Music As A Weapon Tour V

Disturbed! Back again for another round of Music As a Weapon Tour, this time bringing Mayhem Fest headliners Korn along with Sevendust and rising stars In This Moment. It appears that there will be two legs to the tour, with cities for the first being released, currently without dates. More cities and dates will be announced soon so be sure to keep a lookout. To add incentive, the first 1000 tickets to every show will be discounted five dollars, so if you plan on going, get your tix early! Check to see if there's a show near you. This is a class act. Don't miss it!

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE: LIVE

Finally, after weeks, months of waiting, Motionless in White came to OKC. It was awesome! They stole the show from Black Veil Brides and William Control, playing a thunderous thirty minute set. They made their way through some new songs and some old stuff including Billy In 4C Never Saw It Coming, Ghost in the Mirror, Immaculate Misconception, Abigail, Cobwebs, and Creatures. Their sound was pretty good for a young band, not quite as clear as the following acts, but easily distinguishable.

As for William Control, I have to say he was a little boring and gave off a strange stage persona. His songs were pretty weak, his best performance being his only hit I'm Only Human Sometimes.

Black Veil Brides was entertaining, but not quite as strong in showmanship as MIW. They gave me a KISS vibe more than a metal vibe with some screamed vocals being the only real change.

Motionless In White is on the road with A Skylit Drive right now so check them out if their going to a city near you!

MOTIONLESS IN WHITE: CREATURES

This Tuesday brought us the debut full-length album from the post-hardcore band Motionless In White, who has appeared in several articles over the past few months. This was one of my most highly anticipated albums of the year and didn't disappoint in the slightest. Creatures is exciting, heavy and a big breath of fresh air in the metal scene. Though I'm sure it will take a couple more tours and albums for most people, this band has dethroned Bring Me the Horizon and the Devil Wears Prada as the kings of post-hardcore (screamo).

This album starts out strongly with the song Immaculate Misconception, which hits you in the face right away with a chugging guitar riff and the screaming vocals of Chris Motionless. Of course, as is their custom, we're treated to the typical emo vocals mixed perfectly with the unclean. Very similar to their EP When Love Met Destruction, Creatures keeps a consistent sound without boring the listener. There's always something different and always something exciting about every song.

You can pick it up at most places for between 8 and 10 dollars. This one is worth checking out, as I definitely think Motionless In White have put themselves in the running for Album of the Year when the first annual Headbang awards are handed out in January.

Releases This Week

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts. School's been kicking my butt and I've been really busy. I'll try to get on it as much as possible.

This week saw new albums from Abigail Williams, Mushroomhead, and Halford, along with a new DVD by Slipknot titled, (Sic)nesses. Also releasing material this week was Avian, James LaBrie, October Tide, Powerglove, Unearthly Trance, Angra, Iron Fire, and Place of Skulls with a DVD put on the shelves by August Burns Red. Check it out!

TOUR: Motionless in White

These guys are touring maniacs! After exploring the states with In This Moment last winter, they played some spring shows, recorded an album, then got right back out there on the final legs of Warped Tour before heading off on Thrash and Burn Tour. Now, they've jumped on 2 (yes, 2) straight tours that end and begin only 3 days apart. They'll be kicking off the mayhem opening up for relatively new bands Black Veil Brides and William Control, then they're hitting the road supporting A Skylit Drive and bringing along For All Those Sleeping, Woe Is Me, and Scarlett O'Hara.

This sextet is absolutely awesome! I saw them back in December and have listened to their EP When Love Met Destruction almost every day since then and it doesn't get old. If you're into some Screamo and feel like doing some major headbanging, go check these guys out. It'll be worth it. You can pick up their debut full-length album, Creatures, on October 12th.

Release Tuesday

Today we saw the release of Stone Sour's third studio album, Audio Secrecy, their follow up to Come What(ever) May and the seventh installment in Helmet's career, Seeing Eye Dog.

Coming out this Friday will be Swashbuckle's Crime Always Pays... and Kamelot's Poetry for the Poisoned.

DISTURBED: ASYLUM

This is it! One of the most highly anticipated albums of the year is here! Disturbed has released their fifth studio album titled, Asylum. I'm sure you've all heard the song Another Way to Die, which has gotten significant radio play this summer. Now it's time for the real thing. I haven't had a chance to listen to album and actually won't be able to get a copy until Monday, so look for a review around then.

