Submerge The Sky has dipped their quill into that expressive ink, and are spreading their thoughts on the page. Get a whiff from this dark manuscript, and you’ll be forever enrolled in their class.

They were giving away cds for free at The Warped Tour, and right away I knew they were special. An epiphany dawned when I let the music have its moment. With one swift snap of the chain, I was set free. And when your music can do that to a listener, you are destined to gather a following.

Being such a young band (only formed a few years ago), the professional taint they already have is, suffice to say, impressive. Starting with the simple sets, and moving up as a definitive spark in the thrash scene, they have a very noble, sturdy course, eyes set straight ahead. Best part is, they’re completely linked in goals and talent. As we all know, synchronicity can be hard to find in a world full of the ‘me, me, me’ mentality. But these guys are singing the tune of ‘we, we, we’, and doing it well. As lead singer David says: “The first time we got together in a room something clicked; it was like we fed off each others artistic abilities instantly and have grown together because of it.”

It’s time to unleash these musicians into the streets. Let them rip away the stages of some local venues, pour all their infinite skill into the eardrum of the teen populace, and watch the wonders that’ll unfold. We, the listeners, are empowered by choice, and a band has nothing to do but sit and hope to be chosen. We can either submissively listen to the mulch that rules the radio, or we can dare to dig around for something different, something striking, something like Submerge The Sky.

Six guys + a whole hunk of musical love = the best rock n’ roll equation of 2010.

Check out their cute Who’s Who video below, raid their Myspace page, and let the love roll!

[Related Post: BTB Works Charity Booth at 2010 Warped Tour]

American Bang is a band you must know. Hell yeah, the name is catchy fused to red, white and blue pride, bleeding through their lyrics, with stars on the side. Lead single, Wild and Young, is picking up radio play throughout the country, and their self-titled debut album hits stores today. It’s loud. It’s sexy. It’s soulful. It bangs.

This rock band from Nashville has something for all. Their unruly brand of Southern-fried garage rock packs a hell of a load. The track Whiskey Walk initially grabs your attention with an amazing tune up followed by a quick sick drum solo by Neil Mason — “All that I need is a reason to let it go, I know that you feel the same”. Drink this track straight, with water or ice, and it’s sure to make you feel tingly. The instrumental breaks in between the lyrics give you a sense of how talented the band is before the album proceeds. Flowing into the instantly anthemic Wild & Young, Jaren Johnston’s bluesy vocals feed off of Kelby Ray’s basslines, proving a confidence possessed by rock n’ roll veterans, although the band are technically rookies in the game. It expresses how life is diminutive, and we should enjoy it to every ounce — “Slow it down, you move a little too fast, ya make it last, these should be the best days of your life”. It’s then on to the messy, Stonesy romance of Hurts Like Hell, where it’s clear that American Bang pulls the trigger directly at the heart of great American rock ‘n roll. While touring all season on a red hot American summer, they want to thrive in the moment and enjoy the rise of triumph.

Citing their crock-pot of influences including Lenny Kravitz, Black Crowes, and The Sex Pistols, it’s balls-out rock with proto-punk energy. You may stumble upon the Kings of Leon comparison, but they are definitely not the same band, although it shouldn’t be surprising considering they are close in age, from the same city, and cite many of the same influences. The boys fancy to detain the astounding grace and guts of the band’s deep musical roots and Southern accent, right at the heart of American rock ‘n roll. It’s music that one can all relate to; young and fun, but meaningful in lyrical content. American bang is planning on stickin’ around for awhile. In their own words: “Didn’t wanna end up a fallen star on the boulevard”.

Building up a grass-roots audience by playing locally, earning a reputation for their high-energy, no-holds-barred live shows, these high school buddies will draw your attention. It’s not like much else out right now, for it makes you sing the blues, along with the reds and whites. Check out the video for the lead single below, and let the band take over America, with a loud ass bang.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are back, careening down a different track. Although they may not have peaked in the fame category, the act remains diverse, talented, and raw. These boys are a live band that can tear your skin off. With last year’s release, Lonely Road, the band ended up on an unfamiliar path, playing on unlikely radio stations and media outlets. Nearly a year after their departure from Virgin Records, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus have found light in their latest release, and most sincere creation to date. I am relieved to reveal that they have dropped the pop act, and have gone back to their roots on this EP. In my opinion, this is the best damn move they could’ve ever made. The Hell or High Water disc is out for purchase today. With hints of their old sound, Jumpsuit embraces the future with a perfect mixture of old and new.

The Hell or High Water EP is a tale of poetic storytelling, destructive chord progressions, indefatigable hooks, and atypical emotion. This may not be what is probable of this platinum-selling quintet, but unquestionably shows a commendable step down a highway less traveled upon. The boys hold forcefully onto their heavy-hitter side during the first single Choke, which sways from a hardcore bang to an etched in your mind hook, while On My Own is an attentive and enriching jam that could start up a fire. Each song seems to be fresh in terms to where the group have landed mentally and musically.

Ronnie Winter, lead vocalist and guitarist, recently stated: “Positive thinking can literally move mountains if you have enough faith.” If the group is at ease with their latest move and release style, then the fans should find contentment as well.

