Trixie Textor / Ethan Miller / Ian Gavan, Getty Images Rise Against got a little help from a couple of friends for a star-studded rendition of the Bruce Springsteen song ’The Ghost of Tom Joad’ in Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday night (Sept. 29). Tom Morello , who has spent a good portion of the summer turning up at Springsteen concerts to perform his guitar mastery on the track, was one of the guests. Morello’s band, Rage Against the Machine , also recorded their own version of the song. Morello and Rise Against vocalist Tim McIlrath have found a lot of common musical and political ground in recent years. Rise Against played Rage Against the Machine’s L.A. Rising event last year, and both musicians have spent plenty of time rallying on behalf of unions at events in Wisconsin and immigrant rights in Arizona . Morello and McIlrath also recently appeared on Occupy movement theme song ‘ We Are the 99 Percent .’ Also joining in for the powerful performance were Gaslight Anthem singer Brian Fallon and MC5 ‘s Wayne Kramer. Gaslight Anthem has spent a fair amount of time touring with Rise Against this year, and are currently opening the band’s North American trek along with Hot Water Music . There are a handful of North American dates left this month before the band heads to South America in November for three shows. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/rise-against-savior-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Rise Against: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”] Rise Against, Tom Morello + More Perform ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’
Kevin Winter, Getty Images Slayer have sparingly worked on new music this year, focusing mostly on their touring with the Mayhem Festival, but according to singer Tom Araya, the group is working hard to make sure their twelfth studio album arrives next year. Araya tells Seven Sisters Post , “We are working on a new album, aiming for a 2013 release. We are experimenting with a lot of sounds. What we can tell you is that the new album will be very Slayer.” The vocalist says that even though they are now elder statesmen in the world of metal, it hasn’t mellowed them out any. He adds, “We have maintained our signature intensity, which is the heavy and fast. Age, huh? Slayer has lived up to its signature intense music and crazy lyrics for the last 30 years with every new album that we come out with.” Over the summer, guitarist Kerry King had stated that while it was still early in the process, the fact that fellow guitarist Jeff Hanneman was still recovering from the flesh-eating spider bite had no role in their progression. The guitarist stated that they had secured engineer Greg Fidelman for a 12-day window that yielded two new songs, with several other tracks in various forms of completion, but that it was his hope that the band would block out some time in October to fully attack the record. At present, there are four late October shows in India and Japan, and then nothing on their tour schedule until the Soundwave Festival in February 2013. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/slayer-disciple-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”Next: Slayer: Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]
Cindy Ord, Getty Images It’s never a surprise to see Andrew W.K . popping up in the most unexpected places with his ‘Party Hard’ mentality and endless source of party tips for friends and fans. However, his latest public appearance at the ‘My Little Pony’ convention was certainly a unique one. Each year the fans and followers of ‘My Little Pony’ gather for their annual ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’ Convention, and this year, Andrew W.K. served on a panel at the convention in Strongsville, Ohio. Andrew W.K. is never short on inspiring words and his message for the fans was one of individuality and joy, saying, “The amount of joy being conjured up in this room … it will spread through the whole universe. You should feel proud of that; that’s a real achievement.” He also commented on the inclusive nature of the event and the overall acceptance he felt right away. “It’s a humbling experience … to be a part of something, even if it’s like a neighborhood,” said Andrew W.K. “It doesn’t mean you’re giving up a part of yourself. We choose to get together and celebrate our uniqueness.” The ‘My Little Pony’ franchise began in the early ‘80s with the line of pony doll figurines geared towards young girls and has carried on with cartoons and animated features including the latest televised series ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.’ Strangely enough, according to Rolling Stone , a subculture of older teen men and adults who watch the show referred to as ‘bronies’ made up the majority of the attendees in Andrew W.K.’s panel. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/andrew-w-k-party-hard-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Andrew W.K.: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
