Quick note: This is not a short read. This is a very long reflection on 2015, and if you have been around for a while, you probably had seen other year recaps so you were already prepared for that. This was a very productive, busy year, so there was a lot to be said. We didn't try to make things sound 'professional' or anything of the sort. We just wrote however things came to mind. You could call it something of a ramble, but perhaps you will enjoy it. With all that being said, let's get into it! Every year comes to an end, and every year has the same reaction. Where the hell has the time gone? This year is absolutely no different in that sense, because its currently nearly 8:30 on New Years eve 2015 as I write this and God knows what time it is when you're reading it, and I'm sure we're all asking that same question. It sort of feels like I blinked and the year was over, but then I break it down and realize no, time just really flies. Growing up, my mom always said that time flies when you get older. I can honestly remember not believing that at all, and being frustrated that time seemed to basically stand still. And then I started getting a life that did not dwell fully on the internet. Then I saw what my mom meant, because I was no longer spending my days playing games on a kids site and getting bored. I rarely have time to get bored anymore because I'm either working, writing, or socializing. Then in the rare moments when I'm not consumed with something else, my time goes into procrastinating on household chores and trying to relax while watching YouTube. But really, a lot has happened this year, and honestly, I feel like I may have proven a few things to myself. One) It really and sincerely is okay to take time now and then for yourself, just to relax. Two) If you are dedicated enough, anything can happen. In 2015, Immortal Music posted countless blog posts, and news articles, twenty-two interviews, and reviewed 32 albums. That probably doesn't sound like a ton but I have also worked probably close to 900 hours this year at a retail store, and have completed management training at said store. I am not a manager at the store, I am just qualified to do so. This year has been a very good photography year for me, and I really have gotten into it. One of my favorite pictures I've ever taken was actually taken this year at Fort Rock on April 25 of Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach. Looking at it now, it honestly does feel like that day was so long ago now, but it was just back in April. I went to four shows this year, and covered two of them. But because of the recent love of photography I've found, pictures have been taken at everything, and some of them turned out incredible. The first show I went to this years was Papa Roach and Seether on January 10 with my mom. I did cover it, but I actually bought the tickets first, as a Christmas present to my mom, and then thought to ask for a pass and was granted one through Seether. The show itself was interesting, but I do look back at it quite fondly. You can read all about that show if you want, I wrote all about it. That show though meant a lot to my mom, and because of that meant a lot to me. I actually had never seen her happier than I did while Seether was on stage. I probably will never forget it, because I found her after I got done taking pictures of themselves, and she just had the biggest smile on her face and tears in her eyes. She hugged me and thanked me for buying her the ticket, and just seemed so happy. Its a rare thing for her to be that happy, and I'm really glad I was able to help there, and Seether did that for her. Then there was Fort Rock 2015 -holy crap. I think that show was one of the most stressful, yet coolest things I have ever done. I actually really felt like a professional at this show, even though I did get frustrated a few times. I covered probably half the festival's performances, and did four interviews that day. I can't say I did it without stress, or tears, but looking back at it, it was a damn good day. I also got the honor of covering Slipknot's set, which is not that common. I actually had to request a seperate photo pass for Slipknot's performance, and had to find their tour manager (or press person, I was never quite clear on who she was exactly) to get a special wristband to cover the set. I found her just before Godsmack's set, and then had to get a drunk man to help me hop the barricade because I could not get to the entrance of the press pit and I couldn't quite get over the barricade on my own. This entire time a security guard was watching, and was apparently amused. I only know that because I went and sat down and he chuckled and asked if I was having a hard time getting up there. Then in late June, I found out Remedy X had been chosen to play at the Saint Petersburg, FL Vans Warped Tour date. I probably will never forget that, because I actually only signed them up again for the Warped tour Battle Of The Bands for shits and giggles. I busted my ass last year for it, and they didn't get it, even though they got to number four on our list. I noticed the link appeared to be active, so I said fuck it and fully reactivated it, but only did limited promotion for it. Then one day, I checked my phone when I shouldn't have and saw I had a voicemail from an unknown number. I decided to listen to it, and all I heard was "Hi, this is Ryan from Ernie Ball." (I think he said his name was Ryan, I could be wrong) and automatically knew what it was about. I'm not going to lie, I FREAKED OUT. I flung open the stock room door, and screamed my managers name, then told her what happened, and then realized the band didn't even know, and that I had to call the guy back. I called the guy back and got all the details sent to my email, and thanked him probably a thousand times. I probably will also never forget me telling the band's bassist, Patrick. I called and he was in the middle of something at work, so he answered with, "Hey, can I call you back?" I was not having any of that, and promptly yelled, "NO! YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING TALK TO ME. I HAVE NEWS!" He asked what it was then, and I just answered with, "YOU GUYS ARE ON WARPED TOUR!!" He went dead silent, and I don't think