That being said, what we’re presenting tonight is Godsmack’s Gold-certified Live concert DVD, released in 2001, and recorded at Centrum in Worcester, Massachusetts, in March 2001. At the time, Godsmack was still a young band, having formed just six years prior and only two albums deep. Needless to say, the performance shows how high-energy they were… and the hometown crowd was nuts.

Speaking of the crowd, Godsmack fans always seemed a bit on the douchbag/jock/gym rat side of things, and you can see that in the fans in attendance. Just look at all those ball caps turned backwards; that says it all. These are probably the same fans who like(d) Limp Bizkit. In their defence, Godsmack is a gateway band to Heavy Metal, and some never go much deeper. Also, it makes sense for jocks to be into Godsmack since they have that high-octane, high-energy, driving beat with a touch of violence that conjures a lot of adrenaline. Kind of like AC/DC.

If nothing else, seeing an early concert from Godsmack shows us why they’ve since released three more successful albums and two other DVDs. The sound, the professionalism, the energy, the show, it was top shelf.

One thing I have a problem with is the fact that Godsmack is labeled as an “Alternative Metal” band… I’ve always thought of them as Post-Grunge. For me, my genre classification has the added weight of what I perceive to be an Alice in Chains influence. Now — it might be documented somewhere, but I’ve never read it — consider that the band name “Godsmack” is the title of an Alice in Chains song and the sun logo resembles the one used by Chains. Post-Grunge it is then.

Godsmack Live DVD Set List:

“Opening”
“Awake”
“Sick of Life”
“Vampires”
“Bad Magick”
“Bad Religion”
“Mistakes”
“Greed”
“Trippin'”
“Get Up, Get Out!”
“Spiral”
“Keep Away”
“Voodoo”
“Whatever”

Yell! Magazine’s Concert Series brings you kick-ass live shows to get your party started right and to help you vent your Friday frustrations.

Rock Hard \m/

The feud between Motley Crue‘s Nikki Sixx and Godsmack’s Sully Erna seems to be escalating, and we just can’t ignore it anymore because it’s a classic, juicy Heavy Metal hate-fest. As much as it makes a part of the media trying to capitalize on dirt between others, this is the kind of beef that was all too familiar to us growing up (Dave Mustaine vs. Metallica, David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar vs. Van Halen, Axl Rose vs. Slash/everybody, Dee Snider vs. the Government, etc.).

The feud might not actually be escalated, so much as more information is being revealed.

It all starts back in 2009, when on the Crue Fest 2. Some issue happened back then, Godsmack went on to write and record “Cryin’ Like a Bitch,” which is reportedly about Sixx, and now the two are at odds.

On April 30th, Sixx Tweeted:

So @godsmack begged to be on @Sixxsense to promote their shit new album.Good luck touring phonebooths.Whos crying like a bitch now?

Shortly after the Tweet, Sixx piled more onto it on an episode of Sixx Sense:

Yesterday somebody came into the studio and they said, ‘Hey, Godsmack would really like to be on this show.’ And I said, ‘Over my dead [expletive] body.’ And they said, ‘Well, you know, they wanna be on the show because their record’s coming out.’ And I go, ‘Did you forget the fact that they wrote a song about me called ‘Cryin’ Like a Bitch’ and that there’s probably 15 festivals that Motley Crue is headlining and that we said if Godsmack’s on ‘em, we’re not doing them?’

And that was just the beginning of my revenge. And that I take every opportunity to slander them and be very immature? And then they wanna be on the show? Dude, have some credibility. I mean, Jesus Christ! I’m so embarrassed for you. At least you can go, ‘We’ve got a new record and we don’t wanna be on that [expletive]‘s radio show. Well, we actually need some help now.’ Have you ever burned a bridge and looked back and went, ‘I can use a lifeline right now?’

And there it is from the horses mouth, Motley Crue has threatened to withdraw from shows and festivals, up to 15, if Godsmack is added to the bill. Ouch!

The odds of this feud going on for decades is highly unlikely. One reason being that Motely Crue will soon be “semi-retiring.” Another reason being that Sixx knows that it’s silly and “immature.” It’s just a beef and probably neither party remembers what started it all. It’s still entertaining though. I’d be interested in hearing Sully’s response and take on it, but so far the Godsmack camp has been mum.

Source: Blabbermouth

Rock Hard \m/

The Army of the Damned trailer can be seen in the player above. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Army of the Damned synopsis:

The filming of a hit reality TV show goes horribly wrong when a group of small town cops respond to a call that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase, domestic disturbance.

Sully talked about his role to Dread Central last May, stating:

This is my first lead in a movie and it’s cool. It’s an action/horror and there’s some good sarcastic New England humor in it. They put me together with three other cops that play beside me. Everyone has such a different personality and it’s really, really cool how we play off each other.

