RCA Bullet for My Valentine are clicking on all cylinders on their new album, though the band readily admits the title ‘Temper Temper’ comes from some of the internal friction within the group. But rather than letting things fester, they turned lemons into lemonade by allowing it fuel the creative process. Fans of the group may already be familiar with the title track and ‘ Riot ,’ the first two songs released off the record. ‘Temper Temper’ was a solid introductory choice from the band, showing off their speedy guitar work and Michael “Moose” Thomas’ cymbal-heavy drumbeats, with the pacing of the song mirroring what it feels like when you’re just about to explode. ‘Riot,’ meanwhile, is arguably the album’s best song and a natural choice for a single. With guitar work that comes off like a warning alarm and Matt Tuck vocals that beg you to sing along to the “whoa-oh-ohs,” Bullet for My Valentine have an anthem on their hands. The disc as a whole is at its best in the mid-section, with the songs running from ‘Temper Temper’ through ‘Riot’ providing an increasingly diverse and strong stretch of music. ‘Pow’ starts off dialing things back a bit, but by the end of the song Tuck is confidently declaring, “ I will breathe once more .” ‘Dirty Little Secret’ has single potential and may have more style shifts than any song on the record. Keeping in the theme of dealing with aggression, Tuck belts, “ Straight for the throat / Like you’re an animal / In for the kill / Just like you’re an animal .” ‘Leech’ is a solid rocker that tells the story of a delusional person who’s always crashing the party. It’s followed by ‘Dead to the World,’ the album’s moodiest song, which comes at precisely the right time to give the listener a break from the hard-hitting assault that had been the record up to this point. In the introspective track, Tuck digs deep for the lyrics, “ I’ve tried a thousand times before to leave my demons behind me for good / I’m trapped with no escape to find / Lost without hope, hope is not lost as I hang on for one more tomorrow / Heart turns to black, but I’m not coming back cause I feel like I’m dead to the world .” However, by the end of the track, the melancholy gives way to full-on angst-ridden aggression fueled by Tuck and Michael “Padge” Paget’s guitar work. The album also concludes on a high note as ‘Livin’ Life (On the Edge of a Knife)’ is one of the more energetic tracks on the disc. The good news for Bullet for My Valentine fans is that not only will this album truly rock you, it also feels tailor-made for the stage. So get familiar with ‘Temper Temper’ and expect to hear plenty of it over the next couple of years. To catch BFMV on their upcoming tour with Halestorm, click here for dates. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bullet-for-my-valentine-new-album-temper-temper-exclusive-video-interview/” title=”Watch Our Exclusive Interview With Bullet for My Valentine” align=”center”]
Facebook – Device As the anticipation builds for the April 9 release of their self-titled debut album, Device have released a short, 45 second black and white teaser video featuring a snippet of their music (watch below). The first single ‘Vilify’ hits radio on Feb. 19. The trio formed by David Draiman from Disturbed has recruited a star-studded lineup of guest musicians for ‘Device.’ Among those making appearances are Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler , Deep Purple singer-bassist Glenn Hughes , Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows , System of a Down singer Serj Tankian , Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Halestorm ‘s Lzzy Hale . The band’s touring lineup consists of Draiman, Evanescence drummer Will Hunt and Dope / Eve to Adam guitarist Virus. Former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo wrote and recorded the album with Draiman, but will not tour with the outfit. Draiman recently discussed how happy he was with Hale’s appearance. “For years I’d wanted to re-do ‘Close My Eyes Forever’ by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne. I always thought it was a fantastic idea and needed the right combination of elements and events and needed to have the right woman to play the role of Lita in this song, and Lzzy Hale, in my opinion, is the strongest, most distinctive voice, female voice, in rock today. I think that she’s just as good as it gets.” Device have some concert dates scheduled in support of their debut album. They’ll play in Switzerland later this month, and then have several festival dates lined up for the spring and summer. You’ll be able to see them at Rock on the Range, Carolina Rebellion, Welcome To Rockville Festival, Lazerfest 2013 and elsewhere. Watch Device’s Teaser Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/tags/device/” title=”Get the Latest News on Device Here” align=”center”]