he believed me right away. That day was slightly surreal, and still is. I had to take my hatred back for Warped tour after that, because it actually was very well organized, and incredible. I actually debuted the Immortal Music merch there, and did actually get to sell one shirt. I didn't see the kid actually buy it, but I did see him when he first came to the tent. He apparently came back while I was watching one of the sets, but the perfect thing is the kid was wearing a Music = Life shirt. For those who may not remember, Music = Life was the name of the Facebook portion of Immortal Music until November 2013, and is actually what started all of this. Obviously, that guy didn't know that, but I hope to never forget that. That's actually the only shirt I've ever sold still. Speaking of, they are for sale here on the website. Just throwing that out there. But, I digress. Where was I? Oh right, Warped tour! Given previous experiences with Warped tour, I assumed every artist I wanted to see would be playing late. I was happily surprised to discover that wasn't true! I went into that show hoping to see Escape The Fate, Black Veil Brides, As It Is, and Pierce The Veil. I was able to see all of them, and was so glad. It was my now boyfriend's first concert, and Black Veil Brides is one of his favorites, so I'm glad he got to see them. I say 'now boyfriend', because he and I actually officially got together about three weeks after Warped tour. At that show I actually bought a shirt that said Warped tour Famous on it, and then somehow lost it before I even got it back to Remedy's tent to show them. I was very disappointed and actually was going to try to make a trade with Ryan Seaman from Falling In Reverse (he designed it, come to find out) but we left before I could. It ended up being okay though because a really good friend of mine got a custom one designed for me that has my logo on it and says Warped Tour Famous on it. I appreciate that greatly, and will probably cherish that shirt forever. Now for that dear friend. I actually have never met her in person, and was supposed to meet her this year. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, because she actually has helped me a lot with Immortal Music for a couple years now. She did a lot of promotion last year and some in 2013, but this year, I actually got her help writing some. None of you guys knew that, of course. I didn't want to draw attention to it, but do I feel like she deserves the credit. Thanks to her, I actually did get granted a pass for basically my dream festival, in a part of the country I have never been to at all. She helped me write reviews, keep up with news and kept me motivated for months while we anxiously awaited approval about the festival. That day came and I couldn't wait to tell her. I called her about five times while pacing in my room, shaking and crying with relief and excitement. Our hard work had finally paid off, and we were able to do this incredible thing -and finally meet. She finally answered the phone and in a sleepy voice says, "Did you get it?" I don't think she knew what say when I screamed, "WE GOT IT!!" in her ear. Unfortunately, the world was completely against this happening, but when one door closes, they say another opens. I'm not going to lie, that falling apart honestly kind of killed me somewhat. I had never worked so hard in my life, so seeing it all get destroyed, and it was nothing anyone could have done, really hurt. I started wondering what the point was. I didn't really want to write much, so I didn't for a while. I wanted to quit all together, but yet the thought of that always brought tears to my eyes. So, I decided to force the spark to come back, and took a small band up on their offer of covering a show where they were opening for Hollywood Undead. Nothing goes as planned. On the way to the show, I got an email saying the band I had my pass through wasn't performing. I didn't have a pass anymore, and frankly I didn't know what to do. We were still going though because my boyfriend had bought a ticket, and he was really looking forward to it. I ended up buying a ticket and taking pictures in the crowd, and got several I love. A first happened that night though, and it wouldn't have happened if we hadn't started talking to people in the line. I brought a bunch of bracelets with me because I discovered very quickly that they're really good, fun promotion. We made some friends that night and the one guy actually got bracelets to both bands performing that night. That was a goal from day one, and it hadn't happened yet. I actually saw Danny from Hollywood Undead get handed one of my bracelets, and I am going to be perfectly honest, I got overly excited. Not because it was him, but just because it happened. That sincerely was a goal, so having it happen right before my eyes was fucking amazing. If you ever see me at a show, come ask about a bracelet, I plan on bringing them with me to every show now. I also went to Disney World for the first time since I was a small child, and then went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot for the first time ever thanks to a friend having connections. I vlogged both of those days, if anyone would like to see them. I actually vlogged a lot this year! Vlogging is a lot of fun for me because you can literally watch back a memory, and I think that's awesome. I have vlogs for Fort Rock, Warped tour, the trip to Disney World, a lot of the Disney World fun (two vlogs worth!), the Hollywood Undead show, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, Halloween, Christmas Eve. There's also one of me actually going and getting the t-shirts after they were made, but that's not much. I just wanted to have it on camera for myself. I sort of feel like I forgot to mention something, but that does over all cover it, honestly. I probably did leave something out, but the really big things are covered, I do believe. I looked back at my 2014 recap blog and saw I also put together a 2015 goal list at the beginning of this year. I didn't ask for much, but two of the four things did happen. I said I wanted to do more interviews, and I wanted to finally get the T-shirt made. I only did 9 interviews in 2014, and I did 22 this year, and the T-shirts did get