By Camran Ferrier

By now you must have seen artists like Shinedown, Cheap Trick, Plini and even Ed Sheeran taking part in the #BedstockChallenge, where “artists play in bed for sick kids stuck in theirs”. This challenge was started in 2014 by Bedstock, an online music festival working in association with the Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) to bring live, free music to kids who are battling serious illness. It is a fantastic cause that has gained a lot of traction in the last three years with more high profile artists getting involved and sharing videos of themselves playing online to show their support. However, this is not exclusively for recording artists- you can help support the cause by sharing your own videos and your own music for children everywhere facing cancer or other serious illness. You can find all the videos on their website as well as links to dontate!

CCA’s music program, MyMusicRx, is involved with exposing kids to the world of music and playing for and with them to reduce levels of stress, anxiety and pain. This program has been running since 1995 and has helped around 180,000 children and their families, with daily programs available for 7,500 kids in 25 pediatric hospitals nation-wide. With sponsors such as Converse, Nike and Columbia Records, this brilliant initiative can only grow and help more children living incredibly tough lives. Check out their website and please help out in any way you can!

By Jordan Lindley

Rock stars, showmen, and genuinely wonderful people, Metallica has officially launched the website for their new foundation, All Within My Hands. As listed on their landing page, "All Within My Hands Foundation ​is dedicated to assisting and enriching the lives of the members of the communities by supporting workforce education, the fight against hunger, and other critical local services." The band has a long history of benefit concerts, charitable donations, and giving back to communities around the world.

To pile a little bit more generosity onto the platter, Starbucks and Spotify's Give Good Campaign has made a donation of $1 million, meant to be divided between a few different foundations. Alongside Metallica's All Within My Hands stand Chance The Rapper's Social Works, and Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. I think we can safely say that no matter your musical inclination, giving back is a crucial and awe-inspiring aspect of humanity and society as we experience it today. The next time you go to a Metallica concert, be sure to shout "THANK YOU!" for all they do around the world.

By Francesco Albanese

If you know rock, you know Avenged Sevenfold, and if you know Avenged you're no stranger to the fact that lead guitarist Synyster Gates is a modern day guitar legend. Ever thought about Synyster Gates as being your own personal gutiar teacher? Well, many dreams have finally come true today as Gates launched his new online guitar school, the  Synyster Gates School. 

The online school hosts different online programs such as recorded lessons, both audio and visual, about writing, recording and performing as well as interactive playthroughs with synced music notations and tablature, all desinged by Gates and his father Brian Haner Sr., better known as "Papa Gates"  for shredders of all experience levels. 

What's the best part about this other than the fact that this was all the work of Gates? It's all free. Yes, you can pay absolutely nothing to learn from the best. Sign ups are now currently available found on the school's website. By signing up, students will be automatically entered to win a free private lesson with Gates himself. 

Avenged's deluxe edition release of The Stage will be available December 15. Don't forget to sign up for our The Stage World Tour Giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy of The Stage ending January 12!

By Vicky Branca

Photo by Luiz Velez

Commemorative pit packages can now be purchased here and general admission tickets go on sale Friday 12/1.

Who else is excited? Check out the list of cities and tour dates below.

​

By Camran Ferrier

​Of Mice & Men have released the title track off of their heavily anticipated album, Defy, dropping it on Sunday night during Daniel P. Carter's Rock Show on BBC Radio 1. This song is also the opener of the album, and coming not even a month after their last release, ‘Warzone’, it is looking promising for the Orange County four-piece. Defy delivers what you expect and more with a groovy, punchy guitar line and emotive vocals supported by an intense but beautiful lyric video. Check it out below, as well as their other track, Warzone, if you haven’t already! The album will be available on January 19th of 2018

The band also announced a headline tour early next year, with support from Blessthefall, Cane Hill, Fire From the Gods and Mscw. Coming off of the European tour they are currently on, Of Mice & Men will kick off 2018 in Santa Cruz, CA on February 1st. Tickets and VIP packages go on sale Wednesday, November 29. For more information, be sure to visit their page! And have a look at the upcoming tour dates to see if you can catch them in the near future!

