Someone asked me yesterday, mid-interview, what I have been listening to lately. If this cool actress wanted to know, perhaps some of you do, too😉.
Here’s some stuff released in 2020 that’s remained in heavy rotation. You can find all of this stuff, plus a whole lot more, in my 2020 “New Hotness” playlist, on Spotify. Four years later, I’m still listening to Pierce The Veil’s Misadventures a lot, too.
Asking Alexandria “They Don’t Want What We Want” (Sumerian)
Avenged Sevenfold, Diamonds in the Rough (Warner)
Black Veil Brides, Re-Stitch These Wounds (Sumerian)
Clan Of Xymox, Spider on the Wall (Metropolis)
Crippled Black Phoenix “Cry of Love” (Season Of Mist)
Dance Gavin Dance, Afterburner (Rise)
Dawn Of Solace, Waves (Noble Demon)
Deathwhite, Grave Image (Season Of Mist)
Drab Majesty “No Rain” (Dais Records)
Dwaal, Gospel of the Vile (Dark Essence)
Enslaved “Homebound” (Nuclear Blast)
Falling In Reverse “The Drug in Me is Reimagined” (Epitaph)
Fool’s Ghost, Dark Woven Light (Prosthetic)
Fotocrime, South of Heaven (Profound Lore) - current No. 1
The Gates Of Slumber, Live in Tempe Arizona (Church Within)
Issues “Tapping Out (Stripped)” (Rise)
Kirk Windstein, Dream in Motion (Entertainment One)
Lamb Of God, Lamb Of God (Epic)
Morrissey, I Am Not a Dog On a Chain (BMG)
Mountain Witch, Extinct Cults (This Charming Man)
My Dying Bride, The Ghost of Orion (Nuclear Blast)
Paradise Lost, Obsidian (Nuclear Blast)
Protomartyr, Michigan Hammers EP (Domino)
Sleeping With Sirens “Talking to Myself” (Sumerian)
Spell “Psychic Death” (Bad Omen)
Spiritbox “Holy Roller” (Pale Cord)
Testament, Titans of Creation (Nuclear Blast)
Throwdown, Take Cover EP (Pit Viper)
Trivium, What the Dead Men Say (Roadrunner)
Last night I watched this pro-shot Avenged Sevenfold Rock am Ring performance from 2018, remastered in 1080p, and realllyyyyy felt the “FOMO” from the live concert experience more than ever. Killer setlist, killer performances all around, will probably end up watching it again. I suggest streaming it to your television. And cranking it.
After my Zoom comedy show experience, I decided to grab a ticket to the Metallica drive-in show happening on August 31. It helps that it’s playing at my favorite drive-in theater, Mission Tiki, in Montclair. Anybody else doing this? It’s a long time in the car, but they will let us use the socially distanced restrooms and buy some snacks.
I’m not excited about Bill & Ted Face the Music, but I don’t have any nostalgia for the series. Frankly, as much as I love the two leads, George Carlin, William Sadler, Al Leong, and Megadeth’s “Go to Hell” (written around the intended title of Bogus Journey, Bill & Ted Go to Hell), I always found those movies to be a bit… lacking. And a bit poseur. I enjoyed An American Pickle (here’s a great review of it), The Rental, and The Go-Go’s documentary. Keep up with what I’ve been watching right here.
Paid subscribers were recently treated to a BY THE NUMBERS email on Tool, detailing the band’s history of first-week album sales, RIAA certifications, Billboard chart positions, tours and attendance, social media stats, YouTube views, etc. The archive now contains BY THE NUMBERS on:
AVENGED SEVENFOLD
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
LAMB OF GOD
MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE
SKILLET
TOOL
Who should I do next? Reply to me or leave a comment.
Lots of new folks receiving this newsletter. Feel free to follow me on Twitter and Instagram; look at my website; watch The Disc Dive series; listen to my podcasts: Speak N’ Destroy (a podcast about Metallica), No-Prize from God (conversations with creative people about belief, unbelief, and everything between), and PopCurse (musicians talking movies); and read my recent Q&A with Bill Burr. Also totally cool if you want to listen to Demon Hunter, Throwdown, and Killer Be Killed, and hire Zeuss to produce and/or mix and/or master your records and/or EPs and/or singles. 🙏🏻