made! Would you look at that -finally! A New Years Resolution that actually happened! The other two were honestly out of my hands because of the way Facebook handles things. I wanted Immortal Music and Remedy to basically double in likes, but that's become basically impossible. But hey, the bigger things happened and that's what matters! Now for the 2016 goals. I honestly want to just get back fully in the swing of things. Meaning I want to get back to posting regularly and maybe get back on somewhat of a schedule. I also would really like to get organized again with my stuff off of the internet, because I once was but its kind of gone away as I've gotten busier. I already have some things happening in 2016 too! I am already working on preview coverage for Fort Rock 2016 which will hopefully be the first two day festival I ever attend and cover. Plus, it is pretty close to a dream lineup as well, so like I said earlier, when one door closes, another opens. Fort Rock is that door. I also hope to meet Cassidy, the friend I mentioned earlier. We're planning on going to Warped tour 2016 tour, as long as the lineup is good. Even if its not, we still hope to meet finally. That's going to be great. Over all, I just hope to keep doing what I'm doing and just get better at it. Oh! And I really want to do more photography. I really have gotten into it and just want to start taking more pictures. Let me know about your year, and some goals you have for 2016 and we will see you in the new year! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Immortal Music Stats for 2015!
-From January 9 - December 30, 2015 the website got 183,510 views. / We did: 22 interviews, 32 album reviews. Wrote 109 blog posts, and 132 news articles. Promoted it all across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and interacted with tons of fans and press people. Here's to an even more productive, awesome year!
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As I was posting the Immortal Music Awards yesterday morning, I started thinking about my favorites from the year. Such as favorite band, favorite songs, favorite albums, and then I decided to just go ahead and write about it because why not?
First up is the list of songs. Now keep in mind, everything on this list are things that came out this year. And only things that came out this year. There's a ton more I've listened to this a ton of other things this year, of course, but only named a few here. These are in no actual order, just the order I thought about it. 1. F.E.A.R -Papa Roach 2. Skeletons -Papa Roach 3. Kids In The Dark -All Time Low 4. Old Scars (Future Hearts) -All Time Low 5. Fight Song -Rachel Platten 6. Throne -Bring Me The Horizon 7. Happy Song -Bring Me The Horizon 8. True Friends -Bring Me The Horizon 9. Dangerous -Shinedown 10. Blank Space -iPrevail (originally by Taylor Swift) 11. The Divine Zero -Pierce The Veil As previously stated, that's in no order, but I can say this. Lately I've listened to "Blank Space", "Throne", "Happy Song" or "True Friends" pretty much daily for quite some time now. That's the Spirit came out in September, and I really do LOVE it. Its definitely BMTH's best work, and I just really love it. I can't quite place my finger on why though, because intially, I can't say I relate to it at all right now, but "True Friends" does bring me back to some past times, and I just really like "Throne" and "Happy Song." The entire album is pure genius, and I have to applaud BMTH so much. Then there's F.E.A.R from Papa Roach. Its rare when I can solidly say I've had the same favorite album for an entire year, especially when said album came out in the beginning of the year. I actually am not postive that's ever happened before, but I can honestly say hands down F.E.A.R has been my favorite album all year. The album came out on January 27 of this year, and I actually still remember the first time I heard it all the way through. I had heard, "Face Everything And Rise", "Warriors" and "Broken As Me," as they released the songs before hand, but was DYING to hear the rest. We actually went to go get the album in store, and couldn't find it. So I got an iTunes card and bought it digitally. My jaw actually dropped open when I heard Skeletons. It kind of spoke of my current situation and my own thoughts and it just amazed me. Papa Roach's lyrics tend to speak to or for me, and its kind of amazing. Or at least, to me it is. So, I think I kind of answered the album question just by rambling, but I might as well go ahead and give you a list. Once again, this is in no order at all, no list I make ever really is. These are albums I've found myself listening to frequently that have come out this year. 1. F.E.A.R -Papa Roach, 2. That's The Spirit -Bring Me The Horizon 3. Future Hearts -All Time Low I kind of feel like those are the only full albums I find myself playing. I normally put together a playlist of like two hundred random songs, and leave it on for a week or so, and then delete it and start over. Its usually a couple songs from different albums, and then I just go onto the next one. Its very rarely full albums. Then there's the bands, and I'm sure you've noticed a pattern with some. Clearly my top three favorite bands at the moment are Papa Roach, All Time Low and Bring Me The Horizon. Other favorites include Shinedown, Art Of Dying, Pierce The Veil and A Day To Remember. So, with all that being said, who have you been loving this year?? And while we're at it, is there anyone you're looking forward to seeing live next year? I actually am looking forward to seeing Shinedown, Bring Me The Horizon AND A Day To Remember at Fort Rock 2016. I have never seen BMTH or ADTR, and Shinedown never fails to put on a great show, so I cannot wait. I will see you guys very soon with the 2015 recap blog and a ton more content coming in the new year! Since October, I've been gathering votes for the 2015 Immortal Music Awards. The entire time, there's been different feelings towards it. I've been fascinated, thrilled, disappointed, frustrated and intrigued by it all. Some categories recieved better reactions than others, which is where the frustration came from. Then there were others where I didn't even get a chance to promote before there was a surge of votes.
