Hello degenerates,
heathens, weirdos, and deviants. I am the Rock Otaku, and I’m here to
show you worlds such as hard rock, metal, punk, alternative rock, movies, TV,
anime, video games, and anything that makes us scream, shout, and go nuts!
Today, I provide my
thoughts on the current Active Rock airplay chart as reported on
americasmusiccharts.com. If you fellow rockers feel that I should be
shredding to the Alternative chart or a Billboard chart (like the Mainstream
Rock or Modern Rock Charts), then feel free to tell me in the comments.
Anyway, here’s week 10.
So how was
Christmas? Was it great? For me, I got a Vinyl player and decided to
make all music purchases in the near future mostly exclusive to the format. It’s an interesting format, but it provides
for some interesting sounds that I’ve never realized when playing music. As in, there’s a sort of authenticity to the
format. Call me a sound snob, but I’ll
use digital for quick musical discovery, finding albums to review for Let Them
Eat Metal that catch my eye and ears, and if an album is too hard or expensive
to find and get, regardless of format.
Beyond that, I’ll grab vinyl records for whatever album or band that I’d
rather have in a physical collection than a digital list.
So for this week, I
have some news. First, this will be the
last week that I use the Active Rock Airplay Chart from
americasmusiccharts.com. Starting next
week, I’ll focus on the Billboard Mainstream Rock, Alternative Rock, and Hot
Rock Charts in a new weekly column called “The Rock Otaku’s Rockin’ Billboard
Chart Watch.” If that sounds weak, then
here’s this to take in mind: Billboard, regardless of what your views on
mainstream music are, is probably the top authority on how popular a song is
(well, based on sales, airplay, and streams), and rock is a part of that, no
matter how much the hardcore SJWs want it dead (thanks, Nickelback, Creed, Limp
Bizkit, Simple Plan, and political correctness). Plus, it gives me a greater sense that these
songs, if they rock or suck, are huge in the U.S. Finally, the main format will be created
after the first entries being the following: The Top 10 Worst Hit Rock Songs of
2016 and the Top 10 Best Hit Rock Songs of 2016. Those will be on first and second weeks of
January, respectively, with the third week being the week the true column
format will be set.
So to send off this
list, here’s the list in reverse order, with reviews for any new songs:
50. Crown The Empire – Weight Of The World
(New Arrival):
You know, if it weren’t
for the guitars that came in after the electronic intro, I’d expect this to
have been an EDM track. Not to say that
this is a bad thing, but it’s weird to have a rock song to take from
electropop, but that’s our world today.
A big factor to this is the bouncy beat that propels this song, even
when it starts to include more basic mallcore instrumentation. Plus, the electronics seem to blend in with the
guitars, making it sound as if the guitars were processed through a
computer. Plus the lyrics deal with your
usual emo lyrical elements, making this song feel pretty meh from a lyrical
delivery. If there’s a silver lining,
the band is capable of better in that alternative-tinged melodic pop metalcore
style they play, but they need to pick better songs to show that for
airplay. But for now, it’s not too
memorable.
49. Seasons After – Fighter (49 Last Week)*:
Something with a
little more bite than the last one, probably.
At least it sounds like it can be played against Papa Roach, Beartooth,
and Five Finger Death Punch. Like any
other alt-metal song, it’s a heavy song with electronic touches,
loudness-seeking production, and some emo lyrics, though it’s more about
overcoming the darkness and kicking ass.
Hell, it’s called “Fighter,” and it has that “strive to fight” feeling
that makes it great for shonen AMVs. The
drums are loud and pounding, the bass is thick, but I’m not sure if it’s mixed
in properly here, the guitars are crunchy, down tuned, and aggressive, and the
vocal delivery is intense. Plus, there’s
a short solo here that allows the guitarist to kick as much ass. In short, this song is perfect for strength
training or martial arts practice (plus figuring out how to shoot fireballs).
48. Three Days Grace – You Don’t Get Me High
Anymore (45 last week)**: Meh
47. Judah & The Lion – Take It All Back (50
last week)**: Meh.
46. Halestorm – Mistress For Christmas (New
Arrival):
Apparently, this is a
cover of an AC/DC song. As for that,
Halestorm are pretty good when they channel the Thunder Down Under. But if there’s an issue, there’s one: it’s
after Christmas, and I don’t expect it to stay on the chart for a while. That’s the main issue, and other problems are
present in Halestorm’s other work and the stylings of AC/DC, it’s something to
get used to. The guitars crunch, the
bass is thick, the drums are like a thunderstorm (like Mutt Lange and Bruce Fairbairn-produced
AC/DC), and Lzzy Hale showcases here inner Brian Johnson here. There’s also a few great guitar licks that
come from the Angus Young rulebook alongside a solo that fits in that rulebook
as well. If there’s a humorous aspect
about this, the song is about a really hot chick, and the kind that the rockers
are asking for as a Christmas present, and lead singer Lzzy Hale came out as bi
on Twitter 2 years ago (seriously, look that up). As a result, it no longer feels like a random
gender-bender version of AC/DC, but a true tribute to their sound. Rock On, and Merry Christmas.
45. Sylar – Dark Daze (43 last week): Meh.
44. Lamb of God – The Duke (46 last week)**:
Good.
43. Nonpoint – Divided.. Conquer Them (44
Last Week)**: Okay.
