Hard Rock Daddy presents Music Discovery Monday – 1/11/16.
Each week, the HRD team shares songs that fly below radio’s radar, ranging from lesser-known artists to deeper cuts from both up-and-coming and established artists.
In addition to exposing the Hard Rock Daddy audience to new music that isn’t getting the attention that it deserves from radio, Music Discovery Monday also features a segment called “Hard Rock Music Time Machine,” which showcases older songs (from the ’70s to today) that hard rock music fans may have missed at the time of release.
In addition to appearing on the embedded YouTube playlists beneath each section, all songs featured on Music Discovery Monday can be listened to by clicking on the hyper-linked song titles.
The first Music Discovery Monday of 2016 begins on a bittersweet note with a special tribute to Lemmy Kilmister…
ADAM WALDMAN – (Publisher, Hard Rock Daddy)
MOTORHEAD – “Sympathy For The Devil”
On December 13th (two weeks before Lemmy Kilmister’s 70th birthday), a celebration took place on the Sunset Strip at the Whisky a Go Go, with fellow rock and roll brethren coming to pay tribute to one of the most influential and revered figures in the history of metal. During the celebration, Zakk Wylde joked on stage about what kind of world the rest of us are going to leave for two seeming indestructible rock legends – Lemmy and Keith Richards. Little did he know that the world would say goodbye to this larger-than-life figure just a few short weeks later.
Lemmy died just days after turning 70, but he died doing what he loved after living life on his own terms. What more can anyone ask for? Bad Magic, the final Motorhead studio album to ever be released, features an inspired cover of the Rolling Stones classic, “Sympathy For The Devil,” one that Richards must have surely appreciated. Musically, the song doesn’t stray too far from the original, but Lemmy’s cool, gruff, signature vocals make the song unique.
He was one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable, and his loss will leave an unfillable void in the metal world. It’s hard to think of anyone else that could have made a Mick Jagger song any cooler than Lemmy did with “Sympathy For The Devil.” RIP Lemmy! \m/
(as featured on the Top 135 Hard Rock Songs of 2015)
MOTORHEAD – “Ace Of Spades”
Lemmy was a larger-than-life rock star who looked intimidating, but was beloved by those who knew him. Not an easy line to walk, when you consider that he lived by his own rules without regard for what others thought. I mention this because the appearance of “Ace Of Spades” on Music Discovery Monday is puzzling in its own right, much less in the section that is usually reserved for songs that have been released within the past year or so. However, in honor of Lemmy, this week Hard Rock Daddy says…”F**k the rules!”
“Ace Of Spades” is the quintessential Motorhead song that features everything that made Lemmy into the irreplaceable part that he was to the band. There are only a handful of other people who would cause a band to call it quits on the day of their passing, perhaps none more than Lemmy. To not include his most widely-known song in this tribute would have been an insult to his legacy. It deserved top-billing on the tribute, which one of the reasons that it wasn’t featured in the Hard Rock Music Time Machine segment below (which also pays homage to Lemmy).
JON LOVELESS – HRD Music Scout
3 PILL MORNING – “Bottom Of The Barrel”
The first sounds from 3 Pill Morning’s forthcoming album are promising. This Minnesota band has experienced some success in the past, and based on this early track, there’s reason to believe that their success could continue in the coming year (as long as radio will respond as well as audiences seem to be).
ALMOST TAKEN – “Ashes”
While this Missouri band is relatively new to the national scene, do not make the mistake of limiting them based on their initial success being found on the Christian Rock charts. The sound of their current single makes it clear that they’re a legitimate prospect to find mainstream success as well (whether with this song or one somewhere down the line).
ROB DELL’AQUILA – HRD Music Scout
CLOUDSCAPE – “All For Metal”
Here comes something different for 2016. Progressive power metal band Cloudscape experiments with new sounds and techniques on their fifth album, Voice of Reason (set for a January 8th release). This Swedish band delivers speed and heaviness, but with some clever nuances, all set against melodic refrains. It’s a great album to start the new year with, and this particular track gets off to a rip-roaring start.
RESURRECTION KINGS – “Who Did You Run To”
DIO guitarist Craig Goldy spearheads the newest supergroup, which includes vocalist Chas West (Red Dragon Cartel, Tango Down), bassist Sean McNabb (Dokken, Great White) and drummer Vinny Appice (Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell). With their album set to debut this month, the riffs and songwriting are very reminiscent of DIO, while the vocals are quite different, but excellent in their own right.
CHRIS HERZEGOVITCH – HRD Music Scout
REACH – “Tell Me”
Sweden’s Reach debuted with Out To Rock in March of 2015. They are another really good melodic rock/metal outfit that has played with other great acts in the genre, yet this is their first studio album. “Tell Me” is a well-produced track that has a terrific, memorable refrain and chorus, brilliantly sung by Alex Waghorn, and supported by the solid guitar work of Ludvig Turner.