We definitely saw that when a fan base gets together -they get things done. Before you read any further, please go check out the Immortal Music Awards. This is the Creator's Commentary on this year's awards. There will be spoilers, and it will simply just make more sesne if you go see the winners first. Do so by clicking here. Go read, gather your own thoughts and ideas on this year's winners, and then come back. I'll wait here. If you're now reading this sentence, its safe to assume you have now seen the winners. Did someone you want to win, win anything? I hope so! Now I can talk about this without ruining anything for anyone. First I want to say I am honestly and sincerely blown away by the responses. People really did come together to make things happen, and that really blows me away some. On some level, that also frustrated me because in case you didn't notice, the awards got a bit dominated by All Time Low. I have some mixed feelings about this actually, because as an All Time Low fan, I'm extremely pleased with this and proud of them. But as a journalist, I find it a bit unfair because just by mentioning their name, they completely dominated. The dedication of the fans is simply amazing -the Hustler Club doesn't mess around! Neither does the BVB Army or fans of Adam Gontier, as I saw. I just wish I could have gotten the same interaction clear across the board for each category. Maybe one day, but I guess for right now, that just wasn't in the cards. That being said, I cannot tell you how extremely amazed I was with some of the categories and not only how many votes some recieved but how far some of them reached. The Best Drummer went to CC of Black Veil Brides and you want to know what happened there? Every other drummer was getting some votes on the first day, Rian Dawson was dominating and I decided to give CC some extra promotion just to give him a fighting chance. That 'fighting chance', ended up shooting him up to first place within an hour -AND it reached CC himself within a matter of hours. Last time we looked, the poll ended up with 10,000 votes, though a couple thousand of those votes came after we 'closed' that category. We were absolutely amazed by the BVB Army and still are because that was the first and only time I got responses on all social media. Now, for the winners of each category, over all, I would say I agree with the winners this year. Especially the Best Album of 2015! All year I've said my favorite album was F.E.A.R by Papa Roach (which ironically was the one I was looking forward to the most this time last year), and I've been absolutely loving That's The Spirit from Bring Me The Horizon ever since it came out. So, I was extremely pleased to see that clearly, I wasn't the only one really enjoying those two albums. I may actually go into more detail in the next couple of days about my favorite songs and albums from the year, so stay tuned for that. I couldn't agree more with the Best Singer, Screamer, Band, or Music Video, but I have a few different ideas for the Best Song, and Guitarist. The other categories, I really don't have extra thoughts on. I'm a bit indifferent about some really. Jack Barakat won Best Guitarist, and don't get me wrong I do love Jack, but Dave Ghrol impressed me this year. Earlier this year he broke his leg on stage, and kept performing while they put the cast on, and then finished the show. That was just extremely badass, and because of that, I kind of thought he deserved to win. I also kind of wanted Ben Bliss of As It Is to win because I saw him live earlier this year on Warped tour, and was very impressed with him and the rest of the band live. As for the Best Song, which went to, "Kids In The Dark" by All Time Low, I have a few suggestions. That one is one of my favorites from the year, most definitely but there's several I've been playing on repeat. Some has been for a few months, some have been all year. There's "Face Everything And Rise" by Papa Roach, which technically came out last year but its on the F.E.A.R album, so I'm counting it for this year. There's also "Skeletons", "Broken As Me", "Love Me Til It Hurts" -basically the entire F.E.A.R album is among my favorites from the year. There's also been "Throne" by Bring Me The Horizon, or "Happy Song." I've been absolutely loving those songs, as well as "Kids In The Dark", and actually, "Old Scars (Future Hearts)" Why does nobody talk about that song on the album? Its one of the last tracks on Future Hearts and I have loved it ever since it came out back in April. I feel like I'm honestly rambling on a bit, so I'm going to try to wrap this up by answering four questions I asked you guys. Which are; -Who would you like to see more content in 2015? I'm hoping A Day To Remember actually does release something in the new year. They said they are casually working on new things, so who knows when something will actually be released. A second album from Saint Asonia would be also be awesome, because I'm curious to see what else they can do. -Who would you like to see tour more in 2015? When I originally wrote this, I didn't know that half the ones I stated would be playing Fort Rock 2016, so my answers are going to have to change a bit. I said Shinedown, A Day To Remember Saint Asonia and Bring Me The Horizon, and those four will be at Fort Rock. I also said All Time Low, Papa Roach, Seether, Art Of Dying, and