Cover Of The Week: Points Of Authority by Eyes Set To Kill

When Chester Bennington passed away in July of 2017, he left a huge hole behind in the hard rock scene. The well respected vocalist and lyricist was looked up to by a lot of people in the scene and by a lot of young bands. Eyes Set To Kill, the post hardcore/metalcore act from Phoenix, Arizona where Linkin Park originated from was one of those bands which is why they have decided to pay tribute to Chester by covering Points Of Authority which is off of the bands gigantic debut album Hybrid Theory. The band takes the Nu Metal classic they knock it right out of the park as the track features Philly rapper Whitney Peyton who takes care of Mike Shinoda’s lines even mixing in some of the Jay Z collaboration in there for good measure. One of the things that I have to say about the track as well is that I loved Alexia Rodriguez’s vocals on the track as she does an amazing job channeling the way Chester delivered the vocals, but also doing a great job making it her own. Check out the amazing cover below and check out Eyes Set To Kill on Facebook for more info.

Cover Of The Week: Faint by Memphis May Fire

Chester Bennington was a very influential figure to a whole entire generation because his pain was very real and the songs always seemed real. You could feel the pain in his vocals right on the track and he helped heel so many people because there were so many out there that felt that they had someone to look up to. Unfortunately, Chester took his own life in 2017, but no matter what his legacy lives on and there is one band out there paying tribute to Chester and Linkin Park and it’s Nashville’s own Memphis May Fire. In 2018, the band released their sixth studio album Broken, but to get fans pumped up for this years Rockstar Energy Disrupt Festival, they decided to record and release the cover of Linkin Park’s Faint, the classic from 2003’s Meteora. The band tried to stay as true to the original song as they possibly could, but that doesn’t mean they did inject a little bit of their flavor into it. A lot of credit goes to the band’s singer, Matty Mullins, who handled both Chester and Mike Shinoda’s vocal parts. The little bit of flavor they inject is from Marty who adds a little something into Shinoda’s parts which is absolutely awesome.

Marty talked about the track and how they approached it saying, “A lot of times, when covering a song, you’re doing it for fun or to showcase your skills as an artist. But this specific opportunity was a chance for us to honor a band that has had a profound impact on us. There will never be another Linkin Park and there will never be another Chester Bennington. We are forever grateful for the music they made and we hope this cover will encourage our younger fans to dive into the Linkin Park discography and discover the same inspiration that we did years ago.” He is absolutely right and you should dive into their catalog, but in the meantime, check out the amazing cover. You can also check out the band alongside The Used, Thrice, Circa Survive, Sum 41, The Story So Far, Atreyu, Sleeping With Sirens, Andy Black, Four Year Strong, Trophy Eyes, Meg & Dia, Juliett Simms and Hyro the Hero on the Rockstar Energy Disrupt Festival this summer.

 

The 8TH Annual Monster Entertainment Awards: The Music Side Nominees

It is that time of the year where we begin celebrating all the best of the previous year and as usual, we here at Moshpits and Movies are once again handling the music and movie side of the awards. We are unfortunately not working together with 365 Movies Challenge blog any longer, but we have reacquired Mr. X’s Punch Out who will handle the wrestling side of things. For right now though, we are looking at the music side of the awards which is now in it’s eighth year and we are pretty excited. Besides the usual awards for Album of the Year, Metal Album of the Year, etc., we have added a couple of new categories to the awards which are Cover of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Every year, there are plenty of bands that record covers of famous songs they love from bands and we want to celebrate by voting for the best one. Much like cover of the year, there are always new bands that pop onto our radar and we want to celebrate them as well. We tried our best to not include supergroups, but rather if it’s their current and only focus then they are allowed. For right now, check out the awards below and be on the look out as always for the next post that will allow YOU the fans to vote for what you loved from 2018.