The Murderdolls also released an album yesterday, their first in eight years as they reunited for an album and a couple tours. The CD is titled Women and Children Last, and you can catch them on tour with Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper this October.

Also releasing material was 10 Years, putting out their fourth studio album, Feeding the Wolves. The Autumn Offering produced their fifth album, which is self titled. Cephalic Carnage and For Today released the albums Misled By Certainty and Breaker, respectively.

It was a busy day for heavy metal! Check it out!

Release Tuesday

This is a big week for releases as several major bands are putting new material on the shelves. Yesterday, we Apocalyptica's 7th Symphony and Ion Dissonance's Cursed, the seventh and fourth studio albums for each of the bands, respectively.

Today was an even bigger day as The Devil Wears Prada put their EP Zombie and Shadows Fall released Madness in Manila, a live DVD.

New releases from The Sword and The Showdown hit shelves today and later this week we will see new stuff from Tristania, Sonic Syndicate, and Liv Kristine. Check it out!

OT3P = AWESOME

Beautiful. Ot3p laid down another impressive performance at Ridglea Theater this Tuesday, showing us all she may be the toughest woman in metal. This time around she changed up her setlist a bit, but played all the big favorites, plus a couple of my personal faves that she missed last time around, so it was basically my dream Ot3p show as she went through Battle Ready, TRIC, Sacrilege, My Confession, Ghostflowers, Blood Pigs, Smash the Control Machine, Confrontation, Rise Rebel Resist, and Breed. As always, her band sounded flawless and the facial expressions of Evil J kept everyone entertained as is custom.

In support of Ot3p was The Agonist, a band I had never listened to prior to Tuesday night. They may have stolen the show. A good mixture of black metal and metalcore with some gothic elements, the female fronted band kicked some ass. Lead singer Alissa-White Gluz, one of Revolver's hottest chicks of rock, alternated between beautiful singing vocals and guttural death grunts. This band was impressive, so much so I bought their latest album following the show. They're definitely worth checking out if you're into bands like Kittie and In This Moment. If you're not, give them a listen anyway because they've got some good stuff!

Mayhem was Mayhem

Ok, so I've been to metal festivals before, I've been going to metal shows since I was fifteen, more than four years. My Mayhem Fest experience was awesome, but horrible. Something like this has never happened to me and really, I was shocked. Some of you may disagree, but I don't find body-surfing at all necessary, especially when it's me on top of the crowd. Just a few minutes before the close of Hatebreed's set, I found someone's head between my legs and felt myself being hoisted onto the crowd. I surfed along, praying to get back on the ground, and I did. HARD. I was dropped on people not paying attention and I landed on the concrete straight on my rear right hip bone. It hurt so bad I had to get out of the pit and sit down because everything was spinning and I felt like I was about to vomit. This effectively ruined my day. I literally sat through Five Finger Death Punch and Lamb of God, hoping to at least make it until Rob Zombie's appearance and duck out before Korn, but there was no way. I got too sick and had to back out. On the way home I threw up out the car window, my body obviously suffering from major shock and unable to recover due to the heat and surrounding cigarette smoke.

Before the incident, I was in metal heaven! The stages were set up side-by-side so that one stage would have a band playing while the other performed its set change. I was able to see a great show from Shadows Fall then an even better performance from In This Moment who really lit it up playing Just Drive, Blazin', The Promise, Beautiful Tragedy, Gunshow and Daddy's Falling Angel.

After In This Moment, I went back to the Jagermeister stage for Chimaira who put on a good show, much better than the annoying screechfest from Atreyu on the Mayhem Stage. Next up was Hatebreed who showed off why they were headlining the Jager Stage. Drawing a huge crowd, they managed to hit every album playing Last Breath, Empty Promises, Smash You Enemies, Proven, I Will Be Heard, Doomsayer, Live For This, To the Threshold, As Diehard As They Come, In Ashes They Shall Reap, and Everyone Bleeds Now. It was epic, and awesome.

I saw half the mainstage and definitely enjoyed what I saw. Being not very familiar with 5FDP I didn't know what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. They were very good, solid metal, but I have to say that I don't think they were Main Stage quality. Lamb of God, on the other hand, was great! They sounded good, they performed well, and they put it all out there. I've seen them twice before this and was impressed but this show easily surpassed the others.

