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.
2016 Active Rock Radio / Octane Quarterly Report: Q1
The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 4/9/16. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:
| CHART | CHART | ARTIST | SONG TITLE | RADIO |
| POSITION | POSITION | SPINS | ||
| THIS WEEK | LAST WEEK | THIS WEEK | ||
| 1 | 1 | DISTURBED | “The Sound Of Silence” | 2021 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 DOORS DOWN | “In The Dark” | 1807 |
| 3 | 3 | MUSE | “Reapers” | 1779 |
| 4 | 5 | RED SUN RISING | “Emotionless” | 1624 |
| 5 | 4 | BRING ME THE HORIZON | “Happy Song” | 1567 |
| 6 | 8 | FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH | “My Nemesis” | 1214 |
| 7 | 7 | SIXX: A.M. | “Rise” | 1187 |
| 8 | 6 | FROM ASHES TO NEW | “Through It All” | 1168 |
| 9 | 9 | PAPA ROACH | “Falling Apart” | 1137 |
| 10 | 11 | DEFTONES | “Prayers/Triangles” | 1074 |
| 11 | 12 | SHAMAN’S HARVEST | “In Chains” | 832 |
| 12 | 13 | ADELITA’S WAY | “Bad Reputation” | 790 |
| 13 | 16 | HALESTORM | “Mayhem” | 736 |
| 14 | 17 | GHOST | “From The Pinnacle To The Pit” | 695 |
| 15 | 18 | THE STRUTS | “Kiss This” | 566 |
| 16 | 20 | HELLYEAH | “Human” | 551 |
| 17 | 14 | FOO FIGHTERS | “Saint Cecilia” | 506 |
| 18 | 19 | FOALS | “Mountain At My Gates” | 500 |
| 19 | 23 | DEVOUR THE DAY | “Lightning In The Sky” | 460 |
| 20 | 21 | STITCHED UP HEART | “Finally Free” | 453 |
| 21 | 24 | A DAY TO REMEMBER | “Paranoia” | 432 |
| 22 | 27 | ASKING ALEXANDRIA | “Here I Am” | 379 |
| 23 | 28 | KILLSWITCH ENGAGE | “Hate By Design” | 359 |
| 24 | 25 | SLIPKNOT | “Goodbye” | 310 |
| 25 | 0 | VOLBEAT | “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” | 309 |
| 26 | 32 | CHEAP TRICK | “When I Wake Up” | 307 |
| 27 | 31 | BLACK STONE CHERRY | “In Our Dreams” | 303 |
| 28 | 22 | ROB ZOMBIE | “Well, Everybody’s…in a UFO” | 264 |
| 29 | 30 | MONSTER TRUCK | “Don’t Tell Me How To Live” | 253 |
| 30 | 34 | THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH | “Running With Giants” | 251 |
| 31 | 29 | WOLFMOTHER | “Victorious” | 227 |
| 32 | 35 | BARONESS | “Shock Me” | 226 |
| 33 | 37 | CANDLEBOX | “Vexatious” | 221 |
| 34 | 40 | KALEO | “No Good” | 219 |
| 35 | 38 | THROUGH FIRE | “Stronger” | 218 |
| 36 | 36 | ANTHRAX | “Breathing Lightning” | 204 |
| 37 | 26 | FAILURE ANTHEM | “Paralyzed” | 196 |
| 38 | 62 | SICK PUPPIES | “Stick To Your Guns” | 170 |
| 39 | 39 | CILVER | “I’m America” | 167 |
| 40 | 43 | SEVENDUST | “Death Dance” | 164 |
| 41 | 41 | SMASHING SATELLITES | “Gamblin’ Man” | 158 |
| 42 | 50 | AVATAR | “The Eagle Has Landed” | 157 |
| 43 | 45 | LIKE A STORM | “Break Free” | 136 |
| 44 | 44 | TWENTY ONE PILOTS | “Ride” | 128 |
| 45 | 52 | ONE LESS REASON | “Where Were You?” | 113 |
| 46 | 47 | FILTER | “Take Me To Heaven” | 113 |
| 47 | 55 | HOLY WHITE HOUNDS | “Switchblade” | 112 |
| 48 | 51 | SUNFLOWER DEAD | “It’s Time To Get Weird” | 97 |
| 49 | 46 | BOBAFLEX | “A Spider In The Dark” | 95 |
| 50 | 69 | SHINEDOWN | “Asking For It” | 93 |
PUBLISHER’S PICK OF THE WEEK (by Adam Waldman)
VOLBEAT – “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”
Because Michael Poulsen has arguably the most distinct vocals on the scene today, there is an heir of familiarity whenever Volbeat releases new music. This is not to say that “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown” (the lead single off of the band’s upcoming album) sounds like their previous work, but Poulsen’s vocals provide a built-in advantage because you instantly know that you’re listening to Volbeat. While the band will always garner attention for the vocals, what makes this song something different is the heavy riffs throughout, especially the back half of the song which features an intense, pulsating rhythm and impressive guitar shredding. This is also where Poulsen proves that he has more to offer than just his signature style, showcasing a more subdued side with a cool vocal vibe. Volbeat is one of the top bands in the format, but make no mistake, this song didn’t have such a strong debut because of their justifiable status among the elite rock acts today. This lead single is incredibly strong, and deserves the early attention that it’s getting. Debuting at #25 this week makes it a virtual lock to hit the top 10 sooner, rather than later. Top 10, however, is the only tip of the iceberg. I’d be shocked if this song doesn’t hit #1 within the next month or so. It’s that good!