Album Of The Year

1. Rainier Fog by Alice In Chains

2. Year Of The Tiger by Myles Kennedy

3. Prequelle by Ghost

4. I Loved You At Your Darkest by Behemoth

5. Eat The Elephant by A Perfect Circle

6. Vicious by Halestorm

Rock Album Of The Year

1. Rainier Fog by Alice In Chains

2. Evolution by Disturbed

3. When Legends Rise by Godsmack

4. Vicious by Halestorm

5. Thread by Red Sun Rising

6. Year Of The Tiger by Myles Kennedy

Metal Album Of The Year

1. Conqueror’s Death by Visigoth

2. Electric Messiah by High On Fire

3. Our Raw Heart by YOB

4. Firepower by Judas Priest

5. The Sciences by Sleep

6. Prequelle by Ghost

Extreme Metal Album Of The Year

1. I Loved You At Your Darkest by Behemoth

2. Golden Serpent God by Akhenaten

3. Down Below by Tribulation

4. Stranger Fruit by Zeal & Ardor

5. Trident Wolf Eclipse by Watain

6. Upon Desolate Sands by Hate Eternal

Rock Single Of The Year

1. Uncomfortable by Halestorm

2. When Bad Does Good by Chris Cornell

3. Dance Macabre by Ghost

4. Never Fade by Alice In Chains

5. Bulletproof by Godsmack

6. Disillusioned by A Perfect Circle

Metal Single Of The Year

1. All Out Life by Slipknot

2. My Own Grave by As I Lay Dying

3. Devonian: Nascent by The Ocean

4. Bartzabel by Behemoth

5. Giza Butler by The Sleep

6. Lightning Strike by Judas Priest

Metal Video Of The Year

1. Rats by Ghost

2. Black Wedding by In This Moment

3. All Out Life by Slipknot

4. God=Dog by Behemoth

5. Interdimensional Summit by Dimmu Borgir

6. Lying In State by Megadeth

Rock Video Of The Year

1. Mindf**ker by Monster Magnet

2. Dirty by Sevendust

3. Actual Pain by Good Charlotte

4. Crossing A Line by Mike Shinoda

5. Down In Flames by Deadland Ritual

6. It’s So Easy by Guns N Roses

Rookie Of The Year

1. Jord by Mol

2. Legend of the Seagullmen by Legend of the Seagullmen

3. Errorzone by Vein

4. Made an America by The Fever 333

5. The Judge by Scott Sellers

6. Disobey by Bad Wolves

Cover Of The Year

1. Zombie by Bad Wolves

2. Cry Little Sister by Marilyn Manson

3. I Don’t Wanna Be Me by Trivium

4. Helter Skelter by Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson

5. It’s A Sin by Ghost

6. Shout by Arch Enemy

Album Of The Week: One More Light by Linkin Park

One of the saddest moments of 2017 was the fact that we not only lost Chris Cornell, but that a short time later we also lost Chester Bennington of Linkin Park. I can remember as a member of Massasoit Community College’s radio station, we were invited to a record release party for Hybrid Theory and at that time I had no idea how huge this band would become. After six amazing studio albums, I wondered what else could this band possibly do and the album One More Light was the answer as it was voted Album Of The Year by you the fans at this years Monster Entertainment Awards. The final lineup on the record was Chester (Vocals), Mike Shinoda (Vocals, Programming, Keyboards), Brad Delson (Guitars), Phoenix (Bass), Joe Hahn (Programming), and Rob Bourdon (Drums). The album was produced by Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda and it was released on May 19, 2017 via Warner Brothers. The album did so well that peaked at number one in 7 different countries while also peaking in the top 5 in 7 different countries. In the year end album charts it finished at number 90 on the US Billboard top 200 too. The album was recorded very differently than usual as they recorded vocals first and then built the music around it. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Shinoda described the record saying, “In terms of the style of the record, it’s one of the most diverse stylistically, there’s more genres mashed into this album than anything we’ve ever put out. You don’t hear a lot of super heavy guitars. There isn’t any screaming on the record. To some extent it is a very polished record. Stylistically we wanted to blend all of the sound and genres together in a way you can’t tell them apart.”