Tour Dates
2/1 — Santa Cruz, CA    — Catalyst*
2/2 — Portland, OR — Wonder Ballroom*
2/3 — Seattle, WA — El Corazon*
2/4 — Boise, ID — Knitting Factory*
2/5 — Salt Lake City, UT — Complex*
2/6 — Denver, CO — Summit Music Hall*
2/8 — Minneapolis, MN — Music Hall MPLS*
2/9 — St. Louis, MO — Ready Room
2/11 —    Chicago, IL — House of Blues
2/12 — Detroit, MI — Crofoot
2/13 — Toronto, ON — Opera House
2/14 — Montreal, QC — Corona Theatre
2/16 — Boston, MA — Paradise Rock Club
2/17 — New York City, NY — Gramercy Theatre
2/18 — Asbury Park, NJ — Stone Pony
2/19 — Philadelphia, PA — Trocadero
2/20 — Charlotte, NC — Underground
2/21 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade Heaven
2/23 — Orlando, FL — Beacham
2/24 — Destin, FL — Club L.A.
2/25 — New Orleans, LA — House of Blues
2/27 — Houston, TX — White Oak
2/28 —  Dallas, TX — Canton Hall
3/1 — Albuquerque, NM — Sunshine
3/4 — Vegas, NV — Vinyl @ Hard Rock Live
3/5 — Flagstaff, AZ — Orpheum
3/6 — Phoenix, AZ — Nile Theatre
3/7 — San Diego, CA — SOMA

*= No Cane Hill

By David McNally

​Meet Melissa Cross. She’s probably worked with all of your favorite bands, and I mean ALL of them. Cross is a classically trained vocalist turned vocal coach, specializing in hardcore metal.
 
From bands like Bullet For My Valentine, Lamb of God, Of Mice & Men, Movements, to Slipknot, the list is endless. 

​In a special interview with Vice, Melissa said she got started in the scene  “because a friend of mine was recording, not punk, it was called “hardcore,” and it was metal” says Cross. “And he couldn’t get them through a recording session without them coughing blood.”
 
Enthralled by the sincerity of the metal scene, Cross acknowledges the potential damage to the structure of vocal folds caused by harsh vocals. “There is a risk to using your voice on a daily basis an unhealthy way. The vocal folds – they used to be called chords, now they’re called folds – they get scarred.”
 
“[Metal is] so non-tainted by the media, and crap, and money, and it’s just so real. It’s just straight from the heart.”
 
“Melissa Cross is a legend in this music scene. I mean she’s the only vocal coach that actually cared about metal and did something about it, and wanted to make sure people aren’t fucking themselves up for life” says Caleb Shomo of Beartooth as a testament to Cross’ methods.
 
Check out the video below:

By David McNally 

We Came As Romans just dropped a live video for “Wasted Age” off their fifth album Cold Like War, out now via SharpTone Records.
 
The video was recorded on the record release day, October 20, 2017 at the Worcester Palladium and Headrush TV was there to capture the moment.
 
WCAR has often performed at the Worcester Palladium throughout their touring history and even considers the venue to be one of their favorites.

​“We failed on our last record,” said bassist Andy Glass in an interview with Alternative Press. Guitarist Joshua Moore added, “I think on the fourth record we kind of got pulled apart.”
 
With a collective dissatisfaction with their self-titled album, WCAR looked to rebound on their fifth, Cold Like War. In a recent interview with Moore, the veteran guitarist revealed to Headrush TV that in order to turn things around, they had to “make the most We Came As Romans sounding record ever,” and that’s exactly what they did. 
 
The band openly lyricizes on the album about the struggles of constantly being on the road and feeling isolated within their own families. While being honest in their lyrics, the band also returned to their most prominent feature of two vocals, contrasting a harsh vocal with a standard to establish a kickass melody.
 
Check out the live video for “Wasted Age” below.

WCAR still has some fall tour dates left, be sure to check them out in a city near you!  Grab your tickets here.
 
