Lizzy Hale Vs Amy Lee: Shinedown, Evanescence, P.O.D., Trivium, Five Finger Death Punch, Halestorm, Art of Dying

Got my tickets for 98 Rockfest in Tampa on April 28th!    Amazingly, I have never seen any of these bands except for P.O.D. so I'm really looking forward to this concert!  Who's your favorite?   I'm really looking forward to Lizzy Hale and Halestorm!  

This year's lineup:   

SHINEDOWN

EVANESCENCE

P.O.D.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH

HALESTORM

ART OF DYING

TRIVIUM

 

New Halestorm: Chester Bennington, Halestorm, Zakk Wylde and Infectious Grooves

"MORNING AFTER"            CHESTER BENNINGTON

First time I shared this song with a friend, it resulted in the police pulling her car over for speeding, honestly explaining it was the music's fault, and she wasn't ticketed :) During the writing of Linkin Park's CD, Minutes To Midnight, Chester had written some songs he wanted to record but didn't feel they were right for Linkin Park.   So he created a side project called Dead By Sunrise, joining forces with artists like Julian K and Orgy.   The highlight of their first CD was this track featured on the soundtrack of  Underworld Evolution.   

"HERE'S TO YOU"   HALESTORM


Lizzy Hale's band is back with a new 4 song EP.   They debuted this song at the strike of midnight 2012.  Raise a toast to the new year!    Forget the times you messed up and celebrate life ahead!   "Love Bites But So Do I" is the hard rocker radio will jump on from this EP.

"FAREWELL BALLAD"          ZAK WYLDE

Who was the greatest guitarist to play with Ozzy?  Randy Rhoads?  Tommy Iommi?  Zak Wylde?  An amazing trio of lead guitarists that added fuel to the fire of Ozzy Osbourne's musical legacy.   Zak Wylde played with Ozzy from 1988 and appeared on eight of his solo CD's including No More Tears.   Zak's "bulls-eye" Les Paul guitar, his long blonde hair, and his powerful stage presence was unmistakeable.    His guitar style wasn't as flashy as Randy but Zak's style was very distinctive, choppy, metal all the way but influenced by country music.   Here's a short but incredible solo from his side project Black Label Society.

"STOP FUNKIN' WITH MY HEAD"    INFECTIOUS GROOVES

A student of mine introduced me to this all-star California bass-heavy funk metal band with a sound reminscient of early Red Hot Chili Peppers.   Led by Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies, the bassist on this track is Rob Trujillo.    Rob also played with Suicidal Tendencies, the first Ozzy solo CD's, Infectious Grooves, and replaced Jason Newsted in Metallica.  As their band name states, this song has a contagious bassline and a hook that will stick in your brain all day.

  

Vampire Version Of INXS Classic : Halestorm, Twisted Sister, Kazy

"I GET OFF"                        HALESTORM

A seductive, sexy, hard-driving song with an amazing female singer named Lizzy Hale.  Halestorm's debut CD in 2009 kicked off with this single.   This Pennsylvania band led by Lizzy and her brother opened for Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace in Tampa last year.   Another great track is a killer duet version of "Breaking Inside" with Shinedown where Lizzy added vocals.

"NEED YOU TONIGHT"                       KAZY

Here is a song just waiting to get put into a vampire film and I'm not talking one where the emo vampires sparkle.     This is obviously a cover of INXS but here the tempo is slowed, the vocals are creepy, and the seductive pauses build up the passion.      The feedback over "I'm lonely" really works well!

"THE PRICE"                                TWISTED SISTER

Dee Snider's hair metal band is famous for their rockers, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" but this power ballad from 1984's Stay Hungry is a forgotten treasure.    MTV loved the over the top videos and the make-up but this gem features Twisted Sister without makeup (a much better look in my opinion) and it's my all-time favorite song by the band.