Riz Ahmed makes the Sound of Metal real

I had wanted to write about this movie after I first watched it on Amazon Prime a few months ago because quite honestly, it was better than I expected. I was looking for new movies about rock music or rock musicians and then I found this. I thought it was going to be a typical behind-the-scenes look at the life of a rockstar, a drummer to be exact. Riz Ahmed plays Ruben, a drummer for a punk metal band.

I figured this role of a drummer ought to be an interesting role for him. He was easy to hate in Venom where he played very stubborn and sinister Carlton Drake / Riot. Then, I also remember feeling quite sorry for him as the successful tech giant Aaron Kalloor who gets blackmailed in Jason Bourne. (Sorry if that's a spoiler for you but that movie's been out for years!!!)

In the Sound of Metal, Riz Ahmed portrays the role so impressively that he's up for a Golden Globe Award for it this weekend. There's a great interview with him on Esquire magazine. Check it out if you can. Watch the movie, too. You'll follow his character's sudden onset of deafness and his unwillingness to accept it. You follow him as he enters a shelter for the deaf and get to experience (not just see) the emotions that go into living in a world with no sound. There's a struggle to feel "normal" again...and the reality of whether or not it can actually be achieved.

I think the director, Darius Marder, also did a great job with this movie. From writing the story to directing it, he captured the elements that really moves the viewer. His directing technique allows you to feel like you're there with Ruben (Riz). Of course, it's watching Riz Ahmed play the role so well, too, that makes the Sound of Metal real. Here's the trailer, if you haven't seen it yet.

ABachalypse LIVE!

So I finally got my ABachalypse Now Ultimate CD/DVD set in the mail the other day... Rightaway, I ripped off the plastic wrapping, turned on my home theater system, and put in the DVD!  Boy, it was awesome, I tell ya!!!  It was like being there in concert, except without the screaming, sweaty crowd pushing each other around me.

Top 3 Posts Last Week

Funny how the Christmas holiday season has already passed and yet my post about a How The Grinch Stole Christmas has been the number one read and searched post on my blog last week.  It was followed in second place by my post about my top five gothic bands with female singers, then lastly by by review of the Megan Fox film, Jennifer's Body.

Adam Gontier Leaving 3DG

Yes, sadly, the rumors are true...Adam is leaving Three Days Grace.  

Below is the OFFICIAL release from the band.

Seven Ten Oil on TV

It's so exciting to see local bands that I've known appear on television.  Take for instance, this band, 710Oil that seems to really be going places. 

Live Music Friday: Seven Ten Oil

Two Thoughts About 710 Oil

Photo Source: Facebook.com/Seventenoil

Back in 2008, I published a short post about one of my favorite local bands, 710 Oil.  I have to admit, lately, I've slacked in posting about them and other very talented local bands.  But I've been keeping up with them on their Facebook page and their band website.

My first thought this week is that it's pretty cool seeing how much national exposure 710 Oil's been getting lately.  See the pic above where they posed with KISS?  That's not just a Meet and Greet picture.  That's the real deal when they were selected to be one of the opening bands for a recent KISS concert in Hampton Roads, VA.

My Top Five Picks for Male Vocalists

Actually the title of this post should read "My Top Five Picks for Male Vocalists Whose Voices Identify the Hard Rock Band" but I didn't want the title to be so long! 

Music lovers know that there are a lot of recognizable voices in the music industry.  Sometimes the lead vocalist's distinct voice even becomes the identifying quality of a band.  Then again, sometimes the vocalist can be so bad that he or she becomes the band's downfall.  So choosing the right lead singer is always a must for any band.

The Commuters

Here's an interesting alternative, indie rock band from New York.  The bandmembers are:

Zeeshan Zaidi – Canadian-born, Philippines-raised frontman who also plays guitar, piano, keyboards, songwriter, co-producer
Uri Djemal – who was also raised in the Philippines (by parents of Israeli and American descent)– plays guitar, keyboards, and is also co-producer
Ben Zwerin – who plays bass
Paul Amorese – who plays drums

New MCR 2012 Calendar

I just saw this...the MCR online store has just released a new 12 month 2012 poster calendar. You can get FREE shipping on orders of $75 or more at the store by using this code GIFT2011 at check out. The calendar itself is just $9.99 and features images from “Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys.”

Sixx AM's 7

Were you guys aware that Sixx AM has an acoustic 7-song EP available on iTunes? You can get it here: http://bit.ly/rK9tMp. There is also a FREE download of the track "Codependence" available at: http://bit.ly/uH8jBe.