Do you think an independent EP was the right move for the band?

Like so many others, I was wooed by their lyrical genius, all written by the Veteran of Rock, Nikki Sixx himself. Having gone to hell and back, he’s living clean and living the dream, and now knows enough to share his wisdom and do his talent (and life) justice.

And he’s picked a great crew of rockers to make the dream build flesh. You’ve got the pretty James Michael pumping power into the vocals, DJ Ashba making the lead guitar his bitch, and whoever they can find that can whip it on the drums. Add all of that together, and they take survival to a whole new level. With an act so tight it must be hard to breathe, they’ve got nowhere to go but up.

Their first album accompanied Nikki’s tell-all memoirs The Heroin Diaries as its soundtrack, and did it well. The nauseous ups and downs and unconcentrated brutality found in self-abuse are exposed immaculately, and reading his diaries while listening to their songs is almost too honest to handle. No way you can leave their world without goosebumps.

Like a ghost hidden in the cracks of your walls, Sixx AM can creep up when you least expect it. Their music is an experience, an infestation of the mind. It makes you think of otherworldly things, twisted liaisons, broken glass, screams in the night about ruined relationships and unsettled insanity. But best of all, it helps you imagine overcoming such things.

You’ve got to give props to people who not only use their music as an outlet to their demons, but who spell out their past transgressions and struggles for all to see. It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a crowd, brandish your scars and proclaim, “I’ve survived.” It seems more people should be doing that. After all, as long as you’ve got the mike, you may as well speak your piece.

Their second album has been a long time coming, and now, we’ve finally gotten word that they’re in the studio, pulling their passion into a conglomeration of beauty.

Just because it’s the song of theirs that I (and everyone else) really fell in love with, reminisce in Sixx AM’s powerful ballad, Life Is Beautiful.
　

Single My Best Theory has been released, and is quickly gaining radio momentum. Containing ceaseless energy and up-tempo, guitar-driven pulsation, the single marks the return of one of rock’s most beloved bands. At the beginning of their new track, frontman Jim Adkins sums up their pause proclaiming, “It’s been a long time,” — and hell yeah, I agree. It may not slam you into a wall like Big Casino did upon first listen, but it will definitely push you a few times. That being said, does this new release have the same potential as the others?

For those keeping score, this album was produced by Mark Trombino, who also did work (literally) on their amazing 2001 smash Bleed American. On this release you will find singing and playing with a confidence and sincerity that will melt the hearts of even the most stoic of listeners, for they produce rousing, well-crafted anthems (I can’t wait for you all to hear tracks such as Coffee and Cigarettes and Littlething). Being a music lover, I was a fan of Chase This Light, but felt the ends needed to be shaved away a little bit. It lacked a little hard-rock static that I’m used to, although I still give the album a 4/5. For even their not-so-astounding work is better than some other bands “finest” stuff. They highlight the balance of organic sources and hard rock grooves.

Jimmy Eat World always leaves a significant amount of time in between each release, leaving a shit load of space for one to reflect on the actual effects of the album, and all it entails as a whole. So what is so commendable about Jimmy Eat World that I should be singing such honor? They have the unique gift to be a bands-band as well as a fans-band. What do I mean by that? They carry credibility with a tuneful convenience that makes the act a permanent fixture of the modern music scene. Invented will show you that they are doing just that, but reinventing themselves, again. It’s been a ride watching where this group has come from and where they are going. I thoroughly enjoy watching the maturity of this group and they grow as artists in a dying industry. They have the heart, and in their own words: “Heart is hard to find.”

Strikingly lush tracking coupled with overwhelmingly competent mixing, I can’t wait for all the fans to fall in love with this record. Planning an epic fall tour while awaiting a release and trying to gain the attention back from fans; pulling that off without conflicting into a mess is nothing short of miraculous.

Feed your appetite with the single until Invented hits the shelf, for Jimmy is ready to eat the world again.

I used to joke that The Warped Tour was like Woodstock, except there were more drugs and less peace. But after finally getting the whiff of what it’s all about, I’ve been forced to revoke my previous bias. I got in to the Country of Hardcore sans passport, simply because I was working one of the charity booths therein. Expecting to get some good doses of awesome music through bad sound sets, throbbing sun, and people already drunk by 9AM, I was preparing myself for one long day. But as time went on and the crowds grew thicker, I came to feel there was something more to what I had expected. Somehow Warped has a way of making you feel special, knowing you were a part of the spectacle — that the things you saw, the hairdos you spotted, and the smiles you captured were all part of something significant.

I don’t think I have to tell you how many heaven-bound bands showed up. From the household names to the underground breakout artists, the place was packed with talent. It was a direct injection of sizzling, incinerating rock, and a salute to what the Sex Pistols set out to prove: as long as you’ve got a guitar and some ‘tude, you have the means to go far. I even got to experience the unpasteurized thrill of discovering some new sounds along the way!

I was stationed by the tent where This Time Next Year and Suicide Silence sat to give autographs, heard Andrew W.K. bellowing to the crowd, Anti-Flag working up a riot while Hey Monday showed off their stuff, and as I walked away from the grounds I could hear Pierce The Veil start up on Caraphernilia. Everyone was singing along, and it was this magical moment I couldn’t get rid of. Suddenly, everything in my writing had popped off the page, and every note in my earphones had transcended to reality.