State Champs. Its been four years since I saw Art Of Dying, going on three years since I last saw All Time Low, coming up on a year since Papa Roach and Seether, and I've never seen State Champs, so those are all still very valid! -Which album release are you most excited about for 2016? Pierce The Veil! They have confirmed that the new album is coming, we just don't know exactly when just yet. I also am quite curious about the new Asking Alexandria album that's set to come out in March. I was a bit skeptical of Denis at first, but I must say, I absolutely love, "I Won't Give In." Its powerful and beautiful, and has completely grown on me. I'm really interested to hear their new work with Denis. Best Moment in 2016- When I came up with this question, I was really just wanting to see what others had to say. Then I realized I had to answer it, and a thousand different thoughts came to my mind. Its been a very good year, and to be frank, I can't pick just one. I do plan on doing a 2015 Recap blog, so you will hear things in detail, but I felt like I had to say something here. Problem is....what do I say? Three came to mind just as I was typing this! Its honestly been a very good year! The first was at the Papa Roach and Seether show, during Seether's set. I had never seen my mom so happy, ever. She had tears in her eyes and a grin on her face, she was so happy to finally be seeing Seether. I may never forget her hugging me and saying thank you for buying her the ticket to go, and sounding a bit choked up. It was incredibly sweet, and then like an hour later I saw my favorite song live for the very first time! I've written about it, you can read all about it here, if you would like. There was also finding out Remedy X was on Warped tour.....or finding out I was granted a pass for the Rock Allegiance festival....I don't know! I will tell you guys more in a separate post. I think that about covers it, if I'm honest. Let me know what you thought of the Immortal Music Awards, and if you had any ideas that differed from the actual results. Thank you again for participating and supporting, it really means a lot to me! I will talk to you very soon. Its that time of year again! Its time to find out the Best Of The Best, which were chosen by YOU over the last couple of months of 2015.
We began trying to determine the Best of The Best in October 2015, and have run all the way up until now. Over the course of the last two months, we have been absolutely blown away by the interaction. Thanks to the dedication of many different fan bases, we received well over 19,000 official votes! This is the third official Immortal Music Awards, and we're pretty confident in saying that breaks a record for us! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! And now, because of your support and enthusiasm, we decided to announce the winners a couple of days early. Traditionally, the Awards have been announced on New Years Eve, but due to the excitement and enthusiasm we received after teasing the awards, we decided to share them a bit early. SURPRISE! Happy Holidays, everyone -this includes New Years, even though you will hear from us again before 2015 concludes. Enough chit-chat, I know you just want to get on with it already. Without further adue, here are the winners for the 2015 Immortal Music Awards. Please note some of these were more questions than categories! -Who would you like to see release more content in 2016? Answers included As It Is, Pierce The Veil, A Day To Remember, Yellowcard, and Limp Bizkit. -Who would you like to see tour more in 2016? Answers came from all of the world and included As It Is, Saint Asonia, Yellowcard, Papa Roach, and Linkin Park. -Which album release are you most excited about for 2016? Killswitch Engage, Pierce The Veil, Adele, and Linkin Park. -What was your best moment from 2015? Answers for this varied greatly! A couple of people said meeting All Time Low was their best moment. One was in Cologne, Germany, and the other was in Orlando, Florida. Another said traveling to the UK with some friends was their best. Then others said it was seeing Papa Roach and Seether, cruises with loved ones, getting to see friends after they moved away, and the birth of one's son. Sounds like you guys have had a great year! Best Guitarist goes to... JACK BARAKAT OF ALL TIME LOW! Close in second was Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, who was nearly tied for first place! Best Bassist of 2015 goes to... ZACK MERRICK OF ALL TIME LOW! Second place, surprisingly, was Nikki Sixx. Best Singer of 2015 goes to... Adam Gontier of Saint Asonia! In second place was Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low with about hundred votes less than Adam received. Best Screamer of 2015 goes to... David Draiman of Disturbed! Second place was a tie between Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, and Shane Told Of Silverstein. Best Drummer of 2015 goes to... Christian Coma of Black Veil Brides! Second place was Rian Dawson of All Time Low with about three thousand votes less than CC. This category really blew us away, but we will talk about that more in the Creator's Commentary. Favorite Band of 2015 goes to... ALL TIME LOW In second place was Twenty One Pilots, who's fans are also extremely dedicated. Best Music Video of 2015 goes to... Kids In The Dark by All Time Low! Second place was a