Though I missed Zombie, I'm sure he did well. I've seen him three times before and he never disappoints. If you have a chance to catch him on the Halloween Hootenanny Tour this fall, make sure you do.

My experience may have been shorter and more painful than expected, but it did nothing to deter me! I have every intention of attending Mayhem Fest next year, though maybe from a slightly farther distance for the hardcore bands (sorry Jasta), it was far too awesome to miss!

MAYHEM IS HERE!!

Dallas/Fort Worth and Oklahoma City, this is it! It's time for Mayhem weekend. Tomorrow at Superpages.com Center in Dallas and Saturday at the Zoo Amphitheater in Oklahoma City. Get ready for some all day headbanging. Just to refresh, the main stage is Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God and Five Finger Death Punch. The Mayhem stage includes Atreyu, Norma Jean, In This Moment, and 3 Inches of Blood. The Jagermeister Stage is headlined by Hatebreed who will be supported by Chimaira, Shadows Fall, and Winds of Plague. See you there!

Release Tuesday: Black Label Society

A pretty big release today is Black Label Society's Order of the Black. Zakk Wylde's band has now churned out eight albums and should be excited about this next installment after their last album Shot to Hell reached 21st on U.S. charts.

Also released today is The Binary Code's EP Priest and Bonded By Blood's Exiled to Earth.

Featured Artist: RAMMSTEIN

Rammstein. One of the world's most popular and most controversial metal bands. In my mind, music just doesn't get much better than the German sextet.

Started by guitarist Richard Z. Kruspe, he quickly found singer Till Lindemann who was playing drums in the band First Arsch. At the time, Kruspe was living with bassist Oliver Riedel and drummer Christoph "Doom" Schneider. In 1994, the group entered a contest to win a 4 track demo recorded in a professional studio. After winning, they grabbed the attention of guitarist Paul Landers who really wanted to join the band. To complete their sound, they asked Christian "Flake" Lorenz to play keyboard, as he previously played in the band Feeling B with Landers.

In September of 1995, the band released their first album, Herzeleid, which went platinum in Germany. To support the album, the band toured through most of Europe, including a short headlining tour in Germany.

Their second album, Sehnsucht, is what prompted the band's success in the United States. Sehnsucht reached platinum is several countries, including the U.S., and even double platinum in Switzerland. The band continued to tour steadily and produced their first live DVD, Live Aus Berlin. The success of Sehnsucht was further solidified by their nomination of Du Hast for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards.

In mid 2000, Rammstein recorded their third studio album, Mutter, which was released on September 21, 2001. The album found even more success as the previous, going double platinum in Germany. For the film xXx, starring Vin Diesel, they performed the song Feuer Frei! live; the song was released as the first single from the xXx soundtrack.

September of 2004 brought the band's fourth album, Reise, Reise, which had slightly less success than Mutter, after the previous album was found disappointing by some of the bands fans. Still, like their previous two albums, Reise, Reise reached number 1 on German charts. Rammstein received their second Grammy Nomination for Mein Teil, the first single from the album.

Barely more than a year later, the album Rosenrot was released, the band saying they had many great songs written for Reise, Reise, but couldn't fit them all on the album. Rosenrot reached number one on German charts and Rammstein rode its popularity straight into the release of their second live DVD titled Volkerball.

Taking some time off in 2006, the band returned in 2007 as strong as ever, writing and recording in preparation for their sixth album, Liebe ist Fur Alle Da, which was released in October of 2009. Possibly their best album to date, Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da was extremely successful worldwide, once again reaching number one on German charts. The band has been touring in support of the album for more than a year and recently added shows in South American in late November/early December, with North American dates expected in November...

The band, described as Neue Deutsche Harte because of their mixing of heavy metal with dance and electronic sounds, is known for their wild performances and controversial lyrics. Unfortunately, their last U.S. show was before I was old enough to go to most metal shows so I have never been able to see them live, but if you have the chance to catch them, don't miss it, because you'll be in for something special! Rammstein is one of the world's staples of industrial metal and will be forever engraved in Metal's history as one the greatest bands of all time.

Upcoming Show: OT3P @ Ridglea Theater

For all you Fort Worth/Dallas metalheads, get ready for Otep at Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth! Tuesday night the 10th, doors open at 5:30pm. Supporting will be The Agonist, With These Words, Eighth Circuit, and Diotrephes. This will be Otep's fourth time to shake the walls of Ridglea in the last 27 months, and it's going to be awesome! I have been fortunate enough to witness the previous two shows and they were masterpieces. Be there!