I guess the only true problem with The Warped Tour is there are so many different shows going on, it’s impossible to see every single snazzlegram of the line-up. And, one must remember, I was chained to a charity booth the whole time. But even getting snippets of it was a crucial addition to the memory bank.

If The Warped Tour went through your city this year, share the dirty details with us. If they haven’t hit you up yet, take a look here to see if your city’s on their warpath. ‘Cause, like one of the singers shouted from the stage, there will never be another Warped Tour ‘10.

Ask anyone about Courtney Love and most likely their response will have the words bitch, crazy, or a strong combination of the two. Honestly, you could show some random tribe in the middle of the rainforest a picture of Love (specifically her days prior to sobriety) and most would agree that the singer’s a bit frayed. And that’s putting it nicely.

But as someone who has always found Love to be incredibly fascinating and entertaining, I wanted to showcase a song from her new album in support of her talent — talent that doesn’t need insanity to shine.

I’ve often said that if there’s one thing that one can’t be replicated in a voice it’s pain. No amount of roughly sketched Auto-Tune or studio acrobatics can reproduce the genuine touch of pain behind someone’s sound. Pain can only be orchestrated from experiencing lows in life and I’m unsure if anyone on the music scene has experienced an overdose of lows the way Love has. Courtney Love is full of pain. And that same pain, the dose that makes her batshit crazy to some, also makes her beautiful to others.

Although the new Hole record has been out for months now, I recently developed a strong bond with the song you’re about to hear. The song was created out of Love’s sessions with the amazing Linda Perry. The song is called Letter to God, and features a vulnerable Love, pouting the words with a rough calmness before seizuring into fits and screams. The song is one that all can understand, simplistic in its arrangement and styling. The outcome is brilliance.

Check out Love’s Letter to God (set to an incredible YouTube artist sketching the singer) below.

Thing is, usually I find a band for its music, then learn heartwarming details about them as I get acquainted. But with Pierce the Veil, it was the opposite. I first heard about them through the PETA website, and fell in love with their music afterward. Good to know they have both a clear conscience and incinerating skill.

Though the band has been trading names back and forth over the years, the habit of communicating their inner paradoxes and nightmares through efficiently packaged screamo and experimental rock has survived. Who cares what title you’re playing under, as long the soul behind the mask sticks?

Their prose writes itself on the walls of your mind, making you a willing spectator of philosophy in action. They are a hybrid of ideal evolution; they’ve got the pretty boy looks of a emo-core band, and the adrenaline-injected compound found only in the blood of heavy metal enthusiasts.

Like watching genius unfold, you can see how the song builds itself up or slows itself down, keeping you guessing. They have a habit of incorporating recognizable downbeats from hit songs to grab peoples’ attention, but it’s their ability to make the clouds rumble that’ll convert people to fan loyalty.

Like many notable bands, they’ve been on the Warp Tour, signing autographs at the Peta2 tent, and doing fabulous PR for their new album along the way. Seeing as Selfish Machines is their first album in three years, it makes sense that they’d be pumped to get the word out. As I type, they’re streaming it through their Myspace page (gotta appreciate that they’re more about spreading the music than they are about making the money).

You can check out their PSA ad for PETA here.

After your heart has swelled from their philanthropist efforts, get back to basics of pure, precise innovation, and brace yourself for the most tart tasting track from their new cd: Caraphernilia.

This lead single is intensely strapping. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few weeks back and was given the opportunity to watch him perform this track, and it blew me away upon first listen. It’s a hard-hitting, soaring song: “You were wrong, there was grace. You saw the enemy, I saw your face. People like you and I, spinning from space, you were wrong, I still have faith” — these lyrics can relate to a lot of things, including his separation from the group, or even situations in life.

Ed Kowalczyk is not just a celebrity that makes money playing music; he is an intellectual artist that should be the role model for many forthcoming musicians. His interviews alone prove he is intelligent beyond levels of music. He tells stories without torment or really ever putting people down. Instead, he shares an enlightenment and understanding that few of his contemporaries share. He is truly an exceptional musician and lyricist.

This album will take long time fans, as well as new ones, on quite a ride. Fans of Live will instantly recognize the power of the voice we have all grown to love. This album walks the line of power ballad and alternative music with, well, Grace. It’s ferocious yet passionate, while retaining the spiritual songwriting side he’s always been known for. Ed also did a songwriting collaboration with Chris Daughtry on Drink (Everlasting Love). These songs show that he has entered a new chapter in his life, reigniting the spark in his affiliation with music. Sometimes artists need to move on from groups to take on fresh musical challenges. I am sure that being the front man for multi-platinum selling Live for 15 years has lead to the need for change, while using his experience as inspiration for the solo release.

Ed stated in a recent interview: “You can’t fake inspiration as an artist, you know where you get it.”

Do yourself a favor and check out Ed’s solo release. The songs are like a peek inside specific moments of your life and carry very profound meaning to many. It will truly make you feel Alive.