three way tie between very different music videos. "Cheap Shots And Setbacks" by As It Is, "Killpop" by Slipknot, and "Jekyl And Hyde" by Five Finger Death Punch. Best Song Of 2015 goes to... Kids in The Dark -All Time Low Second place goes to The Vengeful One by Disturbed! Best Album of 2015 goes to... That's The Spirit by Bring Me The Horizon Close in second is F.E.A.R by Papa Roach! Hottest Female in Music goes to... Hayley Williams of Paramore! Second place goes to Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless! Hottest Male in Music goes to... Jack Barakat of All Time Low! Second place goes to Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More! Some of the favorite lyrics from the year were as follows; "She's the biggest airship built by man, a giant of the skies. For all you unbelievers, the Titanic fits inside." -Empire In The Clouds -Iron Maiden "Nothing's left up to grey it's black or white and sometimes black and blue, it's something we're all born into" -Stained Glass Ceilings -The Wonder Years "When angels fall with broken wings, I can't give up, I can't give in. When all is lost and daylight ends, I'll carry you and we will live forever." -Angels Fall -Breaking Benjamin "My heart's a hieroglyph, it talks in tongues Ten thousand voices fill my broken lungs But through the white wave, I still hear it call." -Run, Bring Me The Horizon "Though you may walk alone, you're worth more than you know." -Crossroads, iPrevail "You try to move on, I know you’re caught between the darkness and the dawn. You're not alone I know you don't believe it But all we need is daylight." -Daylight, Young Guns And there you have it! But, it doesn't quite end there! Get some input on the results from Immortal Music's creator by clicking here! If there isn't a link, please keep checking back, its coming soon! In the Creator's Commentary, you will get not only thoughts on the results, but also some insider information about the nominees and votes! Thank you to everyone who participated, we appreciate it so, so much! Let us know what you think of the results on Facebook, Twitter, or in the comments below and stay tuned for more content in the new year. Don't forget to check out the last three years of the Immortal Music Awards! 2014 - 2013 -2012 Originally formed in 2003 in Ocala, Florida, A Day To Remember consists of front man, Jeremy McKinnon, Josh Woodward on bass, Neil Westfall on rhythm guitar, lead guitarist Kevin Scaff, and drummer Alex Shelnutt. Best known for their hits, "All I Want", "2nd Sucks", "If It Means A lot To You" and "Have Faith in Me", A Day To Remember is one of the most influential pop-punk bands out there right now. Their genre is actually up for some debate because while you could call them pop-punk, especially in their lyrics, their sound is slightly harder than traditional pop punk. Some people also refer to them as metalcore or post hardcore. The genre isn't as important though, as it is just a label. Speaking of labels, over the years, they have had some issues with labels and ultimately self published their latest album, Common Courtesy. They started with Indianola Records, and released their first album, And Their Name Was Treason in 2005, then switched to Victory Records in 2007. They then released For Those Who Have Heart, which is the album that did put ADTR on the map. They started touring a lot, and playing festivals both in the US and UK, and their fame began to grow emensely. They released two more albums, Homesick and What Seperates Me From You under Victory Records before getting involved in a lawsuit with Victory Records over their recording contract. The band was granted the rights to self-release a new ablum until a final verdict was reached, in October 2013. They released their latest album, Common Courtesy, that same month. The band continues to be great on their own terms now, with nobody to hold them back. Common Courtesy reached number one on the UK Rock & Metal charts, as well as the US Billboard Hard Rock Albums, and very high on a couple other acclaimed charts here in the US, and contiune to play massive tours all over the world. They also are playing a bunch of festivals coming in the new year, such as Fort Rock, Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Welcome To Rockville, and potentially many others. As it stands right now, we cannot guarentee a new album from A Day To Remember, but when asked about it earlier this year, Neil was quoted saying that they are "casually working on stuff." He went on to say fans will hear a new record for them, but they do not know when. We excitedly await their new release, whenever they choose to release it. Immortal Music actually happens to greatly enjoy A Day To Remember, to the point we do have a tattoo quoting one of their songs. It quotes, "Sometimes You're The Hammer, Sometimes You're The Nail", and is pictured below. Our favorite songs by A Day To Remember include the one we just mentioned, "All I Want", "All Signs Point To Lauderdale", their cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone", "I'm Made Out Of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Out Of?", "Have Faith In Me", "Right Back At it Again", and many more. We really enjoy most of their music and have actually never seen them live! That's going to change soon enough though, as we will be seeing them at the 2016 Fort Rock festival.
