Merry Metal Christmas - Jingle Bells and Silent Night

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's metal Santa songs. Today, we have 2 "traditional" songs metal-style.

Merry Metal Christmas - I Am Santa Claus and Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

For those of you who celebrate Christmas (and those of you who don't) here are some lovely metal Christmas songs to get your Christmas Eve moving. Check out the Top "10" (there are actually 12) here with videos included. 

In Memory of... Jimi Hendrix

guardian.uk.co

James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix) was born on November 27, 1942. He is known as one of the best guitarists in the history of rock. He is recognized as one of the most creative musicians in recent history, one of the best known musicians across all genres, and an influence to countless people in and out of the music world.

I could go into the varied and amazing, although short, muscial career, but most people know about it. Between The Jimi Hendrix Project and Band of Gypsies as well as other bands, projects and shows, he is very well known.

Hendrix received many awards in his life as well as posthumously. Included are the 1968 Billboard Artist of the Year, 1968 Performer and Rock Album of the Year from Rolling Stone and many Grammy Hall of fame awards for singles and albums.

One thing many people might not know about Jimi Hendrix is that he was essentially ochlophobic. He did not like large crowds, which was a cause for concern during Woodstock in 1969. Crowds were estimated around 400,000 people and he became nervous as his timeslot approached. At that time, he requested to be moved closer to the end of the festival and after a rain storm postponed a lot of bands, he ended up in the 8:30 am timeslot on that Monday, when only about 35,000 were still at the festival.

Hendrix died on September 18, 1970. It is very unclear what happened in his last day and even the details of his ambulance ride to the hospital are disputed, but one thing is for certain - we lost a great musician that day at the age of 27. I wasn't even a thought in my parent's mind at that time, but I know my generation missed a huge piece of musical history with the loss of Hendrix. Even today, 42 years later, Jimi Hendrix is a widely known name and is still listed as an influence for many people. Check out his official website here.

www.hdwpapers.com

Lostprophets Singer Ian Watkins Arrested for Sex Abuse Charges

When you go on www.lostprophets.com, you will find one simple message.

"Following charges made today against Ian Watkins, we find ourselves in a state of shock. We are learning about the details of the investigation along with you. It is a difficult time for us and our families, and we want to thank our fans for their support as we seek answers."

                                          Jamie, Lee, Luke, Mike and Stu

Wakins, 35, was arrested yesterday on charges of two counts of conspiring to engage in sexual touching with two young children and possession, making and distribution of indecent images of children as well as possessing extreme animal pornography. Two women, ages 20 and 24, were also arrested in conjunction with this case. The charges for conspiracy have a date range of May 1st to December 17th and the indecent images charges have a date range of August 12th to December 17th. 

Watkins' lawyer attempted to procure bail for him, stating that his celebrity status would help insure that he wouldn't go into hiding and his mother pledged her home as surety that he would appear at his next court date. It was determined that he would remain in custody at least until his next court date at Cardiff Crown Court on December 31st. 

The band is in shock and has issued the statement above as a result of this arrest. They have also cancelled a planned tour. 

In Memory of - Everyone Lost in 2012

I have a long list of people I want to do "In Memory" articles about, but I don't have the time or energy to do every single one. Here is a list of rockers we have lost in 2012. If I missed anyone, please let me know so I can get them added. For more information, go to Loudwire's page.

Nov 1 - Mitch Lucker - Suicide Silence - Age 28

www.loudwire.com

Oct 9 - Joe Siracuse - Sons of Azrael - Age 29

Sept 1 - Vance Bockis - Obsessed, 9353, Pentagram - Age 50

Aug 23 - Eric Cook - Lethal

Aug 12 - Patrick "Pakelika" Cochrun - Kottonmouth Kings - Age 34

July 31 - Tony Sly - No Use For A Name - Age 41

July 30 - David Ellenburg - Dogbane - Age 47

July 16 - Jon Lord - Deep Purple - Age 71

www.loudwire.com

June 30 - Ivan Sekyra - Drakar - Age 59

May 26 - John Harrison - Hankwind - Age 69

June 4 - Bobby Durango - Rock City Angels

May 31 - Michael Grant - Onward, Crescent Shield - Age 39

May 24 - Mark "Bam Bam" McConnell - Blackfoo, Sebastian Bach - Age 50

www.loudwire.com

May 21 - Bryan Hagan - Heir Apparent - Age 39

May 20  - Steeve Hurdle - Negativa, Gorguts - Age 41

May 14 - Trondr Nefas - Urgehal - Age 35

May 4 - Adam Yauch - Beastie Boys - Age 47

May 4 - Rob Doherty - Into Eternity, Final Darkness - Age 41

April 10 - Ritchie Teether - Twisted Sister, Dictators - Age 61

April 5 - Jim Marshall - Marshall Amps - Age 88

March 23 - Will - Mastic Scum

March 3 - Ronnie Montrose - Montrose - Age 64

www.loudwire.com

Feb 25 - Dee Cernile - Sven Gali - Age 46

Feb 17 - Michael Davis - MC5 - Age 68

Feb 14 - Tonmi "Otus" Lillman - Lordi - Age 38

Jan 25 - Mark Reale - Riot - Age 57

Jan 17 - Therese Hanserot - Destiny - Age 48

Jan 14 - Robbie France - Diamond Head - Age 52

Jan 6 - Nicole Bogner - Visions of Atlantis - Age 27

Jan 2 - Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt - Iron Butterfly - Age 63

www.loudwire.com

In addition to the rockers we lost, I would also like to take a moment to remember many of the other people who passed away this year, including all of the children and adults killed in Newton, Ct, any and all military - past and present, and anyone who you loved. I don't mean to get too serious on this page, but metal is about passion and family. Keep yourself and those around you safe and healthy and never take anything for granted.

