Modern Rock Radio re:Play 11.02.07: Issue #4
Posted by Ben Czajkowski on 11.02.2007
Catch the lowdown on which albums sold big and which albums blew this week. While you’re reading that, pleasure yourself with blazing and aurally-enjoyable tracks from Sully Erna and Godsmack’s Zeppelin cover, a banging new tune from Seether, another angry track from Chevelle, and a darker one from Soilwork. With tracks like these, there's something for everyone.
And Now A Word From Our Sponsor…
Oh, folks, what an angry week this has been so far. Most of my waking hours, since Saturday, have been consumed with working on a project (for the last week, which is why there was no Issue last week) that has had me pulling my ever-loving, fucking brown and grey hair out. How frustrating is it when you simply cannot complete the last part of a project, only to have the teacher give another week on it? It's fucking infuriating, personally speaking, when no one else can complete it either. What does that say about the teacher? It speaks volumes, especially when his tests need 17-point curves. I cannot wait to graduate in May…
…only to go right into Grad school.
So, how's everyone doing? Well, I hope. It's been another active week in music. Serj's new disc put out 69,000+ albums in his first week without the rest of System of a Down. I have to say, good for him. It landed him the number 4 spot, which is a hugely respectable position to be in for a debut, solo album. In comparison, Shadows Fall sold 700 copies of their "Greatest Hit" disc (I stress hit). How pathetic is that? I laugh in my chair. More people have downloaded it than albums sold! And album sales were UP!? (read: miracle) from a week ago, which is an impressive feat in today's market. Here's a brief rundown of some notable rock records:
No. 4 - Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead – 69,000
No. 6 - Coheed and Cambria - No World for Tomorrow – 62,000
No. 7 - Kid Rock - Rock N' Roll Jesus - 61,000
No. 9 - Seether - Finding Beauty In Negative Spaces – 57,000
No. 21 - Matchbox Twenty - Exile on Mainstream - 31,000
No. 22 - Nickelback - All the Right Reasons - 30,000
No. 33 - Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace - 22,000
No. 39 - Daughtry - Daughtry - 19,000
No. 40 - Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight - 19,000
No. 41 - Jimmy Eat World - Chase This Light - 18,000
No. 39 - Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - 15,000
When will fucking Nickelback drop off the charts? It consistently sells 30k copies a week, and none of the tracks are even in a top 20. How is that mathematically possible?
This week, I look at Godsmack, Seether, Chevelle, and, again with the across the ocean thing, Soilwork. These are some good tracks, so listen to what I have to say, motherfucker!
Fresh off a disc of old songs, the only new track amongst Godsmack's "greatest hits" (Good Times, Bad Times…10 Years of Godsmack) has begun circulating around the airwaves. It's been for three weeks to a months, depending on where you live and if you like the interwebs more than radio. You know, after Sully Erna was in that car accident a few months ago, I thought for sure he was going to go to jail. Well, there was to hoping. And what about that new hybrid Godsmack band…Another Animal? What was up with that record…? Survey says: crap.
Anyway, does this track deserve to be on a "best of" album, surrounded by songs like "Whatever" , "Keep Away", and "Straight Out Of Line?" First of all, this song is a cover of a Led Zeppelin classic. So, Erna has a lot to live up to, vocal-wise and in style. Godsmack's sound has been a tiring earsore on the radio, these last couple years. So, should this track be "kept away" from the rest?
I have to say, when I first heard the song, I was not sold on this track at all. However, it's one of those musical works that just grows on you. It's nice to take something old and make it new again, and Godsmack does just that. The drums are different for what you'd find on a normal Godsmack song, and that's never a bad thing. Erna adds his classic vox-style that should make even the most hardcore Zeppelin fan happy. And those Godsmack ones, too. Keep in mind, this is the only new Godsmack that you get for a while, since the band is "taking a break" to "enjoy this 10 year anniversary." Look for them on an acoustic tour near you.
"Who's to know if your soul will fade at all?" Oh, boy. Another Seether hit on the radio. The newest album from Shaun Morgan and the boys is barely on the shelf, and already they're selling like hotcakes (putting out a beautiful 57,000+ in its first week), in the wake of this track being released to radio. The band has already been touring extensively in support of Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces and "Fake It." When I saw the band play at X-Fest, the crowd was at its peak of violence when this song came on. More bodies surfed and more moshpits opened up with this song than another other, previously, that day.
Shaun Morgan again proves that he has an amazing ability to pen a top hit. "Fake It" has been climbing the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts for weeks now. I wouldn't be too surprised if it does hit number one (even though, it'll be hard to un-seed Foo). The lyrics are very straightforward, about someone who pretending to be who s/he is not to fit in. With a catchy chorus of "Fake it if your out of direction/Fake it if you don't belong/Fake it if you feel like infection/Whoa, your such a fucking hypocrite", "Fake It" has grown on me a lot, over the last several months. Look for it to stick around on radio for a long time, and thrown into a solid rotation of Seether hits like "Remedy" and "Broken."
Here, you find yourself listening to single number two from Chevelle's newest album, Vena Sera, which came out a number of months ago. It succeeds the track "Well Enough Alone," which was a mediocre hit on the radio. "I Get It" is a highlight in a album full of amazing Chevelle tracks. While Vena Sera has received lukewarm praise from critics, it's hard to argue against this song being Chevelle at their best. It's only sold 160,000+ discs (according to Wikipedia), compared to the Platinum and Gold success the band has enjoyed in the past.
In what is debatably the least-intense Chevelle song to hit the radio, I find it hard to say even that. While the track starts off soft, with vocalist Pete Loeffler singing, "So you say you're ignored/As it is,/Well, give us your sad, sad trip," the song immediately rips into another powerful Chevelle chorus, with Loeffler sarcastically intoning, "You're right, I get it/It all makes sense, you're the perfect person." While the song has an up-and-down tempo to it, it has, what could be, the best lyrics on the radio right now. How often do you find a song that uses the words "tannins" in it? Probably never before. Great song on an awesome disc. It's a shame that more people haven't picked it up (at least, from a store).
4/5 Definitely Worth Listening To Many, Many Times.
Soilwork is a band that everyone should listen to, especially if you like metal. They just had a new album drop a week ago, and it sold 5k in the United States. Now, keep in mind, Soilwork is a Swedish band (for some reason, I thought German), and vocalist Bjorn "Speed" Strid has been all over the place, vocally. And he has an awesome name.
"Exile" is the first single from Sworn To A Great Divide, and is the strongest track on the disc. It fades into guitar, bass, and drums that, when I first heard the song, I thought I was listening to Mudvayne's "Happy?". There is a distinct similarity to the instrumentals, but that's about where the resemblances end. Strid, with his deep-throated, angsty screams, belts out a solid, dark, brooding track that, in my opinion, again illustrates why European metal is so much better than the U.S. scene.
4/5 Check This Track Out
Chart Toppers and Hoppers
Tracks to really look out for in the future, both here and on the radio:
1. Avenged Sevenfold – "Almost Easy"
2. Stone Sour – "Zzyxz Rd."
3. Linkin Park – "Shadow of the Day"
4. Jimmy Eat World – "Big Casino"
5. The White Stripes – "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)"
Top 5 MP3s of the Week In My iTunes
5. Serj Tankian – "Save Us"
4. Haste the Day – "Needles"
3. Still Remains – "Avalanche"
2. Foo Fighters – "The Pretender"
1. Soilwork – "Exhile"