So, we want to know something! What are your thoughts on A Day To Remember? If you're a fan, also let us know you're favorite songs by them! You can do so across all our social media, or in the comments of this post. Fort Rock #2: Five Finger Death Punch Five Finger Death Punch is a highly acclaimed heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band formed in 2005, and named themselves after a martial arts maneuver from Kill Bill, which came out in 2003. The band's lineup has changed some what over the years, as most band lineups do, though half the band is still made up of original members.
All along, the band has been fronted by Ivan Moody, Zoltan Bathory was playing guitar, and Jeremy Spencer was playing the drums. Their guitarist changed twice, as it went from Caleb Andrew Bingham, to Darell Roberts in 2006, and finally Jason Hook joined in 2009. Original bassist, Matt Snell departed from 5FDP in 2010, and Chris Kael joined in 2011. And that is Five Finger Death Punch as they are known and loved today. Since the release of their debut album, The Way Of The Fist, Five Finger Death Punch has released six albums, and has sold over 3 million albums in just the US alone. They appeared to really get put on the map after the release of their second album, War Is The Answer. Their cover of the 1974 song, "Bad Company", was actually the fifth single from the album, but that seemed to really get some attention. Many people recongized the song, and were impressed by the style of the cover. At least, that's how it seemed to work around here. We don't really remember hearing of Five Finger Death Punch before hearing that song on the radio one day. Their hits include, "Under And Over It", "Remember Everything", "Lift Me Up", "Battle Born", and "Jekyll And Hyde." Of course, they have many other wonderful songs, but those all were singles that made it to the radio and got very well known. They're phenominal with not only their music, but consistent work with the military. To the point that they were award the Solider Appreciation Award this year by the Association of the United States Army. In 5FDP's post about this, they said the only civilian to ever recieve this award was Elvis Presley, but Elvis was in the army due to the draft, so he wasn't a civilian. We never did find out how many non-military persona's have been given this award, but even if others have, its still extremely rare and very special that 5FDP has been gifted this award. They announced that they had received this award on Thanksgiving of this year and they definitely feel very honored. We have not personally seen Five Finger Death Punch just yet, but plan on seeing them at the 2016 Fort Rock Festival. Our favorite songs by them include, "Remember Everything", "Question Everything", "The Pride", and "Never Enough." A handful of people on our Facebook already told us that "Remember Everything" is something they can really relate to, and that they genuinely love Five Finger Death Punch. Let us know your thoughts and favorite songs too and get involved in the fun! Five Finger Death Punch will be starting the New Year on the Shiprocked Cruise, which leaves Miami, FL on January 18, sails to Costa Maya, Mexico, then returns on January 22. They then will get a break until April, when all the fun really kicks off. They have a handful of shows with Ozzy Ozbourne and Black Sabboth scheduled in April in a few different places in Australia. Check out their website for further information. Their last date there is April 25, and then just five days later they will co-headline the fourth annual Fort Rock festival, with Rob Zombie and many others. They go straight from Fort Myers to Jacksonville to play the second day of Welcome To Rockville. After that they play Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, the Full Force Festival in Germany, and the Norway Rock Festival later in the summer. Further information can be found on the respective websites. We have done one review for Five Finger Death Punch which was for Got Your Six, and do plan on going back and reviewing all the other ones. So, feel free to check that out and we will see you again very soon for another installment of our Fort Rock series! Fort Rock #1: Rob Zombie This week, we conclude the Immortal Music Awards with one final category! The last category is Hottest Male In Rock, and this, just as it was with Hottest Female, is based off of talent, looks, personality, or just favorites! Feel free to vote as many times you would like on all our social media platforms, and share it with your friends! Our nominees are as follows; The poll for this category can be found here, and we encourage you to use this more than any other platform. Though you can also vote through Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Be sure to tag your votes with #Immortalmusicawards!