Coming Up... Metal Merry XXXMAS

What's going on this weekend? Have plans? Me too, but I managed to squeeze this in to my busy schedule. Saturday, December 22, 2012 at the Regent Street Retreat (RSR Stage/Formerly known as The Annex - you know the place) 301 and Savage Productions with ETM Records presents Merry Metal XXXMAS. 

This show features one of my favorite bands ever and the band that really got me into the local metal scene - Malice in Wonderland. You may remember them from this article and this article. In addition, Stux, Black Hole Conspiracy, Descending the Heavens, Murdercore and Chemical Strike will be playing.


 Check out the bands at the links below and I hope to see you there. $5 at the door, 9:00 pm. Come get your metal on! \m/


MALICE IN WONDERLAND
STUX
BLACK HOLE CONSPIRACY
DESCENDING THE HEAVENS
MURDERCORE
CHEMICAL STRIKE

Loudwire List: Top 50 Metal Songs

Check out Loudwire's Top 50 Metal Songs of the 21st Century here. I've highlighted some of the songs below with accompanying videos. And for the record, I think Number 20 (Lamb of God - Redneck) should have been ranked better. It is by far one of my favorite songs ever.

NUMBER 47 - TRIVIUM - PULL HARDER ON THE STRINGS OF YOUR MARTYR



NUMBER 26 - NECROPHAGIST - STABWOUND



NUMBER 20 - LAMB OF GOD - REDNECK

Update: Randy Blythe Legal Situation

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com

A few weeks ago, Randy Blythe was officially indicted for the 2010 death of a concert-goer. At that time, the court was obliged to either set a trial date or postpone it in order for the prosecutor to collect more evidence.

 Late last week, it was announced that Blythe's trial will begin on February 4th, 2013 and is expected to last approximately 4 days. Blythe previously stated that if he was indicted, he would return to the Czech Republic to stand trial and would not hide out. Blythe and his legal team still maintain his innocence in the manslaughter case.

You can read his original statement here regarding the arrest, his return home last summer, and any future proceedings.

Volbeat Drummer

So, you may all know that I have a connection with the world's sexiest drummer/drummist (not Jon Larsen)... check out the blog written by Kurt Stapleton that is all about drums. Here is one of his posts about Jon Larsen, the Volbeat drummer. There are also drum tips, reviews, and lots of other things on there. Enjoy.

http://sadmanstongue.com/

Jon Larsen, Volbeat drummer

Volbeat's latest album "Beyond hell/Above heaven" is one of the best I've heard this year. It debuted on Nov. 25 2011, and the band has been touring nonstop ever since to support it. It's a great hard rock album with a twist of metal. Drummer Jon Larsen put's his stamp on this album with some really nice double bass work on every song. It's not overdone or over the top, but rather, with a tasteful, almost playful approach. The sound is so fat, and punchy, and the cymbals really sound great in the mix. I love the bass drum work, I can't seem to stop tapping my fingers when I listen to the c.d. 

The track "Fallen", which was their first single, really launched the album and their music career to new heights. "Heaven nor Hell" is a great rock track with nice harmonica work in it. Solid, with a nice time change, this track should be a single that could match the popularity of "Fallen".

"Who they are" has this cool Metallica/Slayer feel to it, that seems to be an influence in  their writing.

"A better believer"  has a really cool time change that keeps the listener intrigued by it's push/pull feel.

The song "7 Shots (featuring Mille Petrozza)" has a "Ghost riders" sound to it that stands out in the crowd on this disc.

If you like a great, solid, straight-up hard rock c.d. with double bass and catchy melodies, put this in your Ipod and give it a shot. You shouldn't be disappointed.

See original link here.

Metallica Unveils New Record Label

Photo from RollingStone.com

We all knew it was coming. Metallica is one of the biggest names in the music world and they have launched their new record label. It's been chattered about recently, but we weren't sure what they were going to call it. Honestly, there were so many available options for names. They recently unveiled the label and its name, Blackened Recordings.

One of the more amazing things about this is that in 1994, they negotiated an almost unheard of contract provision with Warner Bros that means that they have complete control over and ownership of  their master recordings. Their 28 year relationship with Warner Bros has ended with the creation of their new label and they now have control over their already-produced music and videos as well as control over all future music. It means an entirely new sense of independence that comes from producing your own music without an outside company exerting power over it. Good for you Metallica. I hope you can do much better than St. Anger, which was a disappointment to all.