HRD Radio Report – Week Ending 9/15/18

 

HRD Radio Report – Week Ending 9/15/18

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. The following is the Active Rock Mediabase Chart for the week ending 9/15/18. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:

CHART	CHART	ARTIST	SONG TITLE	RADIO
POSITION	POSITION			SPINS
THIS WEEK	LAST WEEK
1	3	BREAKING BENJAMIN	“Torn In Two”	1832
2	1	THREE DAYS GRACE	“Infra-Red”	1771
3	7	BADFLOWER	“Ghost”	1586
4	4	DISTURBED	“Are You Ready”	1559
5	6	GRETA VAN FLEET	“When The Curtain Falls”	1527
6	2	FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH	“Sham Pain”	1502
7	9	BAD WOLVES (f. DIAMANTE)	“Hear Me Now”	1153
8	5	HALESTORM	“Uncomfortable”	1094
9	12	SLASH F/MYLES KENNEDY	“Driving Rain”	1017
10	8	NOTHING MORE	“Just Say When”	1015
11	14	SHINEDOWN	“Get Up”	900
12	13	ASKING ALEXANDRIA	“Alone In A Room”	821
13	15	TWENTY ONE PILOTS	“Jumpsuit”	743
14	19	THE GLORIOUS SONS	“S.O.S.”	641
15	17	GRANDSON	“Blood/Water”	611
16	18	THRICE	“The Grey”	562
17	20	BEARTOOTH	“Disease”	540
18	11	POP EVIL	“A Crime To Remember”	534
19	22	ALICE IN CHAINS	“Never Fade”	517
20	25	BRING ME THE HORIZON	“MANTRA”	467
21	23	FOZZY	“Burn Me Out”	449
22	21	10 YEARS	“Burnout”	406
23	24	IMAGINE DRAGONS	“Natural”	388
24	27	JONATHAN DAVIS	“Basic Needs”	363
25	26	SHIM	“Hallelujah”	310
26	31	THE BLUE STONES	“Black Holes (Solid Ground)”	274
27	30	UNDEROATH	“ihateit”	270
28	34	PARKWAY DRIVE	“Prey”	233
29	32	NONPOINT	“Chaos And Earthquakes”	227
30	33	BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE	“Letting You Go”	216
31	36	THE STRUTS	“Body Talks”	210
32	28	LEDGER	“Not Dead Yet”	201
33	37	DEAD GIRLS ACADEMY	“No Way Out”	183
34	38	RED SUN RISING	“Veins”	179
35	41	WILSON	“Like A Baller”	167
36	29	MOTIONLESS IN WHITE	“Voices”	160
37	39	LIVE	“Love Lounge”	144
38	35	SEETHER	“Against The Wall”	142
39	51	FEVER 333	“Made An America”	137
40	42	ADELITAS WAY	“Still Hungry”	133
41	43	AMITY AFFLICTION	“Feels Like I’m Dying”	126
42	44	SEVENDUST	“Unforgiven”	123
43	47	GODSMACK	“When Legends Rise”	115
44	46	COHEED AND CAMBRIA	“Unheavenly Creatures”	105
45	49	PRETTY VICIOUS	“Move”	102
46	48	MESSER	“Save Myself”	91
47	52	THE DEAD DAISIES	“Dead And Gone”	85
48	50	BLACK MOODS	“Bella Donna”	84
49	63	ATREYU	“The Time Is Now”	80
50	55	SYLAR	“All Or Nothing”	75

 

 

PUBLISHER’S PICK OF THE WEEK (By Adam Waldman)

SUNFLOWER DEAD – “Victim”

Sunflower Dead is a band with Philadelphia roots, who by all rights, should already be a household name in today’s rock scene.  Like many great artists, this band is misunderstood.  Not by the fans, but by the industry.  Thankfully, they have finally found a home with Dave Ellefson’s EMP Label Group for their next release.  Like Rocky Balboa, these native Philly rockers are coming out swinging with “Victim,” the lead single off of the band’s forthcoming release, Coma.

When the aggressive opening notes came screaming out of my speakers the first time that I listened to the song, the heavy bass, pounding drums, and hauntingly eerie guitars didn’t make me think of Rocky.  It made me think of Mike Tyson saying that he wanted to eat Lennox Lewis’ children.  Do I think that Sunflower Dead wants to eat your children?  Despite the macabre moniker, and (formerly) scary looking makeup, I do not.  They just want to show the world that they belong up there with the top names in hard rock and metal today.