PUBLISHER’S OP-ED – Octane’s Air “Farce”??? (by Adam Waldman)
Many Active Rock radio listeners are fans of SiriusXM’s Octane, especially those who live in areas where it is the only game in town (myself included). From a playlist and on-air personality perspective, Octane delivers as much (or more) than most of its local competitors on terrestrial radio, but it is far from perfect. Do I wish that they gave more developing artists meaningful airplay? Absolutely! However, that is not the flaw that is the most glaring from the most powerful station in the format. That honor belongs to the weekly Big ‘Uns Countdown.
During most election years (especially this one), we are forced to deal with lies and subterfuge from pandering politicians who do more to divide than unite the country. In a perfect world, stations like Octane would be a welcome respite from the cat and mouse games being played out in the political arena. For the most part, Octane fulfills that role, the glaring exception being the misleading method by which the weekly Big ‘Uns Countdown is constructed.
As recently as last year, the featured songs were supposedly chosen by the Octane Air Force. Nowadays, they’ve added social media reactions to songs as part of the supposed equation. For the casual listener, this may sound legitimate, but for those who track the weekly countdown closely, it is painfully obvious that this is not the case at all.
If the current election process has proven anything, it is that it is nearly impossible to get the masses to view things through the same lens. So, are we really to believe that Octane listeners all loved “The Sound Of Silence” by Disturbed so much that they kept it on the countdown for several weeks, only to have it drop off entirely last week, and then return this week in the #1 position? Did this same group of people also get tired of Bring Me The Horizon’s “Happy Song” for one week, and then decide that they missed the song so much that they made a push for it to re-enter this week in the #3 position? Is it even remotely possible that listeners all voted for Shinedown’s “How Did You Love” for a few weeks before deciding this week that they actually favor “Asking For It” instead? These examples all happened this week, but this is something that I’ve noticed for quite some time.
Octane has the right to decide which 15 songs will appear on the Big ‘Uns Countdown each week without offering any explanation or apology for their methods. Listeners are not owed transparency into how the songs are chosen, but they also shouldn’t have their collective intelligence insulted either. It’s bad enough that the election process is built upon pandering and deception. The time has come for Octane to stop leading people to believe that they are instrumental in choosing the songs that are featured on the Big ‘Uns Countdown. The listeners will look forward to it just as much each week…maybe even more!
HRD SPIN CONTROL (by Adam Waldman and Jon Loveless)
Each week, we will share the songs that we think should be added to rotations, alongside the songs that we feel should be dropped from rotations, either because they are a bad fit for the format, or because they have run their course and it’s time for a new single from the artist.
SPIN IT…
FIFTYWATT FREIGHT TRAIN – “Whiskey & Hate”
UGLY MELON – “Dead Or Alive”
SEPTEMBER MOURNING – “Eye Of The Storm”
EVANS BLUE – “iGod”
TREMONTI – “Dust”
SOIL – “Way Gone”
NEW YEAR’S DAY – “I’m About To Break You”
DROP IT…
Foals – “Mountain At My Gates”
Twenty One Pilots – “Ride”
Holy White Hounds – “Switchblade”
The Struts – “Kiss This”
Deftones – “Prayers/Triangles”
Stitched Up Heart – “Finally Free”
Foo Fighters – “Saint Cecilia”
THE BREAKDOWN by Jon Loveless
KING OF THE HILL
Disturbed continues to sit atop the Mediabase Active Rock airplay chart for a sixth consecutive week (despite a noticeable decline in airplay). “The Sound Of Silence” easily remained ahead of the next closest contenders from 3 Doors Down and Muse for a few reasons; it started with a large lead in spins, and each of the potential challengers suffered a slight decline spin decline this past week.
NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT
New to the Top 10 this week is “Prayers/Triangles” – the lead single from Deftones’ new album…
Reaching the Top 20 this week are Devour The Day’s “Lightning In The Sky” and Stitched Up Heart’s “Finally Free” (which took 23 weeks to get there, debuting at #50 before Thanksgiving of 2015)…
Four songs are new to the Top 30 this week, led by a very strong showing out of the gate from Volbeat’s new single, “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”…
Debuting in the Top 40 this week are Sevendust’s latest single, and “Stick To Your Guns,” the first single from Sick Puppies with a new lead singer…
Four other tracks debut in the Top 50 this week, including “Asking For It” – the next single from Shinedown, which appears some two weeks before its official “going for adds” date.
THREE UP & THREE DOWN
MOVING UP
Five Finger Death Punch – “My Nemesis”
Volbeat – “The Devil’s Bleeding Crown”
Sick Puppies – “Stick To Your Guns”
DROPPING DOWN
Disturbed – “The Sound Of Silence”
Foo Fighters – “Saint Cecilia”
Rob Zombie – “Well, Everybody’s Fucking In A U.F.O.”
TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS
A bit of an unusual situation has developed at the top of the chart, where it appears quite possible (if not likely) that both 3 Doors Down and Muse will be denied a #1 song by the roadblock that is the Disturbed’s “The Sound Of Silence.” It’s certainly not unheard of for songs to get stuck like this on occasion, but it is unusual for a pair of songs to have it happen simultaneously, while both lose momentum on pace with the frontrunner.
With the trends over the past couple of weeks, it looks as though Red Sun Rising has at least an equal chance to be the eventual successor at the top. Radio could easily decide otherwise, and reverse course in order to hand one contender or the other (or both) a week at the top, but at this point, it would almost have to be a conscious decision to do so.
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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