1. Nobody Can Save Me– The track that kicks off this musical experiment with some electronic elements mixed in with some guitars and I feel this is a very personal song from Chester. It’s like he’s saying that no matter what you tell him, he doesn’t feel he can be saved. 4/5

2. Good Goodbye– The second track that follows the more hip hop element of the band mixed with the guitars and such. The song features Pusha T and Stormzy providing their own verses along with Shinoda who raps the first verse. I feel like this is a track where the band is saying if you’re not with us then goodbye to you. 5/5

3. Talking To Myself– One of my favorite tracks on the album that has more of a rock/pop sound that Chester is talking about a relationship that just isn’t going anywhere. 5/5

4. Battle Symphony– Another amazing song on the album where Chester is telling you that no matter hate is thrown at him, he will always have his guard up, but he’s also pleading to the fans not to give up on him either. 5/5

5. Invisible– One of the tracks that features singing from Shinoda and I was impressed with it. It’s one of those tracks that if something bad happened to you that you no longer have to worry because he is going to be there for you now because he’s not afraid to speak up anymore. 5/5

6. Heavy– A track that truly took a lot of criticism upon it’s release for being a slow burn pop song, but it’s honestly a great track featuring Kiiara on vocals as well. It’s a very deep track that kind of pinpoints Chester’s depression because the song is a metaphor for when it rains it pours kind of attitude. 5/5

7. Sorry For Now– This is the other track on the album that features Shinoda singing the vocals in a track that is about someone who knows that he messed up because maybe he wasn’t there for the person and he understands that they are mad, but he saying I will try next time. The track in parts has an almost dubstep feel to it. 4.5/5

8. Halfway Right-The song is kind of retrospective lyrically because it’s Chester looking back at how he may have handled things wrong back in the day, but he finally realizes that now. 5/5

9. One More Light-A very personal and amazing track that deal with the idea of loss and how some take it for granted. Another example of how brilliant Chester really was and this is a track to help you with loss. 5/5

10. Sharp Edges– The last track on the album that has a little bit of a folk feel to it ina  track that is all about how you should listen to your elders because they now a thing or two about life, but sometimes you do need to live a little too. 4/5

My Final Thoughts– Listening to this album, you realize how brilliant this band is and even though Chester is gone, we have a catalog to remember his brilliance. I think the direction change was ballsy, but I think it paid off in the long run because they’ve always done what they’ve wanted to do. I love every track on this album, but my favorite songs are Invisible and Talking To Myself. This time I am not picking a least favorite track so I am going to go ahead and give the album 4.7 stars out of five for a final grade.

Rock Video Of The Week: Crossing The Line by Mike Shinoda

One of the biggest questions moving forward for Linkin Park fans everywhere was what was next? There seemed to be a dark cloud that hovered over the future of it’s remaining band members, but just don’t tell Mike Shinoda that. The Linkin Park/Fort Minor vocalist has been hard at work on a brand new solo album that was frankly born from the death of Chester Bennington. In fact, his first solo album is titled Post Traumatic and it’s going to hit the streets on June 15TH. He has also released a music video for the track Crossing The Line and we have it for you here as this week’s Rock Video Of The Week. Apparently, Miek invited fans to meet him at the old Tower Records parking lot on the Sunset Strip and that was the basis of the video as he spoke to the fans. It also shows him driving around Los Angeles as he speaks to various people. The song itself is a very synth rock like track that features some unique vocals. Shinoda spoke about the album saying, “I had been writing these songs and they were both helping me navigate both emotionally and logically. There wasn’t going to be any clear answers. We’re just going to have to wait and see and go with the flow. It’s a journey out of grief and darkness, not into grief and darkness. If people have been through something similar, I hope they feel less alone. If they haven’t been through this, I hope they feel grateful.” You can pre-order his new album right on his website here and check out the video below:

Album Of The Week: Minutes To Midnight by Linkin Park

I never thought that I was ever going to do an album of the week as a tribute to another fallen rock star with that said person being Linkin Park lead vocalist Chester Bennington. When I found out the news today that the 41 year old singer was found dead in his home due to suicide, I was shocked. The band had just released their seventh studio album One More Light and were about to embark on a summer trek to support the record. Nonetheless, I wanted to pay tribute to one of the great voices of the Nu Metal genre by covering the band’s third album Minutes To Midnight from which they go from the doomsday clock. It was the band;s first album since 2003’s Meteora when the band released this on May 14, 2007. The album was a huge success debuting at number one on the Billboard Top 200 charts with the largest opening week of 2007 selling over 600,000 copies that first week before going triple platinum. The album also went number one in 16 other countries which includes the UK. With Chester on vocals, the rest of the band was made up of Mike Shinoda (Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Piano), Brad Delson (Lead Guitar), Dave “Phoenix” Farrell (Bass), Joseph Hahn (Turntables, sampling), and Rob Bourdon (Drums) while the album was produced by Rick Rubin.