ODYSSEA PROJECT – “No Compromise”
Here’s a kick-ass, locomotive of a song by the Odyssea Project from Genova, Italy. “No Compromise” features masterful work from guitarist Pier Gonella, who leads the way with a tremendous rhythm section (comprised of Anna Portalupi on bass and Andrea Ge on drums), plus the distinctive vocals of Roberto Tiranti.
SUBMISSIONS
To be considered for Music Discovery Monday, please e-mail a link to the song being submitted on YouTube and an artist bio to – submissions@MusicDiscoveryMonday.com
HARD ROCK MUSIC TIME MACHINE
ADAM WALDMAN
MOTORHEAD AND OZZY OSBOURNE – “Hellraiser” (1991/1992)
You might be wondering why there are two dates listed for this collaboration between Motorhead and Ozzy Osbourne. It’s because this song (written by Lemmy, Ozzy and Zakk Wylde) was actually featured on two different albums (Ozzy’s 1991 No More Tears and Motorhead’s 1992 March or Die). While the dual vocals of Lemmy and Ozzy made it clear that both had a hand in “Hellraiser,” what many may not realize is that Lemmy also helped to write three other songs on Ozzy’s 1991 release: “I Don’t Want To Change The World,” “Desire” and the most popular song on the album, “Mama I’m Coming Home.” Ozzy’s version of “Hellraiser” is featured in the 2004’s Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Motorhead’s in the movie Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth.
Ozzy and Lemmy were more than just great writing partners; they were also great friends. When hearing of Lemmy’s passing, Ozzy shared his thoughts on his fallen comrade…
“Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side.”
PROBOT (f. LEMMY KILMISTER) – “Shake Your Blood” (2004)
A day after hearing of Lemmy’s passing, Dave Grohl went out and got a Motorhead “Ace Of Spades” tattoo on his forearm to pay tribute to the heavy metal icon. Along with Slash, the two had performed the song together live during the 2010 Revolver Golden God Awards. Grohl also worked with Lemmy on Probot’s only release in 2004 on a song called “Shake Your Blood.” The album features instrumentals by Grohl and his favorite metal singers as guest vocalists. The one musical exception was Lemmy’s bass playing. According to an article in Rolling Stone, Lemmy said that he wrote the lyrics to the song in about 10 minutes, and spoke about it a very matter-of-fact manner…“It’s rock and roll, you know. It’s not one of those complicated things.” The quote speaks volumes about the essence of Lemmy, a highly intelligent and well-read man who took a simple, straight-forward approach to rock and roll. It’s safe to say that there will never be another one like him. RIP Lemmy! \m/
JON LOVELESS
PRETTY RECKLESS – “Absolution” (2014)
Despite four hits from their highly-successful album, Going To Hell, there was probably still more that could have been mined for radio (including this track). It came to mind this week as I wondered whether Pretty Reckless’ forthcoming album will be able to live up to the standard that they set with their last release. Going To Hell showed as much musical progression of a band between albums as I can ever recall. I’m trying to be…hopeful, while waiting for the follow-up album.
BLACK ‘N BLUE – “Hold On To 18” (1984)
“Hold On To 18” was featured on Black ‘n Blue’s debut album (released in August of 1984). I wouldn’t actually turn 18 for another seven months, so I had a little extra time to identify with it, and sing along (badly) with gusto. The irony that I may identify with the lyrics more NOW – some three decades later – than I did THEN, isn’t lost on me.
ROB DELL’AQUILA
AT VANCE – “You Will Never Take My Soul” (2003)
In 2003, At Vance had just lost founding member and frontman Oliver Hartmann. Replacement Mats Leven did an amazing job, filling some pretty big shoes on the band’s fifth album. The band dishes out power metal with a heavy neoclassical influence. This amazing song was released only as a bonus track on limited editions of the album.
DESTINATION’S CALLING – “Disconnected” (2008)
This German progressive metal band plays a lot of songs at a fast pace, but this is the ballad from their debut album, Invisible Walls. It meanders along with a beautiful acoustic guitar, moving vocals, and some chilling harmonies.
CHRIS HERZEGOVITCH
KOTIPELTO – “Around” (2004)
“Around” is a powerful track off of Kottipelto’s 2004 release (Coldness). Timo Kottipelto’s project (when he’s not leading Stratovarious) has darker themes, but a similar sound to go along with his signature vocals. This song also features the excellent guitar work of Symphony X’s Michael Romeo.
DOKKEN – “Kiss Of Death” (1987)
“Kiss of Death” set the tone for Dokken’s fourth studio release (Back For the Attack) when they were at the height of their popularity almost 30 years ago. George Lynch’s screaming guitars and haunting riffs made this track one of the great lead-off songs of metal albums from the ‘80s.
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