Featured Song: Whatever You Do Don't Push the Red Button

This coming Monday I'll be heading to the House of Blues in Dallas to see Thrash and Burn Tour, which should be worthwhile for every Screamo/Metalcore fan out there.

One band I'm really looking forward to is actually one of the first bands on the schedule, Motionless in White. I saw them play the last twenty minutes of their set this past winter when touring with In This Moment and I loved them! They have an awesome, heavy sound, mixed with the vocal harmonies of an emo band.

To prep you guys for Thrash and Burn, the featured song is Whatever You Do Don't Push the Red Button, my favorite song by the band. The lyrics are dark and morbid, but that doesn't at all take away from the song which is heavy throughout. Lead singer Chris's alternating screaming and singing is brilliant and their chugging guitar rivals many hardcore bands out there. Listen to it and check out upcoming Thrash and Burn dates!

Releases This Week

This week was pretty calm in terms of album releases. There are only four new albums to report.

36 Crazyfists and Avenged Sevenfold both turned out their fifth albums, Collisions and Castaways, and Nightmare, respectively. Also being released was Decrepit Birth's Polarity and Blind Guardian's At the Edge of Time. Check them out!

Live Show: NEKROMANTIX

Last week I went to go see the Nekromantix at Trees, a little bar in Dallas. I saw them once before when they supported Rob Zombie this past fall. They were good then, but they were AMAZING last week. Seeing them up close in a small venue was great. The sound was surprisingly good and they really knew how to perform. Playing their fast, relatively quick songs, they went through at least twenty songs in their 75 minute performance.

As for their supporting acts, I can't quite say the same. The Howlers definitely had some talent, but you could see why they weren't the headlining act. The Mutilators were a waste of time. They didn't quite have the musical ability of the bands and the singer needed some underwear, to say the least.

The Nekromantix are touring through September, so if they're coming to your city, they're worth checking out. On my long list of bands seen, I think they rank in the top 15, maybe even the top 10.

Album Review: A STAR-CROSSED WASTELAND

Awesome! That sums up this albums completely. In This Moment, one of the best female-fronted bands in metal, has blown metalheads away with their third album release, A Star-crossed Wasteland. In the buildup to its release, the CD was described as being a combination of the band's previous records, A Beautiful Tragedy and The Dream. I think that is an extremely fitting description as beautiful melodies and chugging guitars are combined perfectly in this masterpiece. I also assume that I am not the only person who missed Maria Brink's screaming vocals on The Dream. They're back. All the way. Almost every song is touched with the high pitched cry of the band's lead singer.

My favorite songs on the album are Gunshow, Blazin', and Iron Army, but I will say that it's very hard to choose as each song is amazing, and as is the ITM custom, in very different ways. The songs A Star-Crossed Wasteland and World In Flames bring the tempo down and relax the mood in the middle and end of this barrage of a heavy, but still very musical, album.

If you get the special edition you will be treated to a bonus track Remember which is another one of my favorites along with a live acoustic performance of A Star-Crossed Wasteland. Also in the special edition is a DVD with interviews and the making of the Gunshow video, among other things. I haven't checked out the DVD yet because I have been too enthralled with the album itself for the past week, but I intend to check it out soon.

I give this album a solid A. I think it's better than an A- but doesn't quite deserve a perfect rating, although it's probably as close as you can get. It's available in most music stores and online. Pick it up!

Releases: IN THIS MOMENT, KORN

This week has been a big week for album releases. Probably the most exciting is the release of In This Moment's third album, A Starcrossed Wasteland, which has been talked about as one of the most highly anticipated albums of the year. Also coming out Tuesday was Korn's KornIII: Remember Who You Are. Kerrang! has rated both albums, giving A Starcrossed Wasteland a perfect 5/5 and Remember Who You Are 4/5.

Other releases this week include albums by Norma Jean (Meridional), Canvas Solaris (Irradiance), Hell Within (God Grant Me Vengeance), Hellyeah (Stampede), and Darkseed (Poison Awaits).

Check back for a review of A Starcrossed Wasteland very soon!