1.Wake– an instrumental that is eerie and ominous at first before the band comes in. 4/5

2. Given Up– I love the intro with the clapping and the guitar that comes in because the track gets heavy and it’s awesome. A great bass line carries the verses until the band explodes into your speakers for the choruses. It’s one of those tracks that just screams like what the hell because your sick of feeling a certain way and you just want to shut down. 5/5

3. Leave Out The Rest– A very deep track that is kind of eerie to listen to right now, but it’s basically him saying that no matter what he may have been in the past just forgive him and remember him with love. 5/5

4. Bleed It Out– Another in your face track with Mike Shinoda taking lead with his rapping while Chester sings the chorus. The track is about digging deep and if it doesn’t work then throw it out and keep digging deep till you find what you are looking for. 5/5

5. Shadow Of The Day– This was a track that I immediately connected with on a personal level the first time I heard it. It was definitely a track that helped me through tough times as it talks about nothing is easy in life, but everyone has their day. 5/5

6. What I’ve Done– we first heard the track on the Transformers soundtrack before it made it to the album in a track that is all about feeling guilty for what you have done in the past no matter what it is. 5/5

7. Hands Held High-a very interesting track that is rapped by Mike Shinoda that looks at war from a different perspective. One verse comes from the perspective of a Muslim child who is forced to see the ugliness of war. 5/5

8. No More Sorrow– a very political and heavy track with some cool drum beats to go along with some supercharged metal like riffs. 4.5/5

9. Valentine’s Day– A very mellow track on the album that tells the tale of losing someone you loved in the past. 4/5

10. In Between– Mike and Chester sing on this track about feeling guilty about doing something bad and being with the person you hurt. 4/5

11. In Pieces– a track that is all about making sure that you’re ex knows the relationship ended because of her. 4/5

12. The Little Things That You Give Away– The last track on the album that is a little different than most with the acoustic guitars and Hahn’s sampling whose lyrics talk about Hurricane Katrina. 4.5/5

My Final Thoughts– It’s sad to think that we will never hear Chester sing any of these songs ever again, but at least we have a whole catalog to listen to. He was the kind of singer that you could hear the pain in his voice when he sang certain songs. I am giving the album 4.6 stars out of five for a final grade.  Chester, we will never forget you, R.I.P. Chester Bennington (3/20/1976-7/20/2017)

 

Album Of The Week: Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park

As I have stated many different times before, I am always looking for different albums to cover that I enjoyed for the album of the week post. The other week, I went to my local shop and  I picked up a special edition of Metal Hammer Magazine as it was their 100 Greatest Albums Of The 21ST Century. It made me curious only because the century is only about 16/17 years old now and what albums would make the list. Some of the bands and the albums that were picked may leave you confused as to why they were placed where they were, but that is the beauty of a list. The number 10 album on the list was the debut album by Californian rap/metal outfit Linkin Park in Hybrid Theory. The band was unique because it contained a singer in Chester Bennington, a MC in Mike Shinoda, a DJ in Joe Hahn, Brad Delson on Guitars and Bass, and Rob Bourdon on Drums. Nu Metal was coming in at an all time high and Linkin Park was that band that when this album was released it just blew up. The album debuted at number 16, but peaked at number two on The Billboard Top 200 Charts, number one on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Charts, number four on the UK Charts, Number one in New Zealand, and it reached number two in Australia, Austria, Germany, and Italy as well as going three in Belgium. To date the album has reached Diamond Status by selling over 11 Million albums in the US.