Cooking Vinyl Rock icon Marilyn Manson has been riding high since the release of eighth album and self-professed “comeback” record, ‘Born Villain.’ After already unleashing videos for the singles ‘No Reflection’ and ‘Slo-Mo-Tion,’ Manson has brought us his third visual offering from ‘Born Villain’ with a new video for the album’s opening track, ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ One interesting aspect of the video that should be pointed out is that ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ has been released entirely in black and white. When Manson set out to write the ‘Born Villain’ album, the musician chose to isolate himself in a small apartment, bringing only a few possessions with him into a room with white walls and a black floor. Either purposely or subconsciously, perhaps the video is a representation of that starting point. “It took me completely stripping my life away,” Manson told us in an interview shortly before the release of ‘Born Villain.’ “Moving into a place with black floors and white walls, putting all my things in storage and just taking my movies, my instruments, my cats and realizing, ‘I don’t need anything else. All I need to do is fill this [room] full of something.’” ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ is what fans have come to expect from a Manson offering; unnerving imagery, extreme close-ups and epileptic transitions, with a strange sense of hypnotic fascination. The video’s director, Tim Mattia, says of the clip, ”We shot over four nights in the UK, Italy and America, capturing what I think is one of the world’s most exciting live performers at his best.” Be sure to check out Marilyn Manson’s new video for ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ in the player below. Marilyn Manson, ‘Hey, Cruel World…’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/marilyn-manson-slo-mo-tion-video/” title=”Next: Watch Marilyn Manson’s ‘Slo-Mo-Tion’ Video” align=”center”]
Bradley Kanaris / Frank Micelotta (2), Getty Images There may be no stranger experience than putting on an album, letting it play through, forgetting to hit stop and suddenly finding yourself face-to-face with a hidden track. Secret tracks can be unsettling, comedic or even terrifying. If a band comes up with something weird in the studio, you just might find it concealed within one of your favorite records. Secret tracks are prevalent on hundreds of albums, but we’ve picked out our personal favorites and compiled them into this list. For truly fascinating and addictive pieces of classic releases, from bands such as Nirvana , Alice in Chains , Tool + more, check out our picks for rock’s Best Hidden Tracks: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/nirvana-endless-nameless-best-hidden-tracks” title=”Click to Check Out the Best Hidden Tracks” align=”center”]
Monika Graff / Kevin Winter (2), Getty Images Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello , System of a Down singer Serj Tankian and Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath have joined forces to create an unofficial anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Morello recently performed a free show to mark the one-year anniversary of Occupy and to help “re-energize” the political faction. Perhaps the most vocal celebrity supporter for Occupy after its members converged on New York City’s Zuccotti Park last year, Morello felt inspired to create an anthem for the movement, which has now taken form in the song ‘We Are the 99 Percent.’ Slightly similar to Ministry ‘s pro-Occupy song, ‘ 99 Percenters ,’ the song’s backbone is in its refrain, which also features field recordings of Occupy protesters from Zuccotti Park and Liberty Square. “It’s our gift to the movement,” Morello tells Rolling Stone about the new song. “I wanted to do a huge riff-rock anthem. It would feel like the excitement of the global Occupy Wall Street movement.” Morello goes on to speak about what he views as Occupy’s biggest strengths. He cites the movement’s ability to “inject into the global dialogue the horrific economic inequality that plagues the planet.” He also believes that Occupy has exposed the “grotesque global poverty and the growing inequality in our country.” Morello adds concerning Mitt Romney’s presidential run, “When is the last time when a Republican candidate for president has had hit feet held to the fire because he’s too rich?” Check out Tom Morello, Serj Tankian and Tim McIlrath on ‘We Are the 99 Percent,’ which officially premiered today on RollingStone.com: [button href=”http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/song-premiere-tom-morello-tim-mcilrath-serj-tankian-and-occupy-wall-street-we-are-the-99-percent-20120927″ title=”Click Here to Listen to ‘We Are the 99 Percent'” align=”center”]
Earache If you were to blindly listen to Cerebral Bore, whether on tape or at a live show, there would be absolutely no hint that the band’s vocalist is female. As metal vocalists are continually searching for lower registers to base their screaming techniques, Cerebral Bore’s Simone ‘Som’ Pluijmers can bring low, rumbling vocals that could match almost any man. Having joined the Scottish band in 2010, Som was only 18 when she started in Cerebral Bore. The Dutch vocalist, along with the other members of the band, were given a contract by Earache Records later that year. Cerebral Bore’s debut album, ‘Maniacal Miscreation,’ which had originally been self-released, was given a wide release in June 2011. Som’s techincal capabilities are no less than jaw-dropping. Get ready for the brain-scrambling frontwoman to assault your eardrums in the videos below. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/landmine-marathon-grace-perry-brutal-female-metal-vocalists” title=”Next Female Vocalist: Metal’s Praying Mantis” align=”center”] Cerebral Bore, ‘The Bald Cadaver’ Cerebral Bore, ‘Entombed In Butchered Bodies’ (Live)