Featured Song #5: Prayers

Today's featured song is Prayers by the metalcore band In This Moment. It was the first song ever released by the band back in 2006 and appeared on their debut album Beautiful Tragedy, which catapulted the band to the top of metal charts. Prayers has an awesome melody and mixes well with heavy guitar riffs and the alternating vocals of Maria Brink as she exhibits her beautiful singing voice and unbeatable screaming sound. Check this song out as you prepare for the release of their third studio album A Starcrossed Wasteland which will be released tomorrow!

Top Ten List: Rob Zombie

In honor of our current featured artist, Rob Zombie, here's a list of what I believe to be his top ten songs of all time, including the White Zombie days.

10. DRAGULA – One of Rob Zombie’s biggest hits, Dragula has to make the list of his greatest songs. A song about Herman Munster’s race car, Dragula was Zombie’s first solo single and became an instant hit with a music video featuring footage from that very episode of the Munsters. The song reached number 6 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks (BMSRT) in 1998.

9. SUPERBEAST – Another early Zombie hit, Superbeast is known to be one of Rob’s heavier songs and is high up on my list of favorites. The song peaked at 26 on BMSRT in 1999 when it was released as a single.

8. SICK BUBBLEGUM – Coming off Zombie’s newest album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, Sick Bubble Gum was one of the songs he played on the album’s supporting tour predating the album’s release. This is definitely one of his better performances and has the old school Zombie feel.

7. DEMON SPEEDING – Demon Speeding is still a Zombie staple after being released on Zombie's second solo album, The Sinister Urge. It always gets the crowd riled up and is a must listen for all Zombie fans. Released as a single in 2001 with House of 1000 Corpses on its B-side, Demon Speeding reached 13th on BMSRT.

6. SUPER-CHARGER HEAVEN – This one is really old, going back to the White Zombie days and the album Astro Creep 2000. It’s probably the best song that the now disbanded group produced. Fast-paced and heavy throughout, SCH is a thrill ride of metal about the Japanese Super Hero Devilman. It reached 39th on BMSRT in 1995.

5. DEMONOID PHENOMENON - Coming off the original Hellbilly Deluxe, Demonoid Phenomenon is one of my all-time favorites. It's heavy, fast, and full of action. Though it was never released as a single, it is still a regular song in his live show.

4. LIVING DEAD GIRL - One of Zombie's biggest hits, Living Dead Girl reached number 7 on BMSRT in 1998 and was the second single off Hellbilly Deluxe. The song's video is quite entertaining as it features Rob's wife Sheri Moon as the Living Dead Girl and Rob as the...magician who brings her to life, causing the townspeople to chase him away.

3. THE LORDS OF SALEM - While never being released as a single, Lords of Salem is one of Zombie's most successful songs after being nominated for a Grammy in 2009 for Best Hard Rock Performance. It's slow and brutally heavy, with the story focusing mainly around the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s.

2. AMERICAN WITCH - Released as Zombie's second single on the album Educated Horses, American Witch reached 12 on BMSRT. One of my favorite songs across all bands, American Witch is one of only a couple songs on its album that really fits the bill of classic Zombie. Its music video features clips of live performances from several shows on the American Witch Tour in 2006.

1. WHAT LURKS ON CHANNEL X? - This is another song not released as a single, but it's my personal favorite Zombie song. Short but heavy, the song has a great drum beat and awesome guitar riff. Check it out on Hellbilly Deluxe!

Honorable Mentions: House of 1000 Corpses, Werewolf Women of the SS, What?

Disturbed: ASYLUM

Disturbed has finally announced the release of their new album Asylum, which will hit stores August 31st. The album cover art was released as well. There is already one single "Another Way To Die", which reached #6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. This album is the band's follow up to 2008's Indestructible, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and reached platinum certification.

Upcoming Major Tours

I'm sure some of you have already heard about Uproar Tour, featuring Disturbed, who is planning on releasing their fifth album this fall. Alongside them will be Avenged Sevenfold, who put on a decent live performance, but are very weak compared the headlining act. Also appearing will be Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor's second band, Stone Sour. I've never seen them live, but they have some notable hits and might be worth catching. New band Halestorm will play as well. They have a good sound and I'm excited about their future in the industry. Vinnie Paul's Hellyeah will be performing, something that isn't worth getting too excited about. I saw them live in December of 2008 and was not at all impressed as most of their songs sounded exactly the same, with no real change in sound. Also supporting is Airbourne, Hail the Villain, and New Medicine.

On a more exciting note for all you Industrial fans out there, rumors are floating around that Rammstein is planning a U.S. tour in September. This is great news since they haven't played in out country since way back in 2004. No definite plans have been made, but I'll be sure to let you know when something comes up!

