And The Winners Are…

What a great first year for my little site. Thank you all for taking the time to check out Audioeclectica. I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read so far. There will be plenty more in the new year with some new features as well. The winners were picked based on fan votes and my personal opinion. And now the results of the first annual Audioeclectica Awards.

Best Guitar Duo:

1. Mastodon- Brent Hinds and Bill Kellher
2. With Our Arms To The Sun- Josh Breckinridge and Joseph Leary
3. And We Are Them- Chris Matalone and Nick Bradford
4. Aeges- Kemble Walters and Cory Clark
5. New Cathedral- Ricky Stevens and Scott Perez
6. Slipknot- Jim Root and Mick Thompson
7. Wovenwar- Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso
8. Sevendust- Clint Lowery and John Connolly
9. Every Time I Die- Jordan Buckley and Andy Williams
10. At The Gates- Andres Bjorler and Martin Larsson

And The Winner Is: Josh Breckinridge and Joseph Leary of With Our Arms To The Sun

Best Album Cover:

1. With Our Arms To The Sun: A Far Away Wonder (Justin Slattum)
2. Mastodon: Once More Round The Sun (Skinner)
3. And We Are Them- City Of Ghosts (Chris Matalone)
4. Every Time I Die- From Parts Unknown (Joby Ford)
5. Obliterations- Poison Everything (Derrick Snodgrass)
6. Wild Throne- Blood Maker (Orion Landau)

And The Winner Is: With Our Arms To The Sun: A Far Away Wonder (Justin Slattum) and Mastodon: Once More Round The Sun (Skinner)

Best Bassist:

1. Joseph Breckinridge- With Our Arms To The Sun
2. Ben Flanagan- Black Map
3. Austin Barber- Obliterations
4. Jeff Johnson- Wild Throne
5. Tony Baumeister- Aeges
6. Michael Kerr- Royal Blood

And The Winner Is: Ben Flanagan of Black Map

Best Drummer:

1. Chris Robyn- Black Map
2. Mike Land- Aeges
3. Brian Hollenbeck- And We Are Them
4. Ben Thatcher- Royal Blood
5. Noah Burns- Wild Throne
6. John O’Connell- He Whose Ox Is Gored
7. Morgan Rose- Sevendust

And The Winner Is: Chris Robyn of Black Map

Best Guitarist:

1. Mark Engles- Black Map
2. Pete Loeffler- Chevelle
3. Paul Balmer- Machines Learning
4. Joshua Holland- Wild Throne
5. Shaun Morgan- Seether
6. Shaun Lopez- Crosses

And The Winner Is: Mark Engles of Black Map

Best Vocalist:

1. Ben Flanagan- Black Map
2. Pete Loeffler- Chevelle
3. Brann Dailor- Mastodon
4, Troy Sanders- Mastodon
5, Kemble Walters- Aeges
6. Chino Moreno- Crosses
7. Corey Taylor- Slipknot
8. Gavin Rossdale- Bush
9. Lajon Witherspoon- Sevendust

And The Winner Is: Ben Flanagan of Black Map and Chino Moreno of Crosses

Song Of The Year:

1. Failure- Come Crashing
2. Failure- The Focus
3. Dekades- Red Trolley
4. Black Map- I’m Just The Driver
5. With Our Arms To The Sun- Tessellation
6. Aeges- Fault
7. Wild Throne- The Wrecking Ball Unchained
8. Crosses- Bitches Brew
9. Royal Blood- Out Of The Black
10. And We Are Them- So It Goes
11. Sidewave (Air)- Playground Love
12. Mastodon- Ember City

And The Winner Is: Failure- Come Crashing and With Our Arms To The Sun- Tessellation

Album Of The Year:

1. Mastodon- Once More Round The Sun
2. With Our Arms To The Sun- A Far Away Wonder
3. Royal Blood- Royal Blood
4. Crosses- Crosses
5. Black Map- And We Explode
6. Bush- Man On The Run
7. Slipknot- .5 The Gray Chapter
8. Chevelle- La Gargola
9. Aeges- Above and Down Below
10. Down- Down IV Part II

Honorable Mention:

11. The Last Internationale- We Will Reign
12. Sevendust- Time Travelers and Bonfires
13. Obliterations- Poison Everything
14. Every Time I Die- From Parts Unknown
15. And We Are Them- City Of Ghosts

And The Winner Is: Mastodon- Once More Round The Sun and With Our Arms To The Sun- A Far Away Wonder

End Of The Year List: Best Shows I’ve Attended In 2014

This is not part of the 1st annual Audioeclectica Awards. This is just a list of the top 10 concerts I’ve attended this year.