1. Papercut– The track features the signature sound that we would get used to from Linking Park where it starts with the turntables and then right into these powerful guitar chords and then it calms down for a verse from Shinoda right before Bennington takes over for the chorurs. 4.5/5

2. One Step Closer– The single that started it all for the band with the typical sound I described above, but with Bennington handling vocals. Cool story though, producer Don Gilmore inspired the words to the chorus after making Bennington do take after take. It was with that frustration that he came up with the chorus. 5/5

3. With You– This is a cool track that has a little more of the turntables incorporated into it’s sound and it has those big power chord riffs in a track that talks about relationships and the emotional attachments involved. 4.5/5

4. Points Of Authority– a real driving track with the power chords that talks about child abuse. 4/5

5. Crawling– One of my favorite tracks on the album that is different than any of the other ones, but still packs that serious punch which is once again about child abuse. Bennington was a very angry young man with a lot of baggage. 5/5

6. Runaway– It has that punch in the beginning and chorus, but it’s all bass during the verses. It’s one of those songs I feel about being young and out in the world. You’re still trying to figure out just who you are. 4/5

7. By Myself– a track about someone who just never seems to have the luck where everything just goes wrong. No matter what he does. It features rapping from Shinoda with Bennington singing the chorus. 4/5

8. In The End– This is my favorite track on the album that starts with the piano beat on a loop in the beginning with Shinoda rapping the verses with Bennington singing in the background before he screams out in the chorus. 5/5

9. A Place for My Head– The track has a cool guitar riff in the beginning which continues all the way through with a monster bass riff in a track that’s all about cutting the BS out and being one with another. 4.5/5

10. Forgotten– A track that starts off charging before the tempo slows down for the verse before picking up again for the chorus about forgotten love. 4/5

11. Cure for the Itch- A song in which Joe Hahn gets to shine with his turntable skills. 4/5

12. Pushing Me Away– The last track on the album that explores those relationships that you know are over, but the couple is still trying to hold on to something. This is a great track on the album that brings us back to the style of Crawling or In The End. 5/5

My Final Thoughts– This was Linkin Park’s biggest album and the one that sent them into fame and fortune. They have released stellar albums after this, but this is the one that started it all. They were hungry and you can tell in the music. I remember when I saw this album for the first time, I was in college and we were invited to a listening party to it in NYC. Sadly we never made it to NYC, but we enjoyed the hell out of this album. I am going to give the album 4.7 stars out of five for a final grade.

Single Of The Week: Welcome by Fort Minor

For those of you that are huge fans of Linkin Park should get excited over this especially if you are a fan of Mike Shinoda, who is the rapper in the band. In 2005, Mike made an album with a group he called Fort Minor and they released the album The Rising Tide and the album was amazing. I couldn’t get enough of the record and it explored a side of Mike Shinoda we already knew that he had just from his time in Linkin Park. The other day, I was talking to someone who was playing Fort Minor and I told them that it was too bad that Shinoda didn’t release another album with them. Well, know my question has been answered as Mike just unveiled a new Fort Minor tune for all of us to hear called Welcome. Shinoda says, “Fort Minor is a solo project. It was born out of my earliest experience as a music and visual art fan. My influences were always outsider influences, songs sung by underdogs. I related to them because they were like me.” The song is a proverbial F you to the hip hop community who I believe never really accepted the group, but only after Where’d You Go became a smash hit. The song is absolutely amazing and it’s also being offered as a free download which you can get here. Otherwise check it out below and stay tuned for more info on a new album as it becomes available.

The 2014 Revolver Golden God Awards Review

Everyone was looking forward to performances from A Day To Remember, Guns N Roses, and even Zakk Wylde’s, but nobody saw this coming at the 2014 Revolver Golden God Awards which was Slayer opening the show as the surprise performer. One of the things people expect at this particular awards show is to see who the surprise guest performer will be, but Slayer didn’t need it as the bulldozed their way through classics South Of Heaven, War Ensemble, and the premiere of a brand new track Implode. It was especially cool to see Marilyn Manson intro the band in. Right after Slayer was done with their set, it was time to meet this year’s hosts of the show since Chris Jericho wasn’t doing it this year. Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson, and Jim Florentine of VH1 Classics That Metal Show were the hosts and their intro was horrible. Then it was off to the first presenters of the show as Mike Shinoda and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park came out to present The Best Vocalist Award (see below for complete list of winners), then that was followed by Dave Navarro and Jill Janus of Huntress presenting the Best Live Band Award.