Song of the Day #4 - April Rain

Today's song of the day is April Rain by the Dutch band Delain. Combining heavy metal elements with the smooth, clean vocals of Charlotte Wessels, this song is a favorite. The song was released in 2009 on the album of the same name, an album which reached number one on Dutch Alternative charts. Check it out!

Major Release: KINGDOM OF SORROW

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts recently, there was a death in the family and I've been in Illinois for two weeks, I'll be back in Texas tomorrow so posts will become regular again.

Kingdom of Sorrow released their second album on June 8th, and it's a beast! Titled, Behind the Blackest Tears, it packs a pretty solid punch and is definitely worth picking up for all you hardcore and sludge metal fans, especially if you like Jamey Jasta.

This album has some of everything. While it's super-heavy (as expected) it also has some slower rhythms that keep it interesting. I'm not going to name a favorite song though because they're all too badass.

Another major event was the release of Ozzy's newest album Scream. I haven't checked it out, but I'm sure it's good if it's similar to Black Rain. Check it out!

Song of the Day #3 - Black Label

Today's song of the day is Lamb of God's Black Label. With possibly one of the heaviest chugging guitars in the history of metal, this song is sure to get you fired up for some real head banging. Released on Lamb of God's first album as Lamb of God (previously Burn the Priest), Black Label was the album's only single.

While the album New American Gospel went fairly unnoticed, Black Label remains one of the band's most popular songs and is still the closing act of every show. Check it out.

Featured Artist of the Week

This week I'm going to introduce a weekly featured artist. It took a lot of consideration to figure out who fit the bill to be the first ever featured artist. After a lot of thought, I decided no one would be better than Rob Zombie, who has accomplished so much in his career, not just in music but in other areas as well.

Zombie began his music career in 1985 with the band White Zombie, named after the film starring Bella Lugosi. White Zombie released four studio albums during their 13 years together, producing two double platinum albums, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 and Astro Creep 2000. Just before the disbanding of White Zombie, Rob released his first solo album Hellbilly Deluxe, which went triple platinum in the United States. Since then, he has released three more albums: The Sinister Urge, Educated Horses, and Hellbilly Deluxe 2.

On Halloween of 2002, Zombie married long-time girlfriend Sheri Moon who starred in several White Zombie music videos and some of Zombie's solo videos as well. She has played leading roles in all of Rob's films, which include House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, Halloween, Halloween II, and the Haunted World of El Superbeasto, an animated film.

Rob has been nominated for several Grammy Awards as both a solo artist and with White Zombie.

Rob Zombie is one of the greatest musical artists to ever live and if you're not already a fan, he's well worth checking out. This summer he'll be playing on the Main Stage of Mayhem Festival, so go and see him; he puts on the best show you'll ever see. He's got an electricity about him that no artist can achieve, and standing alongside guitar god John 5, bassist Piggy D and new drummer Joey Jordison, his show is a spectacle you won't want to miss.

Album Release Tuesday: May 18th, 2010

Today's Tuesday so that means some new releases. No major releases coming up this week, but we are going to see a lot of non-traditional-day-of-the-week releases.

Today will bring the second album by metalcore band Silent Civilian titled Ghost Stories. Their first album Rebirth of the Temple was pretty good, and I'm hoping their follow-up will be a success. Right now they're on tour with Fear Factory, Prong, and Thy Will Be Done. If you have the chance to see them, go check them out. They put on a pretty good show.

Also coming out today are albums by Five Star Prison Cell and Fleshgod Apocalypse.

Later this week we'll see albums by Loudness and Pain in Salvation on Wednesday and five albums on Friday by Aeon, Exilia, Masterplan, Sabaton and Y&T.

Alubm Review: We Are the Fallen - Tear the World Down

We Are the Fallen's debut album Tear the World Down is a musical masterpiece. Every song is brilliant and it has a good mix of up tempo gothic metal along with a couple slower songs that show the softer side of Carly Stimpson's voice. The band has received some criticism saying they sound very much like Evanescence, which is true, but they do it well. I have no problem with two bands sounding similar as long as the music is good, and in this case, it is.

The tracks Bury Me Alive, Burn, Through Hell, Without You, and St. John are my favorites and show off a classic Gothic sound, but maintain the more mainstream alternative sound that many bands aim for nowadays.

