Posts Tagged ‘underground’

Hollywood Undead Bring Their ‘California’ Flavor to New York City

Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Los Angeles-based outfit  Hollywood Undead kicked off the weekend by bringing their fusion of hip-hop and rock to a sold out crowd at New York City’s Gramercy Theater on Friday (Jan.18). The band played without an opening act as they took the stage to their breakout hit, ‘Undead,’ which got their fans bouncing and singing. Their hour-and-a-half long set consisted of 18 tracks, including cuts from their latest record ‘ Notes From the Underground ’ such as ‘Another Way Out’ and ‘Dead Bite.’ One of the cooler parts of the evening was the dueling drum solos between touring drummer Daren Pfeifer and percussionist Da Kurlzz. Surprisingly the band did not perform their past single ‘Levitate,’ but they did hype up the crowd with fan favorites like ‘My Town,’ ‘California,’ ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Hear Me Now.’ When the band teased the crowd by walking off stage after ‘Hear Me Now,’ the “One more song” chants turned into “Two More Songs” chants and Hollywood Undead gave fans just that. They performed an encore consisting of ‘Everywhere I Go’ and their lead single, ‘ We Are ,’ from their new record. If you want to party with Hollywood Undead, check out the full list of remaining tour dates here . Check Out Photos Of Hollywood Undead Performing at Gramercy Theater in NYC: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire [button href=”http://loudwire.com/hollywood-undead-johnny-3-tears-new-album-working-with-slipknot-clown-more/” title=”Next: Hollywood Undead’s Johnny 3 Tears on Working With Slipknot’s Clown ” align=”center”]

Hollywood Undead, ‘Lion’ Lyric Video – Exclusive Premiere

Octane Hollywood Undead have returned to the music scene with their just-released third album, ‘ Notes From the Underground .’ Helping to grow the buzz this week is the band’s new lyric video for the song ‘Lion,’ which is exclusively premiering Loudwire (watch below). The video itself features time-lapsed footage of the sun setting into nightfall over a gated closure, presumably for a lion. In the background, you see a very well maintained grassy area shaded by the neighboring trees. Lyrically, the song takes you on a journey, opening in more restrained tones with, “ I am a lion and I want to be free / Do you see a lion when you look inside of me / Outside the window / Just to watch you as you sleep / Cause I am a lion born from things you cannot be .” But as the track builds, so does the title character’s inner turmoil and the aggression of the song. Creatively, the track is a little deeper than normal. Johnny 3 Tears recently told us that the band may not always receive artistic credit, but there are moments on the new album where it’s clear that songwriting is something they can do rather well. Though he was not speaking specifically about ‘Lion,’ it’s clear that the group offered something a little more personal on the song. ‘Lion’ can be heard on Hollywood Undead’s ‘Notes From the Underground,’ which is currently available for purchase  here . The song follows their previously released video for ‘ We Are ,’ which was directed by Slipknot ‘s Shawn Crahan . The band just launched their North American tour in support of the album. Watch Hollywood Undead’s ‘Lion’ Lyric Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/hollywood-undead-johnny-3-tears-we-are-inspired-by-americas-youth/” title=”Next: Hollywood Undead’s Johnny 3 Tears Discusses ‘We Are’ Inspiration” align=”center”]

