HRD Radio Report – Week Ending 2/15/20

 

 HRD Radio Report – Week Ending 2/15/20

Each week 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 2/15/20. All exclusive HRD content is featured below the chart:

TOP 100 HARD ROCK SONGS OF 2019

CHART	CHART	ARTIST	SONG TITLE	RADIO
POSITION	POSITION			SPINS
THIS WEEK	LAST WEEK
1	2	THEORY OF A DEADMAN	History Of Violence	1858
2	1	FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH	Inside Out	1809
3	5	I PREVAIL	Hurricane	1482
4	4	VOLBEAT (f. NEIL FALLON)	Die To Live	1455
5	6	OZZY OSBOURNE	Under The Graveyard	1234
6	7	THE HU (f. FATN)	Yuve Yuve Yu	1225
7	9	FIRE FROM THE GODS	Right Now	1161
8	3	SHINEDOWN	ATTENTION ATTENTION	1057
9	11	DIRTY HONEY	Rolling 7’s	996
10	13	BREAKING BENJAMIN (f. SCOOTER WARD)	Far Away	950
11	12	CROBOT	Low Life	914
12	14	DISTURBED	Hold On To Memories	908
13	15	GREEN DAY	Oh Yeah!	901
14	16	OZZY OSBOURNE	Straight To Hell	712
15	17	PEARL JAM	Dance Of The Clairvoyants	658
16	19	THE BLUE STONES	Shakin’ Off The Rust	642
17	18	RIVAL SONS	Shooting Stars	625
18	20	TOOL	Pneuma	580
19	22	FALLING IN REVERSE	Popular Monster	518
20	21	SLIPKNOT	Nero Forte	508
21	23	WHISKEY MYERS	Gasoline	457
22	24	BRING ME THE HORIZON	Ludens	417
23	29	GODSMACK	Unforgettable	391
24	25	ROYAL BLISS	Paranoid	381
25	26	THE GLORIOUS SONS	Closer To The Sky	370
26	53	GREY DAZE	Sickness	359
27	27	BONES UK	Pretty Waste	303
28	30	BLACK KEYS	Shine A Little Light	280
29	36	KORN	Can You Hear Me	271
30	31	MOTIONLESS IN WHITE	Another Life	255
31	28	OTHERWISE	Lifted	242
32	33	ALTER BRIDGE	Godspeed	230
33	32	THE BLACK MOODS	Whatcha Got	223
34	35	IN THIS MOMENT	The In-Between	196
35	34	SAUL	Trial By Fire	195
36	37	EVANESCENCE	The Chain (From Gears 5)	192
37	45	A DAY TO REMEMBER	Resentment	151
38	43	KALEO	Break My Baby	145
39	42	VEIO	Flare Of Defiance	139
40	41	GHOST HOUNDS	Fire Under Water	138
41	44	WHITE REAPER	Might Be Right	116
42	49	PALAYE ROYALE	Hang On To Yourself	79
43	50	OZZY OSBOURNE (f. ELTON JOHN)	Ordinary Man	78
44	47	THROUGH FIRE	Listen To Your Heart	78
45	66	THE USED	Paradise Lost, A Poem	73
46	56	AMITY AFFLICTION	Soak Me In Bleach	62
47	63	AWOLNATION	The Best	61
48	51	FAME ON FIRE	Her Eyes	59
49	59	TWENTY ONE PILOTS	The Hype	58
50	54	ANOTHER DAY DAWNS	Taste Of Heaven	55

 

 

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

BLACKTOP MOJO – “It Won’t Last”

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page…Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore…Matt James and Ryan Kiefer.  What do all of these duos have in common?  Soulful, bluesy, charismatic vocalists and incredible blues guitarists whose playing evokes genuine emotion within the context of a song.  Only one of these duos doesn’t feature household names, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t worthy, especially in the day and age where bands with classic rock roots have garnered plenty of attention in recent times.  What separates Blacktop Mojo from the rest is a versatility that is unrivaled in modern times, and quite possible, of all-time.

Active rock…southern rock…country rock…grunge…classic rock…blues rock.  They’ve done it all brilliantly.  Whereas some who attempt this this kind of diversity end up being the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none,” Blacktop Mojo has proven to be masterful with every sub-genre of rock that they have tackled.  This is true of their originals and covers alike.  This SHOULD be the rising band that everyone is talking about.  They aren’t yet, but those who have discovered their music and live performances are extremely dedicated.  Rightfully so.

On “It Won’t Last,” the band’s latest single, Blacktop Mojo peels back yet another layer of the onion.  The basic blues groove laid down by the rhythm section of Matt Curtis (bass), Chuck Wepfer (guitar), and Nathan Gillis (drums) is like a perfectly tightened canvas that yearns for the masterful brush strokes of James and Kiefer.  The end result would make Renaissance men like Leonardo da Vinci  and Michelangelo proud.  This all may sound a bit hyperbolic to the uninitiated, but once you listen to “It Won’t Last,” you’ll understand the enthusiasm.

Rising above the din in the rock world today is no easy feat.  Nor is having a current sound that pays homage to the legends of yesteryear.  You certainly don’t hear the Hammond B3 organ on songs of this era, but you do on “It Won’t Last,” adding a subtle layer to a song that already has plenty of depth.  Though guitar heroes are no longer a big part of mainstream rock today, if they were, this would most certainly be the song that puts Kiefer on the map.

 

 

HRD SPIN CONTROL (by Adam Waldman and Jon Loveless)

The following is a list of songs that we feel deserve to be added to Active Rock playlists…

BLACKTOP MOJO – “It Won’t Last”

ARANDA – “Invisible”

ZERO THEOREM – “You”

BRITISH LION – “Lightning”

ROYAL TUSK – “Die Knowing”

VEER UNION – “Nightmare”

THE CHAMPAGNE – “Fantasy”

NEVERWAKE – “Call Out My Name”

ANOTHER DAY’S ARMOR – “Underneath”

SILVERSTEIN – “Infinite”

ARMORED DAWN – “Animal Uncaged”

PSYCHO HILL – “June”

DEEPFALL – “Cancer”

GRAVITY FALLS – “Before The Silence”

CROWN THE EMPIRE – “Blurry”

SONS OF APOLLO – “Fall To Ascend”

 

 

GREATEST GAINERS…

GREY DAZE – “Sickness” (+306 spins)

GREEN DAY – “Oh Yeah!” (+165 spins)

GODSMACK – “Unforgettable” (+132 spins)

I PREVAIL – “Hurricane” (+120 spins)