two albums — 2007′s ‘The Way of the Fist’ and 2009′s ‘War Is the Answer’ — also achieved the mark. ‘American Capitalist’ shot out of the gate with a solid start, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 album chart back in October 2011. Guitarist Zoltan Bathory says of the accomplishment, “I think it’s a huge win for all of us, not just for us as a band but for the entire genre of hard rock and heavy metal. This is a loud and clear indicator that heavy music is in demand and if a relatively new band like us can accomplish something like this, then maybe this is just the prelude for the shape of things to come.” The album sales also coincide with the band’s chart success with their singles, as the group has surpassed 3.6 million songs sold. In total, the group has scored ten Top 10 singles at Active Rock radio and a No. 1 song with the current single ‘ Coming Down .’ Singer Ivan Moody says, “Radio stations across the U.S., and basically the whole world, have been very supportive of the band. We are grateful and remain indebted to them for stepping behind us, and as our fan base continues to grow year after year, it is clear that rock radio is far from dead. People are listening.” Five Finger Death Punch spent the summer headlining the Trespass America tour, and they’re currently catching a breather before finishing up 2012 with their performance on the Shiprocked Cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale, Fla,. on Nov. 27. Guitarist Jason Hook recently stated that the group is looking ahead to the ‘American Capitalist’ follow-up and have an eye toward January to start work on the effort. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/five-finger-death-punch-invite-next-generation-of-heavy-metal-onstage/” title=”Next: Five Finger Death Punch Teach Next Generation of Metal” align=”center”]

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian Offers His Take on the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election

Robert Sebree, Getty Images System of a Down singer and social activist Serj Tankian  offers many opinions in a new in-depth interview. Among the topics discussed is the 2012 Presidential Election. In the fascinating interview with American Rock Scene , Tankian went into detail about America’s current political structure. “Here’s the thing, if you want more choices you have to create more choices,” begins Tankian. “We need more parties and that’s been the case for many, many years … We really need a healthy left wing party in this country like the Green Party or — I’m down to start a socialist party because President Obama is not socialist. The republicans are calling him socialist and I’m like, “come on,” the guy made legislation where you have to buy insurance from private entities. That’s not socialism, there’s no public option. Most of his policies are centrist, just to the right of center, sometimes left of center. That’s not socialism, but apparently, America has no idea what socialism is.” Tankian goes on to speak about Republican candidate Mitt Romney. “Mitt Romney’s policies are, well first of all, he’s gone back and forth between so many different policies. First he supported health care in Massachusetts and then he turned a 360 and said, ‘I don’t like it anymore I was wrong. Everything I thought, was wrong, I repudiate.’ He’s just trying to get the right wingers on his side but ultimately they are failed policies of the past. It hasn’t worked for America. It’s left us in debt, it’s left us in wars. And the fact that he actually even said that he doesn’t care about 47 percent of America. I would f—ing toss him off the ticket now. That’s offensive. His answer was that it wasn’t a classy way of explaining it, he didn’t even refute it. He admitted saying those things.” Check out the rest of Serj Tankian’s interview with American Rock Scene  here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-toxicity-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”System of a Down – Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]

Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx Talks ‘Sex,’ Tweeting, Dave Mustaine + Future of Sixx: A.M.

