HRD RADIO REPORT
The HRD Radio Report showcases the weekly Active Rock Mediabase Charts (compiled by AllAccess.com), and appears every Tuesday on HardRockDaddy.com. The HRD Radio Report digs deeper into the weekly Active Rock charts, providing commentary, reviews, recommendations and predictions. It also features opinion pieces on chart action and the music business in general.
Many of the artists featured on the Active Rock charts have already been reviewed on HardRockDaddy.com.
Click on the hyperlinked song titles to read song reviews, and the hyperlinked artist names to read album reviews.
The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 3/8/15. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:
| CHART POSITION THIS WEEK | CHART POSITION LAST WEEK | ARTIST | SONG TITLE | RADIO SPINS THIS WEEK |
| 1 | 2 | PAPA ROACH | “Face Everything And Rise” | 1792 |
| 2 | 3 | HALESTORM | “Apocalyptic” | 1713 |
| 3 | 4 | FOO FIGHTERS | “Congregation” | 1658 |
| 4 | 5 | PRETTY RECKLESS | “Follow Me Down” | 1647 |
| 5 | 1 | THREE DAYS GRACE | “I Am Machine” | 1416 |
| 6 | 8 | OFFSPRING | “Coming For You” | 1348 |
| 7 | 7 | MARILYN MANSON | “Deep Six” | 1206 |
| 8 | 6 | SIXX A.M. | “Stars” | 1194 |
| 9 | 10 | AC/DC | “Rock Or Bust” | 1097 |
| 10 | 11 | ALL THAT REMAINS | “This Probably Won’t End Well” | 912 |
| 11 | 14 | SLASH | “Bent To Fly” | 871 |
| 12 | 12 | BRING ME THE HORIZON | “Drown” | 854 |
| 13 | 15 | INCUBUS | “Absolution Calling” | 789 |
| 14 | 16 | STARSET | “Carnivore” | 721 |
| 15 | 18 | KID ROCK | “First Kiss” | 603 |
| 16 | 19 | CAGE THE ELEPHANT | Cigarette Daydreams | 589 |
| 17 | 26 | THEORY OF A DEADMAN | “Angel” | 559 |
| 18 | 13 | NICKELBACK | “Million Miles An Hour” | 544 |
| 19 | 27 | TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT | “Take It Back” | 492 |
| 20 | 25 | WE ARE HARLOT | “Dancing On Nails | 466 |
| 21 | 21 | BLACK KEYS | “Weight Of Love” | 459 |
| 22 | 24 | AWOLNATION | “Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)” | 442 |
| 23 | 22 | ISLANDER | “New Wave” | 438 |
| 24 | 23 | LIKE A STORM | “Wish You Hell” | 437 |
| 25 | 20 | MOTIONLESS IN WHITE | “Reincarnate” | 391 |
| 26 | 30 | OTHERWISE | “Coming For The Throne” | 328 |
| 27 | 29 | SLIPKNOT | “Custer” | 323 |
| 28 | 31 | THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH | “Unraveled Road” | 303 |
| 29 | 28 | ARCTIC MONKEYS | “R U Mine?” | 279 |
| 30 | 32 | 10 YEARS | “Miscellanea” | 264 |
| 31 | 34 | DEVOUR THE DAY | “Faith” | 249 |
| 32 | 33 | SONS OF TEXAS | “Baptized In The Rio Grande” | 232 |
| 33 | 37 | BLACK VEIL BRIDES | “Goodbye Agony” | 223 |
| 34 | 35 | AMARANTHE | “Drop Dead Cynical” | 215 |
| 35 | 36 | HINDER | “Hit The Ground” | 188 |
| 36 | 41 | APOCALYPTICA | “Cold Blood” | 184 |
| 37 | 38 | BEARTOOTH | “Beaten In Lips” | 174 |
| 38 | 44 | FRAMING HANLEY | “Collide” | 155 |
| 39 | 40 | CHARM CITY DEVILS | “Karma” | 147 |
| 40 | 0 | ZAC BROWN BAND (f. Chris Cornell) | “Heavy Is The Head” | 141 |
| 41 | 45 | FALLING IN REVERSE | “God If You Are Above” | 134 |
| 42 | 43 | FLYLEAF | “Thread” | 134 |
| 43 | 46 | PERIPHERY | “Alpha” | 120 |
| 44 | 42 | IN FLAMES | “Paralyzed” | 118 |
| 45 | 48 | BRIDGE TO GRACE | “Bitch” | 114 |
| 46 | 47 | STARS IN STEREO | “Fair-Weather Friend” | 114 |
| 47 | 50 | ADELITA’S WAY | “I Get Around” | 112 |
| 48 | 39 | YELAWOLF | “Till It’s Gone” | 107 |
| 49 | 70 | ROYAL BLOOD | “Little Monster” | 100 |
| 50 | 53 | YOU ME AT SIX | “Win Some, Lose Some” | 60 |
PUBLISHER’S PICK OF THE WEEK by Adam Waldman
Zac Brown Band (f. Chris Cornell) – “Heavy Is The Head”