1. Nine Inch Nails @ Hollywood Bowl
2. Failure @ El Rey and Fonda
3. Abloom and With Our Arms To The Sun @ Velvet Jones
4. Corrections House and Author & Punisher @ Echoplex
5. Mastodon @ Club Nokia
6. Royal Blood and The Last Internationale @ Roxy
7. Chevelle and Black Map @ Wiltern
8. Palms @ Troubadour
9. Down @ Wiltern
10. Placebo @ Club Nokia

 

 

End Of The Year List: Album Of The Year

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The eighth category is album of the year. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The album/EP must have been released this year. And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

 

1. Mastodon- Once More Round The Sun
2. With Our Arms To The Sun- A Far Away Wonder
3. Royal Blood- Royal Blood
4. Crosses- Crosses
5. Black Map- And We Explode
6. Bush- Man On The Run
7. Slipknot- .5 The Gray Chapter
8. Chevelle- La Gargola
9. Aeges- Above and Down Below
10. Down- Down IV Part II

Honorable Mention:

11. The Last Internationale- We Will Reign
12. Sevendust- Time Travelers and Bonfires
13. Obliterations- Poison Everything
14. Every Time I Die- From Parts Unknown
15. And We Are Them- City Of Ghosts

End Of The Year List: Song Of The Year

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The seventh category is best song. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The song must be on an album/EP or single released this year. And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

1, Dekades- Red Trolley

 

2. Black Map- I’m Just The Driver

 

3. With Our Arms To The Sun- Tessellation

 

4. Aeges- Fault

 

5. Crosses- Bitches Brew

 

6. Royal Blood- Out Of The Black

7. And We Are Them- So It Goes

8. Sidewave (Air)- Playground Love

 

9. Wild Throne- The Wrecking Ball Unchained

 

10. Mastodon- Ember City

 

11. Failure- Come Crashing

 

12. Failure- The Focus

End Of The Year List: Best Vocalist

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The sixth category is best vocalist. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The nominee but have sung on an album/EP must released this year. And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

 

 

1. Ben Flanagan- Black Map
2. Pete Loeffler- Chevelle
3. Brann Dailor- Mastodon
4, Troy Sanders- Mastodon
5, Kemble Walters- Aeges
6. Chino Moreno- Crosses
7. Corey Taylor- Slipknot
8. Gavin Rossdale- Bush
9. Lajon Witherspoon- Sevendust

Audioeclectica Awards

The winners of the categories will be announced Friday December 19th.

End Of The Year List: Best Guitarist

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The fifth category is best guitarist. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The nominee but have played on an album/EP must released this year and must be the only guitar player in the group. . And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

1. Mark Engles- Black Map
2. Pete Loeffler- Chevelle
3. Paul Balmer- Machines Learning
4. Joshua Holland- Wild Throne
5. Shaun Morgan- Seether
6. Shaun Lopez- Crosses

End Of The Year List: Best Drummer

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The fourth category is best drummer. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The nominee but have played on an album/EP must released this year. . And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

1. Chris Robyn- Black Map
2. Mike Land- Aeges
3. Brian Hollenbeck- And We Are Them
4. Ben Thatcher- Royal Blood
5. Noah Burns- Wild Throne
6. John O’Connell- He Whose Ox Is Gored
7. Morgan Rose- Sevendust

End Of The Year List: Best Bassist

The first annual Audioeclectica Awards continues: The third category is best bassist. Here are the requirements to be in this category. The nominee but have played on an album/EP must released this year. . And It doesn’t matter if the band is signed or not! With that in mind here are the nominees! Vote in the comments!!