Hollywood Undead, ‘Notes From the Underground’ – Album Review

A&M / Octone Hollywood Undead continue to step up their game with the release of their third album, ‘ Notes From the Underground .’ The disc not only shows the wealth of talent the rap-rock collective has, but also the eclectic tastes they possess, as well. The 11-track album provides a variety of styles even though they’ve enjoyed their biggest successes to date with harder-edged rap-rock tracks. For those looking for what they’ve come to expect from Hollywood Undead, the lead single ‘ We Are ‘ is the perfect way to introduce the new album. With military-like drums providing an ominous opening, the band blasts into an anthemic track about fighting for your dreams no matter what obstacles may fall in your way. Hollywood Undead also deliver a pair of obvious radio-ready singles with two different slants. ‘Dead Bite,’ which opens the album, is more of a sinister track, complete with a demented child’s prayer that goes, “ Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the dead bite .” From there, the various members riff on personal conflicts, with Charlie Scene going so far as to rap about chloroforming his prey. The song offers several clever lines and a chorus that’s sure to get stuck in your head. Meanwhile, ‘Another Way Out’ is a full-on foot-tapper, with the band speeding up the beats-per-minute into what could easily become a club track. In fact, the song is so infectious you might overlook its stalker-y perspective on an obsessive relationship. ‘Notes From the Underground’ also features a handful of tracks that shows the band’s desire to push their boundaries. ‘From the Ground’ is as schizophrenic of a song as you will hear, with its piano opening and melodic chorus offset by moments of pure thrash metal. ‘Lion’ feels like something that came out of the Linkin Park songbook, with its intimate and haunting moments mixed with elements of in-your-face rapping. And the album closer, ‘Outside,’ is a surprisingly moving track that comes from somewhere deeply personal and may connect with audiences more than any track in their career. On a less serious note, Hollywood Undead also offer the bravado-filled ‘Pigskin,’ with its hip-hop leaning, sports and sex metaphors, and the unbelievably catchy sing-along, “ Hut one, hut two, hut three, go .” The band also add their bouncy weed-friendly track ‘Up in Smoke,’ stamped with their own sense of humor. All in all, ‘Notes From the Underground’ is not the most cohesive album and is not an aggressive rock record throughout, but with the band’s mining of several different genres, the group most certainly hits on something for just about everyone. ? [button href=”http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/3″ title=”Stream ‘Notes From the Underground at AOL.com” align=”center”]

Hollywood Undead Take Fans Behind the Scenes of ‘We Are’ Video Directed by Slipknot’s Clown

A&M / Octone After releasing the Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan -directed video for ‘ We Are ‘ a couple weeks back,  Hollywood Undead have now unveiled a behind-the-scenes clip chronicling the making of the video. The five-minute clip includes a behind the scenes look at some of the stunts performed in the video, plus plenty of commentary from Crahan. From drugs to crime to violence to fire, there’s never a shortage of something interesting in the video’s concept. Band member Johnny 3 Tears talks about the single  as follows: “The song [‘We Are’] is about collective resistance. It’s the silent majority, but we’re using Los Angeles as the backdrop. Every time we work with Danny (Lohner, producer), he takes our music to the next level. Think of it as an ode to our misled youth.” ‘We Are’ is from Hollywood Undead’s forthcoming third album ‘Notes from the Underground,’ due for release on Jan. 8, 2013. Watch the Making of Hollywood Undead – ‘We Are’

Hollywood Undead Unveil ‘Notes From the Underground’ Album Artwork + Track Listing

A&M / Octone The return of Hollywood Undead is upon us, as the band has now revealed the artwork and track listing for their forthcoming ‘Notes From the Underground’ album. The latest news follows the recent revelation that the disc would arrive on Jan. 8 and the current success of the new single, ‘We Are.’ The band recently announced that they were shooting a video for the track with Slipknot ‘s Shawn “Clown” Crahan stepping behind the camera to film the clip . As for the artwork (seen to the left), it offers the look of a weathered book with stenciled orange lettering set against a solid red backdrop with an image of a bird carrying its prey. The disc itself consists of 11 new tunes, led by ‘ We Are .’ One of the band’s vocalists, Johnny 3 Tears, recently stated of the track and its background, “The song is about collective resistance. It’s the silent majority, but we’re using Los Angeles as the backdrop. Every time we work with Danny [Lohner], he takes our music to the next level. He’s willing to go as far outside the box as we are. As a whole, it’s a good introduction to ‘Notes From The Underground’ because it encompasses the band idealistically. Think of it as an ode to our misled youth.” The set also features the lead off track, ‘Dead Bite,’ which the band already previewed, as well as such standouts as ‘Another Way Out’ and ‘Believe.’ The full track listing is provided below. Hollywood Undead, ‘Notes From the Underground’ Track List: 1. ‘Dead Bite’ 2. ‘From the Ground’ 3. ‘Another Way Out,’ 4. ‘Lion’ 5. ‘We Are’ 6. ‘Pigskin’ 7. ‘Rain’ 8. ‘Kill Everyone’ 9. ‘Believe’ 10. ‘Up in Smoke’ 11. ‘Outside’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/hollywood-undead-notes-from-the-underground-webisode-1-exclusive-premiere/” title=”Next: Watch a Hollywood Undead ‘Notes From the Underground’ Webisode” align=”center”]