Fearless Records Italian metal band Upon This Dawning dropped their latest album ‘To Keep Us Safe’ in October, and now they’re unleashing a lyric/music video for new single ‘The Sound of Your Breath’ exclusively on Loudwire. “‘The Sound of Your Breath’ is one of the last songs we wrote and it’s absolutely our favorite song to play live,” says frontman Matteo Botticini. ”We always have so much fun when we play that song.” The lyric/music video portrays the band’s intense performance onstage while showing black and white clips of the band loading up their gear and roaming around Los Angeles. As for the video itself, Botticini adds, “We shot the video in Hollywood during the Infamous tour with Motionless In White and it was definitely one of the funnest moment we had on that tour. I really hope our fans are gonna like this video.” ‘To Keep Us Safe’ debuted at No. 9 on Billboard’s Heatseeker’s Album Charts. The release is available on CD at the Fearless Records merch store or digitally at iTunes . Upon This Dawning have a handful of shows in February with bands I See Stars and For All Those Sleeping. For a full list of dates and cities, go here . Watch Upon This Dawning’s ‘The Sound of Your Breath’ Video [Exclusive]
Kevin Winter, Getty Images / Puscifer / Jason Merritt, Getty Images The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held last night (Feb. 10), and it was business as usual for the famed awards show. Music’s biggest names walked the carpet, while shiny golden gramophones were given out to rock artists such as the Black Keys , Halestorm and Trent Reznor + Atticus Ross. However, a sense of disarray resonated with various musicians, who took to Twitter in order to vent their disapproval of the Grammy Awards. Out of any rock act nominated, the Black Keys were one of the night’s biggest winners, having taken home trophies for Best Rock Album (‘El Camino’), Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance (‘Lonely Boy’) and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for frontman Dan Auerbach. Halestorm took home a Grammy after ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’ won Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance and Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor and his partner in sonic crime Atticus Ross won the Best Score Soundtrack Grammy for their work on ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.’ Despite those victories, the Grammys were met with much criticism within the rock and metal community. Slipknot / Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor congratulated Halestorm on their win, but expressed disappointment in the Grammys’ lack of respect for metal music: I’m happy for Halestorm, but sad because the Grammys don’t respect our genre AT ALL. We get one category and it’s not even televised. — The Boogie Knight (@CoreyTaylorRock) February 11, 2013 Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro offered his own thoughts on the Grammys, opting to switch channels to catch the return of ‘The Walking Dead’ instead. People watch zombies on #thewalkingdead , zombies watch people on The Grammys — Dave Navarro (@DaveNavarro) February 11, 2013 Next up is Tool / A Perfect Circle / Puscifer singer Maynard James Keenan , who took more of a passive objection to the Grammys, responding to a fan who tagged Keenan in a tweet. “@ ninelocal : Tnite’s Award Show is Irrelevant, Overrated & Not “fun.” wp.me/p2Fm11-gq I think @ mjkeenan of @ puscifer agrees.” Yup. — Maynard J Keenan (@mjkeenan) February 11, 2013 Adelitas Way also checked out the Grammys last night, but found the ceremony to be rather dull and uninspired. Watching the Grammys with respect for every artist involved, but this year is very boring, I would be def be breaking shit up there — adelitasway (@adelitasway) February 11, 2013 What did you think of the 2013 Grammy Awards? Let us know your thoughts on who should have won the many awards presented by the show in the comments section below! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/2013-grammy-award-winners/” title=”See the 2013 Grammy Awards Winners” align=”center”]
Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images Congrats are in order for Halestorm , who were the winners of the Grammy for the Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance at the 55th annual Grammy Awards Sunday night (Feb. 10). The full band was on hand to accept the honor during the pre-telecast ceremony, with frontwoman Lzzy Hale and her drummer brother Arejay Hale delivering the bulk of their acceptance speech. Arejay opened the speech, shocked at their victory stating, “Oh Christ, did not completely expect this.” The drummer mentioned that he had written something down that was on his phone, but he mostly went off the cuff. He thanked his and Lzzy’s parents, stating, “Thanks to our parents for turning us onto great music. Most parents want their kids to be doctors and lawyers and our parents encouraged us to join the circus.” Lzzy Hale meanwhile dedicated the award to the “Halestorm freaks,” exclaiming “Here’s to us.” She also shouted out fellow nominees Iron Maiden and Lamb of God , stating, “If it wasn’t for your inspiration … we wouldn’t have written this song and been in this category.” In addition to Halestorm, the category included Anthrax ‘s ‘I’m Alive,’ Iron Maiden’s ‘Blood Brothers,’ Lamb of God’s ‘Ghost Walking,’ Marilyn Manson ‘s ‘No Reflection’ and Megadeth ‘s ‘Whose Life (Is It Anyway?).’ In the Grammy press room, Lzzy added, “[This] wouldn’t have been possible without these people, specifically, Lamb of God. We were inspired by the guitar part … and we wouldn’t have gotten into hard rock if it wasn’t for Megadeth and Iron Maiden, so it’s just amazing.” Talking about the camaraderie in the genre, Lzzy explained, “It’s an incredible genre to be a part of because rock isn’t always the most popular genre. Sometimes we’re underground, but we all work really hard on the road. We all look out for one another.” In addition, Lzzy answered questions about the band’s newfound Grammy cred, stating, “If I sit this in the back of any meetings, you know in the political business…” to which Arejay Hale interjected, “It’s like, ‘Oh yeah? You don’t like that song? Oh, let’s ask Mr. Grammy.’” Elsewhere during the Grammy pre-telecast ceremony, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for ‘Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.’ Though not there in person, Reznor tweeted , “Why thanks, y’all.” Black Keys also won a pair of Grammys during the opening ceremonies, taking home Best Rock Song for ‘Lonely Boy’ and Best Rock Album for ‘El Camino.’ In addition, Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach won the Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/halestorm-lzzy-hale-on-grammy-nomination-personal-victory-for-the-four-of-us/” title=”Next: Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale Discusses Reaction to Grammy Nomination” align=”center”]
Ipecac Recordings Ever wonder how the Melvins came up with the sound they did over the years? You can take a peek under their collective hoods April 30 as the band lays out their influences for fans with the new covers album, ‘Everybody Loves Sausages.’ Melvins leader Buzz Osbourne explains, “This record will give people a peek into the kind of things that influence us musically. We REALLY like all of these songs along with the bands who actually wrote this stuff because first and foremost, we are HUGE music fans.” The eclectic selection of covers includes cuts from rock icons like David Bowie (‘Station to Station’), Queen (‘Best Friend’) and The Kinks (‘Attitude’) alongside some lesser known songs from Venom (‘Warhead’), The Scientists (‘Set It on Fire’) and Throbbing Gristle (‘Heathen Earth’). In addition, the Melvins have invited a number of musicians to join them in their covers fun. Neurosis’ Scott Kelly, Tweak Bird’s Caleb Benjamin, Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, Blondie’s Clem Burke, Jello Biafro and Kevin Rutmanis, JG Thirlwell and Tom Hazelmeyer are among the guests on the disc. While the album is billed as a proper Melvins disc (with Osborne, Dale Crover, Jared Warren and Coady Willis taking part), there are a handful of tracks recorded in the band’s Melvins Light incarnation, which features Osborne, Crover and Trevor Dunn. Look for the Melvins’ ‘Everybody Loves Sausages’ via Ipecac Recordings on April 30. The Melvins’ ‘Everybody Loves Sausage’ Track Listing: 1. ‘Warhead’ (Venom; Guest: Scott Kelly of Neurosis) 2. ‘Best Friend’ (Queen; Guest: Caleb Benjamin of Tweak Bird) 3. ‘Black Betty’ (Original artist unknown) 4. ‘Set It on Fire’ (The Scientists; Guest: Mark Arm) 5. ‘Station to Station’ (David Bowie; Guest: JG Thirlwell) 6. ‘Attitude’ (The Kinks: Guest: Clem Burke of Blondie) 7. ‘Female Trouble’ (Divine a.k.a. John Waters) 8. ‘Carpe Diem’ (The Fugs) 9. ‘Timothy Leary Lives’ (Pop-O-Pies) 10. ‘In Every Dream Home a Heartache’ (Roxy Music; Guests: Jello Biafra and Kevin Rutmanis) 11. ‘Romance’ (Tales of Terror) 12. ‘Art School’ (The Jam; Guest: Tom Hazelmeyer) 13. ‘Heathen Earth’ (Throbbing Gristle) [button href=”http://loudwire.com/the-melvins-buzz-osborne-recalls-past-tours-with-nine-inch-nails-and-white-zombie/” title=”Next: Buzz Osborne Dishes on Nine Inch Nails + Rob Zombie Tours” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com As a woman in the entertainment industry, there is always the question of how much to play up the sex appeal, and Halestorm ‘s Lzzy Hale shared with Playboy.com her thoughts on taking part in sexy photo shoots and the focus on image in the music industry. Hale explained, “I don’t mind dressing up and doing the short skirt and high heels thing. I tell this to a lot of people because the only stipulation that I have about this is that you have to make sure you have something to back it up. You can’t totally ride on the fact that I’m going to show my legs and people are going to show attention. If they can get past the legs, make sure you can actually sing and be good at your instruments. Because in all honesty, all of us that are dressing up on stage, we aren’t going to be wearing fishnets forever, you gotta make sure you have a little something to ya.” With that being said, Hale says she’s come to accept the shoots as part of the industry, adding, “Sex and rock ‘n’ roll have been going together hand-in-hand since the beginning of time. You can’t get away from it.” The frontwoman also says that while image may get the attention of some fans, she’s been enthused by how their female fan base has grown and opened the doors for more women to enjoy hard rock. She explains, “I’m telling you, though, there’s a moment in every show where I’m looking out and I see all of these girls who are not there because their boyfriends dragged them along, you know? They’re very empowered, a little crazy like me, and it’s wonderful to be in a room like that because when we first started out there weren’t a whole lot of girls at the rock shows unless you count the girlfriends of somebody in the band.” Hale adds that she partook in her fair share of mosh pits and rocked out with the guys when she was younger and is thrilled to see girls coming to rock shows and carving their own paths with the world of rock and roll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/halestorm-jimmy-kimmel-live-love-bites-freak-like-me/” title=”Next: Watch Halestorm Perform on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live'” align=”center”]