 

1. Joseph Breckinridge- With Our Arms To The Sun
2. Ben Flanagan- Black Map
3. Austin Barber- Obliterations
4. Jeff Johnson- Wild Throne
5. Tony Baumeister- Aeges
6. Michael Kerr- Royal Blood

Live Show Review: Down at The Wiltern

It’s always exciting when a band in your all time top ten comes to town.  The sheer enjoyment and anticipation is beyond any normal show. With that in mind, I bring you a report from the Wiltern after seeing the mighty Down.

First band up for the night was Australia’s King Parrot. Their on stage antics were more memorable than their actual music. The singer kept enjoying mooning the crowd. Granted this was sort of funny, it was a real distraction. Their 30 minute set seemed like it would never end, especially when all their songs all sound the same. Though there were a couple highlights from their part of the show. The singer got in the crowd to mosh around with people in the pit, causing a bit of a frenzy and the last song of their set featured a very brief cameo from Phil Anselmo who was watching on the side of the stage.

Next up was the newly reunited Bl’ast. Playing their first gig of this tour, Bl’ast put forth a solid performance but it lacked a lot of energy. I saw them late last year open for Neurosis and they came out firing on all cylinders and actually left me wanting more. Joining the band for touring was, Nick Oliveri on bass and Joey Castillo on drums, both former members of Queens Of The Stone Age.  Perhaps it was just an off night for the band, but it sure didn’t resonate with the crowd very well. They seem better suited in playing smaller places with a more intimate vibe,

The last opener for the evening was London, England’s Orange Goblin. Their blend of Black Sabbath and Motorhead influence really shined this evening. The bands 40 minute set was entertaining and fitting, knowing that Down was next. I’ve only ever heard a couple of songs by Orange Goblin before tonight, and when they were done I made a note to go out and pick up their albums.

 

Finally after 3 opening bands, Down took the stage to a thunderous roar. I’ve seen Down quite a few times over the years and they never disappoint. Their set though only 14 songs stretched to just over 2 hours. Material from their first 2 albums was the majority of the set along with a few newer tracks from their most recent EP releases. Sadly though nothing from their third album was played. Phil Anselmo was on his game this evening too. His banter in between songs came across as funny and charming. The band themselves were top-notch as well. New additions to the band Pat Bruders and Bobby Landgraf are perfect fits to take the place of Rex Brown and Kirk Windstein. Jimmy Bower and Pepper Keenan are still masters of their instruments. As usual when “Lifer” was played, Phil dedicated it to his fallen brother Dimebag Darrell. Other songs that really stood out, as they are favorites of mine were “Losing All,” “Ghosts Along The Mississippi,” “Temptations Wings,” and the new song “Conjure.” One other funny note from the show, the guys in  Down jokingly broke into snippets of David Essex’ ‘Rock On’ on two occasions, and sang it surprisingly well. For the encore “Stone The Crow” and “Bury Me In Smoke” were played. And as usual during “Bury Me In Smoke,” random friends of the band made their way on stage to help out. One friend that really caught my attention was Danny Lohner (formerly of Nine Inch Nails). Pepper gave him his guitar and the rest was history.

 

The evening as a whole was very interesting and spanned many different genres of heavy music. The main highlight though was Down. They really are the real deal. It is definitely a different beast seeing them live. There is just such passion amongst all the guys in the band and their chemistry really shines. This is one of the best Down shows I’ve seen yet.

 

Down Setlist:

01. Lysergik Funeral Procession
02. Lifer
03. Hail The Leaf
04. Witchtripper
05. We Knew Him Well
06. There’s Something On My Side
07. Ghost Of Mississippi
08. Losing All
09. Pillars Of Eternity
10. Temptation’s Wings
11. Conjure
12. Eyes Of The South

Encore:
13. Stone The Crow
14. Bury Me In Smoke (with members of King Parrot, Orange Goblin, and Danny Lohner)

 

Photos by: Levan TK (http://instagram.com/levan_t_k)