Frankie Palmeri of Emmure came out next to present the next live band of the night which was A Day To Remember who brought something completely different than Slayer, but they pleased the crowd as the band performed hit songs such as Right Back At It Again, End Of Me, and their closer All I Want. They were the second band to perform and still no surprise guest on stage with which is unusual at this point in the show. Then there was some technical difficulties as we waited for the cameras to show us Tony Hawk and Carmen Electra who were presenting the best live band award which was won by Avenged Sevenfold. They weren’t at The Nokia Theater, but they were brought in via satellite from a gig in Minneapolis where they gave the award away to a fan from the crowd. Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and a couple of members from Memphis May Fire came out next to present the best new band award.

Then the legendary Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein along with the sexy brand new lead singer of Arch Enemy Alissa White-Gluz to intro The Pretty Reckless who were the next band to perform that night. Taylor Momsen is beautiful and very sexual on stage as most of you may know, but she has an amazing band that backs her up as they had one heck of a performance. The band performed their tracks Fucked Up World, Heaven Knows, and Going To Hell. Zakk Wylde would eventually come out to do a special Piano performance of In This River to pay tribute to all that have fallen over the years, but who was working the special video screwed up saying that Jani Lane was the singer for Motorhead. Then more technical difficulties plagued the show as we waited for Suicide Silence to take the stage to perform for the first time with their brand new singer Eddie Hermida. The band would play the tracks You Only Live Once and No Pity For A Coward, but it was their last song that was amazing. The band brought out Max Cavalera of Soulfly/Sepultura fame and they performed Roots on stage together that had me saying thank God someone finally had a guest on stage.

Alice Cooper presented The Golden God Award to Joan Jett who mentioned The Runaways. After her speech, she wanted to perform, but they nixed it so that Alice could introduce the performance. She opened up her performance with a rocking version of Bad Reputation which was tearing up the house. The next track she performed was a track that she had written with Dave Grohl called Any Weather which captured the spirit of the Blackhearts. Then Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were on fire with the next song I Hate Myself For Loving You for which she was joined onstage by Taylor Momsen. What I didn’t understand is that after the performance was done they performed it again to which Billy Gibbons would join them on stage to be the cheerleader. It was one heck of a performance anyways, but I believe they may have been shooting a version for television.

Andrew Dice Clay came out to present the video montage for Axl Rose while Nicolas Cage presented Axl Rose of  Guns N Rose with the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award. Of course from that point on, we were wondering how long it was going to take for the band to actual perform. The crowd was definitely anxiously awaiting the band to hit the stage as we also knew that Duff McKagan would be performing with the band. The band eventually came out and started rocking right away with It’s So Easy. The band would blaze through one of my all time favorite tracks Welcome To The Jungle with a killer intro by DJ Ashba. One thing I will admit is that Axl’s vocals were a little off tonight when it came to his high notes. Then for the third track of the night they would dig into their latest album Chinese Democracy with the Better. The band would then perform This I Love from Chinese Democracy. Then the band kicked into the kickass Use Your Illusion II track You Could Be Mine. The band would continue with Sweet Child Of Mine and a Babe I’m Gonna Leave You/November Rain medley after Axl introduced the whole band to the crowd. My final thoughts on the show is that I thought it could have been executed a little bit better than it had been in the past. I certainly miss having Chris Jericho hosting the show, but after a while the boys from That Metal Show did fine.

Awards:

Best Vocalist- Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age

Best Live Band- Rob Zombie

Most Dedicated Fans- Avenged Sevenfold

Best New Talent- Twelve Foot Ninja

Paul Gray Best Bassist- Chris Kael

Best Drummer- Arin Ilejay

Comeback Of The Year- Deep Purple

Best Film & Video- This Is A Wasteland by Pierce The Veil

Song Of The Year- Lift Me Up by Five Finger Death Punch

Most Metal Athlete- Josh Barnett

Golden God Award- Joan Jett

Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist- Zacky Vengeance & Synyster Gates

Album Of The Year- 13 by Black Sabbath

Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award- Axl Rose of Guns N Roses