My introduction to Ivan Moody was Motograter’s “Down.” After listening to a few more tracks from the band’s self-titled record (the only one to feature Moody on vocals), I fell in love with his voice. So my pick for album of the week is Motograter…from Motograter. 🙂
1. Bloodrock: “Eleanor Rigby” (The Beatles cover)
2. Lord of the Lost: “Frozen” (Madonna cover)
3. Mudvayne: “King of Pain” (The Police cover)
Spin Doctors — “Scotch and Water Blues,” from the album If the River Was Whiskey (2013).
Traveling Wilburys — “Handle With Care”
Alter Bridge’s “birthday” was January 4th. It has been an amazing fourteen years, filled with truly epic music. Here, I will rank their albums from my most loved to my least loved. (My list includes only their studio albums.)
1. Blackbird (2007)
The title track alone is enough to earn Blackbird the number one spot. It blows my mind that anyone can hear that song and not acknowledge Alter Bridge as one of the best rock bands in existence. By the time “Ties That Bind,” “Come to Life,” and “Watch Over You” are added, there is no disputing the strength of this record.
2. Fortress (2013)
This was a tough one, because for me, Fortress and One Day Remains are neck and neck. However, Fortress took number two based on “Lover” and “Waters Rising” (which is in my top 5 favorite AB tracks; I adore Mark’s voice).
3. One Day Remains (2004)
And so we come to Alter Bridge’s debut record, and man, is it a winner. At the time of its release, I was focused on other bands, mainly Avenged Sevenfold, and I missed it almost entirely (though I did see them at a festival on this tour). Once I became obsessed with Alter Bridge, however, I quickly realized there isn’t a single song from One Day Remains that I can’t listen to. My favorites are the title track, “Find the Real,” “In Loving Memory,” and “Shed My Skin.”
4. AB III (2010)
Confession: I don’t love every song from AB III. I don’t hate any of them, but it’s not an album I typically listen to from start to finish. With that said, the songs I do love on it are standouts in Alter Bridge’s career: “Slip to the Void,” “Isolation,” “Ghost of Days Gone By,” “Wonderful Life,” “I Know It Hurts,” and “Words Darker Than Their Wings.” (Again, anything Mark lends his vocals to is alright with me.)
5. The Last Hero (2016)
I like this album. Really, I do. I saw them three times touring for it. But it didn’t have as many songs that jumped out and grabbed me as their previous records. “Show Me a Leader” is great, and “Crows on a Wire” is a punch to the face (in a good way). I also enjoy “Twilight,” “My Champion,” and “This Side of Fate.”
Spin Doctors — “Sugar,” from the album Nice Talking to Me (2005).
The Script ft. will.i.am — “Hall of Fame”
It is only the fifth day of 2018 and already, we’ve had multiple tracks from some of our favorite bands/artists.
1. Judas Priest: “Lightning Strike”
2. Breaking Benjamin: “Red Cold River”
3. A Perfect Circle: “Disillusioned”
4. Cane Hill: “It Follows”
5. Crashdïet: “We Are the Legion”
This was actually posted on December 30th. Still, I included it because the song is the debut of new singer Gabriel Keyes 🎶
6. Justin Timberlake: “Filthy”
7. Slaves: “Patience is the Virtue”
Obviously this is not a comprehensive list of every single released this week, but it’s a good place to start!
Shock rocker Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, turns 49 today. I have been a fan of him and his band since the age of eleven, so in honor of his birthday, here are a few of my favorites!
(Okay, it turned out to be more than a few… Ha!)
“The Dope Show”
“Deformography”
“Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World”
“Disassociative”
“King Kill 33”
“Killing Strangers”
“Dope Hat”
“We Know Where You F**king Live”
“This is the New S**t”
I had never heard this before, but I love it! They were/are quite a versatile band!
Spin Doctors — “Vampires in the Sun,” from the album Here Comes the Bride (1999).
Mostly Music 