Overall I love this album and give it a solid A-, and recommend it to all you readers. This is one of the best debut albums I've heard, bringing to mind the likes of In This Moment, Disturbed, and Rammstein who all produced near perfect first installments. We Are the Fallen has the ability to thrive in the music industry for several years as long as they have enough promotion, and I for one am really excited to follow their career.

Release Tuesday

Today is Tuesday, so that means it's CD release day and there are a couple good ones out there to check out.

Being a huge gothic metal fan, I'm most looking forward to the debut album by We Are the Fallen titled Tear the World Down. One single has been released so far and it's really good. Consisting of Carly Smithson, a former American Idol contestant and three former Evanescence members, this band has a lot of promise. I know you're thinking they sound lame with an American Idol in their lineup, but she really was one of the best ever and definitely has the gothic voice, very much like Amy Lee. I'm listening to the album as I write this so I'll post a review later on tonight. You can pick up your own copy of the album at BestBuy for just 7.99 for a limited time.

Another exciting release today is the fifth studio album (plus one remix) by Rob Zombie's fantastic guitarist John 5 who never disappoints with his instrumental albums. The Art of Malice is available at BestBuy and on iTunes.

Other releases today include As I Lay Dying's The Powerless Rise, their fifth stuido album. On the more underground side, Brain Drill will be releasing their second album, Howl will be making its debut, Low Twelve will be releasing Splatter Pattern, and Misery Index will release the album Heirs to Thievery.

Song of the Day #2 - Are You Dead Yet?

Today's song of the day is "Are You Dead Yet?" by Finnish black metal band Children of Bodom. "Are You Dead Yet?" was released on the album of the same title back in 2005, an album which reached Gold certification and was number one on Finnish rock charts. This song is a great example of Children of Bodom's shredding guitar riffs and Alexi Laiho's evil rasp. Happy listening!

Song of the Day #1

Hey guys! Today I will be featuring Daily Headbang's first ever Song of the Day! Naturally, I'm going to start out with my favorite song of all time, "Ghostflowers" by Otep. Ghostflowers was released in 2007 on Otep's thrid album, Ascension. This song is unbelievable, starting out slow and mystical and building into a roar of defiance. Otep, as always, shows her brilliance and versatility as both a musician and vocalist. The bass line is pretty sweet too. Check it out!

Mayhem vs Ozz

This is it! Ozzy has finally announced his lineup to wage war against the Mayhem Festival All Star Team...and he's lost, miserably. After all the waiting and anticipation he gives us Motley Crue as the headliner. There is nothing wrong with Motley Crue, but the question is, are they metal enough to headline Ozzfest, one of history's biggest metal festivals? I don't know, that's a pretty tall order. Main stage bands include metal powerhouses like Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson, Disturbed, Slipknot, and Rob Zombie. This year's Ozzfest pales in comparison, sporting Halford, DevilDriver, and Nonpoint as Ozzy and Crue's supporters. While DD and Nonpoint are good bands, do they compare to the cast brought together by RockStar Energy? Frankly, NO. Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God, and Five Finger Death Punch annihilate Ozzy's lineup.

Personally, I think Ozzy has put together a better second stage than first stage with Black Label Society, Drowning Pool and Kingdom of Sorrow at the top, supported by Goatwhore, Skeleton Witch, Saviours, and Kataklysm. BLS, DP and KoS are all main stage quality acts demoted to the second stage. Comparing the lesser stage of Ozzfest to Mayhem, we see the two stages Mayhem has put together. The first of which includes Atreyu, Norma Jean, In This Moment and 3 Inches of Blood; a solid group. The "Jagermeister Stage" is where we see Jamey Jasta of Ozzfest compete with the Jamey Jasta of Mayhem as Hatebreed headlines Mayhem's sideshow, followed by three quality bands in Chimaira, Shadows Fall and Winds of Plague, four bands I would drop 30 dollars on to see at the local ballroom, not to mention when the aforementioned headliners are present on another stage.

At this point you probably realize that I have much more support for Mayhem, but if you're not convinced yet, this may tip the scales. Have fun TRAVELING to Ozzfest as there are only six dates on the WHOLE TOUR, compared to 26 (yes, 26!) on Mayhemfest. So unless you live in CA, IL, PA, CT, NJ, or ME, you've got some driving to do.
Lucky for me, Mayhem is coming to Dallas. See you there!