Sully has also talked about his character:

Bridge, who I play, is a lot more serious and intense and takes things a lot more seriously. He’s watching over the town his father used to be sheriff in. And then we’ve got two other knuckleheads that just come in and never take anything seriously because nothing ever happens in their town. The dynamics are really great.

Army of the Damned also features appearances from a couple of horror icons, Tony Todd (Candyman, Hatchet) and Michael Berryman (Below Zero, The Devil’s Rejects), as well as the odd inclusions of Joey Fatone (‘N Sync) and porn star Jasmin St. Claire.

Army of the Damned comes to VOD on December 3rd and hits DVD on January 14th.

Rock Hard \m/

After two full days of metal and work to bring you the best Heavy MTL 2013 coverage, we’re here to give you a final report on yesterday’s performances.

Fan frenzy

First off though, you know you’re something when you go backstage to give interviews and even the media swarms you like groupies to take snapshots of you with their phones. Yes, I’m talking about Phil Anselmo, and no, I’m not insulting anybody who did this. I totally understand why — the man is a metal legend. We gave you a rundown of his amazing performance in another report, but while he was backstage we tried like hell to get an interview with him, unfortunately after waiting for an hour, he still had other scheduled interviews to get to. We did manage to possibly secure a phone interview with him.

As a result of waiting, we missed a few performances that were being broadcast backstage via closed-circuit TV, so we at least got to see and hear them. Having seen Machine Head a few times, it sounded and looked like they were giving their typical, spot-on performance. I wish Pallbearer had been broadcast since I’ve never seen them, but we did see Children of Bodom via closed-circuit. Thankfully the cameramen/women at Evenko’s Heavy MTL were doing a great job capturing the experience; we got to see the band up close and personal and we got to see the audience react to the performers. We can say, without a doubt, that COB were definitely appreciated by the fans, which is all that really matters at these things.

Moving toward the end of the night, we got to see Havok, Godsmack, and Rob Zombie.

Havok at Heavy MTL 2013

Havok is a relative newcomer to the metal scene, having released their first album, Burn, in 2009. Currently the band is touring their third album, Unnatural Selection, from 2013. Honestly, I’ve never seen them live, nor have I ever listened to them, which is a damn shame because I love me some good thrash metal. I have to say that despite sounding an awful lot like Overkill, Havok was impressive. Near the end of their set, they broke into “Afterburner,” and just as expected, the fans chanted “burn, burn, burn, burn…” as it is on the album. To me, however, it sounded like Metallica’s “die, die, die, die…” — but that’s not a bad thing. All in all, Havok is a band that I intend on paying more attention to.

Godsmack at Heavy MTL 2013

Godsmack was next for us. I truly wasn’t looking forward to seeing them, but King Hazard insisted that they at least sound good live. We’ve seen them before, but I didn’t really pay attention. This time I did, and I have to say that Godsmack gives a really good live performance: Shannon Larkin is an entertaining drummer to watch and Sully Erna is an exemplary frontman. The band plays with precision and the sound is perfect: deep and rockin’.

Rob Zombie Enthralls Heavy MTL 2013

Then, for the final act of the night — Rob Zombie! The set opened with “Teenage Nosferatu Pussy,” which pleased the crowd, but seemed a bit tame as an opener — even if Zombie sang the sex-laden song from an elevated pulpit of sorts. Although the crowd was stoked, they really went nuts when Zombie broke into “Superbeast” from his debut solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe. The rest of the set was filled with standards like “Living Dead Girl,” “More Human Than Human,” “House of 1,000 Corpses,” and even a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

While the music was stellar with no hiccups, the star of the show was the stage show, which was full of video, lights, fire, giant robots, giant devils, mechanical contraptions, and more. A Rob Zombie show is truly something for all your senses. Zombie also surprised the crowd by announcing that he’s finally putting together a live DVD, and since he asked the crowd to sing “Oh, Canada,” to let the world know who they were, I can only assume some of the footage from last night will be used. However, the Quebec audience couldn’t even get through their national anthem before breaking into their annoying as hell “oh, way, oh, way-oh-way-oh-way…” chant. It even disappointed Rob Zombie, who said, “oh, that’s ok, we’ll fix it in post.” So, yeah, Montreal, Quebec, you’re gonna be on that DVD singing “Oh, Canada” anyway.

I also have to praise Rob Zombie for asking the girls to get on their boyfriend’s shoulders to flash the cameras. He even gave a countdown for it before breaking into the sexy grooves of “Living Dead Girl.” Throughout the song the cameras were fixed on the audience, but only a few girls flashed their boobs. How disappointing. That’s twice Montreal disappointed their entertainer. When will this new generation realize that showing your boobs is a part of the heavy metal culture? I just hope Zombie broke the ice and that we’ll see more of this, which should break the overly grave vibe of the Montreal crowd. Let’s have some fun people!