11/24 - Detroit, MI @ The Detroit Masonic Temple *
11/25 - Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere's Entertainment Center *
11/26 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection *
11/28 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE *
11/29 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall *
11/30 - St. Louis, MO @ Ready Room
12/01 - Wichita, KS @ Cotillion *
12/02 - Des Moines, IA @ 7 Flags *
* with I Prevail, the Word Alive, Escape The Fate
headline date with the Word Alive, Escape The Fate
 
 

By Camran Ferrier

​Metallica released their live album S&M on this day in 1999, complete with the San Francisco Symphony! Composed and conducted by Michael Kamen, this album was recorded at the Berkley Community Theatre and was a great fusion of genres to see off the 20th century. It received numerous accolades, with "Call Of Ktulu" earning a Grammy Award in 2001 for ‘Best Rock Instrumental Performance’ as well as a Metal Edge Reader’s Choice Award for Compilation album of the year. Check out "For Whom The Bell Tolls" off of S&M below.

S&M has also sold over 8 million copies and by 2003 it had been certified 5x platinum. Personally, I really love this album because of how well written the arrangements are considering it’s being written for Metallica. Kamen had his work cut out for him composing parts for song like "Battery" and "Master Of Puppets" but he managed to give these thrash songs a whole new dimension. The sound is just so full and I suspect that the recording doesn’t do justice to what it was like to experience it in person in front of a full symphony. It was included in NME’s list of ’50 Greatest Live Albums’ so give it a listen to it if you haven’t already- Happy 18th Birthday, S&M!

By Francesco Albanese

The holidays really are upon us as Corey Taylor has confirmed in an interview with Rock Tube that Stone Sour are already in the works with their next album. 

In the interview, which you can watch below, Taylor mentioned "We've already been writing some stuff, and it's actually kind of… It looks like it's darker — [there are] some really cool, darker ideas." However, while there are ideas, it's still to early to determine anything, according to Taylor. 

While Taylor describes the new ideas as 'dark,' "you never know," he said. "You could say, 'Oh, yeah, it's gonna be dark as shit,' and then you get in the studio and it's not dark at all. You're just, like, 'Well, what the hell was I talking about?' You just kind of have to go with the music."

Coming off the success of their recent release of Hydrograd, which Taylor is still "stoked" about, an album "that we put our money where our mouth is — we wanted to go for it with everything that we had," which many fans would agree that it shows. "Even if this album hadn't sold well, which it did, I would still put this up against anything because of how proud I am of it."

The band also just recently announced their 2018 North American tour which will feature support for Halestorm and The Dead Deads. Tickets can be purchased on the band's website. 

You can watch the full interview with Taylor down below!

By Michael Connelly

AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows believes that the remaining members of  LINKIN PARK have the right to continue making music. This past July 20 Chester Bennington, the former frontman of LINKIN PARK,  committed suicide at 41. LINKIN PARK paid tribute to Bennington on October 27th in a 3 hour show that captivated audiences with numerous guest performers. Shadows was in attendance at the event. 

FLASH FORWARD TO NOW:
In an interview with Eddie Trunk, Shadows talks about LINKIN PARK'S future. He said: "I didn't know Chester very well; I knew him kind of fleetingly, I guess. But I'm really good friends with Mike Shinoda and Dave [Farrell]. Me and Mike hang out every summer when Coachella happens, and Desert Trip [last] year, when they had Roger Waters and Paul McCartney and all that. So he usually comes out to the house out there and we'll hang out all weekend. He actually played me this whole record [LINKIN PARK's latest album, 'One More Light'] before it came out, and it was pretty haunting at the time, even hearing Chester's demos on the record. And then for this all to happen is just heartbreaking."

Shadows told Trunk, "It's gonna be hard to lose Chester; he easily was one of the best vocalists of our time. From when I was growing up, just watching them live, he just was flawless for what he did. And it's gonna be tough, but at the same time, Mike is such a hard worker and he's so dedicated to that band and put so much time in that I can't just see him just being done with it."

Shadows knows all about loss from losing his band mate. In 2009 Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan died as a result of prescription drug overdose.  Recouping after a loss is the most important thing you can do. Losing anyone at a young age is truly a tragedy. Chester was also in mourning of his good friend Chris Cornell. Cornell also committed suicide this year. Many speculate this caused a reaction from Bennington. 

"It would just be a shame if they stopped making music altogether; I don't know if it's under a different name or if they'd keep the LINKIN PARK name. "-Shadows to Eddie Trunk