So Sunday was the big game, The Patriots VS The Rams at Super Bowl LIII (cue the fireworks)! Parties were thrown, commercials were blasted, and Maroon 5 was the performance for the halftime show… eh? Through morbid curiosity, I sat down to watch the performance, to only regret it 1 minute in. It also didn’t help to be tricked thinking I was going to hear “Sweet Victory” from the legendary Spongebob Squarepants episode, only to have “Sicko Mode” played instead. However, as boring as it was to watch it,  the real fun was seeing some of the reactions on twitter. To make it easy for you I picked out some of my favorites of the night.

 

Mark Hoppus from blink-182

Ben Bruce from Asking Alexandria

Paolo Gregoletto from Trivium

Jordan Buckley from Every Time I Die

The best comment comes from the legend, Sebastian Bach.

 

At the end of the day, I have to point out one good thing that came out of this performance. It was reported that Maroon 5, the NFL, and Interscope Records made a $500,000 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America ahead of Sunday's big game. For that alone Maroon 5, I think we can all forget a bad show at the Super Bowl… but I won’t forgive Travis Scott for “Sicko Mode” over “Sweet Victory”.

Last week at the Observatory in Santa Ana, California, the rock and metal community came together for the annual Dimebash celebration, a tribute to late Pantera and Damageplan guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott. A legend who we lost too soon on December 8th, 2004.

To celebrate this great man, some of the best in the metal world stepped to the stage to pay tribute. The night featured full sets from Kill Devil Hill and Fireball Ministry, alongside an all-star jam playing a selection of Dimebag’s most well-known tracks.

Possibly the biggest thing people are talking about, is the recent footage that emerged with Dimebag’s Pantera bandmate Rex Brown, along with Corey Taylor, Dave Grohl, Scott Ian and Charlie Benante, playing through the Pantera classic “Walk."

The only negative thing I can say about this performance is that… I was not there to enjoy it live!

It is not big secret that when it comes to the Grammy Awards, Metal is kind of kicked to the back of the line. For a genre with so much diversity, personality, and a huge audience, it is only given one category to celebrate the vast amount artist’s hard work of the year. However, instead of cursing the dark, let us celebrate what is in the light with this year’s nominees for Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

 

Between the Buried and Me - Condemned to the Gallows

To start it off we have North Carolina’s progressive metal mad men, Between the Buried and Me, with their track Condemned to the Gallows. I am not going to lie, when I saw this on the list, I had to do a prompt to fist pump. Between the Buried and Me in 2018 needed recognition for the great work that they contributed to the metal world. The Automata I album was layered perfectly with the best elements of progressive sound & technical death metal. So it is unsurprising that the opening track Condemned to the Gallows was nominated.

 

Deafheaven – Honeycomb

Deafheaven and great albums just go together. Their last 3 studio albums could have all been huge contestants for metal album of the year. To be finally recognized for their 4^th albums track Honeycomb, makes me hopeful for the future of this category. Honeycomb is a 11 minute monster that takes the listener through a story of feeling. If you have not heard the song yet, please take a moment to listen to it.

 

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Oh if it isn’t my favorite mosh song of 2018! High on Fire just knows how to bottle raw aggression and adrenaline in their work, and Electric Messiah is full of it. It is a thrasher that needs more love, so a Grammy win could be that extra love. If the Grammy Awards had the guts, they would allow High on Fire to perform this on stage!

 

Trivium – Betrayer

I am so glad that this album was not slept on. 2018 was, in my opinion, the year for Trivium.  The Sin and the Sentence album was full impeccable qualities. However, nothing was more welcoming than hearing the return of Matt Heafy's screaming vocals that were absent in Trivium’s last album due to a severe vocal injury. The track Betrayer is nothing short of amazing and it deserved the nomination without question.

 

Underoath – On My Teeth

I was so happy to see Underoath’s return to music, but I was surprised to see that this was nominated in the Metal Performance Category. Not to say they do not deserve it. The Erase Me album was full of tracks that reminded us why Spencer Chamberlain is an amazing vocalist, but I felt that this track would have been better placed in the Best Rock Performance category instead. Still, great job on the nomination!

 

For all the nominees, I wish you all good luck and I can’t wait to skip the majority of the Grammys just to see who wins this category.

It was a couple days before Christmas, and at his desk, was a recovering Aidan who felt very grotesque. He had suffered a case of something so vile. “I’m much better now,” he said with a crooked smile. However, Aidan was stuck thinking of an article to write. “There is nothing happening in metal!” and he was kind of right. Before he lost hope on what to do next, he got hit up by his homie Drew, in strange written text.

 

“Hey man I got some family coming and I wanted to make a Christmas playlist, but throw in some weird metal Christmas songs. Do you know any?”

 

Aidan sat there, and thought in a very deep pause… “YO, I should recommend songs to headbang with Santa Clause!”

 

5) August Burns Red - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

 

To start this list right, you need something familiar and fast paced, and nothing is better than August Burns Red’s cover of the Christmas classic. If this track does not get you in the right “bright eyed” state you wish for, don’t worry, because August Burns Red has 2 Christmas albums! I am not joking. I guess this metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania just knows how to get into the spirit of things… or they lost a bet? Regardless, this short and sweet cover should be in everyone’s Christmas playlist this year.

 

4) AC/DC - Mistress for Christmas

 

If the last song did not do it for you, then this one should make you feel warm and fuzzy. AC/DC brought this little number out on 1990’s Razors Edge, confusing many folks that went through the album. Its very existence is still very strange to me, but I can’t help listening to it every winter season. Maybe it’s the Christmas bells in the background that accommodates the well synchronized guitar riff. Or it could be the fact this sounds like the X-rated Christmas classic that was never released due to its scandalous nature. All I know is that AC/DC delivered a banging Christmas track that can get everyone’s head banging.

 

3) King Diamond - No Presents for Christmas

 

Got some rotten little kids in the family, well King Diamond has an anthem for you to play! After Mercyful Fate had disbanded, King Diamond decided that the first single he would release would be… a Christmas song? Screw it, I’m not going to complain. This song completely shreds and has become a huge staple in King Diamond winter tours.  The only way to compliment this song even more, is if you played this song while stuffing stockings with coal.

 

2) Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Wizards in Winter

 

If you were slightly familiar with metal Christmas music, it is probably because of this band right here. A group like none other, Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings the very heart  and wonder of Christmas classics out in a new light. The live shows are like nothing I have ever seen before and musical talent is on par with the greats of past. If you enjoy this track of theirs, then please dive into the whole album “The Lost Christmas Eve” and experience new takes of the songs you grew up with as a child again.

 

1) Ronnie James Dio -  God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

 

Let us put a perfect bow on this list and end with the one and only Dio! Accompanied by Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Simon Wright, and Simon Wright, this all-star group crush this classic! No other song can flawlessly end a night of cheer like this one. So grab the hot coco, sit by the fire with the family, and blast some Dio.

 

There we have it, ending on a good note. Aidan had finished the article, and was happy with what he wrote.

 

But then he saw the time and it was way past 5! “Oh snap gotta go… OH AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM SLACKER & LIVEXLIVE!”