Rock Hard \m/

If you were there passing the metal torch to your kids like Anthrax or In Flames was a Papal Blessing, thank you. Unless you were there with an infant and neglected to put hearing protection on the poor shit, then fuck you.

If you were Billy Talent – Fuck off. I think there were more people waiting to see Godsmack at the adjacent stage than in front of yours – that’s not saying much.

Truth is, metalheads are still intimidating, even more so than they were back in the ‘80s when Tipper Gore went on a rampage to censor music in general and there was a paranoia that all metal was Satanic. Where they were once pimply-faced, skin-tight jean-wearing, long-haired, jean-jacket-with-the-sleeves-cut-off-and-patches-up-the-ass wearing types, who hung out in parking lots drinking beers, snarled at old ladies, and may have played D&D, today they are tattooed to kingdom come, pierced in any orifice imaginable (and making them where there once were none), and a lot less jovial. Of course today’s metallers still scowl, but they scowl at everyone, not just old ladies. My point, however, is that despite their “evilness,” they are among the nicest people. But maybe that’s because once inside the gates, you’re home, and everyone there is family. Society’s fringe subculture in one community where we point at one another’s shirts and say, “Fuck yeah that’s a nice shirt,” then we display our devil horns.

OK, so Day 1 at Heavy MTL was a scorcher – hot, humid, and sunny. But the music was divine – or evil, or wicked, or sick, or whatever expression of approval you want to use. Here are some of the highlights and low lights of Day 1 at Heavy MTL.

Surprise Performance of the day

Unearth

Between the two main stages, Mega and Jägermeister, the first band that truly caught our ear was Unearth. Sure we were in and out of the media area (we had interviews to do), but when we weren’t there we were sitting on the hill at the back, and when Unearth came on we were compelled to stand and walk toward the stage as if possessed. Unearth delivered some serious crunch, groove, bone-rattling bass blasts, chugging rhythms, growling vocals, arpeggios, and more. And seriously, Buz McGrath seems to invoke Angus Young or even old-school VH when he’s on stage, running around, jumping off of stacks and even riding a skateboard – I don’t think any other band member during the two days had more fun on stage.

Best Performance of the day

Trivium

There was so much good shit going on that it’s a daunting task to try to narrow this down to just one. From Death Angel to Machine Head to In Flames to… well, you get the point. If you were there, pick your own favorite. For our tastes, however, we’re going with Trivium. If you’re a fan, you know they’re diverse range certainly appeals to a huge crowd; their heavy shit can get a circle pit going with the best of them, their melodic shit makes for great listening, their groove shit makes for some great chanting. Trivium is just one of those bands that is enjoyable for all without sounding like they’re trying. A couple of here at Yell! Magazine feel that Trivium could be the band to carry the metal shield into the future for many years to come.

Best Sounding Performance of the day

Godsmack

Godsmack. Yeah, I know. What the fuck? Certainly their weird drum solo and numerous covers should disqualify them, but, technically, they sounded great. Sure, we all like it when a band takes some liberties with their songs when they perform them live, but there’s nothing worse than a band that can’t play live, can’t sing live, and just sound like shit through and through live. This is not the case with Godsmack. They sound just as good on their studio releases.

Quebec Band of the day

Cryptopsy

Because we have to give some love to our host city, we’re going to name the best Montreal-based band we saw at Heavy MTL Day 1. That distinction goes to Cryptopsy, possibly the heaviest band of the day – or at least Matt McGachy’s vocals were. I met Matt behind the scenes (I’d met him on another occasion as well), and it’s hard to believe that such vicious growls can come out of him for two reasons: 1) He’s a super nice guy, which makes you wonder where all that anger comes from, and 2) his voice is pretty soft. Anyway, everything Cryptopsy did on stage was fierce and heavy.

By the way, we did skip Disturbed to see Cryptopsy.

Best Stage Presence of the day

In Flames

A good indication that a band is comfortable on stage is their frontman’s ability (usually, unless you’re in Anthrax, then it might be Scott Ian) to engage the audience and deliver some kick-ass banter or some seriously funny shit. And this should be unrehearsed, in the moment, taking in the scene and the vibe, not pre-established dialog such as KISS delivers (don’t get me wrong, KISS is my all-time favorite, but if you’ve seen one show, you’ve seen them all for the most part – and that consistency and adherence to excellence is one reason why I keep coming back).

Of course there are other things that contribute to stage presence, such as the performance itself and band interaction (because seeing a band with no love between them is a difficult thing to see). Check out some of In Flames’ Anders Friden’s funny shit below:

“We can’t play that fast, we’re gettin’ old and shit. You gotta slow it down.” His response to the audience’s quick clap rhythm between songs.