Hollywood Undead Unveil ‘Notes From the Underground’ Album Artwork + Track Listing

A&M / Octone The return of Hollywood Undead is upon us, as the band has now revealed the artwork and track listing for their forthcoming ‘Notes From the Underground’ album. The latest news follows the recent revelation that the disc would arrive on Jan. 8 and the current success of the new single, ‘We Are.’ The band recently announced that they were shooting a video for the track with Slipknot ‘s Shawn “Clown” Crahan stepping behind the camera to film the clip . As for the artwork (seen to the left), it offers the look of a weathered book with stenciled orange lettering set against a solid red backdrop with an image of a bird carrying its prey. The disc itself consists of 11 new tunes, led by ‘ We Are .’ One of the band’s vocalists, Johnny 3 Tears, recently stated of the track and its background, “The song is about collective resistance. It’s the silent majority, but we’re using Los Angeles as the backdrop. Every time we work with Danny [Lohner], he takes our music to the next level. He’s willing to go as far outside the box as we are. As a whole, it’s a good introduction to ‘Notes From The Underground’ because it encompasses the band idealistically. Think of it as an ode to our misled youth.” The set also features the lead off track, ‘Dead Bite,’ which the band already previewed, as well as such standouts as ‘Another Way Out’ and ‘Believe.’ The full track listing is provided below. Hollywood Undead, ‘Notes From the Underground’ Track List: 1. ‘Dead Bite’ 2. ‘From the Ground’ 3. ‘Another Way Out,’ 4. ‘Lion’ 5. ‘We Are’ 6. ‘Pigskin’ 7. ‘Rain’ 8. ‘Kill Everyone’ 9. ‘Believe’ 10. ‘Up in Smoke’ 11. ‘Outside’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/hollywood-undead-notes-from-the-underground-webisode-1-exclusive-premiere/” title=”Next: Watch a Hollywood Undead ‘Notes From the Underground’ Webisode” align=”center”]

Quiznos Goes Power Metal in Commercial for Free Toasted Cookies

Quiznos What planet are we living on? Not only has metal music successfully taken over the underground music world, but the world of TV commercials, as well. In one of creative culture’s strangest dichotomies, metal has inspired memorable commercials for Google, ESPN Sportscenter, FedEx, Norton Antivirus, Kentucky Fried Chicken and many, many more. The newest heavy metal commercial, however, features a power metal parody band flying on a magic cookie for sandwich chain Quiznos. Once again, we need to give credit where credit is due, and this commercial is hilarious. The creators of all these different metal-inspired ads have been hitting home runs, so it’s no wonder why the theme has been popping up all over television. In this new Quiznos commercial, the first band name that comes to mind is DragonForce . The British princes of power metal seem to have been the basis for the ad, as a falsetto-singing frontman, who looks an awful lot like DragonForce guitarist Herman Li, provides vocals for the cookie-riding act. In another strange twist, the lead guitarist of the fictional band is sort of reminiscent of  System of a Down / Scars on Broadway  singer-guitarist  Daron Malakian . The aforementioned in-flight pastry reaches its destination (a man’s mouth) with an explosive impact, leaving the befuddled gentleman’s palate vehemently satisfied through a melty chocolate cookie crunch. Although this commercial is a hilarious success, the title of greatest metal-inspired commercial ever remains with Suffocation and their History Channel ‘ Dark Ages ‘ ad. Watch the Quiznos Heavy Metal Commercial [button href=”http://loudwire.com/funniest-heavy-metal-commercials/” title=”Funniest Heavy Metal Commercials” align=”center”]