Congrats 30 Seconds To Mars!

Congratulations, 30 Seconds to Mars and Echelon for making dreams possible! 30STM won two awards at the MTV EMA - Best Alternative Band and Best World Stage. Here they are saying Thank You to all of us fans!!!


This Is War is the album that has helped make all this happen. If you haven't yet gotten your copy, get it now!!! You've been missing so much!!!

Angels and Airwaves Art Giveaway

Hi, everyone!  Remember back in November of 2010, Angels and Airwaves was giving out a free download of their LOVE album thru their MODLIFE page?  Well, on Tuesday, November 8th, the band is releasing Parts One and Two of their album.  The deluxe version even includes an 85-minute Love movie on DVD. 

I don't normally plug contests, but if you're a HOT TOPIC fan on Facebook, you can enter to win a 24x30 custom screen printed art canvas (seen in the picture above), autographed and designed by Tom Delonge himself.  Now how awesome is that?!  Just go to the Angels and Airwaves Giveaway page on Facebook (or click that picture above).  They're giving one away daily starting next week.  Go ahead and try your luck...or spread the word and share the LOVE. 

Happy Birthday, Toryn Green!

In case you didn't know it, today is Toryn Green's birthday. He's currently the lead singer for the Long Island band, For The Taking. Most rock music fans like me already know him because he was lead singer for the band FUEL for awhile.

If you aren't already following Toryn Green and his new band, check them out on Facebook at For The Taking. And if you want to follow Toryn on Twitter, go to Toryn's Twitter page.

...When you check out those pages, be sure to wish Toryn a Happy Birthday, too. I already have! :)

Toryn Green and For The Taking

This week on BlogDumps Top Sites Tuesday, I wanted to share two things about an up- and-coming band which features someone we've heard before from two other famous bands. We previously heard Toryn Green in Fuel, when he replaced Brent Scallions as lead singer from 2006 through 2010. We also heard him with Apocalyptica a couple of years ago, lending his sexy vocals to their unique orchestral style of heavy metal during their US tour.

R.I.P. Jani Lane

OMG!!! I am so devastated! I just went online to check the daily news and see that one of my favorite 80's rockers was found dead last night.  Jani Lane - ex-frontman for Warrant - is gone.  Rest in peace, Jani!!!  We'll miss you.

Black Stone Cherry Music Online

I just thought I'd let my rockin' friends know that you can stream Black Stone Cherry's new album "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" (from RoadRunner Records) online. The album hit music stores on May 31st. Click on the album cover picture to start streaming now! Don't forget, if you enjoy it online, you'll definitely want to go out and buy a copy of the CD to take along in your car with you, too! Or, you can order the Special Edition with 15 tracks (instead of just 12 like the edition you can stream online for free). I order my music from Amazon, where you can get that special edition for only $9.99. I tell you, that's some kick ass rock on that album!

Def Leppard, Take Two

 

Joe Elliott of Def Leppard

This Tuesday, I wanted to look back in time to the 80's - when the long-haired rockstars were the ultimate dream guys of girls my age.  The 80s was also the peak of glamour rock and the so-called hair bands.  And one of the guys I really, really dug was Joe Elliott of Def Leppard.  While other popular long-haired musicians  fit LiggyzDreamz's definition of "hot", Joe Elliott was different because he had a very rugged, masculine sex appeal.  That was unlike my other 80's rockstar crushes - Jani Lane of Warrant, Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, or Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme.  I listened to their music over and over on my stereo while dreamily gazing at every magazine picture I could find of them.  Yeah, they were all eye candy to the giddy teen that I was.  But they were probably all teeny-bopper material compared to Joe Elliott, whose majority of female fans were (I would guess) probably all over the age of 20. 

Firefox Themes for Music Lovers

 Three Days Grace

Hinder

Thirty Seconds to Mars

If you use Mozilla's Firefox web browser, did you know that you can customize your browser theme with their Personas add on?  Yes, you can!  And if you love music as much as I do, there are tons of music themes available in their gallery.

Hinder Concert Review

 Wow!  I had the most amazing experience January 30th and I just could not get past the excitement to be able to blog about it...until now.  Even now, I still feel like I must've been dreaming and I wish that night was never over! 

Team Coco Fun

I decided to follow Conan O'brien's new talk show thru the Team Coco website and the fan page on Facebook. Since I don't subscribe to cable TV or satellite TV, I just watch the video clips and episodes they post online. (Yeah, why pay extra for cable when you can see the same things online at your convenience?) So far it's been a blast watching all those hilarious interviews and fun clips on the Team Coco site.