Get excited too, because all the winners for every category will be announced on December 31! We also will be posting a recap of the entire year here on the website, so hopefully someone out there is excited for that. Also, we're curious -what was your best memory from this year? It can be anything at all! We want to include some of the things you guys say in the Immortal Music Awards! We can leave your name out, if you want. Just let us know! Rob Zombie is a world renowned performer, and has been since the 80's. Not only is he a musician, but he has directed six different movies, many of which he co-wrote, has acted in films and has released many brands of comic books. Clearly, Rob is nothing to be messed with.
His music career began officially when his band White Zombie released their debut album in 1987. White Zombie released four albums between 1987 and 1995, and broke up in 1998. They were rather successful though, especially after the release of their third album, La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1. The album sold over two million copies in the US alone, and the fourth one, Astro-Creep: 2000 because their first top ten hit on the Billboard 200. Their second album, Make Them Die Slowly also received a multi-platinum status later on. When the band disbanded, Rob Zombie released his first ever solo album, Hellbilly Deluxe. This album just turned seventeen years old back on August 25, and fans all over the world still love this album to date. Almost everyone knows the singles from this album, "Dragular" and "Living Dead Girl", and some fans have fond memories connecting to the song! A girl on our Facebook page said she loves "Living Dead Girl" and associates it with her dad because he used to play one of Rob Zombie's CDs on a road trip when she was younger. She didn't name the album, but since she named "Living Dead Girl", we're going to assume she is recalling Hellbilly Deluxe. Over the years, Rob Zombie has released five albums, directed ten movies -one of which isn't set to come out until next year, been featured in five different TV shows, and a couple of movies. He also put on a massive Haunted House for a few days around Halloween this year, which thrilled many! At nearly 51 years of age, Rob Zombie is still going strong! Look forward to the release of a sixth studio album in the new year, a new movie called 31 and performances at several of the massive festivals that have been announced for April and May of next year. He will be performing at Fort Rock, Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellion, KWR Rockfest 2016, Northern Invasion and Rock On The Range 2016! For more information, please visit the respect websites and keep up with Rob Zombie on Facebook, his official website, Twitter, or any other social media sites you can think of. Psssst! Rob Zombie's most recent album is Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor and we reviewed it over the summer in preperation for the Rock Allegiance festival, which Rob did perform at! Click here to read it and be on the look out for other reviews of Rob's albums and more from other Fort Rock artists! 23 bands will be coming to Jet Blue Park in Fort Myers, FL for Fort Myer's fourth annual Fort Rock festival. This will be the festival's fourth event in a row, first beginning in 2013, but this year will be two full days of awesome music, which is brand new to Fort Myers. Immortal Music does plan on covering this event on April 30 and May 1, 2016, and thought it was going to be a good idea to shed some light on the bands performing before hand. Maybe someone out there has heard of someone performing but would like to learn more, or maybe there's someone on the lineup they've never heard before and just want to discover a new band!
In preparation for the biggest festival we have ever tried to cover, let's talk about who's performing at Fort Rock 2016. We are going to try to talk about all twenty three bands, and are hoping to actually make that happen. There's going to be one band per week until about a month before the event, when we will step it up and talk about two bands per week. Two bands will be posted the week of the show as well! With luck, we will give a biography for all the bands, along with a review of some sort, song suggestions and opinions on each band. The series begins right now on a seperate post with one of the day one headliners, the legendary Rob Zombie. Click here to read all about Rob Zombie, and stay tuned in the coming weeks for all the other bands. Just in case you forgot who is playing Fort Rock 2016, the lineup is as follows. Day one (April 29)- Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember, Lamb Of God, Anthrax, Megadeth, Sevendust, Ghost, Issues, Saint Asonia, Avatar, The Glorious Sons. Day two (May 1)- Disturbed, Shinedown, Bring Me The Horizon, 3 Doors Down, SIxx Am, Pennywise, Bullet For My Valentine, Pop Evil, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Red Sun Rising. We're really looking forward to this festival, and hope you guys are looking forward to all the possible content. Stay tuned for more! We're coming up on the end of the Immortal Music Awards for 2015! We only have two more categories to get through and then we're ready to reveal the winners! As you can see by the title, this week's category is the Hottest Females in Rock! This category was determined based off of talent and appearance, and all of them were popular suggestions on our Facebook page several weeks ago now. Just as its been on every other category, you are encouraged to vote through the poll, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! You have until December 20 to vote as many times as you would like and we encourage you to do so among all platforms.
(Though we encourage you to use the poll the most.) There's been a lot of up's and down's with the responses for each category and we're not sure quite how to fix that. If anyone has any suggestions, please let us know and we will remember them for next year's awards. Please come vote and ask your friends do the same! We only have one more category after this one to determine a winner for, and then it will be time to announce the winners! Winners will be announced on New Years Eve so get excited! |
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January 2022
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