It has been several years since my last viewing of Saturday Night Live, so I had no idea that Chris Cornell had performed with the Zac Brown Band (a well-known country artist), so you can imagine my surprise when “Heavy Is The Head” came on Octane while driving in the car. I have to admit that my first thought was that I accidentally changed the station, but then I recognized Chris Cornell’s distinct vocals.
As someone who listens to little (if any) country music, my gut reaction was that the song didn’t belong on Octane (or any other Active Rock station for that matter), but being a big Cornell fan, I decided to give it a chance, and I’m glad that I did. While there are obviously some country elements to “Heavy Is The Head,” the truth of the matter is that, if I hadn’t heard of the Zac Brown Band, I wouldn’t have known that they were country artists based solely on this track.
Of course, any song that features Cornell has a Soundgarden vibe, but this track actually sounds more Zeppelin-esque to me, which is a growing trend in hard rock today. Led Zeppelin is not a band that is ever played on Active Rock stations, but bands influenced by them definitely are (most notably Rival Sons and Crobot), so it’s easy to see why programmers have jumped right on “Heavy Is The Head.”
If you are a Cornell fan, this is a song that will definitely resonate with you. Although it is not necessarily an ideal fit for the Active Rock format, the fact that it has managed to crack into enough rotations to make it into the Top 50 offers further proof that the format seems to be evolving.
THE BREAKDOWN by Jon Loveless
KING OF THE HILL
As expected, a new #1 sits atop the Mediabase Active Rock Airplay chart this week, but it turned into an interesting race to the top as the week wore on. With Papa Roach declining sharply, the contenders lined up with each gaining ground on the artist/song in front of them. When the weekly checkered flag fell, Papa Roach’s “Face Everything And Rise” survived a serious challenge by Halestorm’s “Apocalyptic” to finish in the top spot. At #3, Foo Fighters’ “Congregation” actually gained ground on both of those songs, and Pretty Reckless’ “Follow Me Down” was closing in on all three of the songs ahead of it.
NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT
All That Remains slips quietly into the Top 10 on just a slight bit of growth …
Format staple, Theory Of A Deadman, and newcomers, Temperance Movement, both break into the Top 20 along with We Are Harlot …
Three new songs arrive in the top 50, led by noted rocker … Zac Brown? …
Also debuting this week is another track from You Me At Six – “Win Some, Lose Some,” which has gotten heavy support from basically two outlets – one satellite, one terrestrial. With the lack of support gathering for other contenders, heavy rotations on those two stations needed only a small amount of help elsewhere to effectively create a Top 50 song.
THREE UP & THREE DOWN
MOVING UP
The Pretty Reckless – “Follow Me Down”
The Offspring – “Coming For You”
Theory Of A Deadman – “Angel”
DROPPING DOWN
Three Days Grace – “I Am Machine”
Nickelback – “Million Miles An Hour”
Motionless In White – “Reincarnate”
FUTURES REPORT
Next week, the rather furious battle for #1 is likely to continue, and we’ll see if Active Rock programmers can find a bro’ country band or a former American Idol contestant to push as ‘active rock’ stars.
WRAP-UP
That’s all for this week. Tune in to HardRockDaddy.com every Tuesday for the HRD Radio Report. \m/
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