“Hey, dude, is there anyway I can get a beer, man? You, there in the white cap, can you send me a beer, please? I have to order a beer like you guys. No, I can’t come there I have a show, sorry. I have to be here. But you guys can come here. You see these blue guys here, security; they are not here to have a vacation, they are here to save your asses – so make them earn their paycheck; I want to see bodies flowing over the barricade; I want to see people all the way from the back flowing over here.”

Embarrassment of the day

Billy Talent

Billy Talent – that should be enough said. But it’s not. When Benjamin Kowalewicz said between songs “I know we’re not a heavy metal band, but there’s no place we’d rather be” you know you’re in for some shitty ass music. Next time you’re invited to such an event, have some dignity and graciously bow out.

Credit: Charles William Pelletier

This summer’s mainstage artists, Disturbed, Godsmack, and Megadeth, will be joined by a ferocious mix of the best hard rock and heavy metal artists of today. For the first time in festival history, through their success, In Flames, Machine Head, and Trivium have grown through the ranks to now perform on the main stage in rotating slots throughout the tour. In addition to catching their favorite bands, Mayhem-goers can enjoy a plethora of festival activities, including playing the newest video games, perusing vendors, attending autograph signing sessions, and a slew of other interactive activities that enhance the concert experience including the Metal Mulisha, the World’s Greatest Freestyle Motocross team.

Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2011 Tour Dates

– Saturday, July 9, 2011
San Manuel Amphitheater (San Bernardino, CA)

– Saturday, July 9, 2011
San Manuel Amphitheater (San Bernardino, CA)

– Sunday, July 10, 2011
Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA)

– Tuesday, July 12, 2011
White River Amphitheatre (Auburn, WA)

– Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Idaho Center Amphitheatre (Nampa, ID)

– Friday, July 15, 2011
Desert Sky Pavilion (Phoenix, AZ)

– Saturday, July 16, 2011
Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion (Albuquerque, NM)

– Sunday, July 17, 2011
Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre (Englewood, CO)

– Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Maryland Heights, MO)

– Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Riverbend Music Center (Cincinnati, OH)

– Friday, July 22, 2011
Comcast Center (Mansfield, MA)

– Saturday, July 23, 2011
Parc Jean-Drapeau: Heavy MTL (Montreal, QC)

– Sunday, July 24, 2011
Comcast Theatre (Hartford, CT)

– Wednesday, July 27, 2011
PNC Bank Arts Center (Holmdel, NJ)

– Friday, July 29, 2011
First Niagara Pavilion (Burgettstown, PA)

– Saturday, July 30, 2011
Jiffy Lube Live (Bristow, VA)

– Sunday, July 31, 2011
Susquehanna Bank Center (Camden, NJ)

– Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Virginia Beach Amphitheatre (Virginia Beach, VA)

– Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek (Raleigh, NC)

– Friday, August 5, 2011
First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre (Tinley Park, IL)

– Saturday, August 6, 2011
DTE Energy Music Theatre (Clarkston, MI)

– Sunday, August 7, 2011
Verizon Wireless Music Center (Noblesville, IN)

– Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Zoo Amphitheatre (Oklahoma City, OK)

– Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Gexa Energy Pavilion (Dallas, TX)

– Friday, August 12, 2011
Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood (Atlanta, GA)

– Saturday, August 13, 2011
1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre (Tampa, FL)

– Sunday, August 14, 2011
Cruzan Ampitheatre (West Palm Beach, FL)

For more information on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2011, visit the official site

When Godsmack released the album The Oracle back in May 2010, I have to say that I wasn’t very excited. The main songs on the album were typical of the Godsmack sound (heavy bass, Sully’s throaty voice) and, so, there was nothing very original. But one song I paid attention to was “Cryin’ Like a Bitch.”

When Sully slyly admitted the song was a reaction to rock egos he bumped into during the Crüe Fest 2 tour with Motley Crüe, I gained some interest. When you knew the point of the song and where and to whom it was directed, it became fun to listen too.

Although not confirmed by the band, the song is most likely directed at Nikki Sixx and his inflated ego. Sully talks about the tour with Artisan News (posted on YouTube) and the egos involved and it’s quite funny to listen too.

When you add a killer video to the controversy, the song becomes even more enjoyable to listen to. In fact, I came to the conclusion that it’s the music video that I enjoy more than if I listen to the song on its own.

The video is awesome. It shows the band on stage playing the song with cuts to UFC fights involving Chuck Liddell, Rashad Evans, Brock Lesner, BJ Penn, and Matt Hughes. You see the fighters kicking ass while Sully’s voice and Tony Rombola’s guitar drives the video forward.

Since the song would’ve passed by without much notice by me until the reference to the Crüe became public, and since I found myself enjoying the video more for the flashes of the UFC fighters than for the song itself, I must conclude that the video is better than the song itself.

As always you can leave your opinion below.

Later,