The gloves are off on “Victim,” as well as the band’s makeup.  Maybe the makeup helped to get attention at one point when Sunflower Dead was trying to rise above the din and get noticed, but this time around, the band is letting the music do the talking.  And rightfully so!

If you’re looking for typical Active Rock fare, keep moving, there’s nothing to see here.  However, if you are looking for something truly inspired and unique, buckle up and crank “Victim” up to eleven.  You need to feel this song as much as you listen to it.  With an intro this heavy, you would expect to hear a bunch of indecipherable growls drenched in testosterone, but what you get is something quite the opposite.

Michael Del Pizzo is one of the most underrated vocalists in rock today (as is the rest of Sunflower Dead).  There’s a haunting beauty to his vocals that goes well beneath the surface to penetrate your soul.  Like a great storyteller, Del Pizzo hooks you in with the verse before dialing it up a notch as the song builds to a crescendo in the chorus.  All the while, Jaboo (lead guitar), Jamie Teissere (guitar), Christian Olde Wolbers (bass), and Brian “Brett” Weir (drums) take you on a dynamic musical roller coaster ride.

There are some well-placed growls in “Victim,” but they are used to help bring the lyrics to life, not as a crutch that far too many bands rely upon these days.  When you think of Active Rock, big hooks don’t really come to mind for most.  However, Sunflower Dead has hooks that harken back to the glory days of hard rock.  Like thunder and lightning, Sunflower Dead’s melodic hooks and thunderous rhythms combine to create the perfect storm.

If radio doesn’t jump all over “Victim,” then there is no hope for this format!

 

 

PUBLISHER’S PREDICTIONS (By Adam Waldman)

Last week it was predicted that there was a good chance for there to be a new #1 this week for the fifth consecutive week.  That prediction came true as Breaking Benjman had a breakout week with their latest single, “Torn In Two.”  Badflower is surging at #3, but unless Breaking Benjamin suffers a meaningful drop next week, it’s likely that they hold on to the top spot even if they plateau.  However, the gap is less than 250 spins, so any drop-off opens the door for Badflower to make it six weeks in a row.  And though Disturbed’s momentum seems to have slowed a bit, you have to believe that there’s still an excellent chance that they top the chart in the coming weeks.  It doesn’t look like there will be an extended runs at the top in the near future.  Greta Van Fleet is also closing in at the top with their latest single.  Expect to see the revolving door at the top to continue, even if it’s not on a weekly basis as it has been lately.
 

 

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…

SUNFLOWER DEAD – “Victim”

DEE SNIDER – “American Made”

ROYAL TUSK – “Aftermath”

JUDAS PRIEST – “No Surrender”

AVATAR – “The King Welcomes You To Avatarland”

STONE HORSES – “End Of The World”

MONSTER TRUCK – “Evolution”

AMBROSE – “Last Man Standing”

 

DROP IT…

Fever 333 – “American Made”

Twenty One Pilots – “Jumpsuit”

Imagine Dragons – “Natural”

Grandson – “Blood/Water”

Glorious Sons – “S.O.S.”

The Struts – “Body Talks”

Amity Affliction – “Feels Like I’m Dying”

Pop Evil – “A Crime To Remember”

 

 

THE BREAKDOWN (by Jon Loveless)

NOTABLE CHART MOVEMENT

Slash (f. Myles Kennedy) breaks into the Top 10…

Solid airplay gains elevate both Alice In Chains and Bring Me The Horizon into the Top 20…

Four songs ascend into the Top 30 this week, led by newcomers The Blue Stones who are joined by Parkway Drive, Nonpoint, and Bullet For My Valentine…

Three new arrivals in the Top 40, including the week’s high debut from Fever 333…

Another trio of songs making their chart debut this week, including the latest from Atreyu which doubled its spins from the week prior.
 

 

THREE UP & THREE DOWN

RISING
Badflower – “Ghost”
The Glorious Sons – “S.O.S.”
Bring Me The Horizon – “MANTRA”

 

FALLING
Five Finger Death Punch – “Sham Pain”
Pop Evil – “A Crime To Remember”
Halestorm – “Uncomfortable”
 

 

TRENDS & OBSERVATIONS

The latest single from Adelita’s Way is nothing if not persistent..  “Still Hungry” debuted on the chart at #48 in the final week of April and promptly disappeared from the published edition for two months before returning at #50 in the first week of July.  From there another eleven weeks have passed before the song finally breaks into the Top 40 this week.