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Nikki Sixx is a man who wears many hats. Not only is he the bassist and songwriter for Motley Crue and Sixx: A.M. , he’s also a radio host, author and master of social media. During some downtime from Motley Crue’s current tour with KISS, we caught up with Sixx on the phone for an interview that we’ve divided between Loudwire and our brother site Ultimate Classic Rock .  See what he told us about the band’s new single ‘Sex,’ his Twitter rant against Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine and what lies ahead for his band Sixx: A.M. in the following Q&A. And for more on Motley Crue’s tour with KISS, as well as their plans for new music, click on the button at the bottom of this article to read Ultimate Classic Rock’s portion of the interview. Have you been happy with the reaction to the new song ‘Sex’? Yeah, you know what I’m really happy about? We wrote the song, we recorded it and we recorded it old school. We just got in a room, pounded it out, did a few of the dubs, had some fun with some synths, with some good sound to thicken it up. Vince did his vocals and we mixed it pretty quick and we had a choice, so [we decided] “Let’s not go pounding radio, the old-school way … let’s let people discover it the way that they discovered us when we were kids, the way they discover bands even now.” You hear about it, someone talks about it, someone plays it for you, e-mails it to you, so that was really exciting. Radio stations wanted to pick it up and play it, there was no agenda on our part and then the audience, a lot of the time, was hearing it for the first time the night of the show. People would say, “Dude when you were in Chicago, you know you sold 10,000 copies and when you’re in Detroit ,you sold 9,000 copies of the song,” because they’re hearing it live and they’re going, ‘Wow this is cool, new Crue, how come I never heard this?’ You and Tommy Lee in particular are very active on Twitter. Do you enjoy it as much as you seem to and is there anything you’ve tweeted that you regret? Of course. You know, I’ve done a few things. Because it’s an artist doing it, because it’s a human being doing it, it’s not an assistant or the management company, or the record company tweeting for you. You’re going to say s–t that’s going to ruffle feathers or you’re going to stay stuff that’s really personal and other people can really relate to it. That’s what I like about it, I’ve embraced it. In the beginning, when Twitter first came out, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be that open,’ but as [my radio program] Sixx Sense became such a huge part of my life, I became  willing to be more and more vulnerable and just laying my life open on the radio show. Twitter didn’t feel as so scary to me. I was like, “I don’t know if I want people to know what color socks I’m wearing today,” and in the end, if something happens to me, like what does that have to do with this life? And what I found out is that it has everything to do with everyone’s life because we’re kind of all doing this at the same time, in real time. One of the things that for me that was really interesting is when [Megadeth frontman] Dave [Mustaine] was saying maybe assinine statement about America turning into Nazi America. I mean, I reached for my phone and I said, ‘This guy’s a f—ing a–hole’ and he is, you don’t say that about your f—ing country. But I was able to say that and I had a lot of people go, ‘Hey man, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and Nikki you’re in the wrong,’ and ‘That guy should be thrown out of the country,’ and other people [wrote] ‘He shouldn’t be thrown out of the country, he’s entitled to his own rights’ and it just went on and on and on and I didn’t take any of it personally. What I did was I took it in and went, ‘This is great! This is like a world conversation,’ and I was able to have my opinion and that guy has a right to have his own opinion, whether he wants to think that about our country. I don’t think that about our country but I have strong opinions on other stuff and I’ve had people come after me. It is a cool, cool thing and you can be real on it and in there’s times when you can also say, ‘Guess what? We got tickets up for sale!’ What does the future hold for Sixx: A.M.? The biggest plan that we have is to make our third record. We have had the obstacle of touring because of Motley Crue and because DJ [Ashba] is playing guitar in Guns ‘N Roses and [singer] James [Michael] is producing. It’s like every time I’m available, DJ’s on the road, or every time DJ’s off the road, I’m touring or James is in the middle of a record. I don’t believe there will be any touring on this [past] record and we’ve already starting writing ideas, except we haven’t actually gotten together. We’re gonna do the record and that album has to without a doubt have a tour. [button href=”cool http://ultimateclassicrock.com/nikki-sixx-interview/” title=”Next: Nikki Sixx Talks KISS Tour + New Motley Crue Music” align=”center”]

Pearl Jam Joined Onstage by Jay-Z at Made in America Festival

It was a rock and rap collision last night (Sept. 2) in the City of Brotherly Love when Pearl Jam were joined onstage by rapper (and festival creator/curator) Jay-Z for his 2004 smash hit ’99 Problems.’ Pearl Jam were headlining the final night of the first-ever Made in America Festival, held in Philadelphia, when this meeting of musical minds took place. Fan-filmed footage of the rapper tearing through his song