42. 3 Doors Down – The Broken (41 last week):
Meh.
41. Metallica – Hardwired (38 last week):
Good
40. Badflower – Animal (42 last week): Great
39. One Less Reason – Break Me (31 last week):
Okay
38. Bleeker – Highway (39 last week): Great
37. Art of Anarchy – The Madness (36 last
week): Good, but Stapp keeps it from great
36. Goodbye June – Oh No (35 last week):
Great
35. Amity Affliction – All Messed Up (37 last
week): Meh.
34. From Ashes to New – Breaking Now (39 last
week): Pretty good.
33. Alter Bridge – Show Me A Leader (26 last
week): Awesome song, too bad it’s dropping
32. Blink-182 – She’s Out Of Her Mind (32
last week): Good
31. Avatar – Night Never Ending (31 last
week): Great
30. Adelitas Way – Ready For War (Pray For
Peace) (30 last week): Good
29. Through Fire – Breathe (29 last week):
Okay
28. Pretty Reckless – Oh My God (40 Last Week):
Good
27. Devour The Day – The Bottom (27 last
week): Good
26. Sick Puppies – Where Do I Begin (28 last
week): Okay
25. Green Day – Bang Bang (25 last week):
Great
24. Gemini Syndrome – Remember We Die (24
last week): Good
23. Metallica – Moth Into Flame (23 last
week): Great
22. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Go Robot (21 last
week): Good
21. Pop Evil – If Only For Now (20 last
week): Good
20. Starset – Monster (22 last week): Great
19. Kings of Leon – Waste A Moment (17 last
week): Great
18. In Flames – The Truth (18 last week): Boo
17. Sixx:A.M. – We Will Not Go Quietly (19
last week): Okay
16. Dinosaur Pile-Up – 11:11 (15 last week):
Great
15. Korn – Take Me (16 last week): Depends on
the mood
14. Beartooth – Hated (14 last week): Depends
on the mood
13. Chevelle – Door To Door Cannibals (13
last week): Great
12. A Day To Remember – Naivety (11 last
week): Good
11. Breaking Benjamin – Never Again (12 last
week): Good
10. Five Finger Death Punch – I Apologize (9
last week): Boo
9. Disturbed – Open Your Eyes (10 last
week): Good
8. Red Sun Rising – Amnesia (8 last week):
Great
7. Shinedown – How Did You Love (7 last
week): Okay
6. Green Day – Still Breathing (6 last
week): Good
5. Avenged Sevenfold – The Stage (5 last
week): Good, bordering on great
4. Metallica – Atlas, Rise! (4 last week):
Great, bordering on Awesome
3. Volbeat – Seal The Deal (3 last week):
Awesome
2. Ghost – Square Hammer (2 last week):
Awesome
1. Highly Suspect – My Name Is Human (1
last week): Definitely one of my favorites from this year.
*Not reviewed yet
**Different from last
week due to unforeseen shift by yours truly.
Now for the dropouts,
in order of smallest to biggest drop, and my thoughts on them falling:
50 Last Week: Head And
the Heart – All We Ever Knew:
This was a decent song,
and it definitely showed some promise for the band, but apparently, this was
not something that would by enjoyed by the same meatheads who keep giving 5FDP
a career. That’s a shame, but it’s made
Billboard Year-End lists, so I have no doubts that these guys and gals have a
long music career on their hands.
Sometimes, you need stuff like this after multiple mediocre hard rock
songs (not to say that any of them are bad, it’s just there’s a lot of meh
songs). I gives this band my blessings.
49 Last Week: Dorothy
– Dark Nights:
What the hell? This should have been on the charts for
longer. Not because this band’s on Jay-Z’s
label, but it’s because this song rocks.
Hard! This has everything that
you need in a bluesy rock song, hot guitar riffs, licks, and solos, thick basslines,
pounding drums, and the stage presence of lead singer Dorothy Martin. This has everything, but apparently people
prefer whatever the hell Katy Perry has to say (did she even have a hit this
year? I don’t think so). Overall, it’s a shame that this fell off the
charts.
48 Last Week: Memphis
May Fire – This Light I Hold f/J. Shaddix:
This is no longer on
the charts? Well, that’s not a major
issue, as I felt that this song was alright, nothing more. It’s something that tries too hard to be aggressive,
and the usage of Jacoby Shaddix makes this song feel like a Papa Roach
reject. Not to say it’s awful, but I’ve
heard worse from post-grunge, pop punk, hip hop, and country, and bad metalcore
depends on how emo it gets. This gets
pretty emo, and it’s purely for Hot Topic shoppers, but it isn’t the worst
mallcore song I’ve heard in my lifetime, but at least it isn’t Atilla and King
810 (the former brings humiliation to my hometown).
So that’s my analysis
of the chart. Feel free to comment if
you feel that I should mention other songs, or if your views on the mentioned
tracks are different from mine. If you have suggestions to improve
anything I do, don’t be shy. Constructive criticism is the best criticism
in my book about how to do this. Also, tell me if you want album reviews
or even reviews in other mediums. I’m up
for suggestions.
Coming Friday: Let
Them Eat Metal Continues!
Until next time, this
is the Rock Otaku. Live Loud and Play Hard.
All used references
are done under the rules of fair use and are owned by their original
creators.
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