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Chris Considers - The Week In Wrestling Music

Hey everyone and welcome to a new blog here on www.RoadRunnerRecords.com in association with www.wrestlingnewsworld.com where I will be discussing the week in music in the wrestling world.

Primarily this blog will be focussing on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as they use many artists to produce themes for the wrestlers, TV shows and pay per views, whereas Total Non Stop Action (TNA) tend to use for in house music for their programming.

A little bit about myself to start off. My name is Chris and I have been writing ‘Chris Reviews Smackdown’ for www.wrestlingnewsworld.com for nearly two years now as well as various pay per view review and prediction blogs. I am also a metal DJ in my hometown of Northampton. I have a keen interest in both wrestling and metal, especially the more extreme side such as of the genre and my DJ sets tend to reflect this!

My favourite bands include Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse, Carnifex, Killswitch Engage, The Black Dahlia Murder, Kataklysm, Amon Amarth, All Shall Perish, Hatebreed, Slayer, Slipknot, Machine Head and Sacred Mother Tongue to name a few.

Metal and wrestling have been synonymous with each other since the mid nineties with major artists such as Limp Bizkit, P.O.D Saliva and Kid Rock often performing live at WWE events, whilst bands such as Metallica, Sevendust, ACDC and others regularly provide the theme song to WWE pay per views.

This week I would like to focus on WWE Monday Night RAW and WWE Friday Night Smackdown as both have recently received new theme songs. RAW now has Nickelback’s ‘Burn It To The Ground’ and Smackdown has Divide The Day’s ‘Let It Roll’

For each song I review in this blog I will rate it between one and five stars much as we do for wrestling matches

RAW Theme – Nickelback: Burn It To The Ground

This song has replaced the awesome ‘…To Be Loved’ song by Papa Roach which had been the theme to RAW since 2007 so had a lot to live up to. Thankfully Nickelback deliver big time here with a stomping anthem that will soon become synonymous with WWE’s flagship show. A good bouncing beat, grooving riffs and a crazy solo all combine with Chad’s gruff vocals and lyrics to make this an excellent soundtrack to our Monday night viewing. Whilst most people will be familiar with Nickelback’s slower commercial hits such as ‘Rockstar’ and ‘How You Remind Me’, this song is a perfect example of the bouncier and groovier sound found of many of their albums.

Chris’ Star Rating: ****

Smackdown Theme – Divide The Day: Let It Roll

This song has replaced Rise Against’s ‘If You Rock Like Me’ which I found to be incredibly annoying and whiny. Unlike RAW, Smackdown, and ECW (the third brand in WWE) change their theme songs fairly regularly so this was a welcome move. I was not familiar with the South Californian quintet before hearing this song so I have checked out some of their other material and I have to say this is certainly a band that has changed its sound to make themselves more marketable. The band’s early offerings such as 2005’s ‘Pretty Girls with Ugly Boys’ featured some pretty heavy and brutal tunes that I guess could be tagged as Screamo or Metalcore. However with their forthcoming release the band have modified their sound, and become something of a mix between Avenged Sevenfold (they clearly model their image on A7X as well!) and Saliva. This song is the perfect example of that sound and is very comparable to Avenged Sevenfold’s ‘Almost Easy’, just without the crunching riffs. I do not dislike this song, but unlike Nickelback, it does not stand out in any way and sounds fairly generic with a very basic rhythm and simplistic vocals. So whilst this is a hundred times better than Rise Against, I was hoping for something more as a theme song for the show that had previously featured songs from Drowning Pool and Marilyn Manson as its theme tunes.

Chris’ Star Rating: **1/2

Each week I will be compiling an ultimate wrestling music playlist where I will be telling you about the best songs from the past and present in both WWE and TNA and informing you which album (if any) the tracks are located on. This week it is the theme of current WWE mega star CM Punk.

The Ultimate Wrestling Playlist #1 – Killswitch Engage – This Fire Burns (CM Punk’s theme song) – Found on WWE Wreckless Intent (2006, BMG)

If someone asked me to pick my favourite wrestling song of all time, it would without a doubt by ‘This Fire Burns’, not only that but I would say that if you can to pick one song to define the Metalcore genre in general then this would be the perfect sing to do so. Powerful and heavy riffs fluctuate throughout the song and a soaring epic chorus makes this perhaps one of Killswitch’s finest moments and I am very surprised they never committed this song to any of their own albums. There is a funny back story to how this song came in to WWE, Popular heel (this means bad guy in wrestling terms) Randy Orton took this song to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and requested it to be used for his personal music, however after only one appearance with the song, it was taken from Orton and given to debuting ECW star CM Punk which infuriated Orton and apparently he is still bitter about it to this day. This song perfectly suits the character of CM Punk whether he is playing a babyface (this means good guy in wrestling terms) or a heel. I regularly play ‘This Fire Burns’ in my DJ sets and it always gets a great response to the point where many of the Northampton Metal scene are now familiar with it! I urge any Metalcore fans out there to check out this awesome tune and add it to your collection!

That is all for this debut edition of Chris Considers The Week In Wrestling Music. If you have any comments, queries or suggestions feel free to drop me an email to a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com Please check us out over at www.wrestlingnewsworld.com for all of your WWE, TNA and ROH news, rumours and spoilers! I shall be back next week probably on Thursday. I hope you all have a metal week and keep headbanging!

Email me on a_agreement_called_forever@hotmail.com, add me on facebook: www.facebook.com\wnws.chris.jacks or follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WNWsChrisJacks I would love to hear from you!

New Music: Slipknot, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage

Feast your ears on these new tracks on the site:

Slipknot - Snuff (Yes, there's a video coming for this soon.)

Killswitch Engage - Take Me Away (New video arriving for this as well.)

Megadeth - 44 Minutes

Killswitch Engage Photos from Mayhem 2009 NOW UP!

Check out Killswitch Engage's NEW pics from the 2009 Mayhem Festival.
Visit KsE's RR profile HERE to take a look at their Mayhem 2009 photo's and MORE!

All photo's taken by "Iron" Mike Savoia from Savoia Photography. Be sure to check out his page to see what other bands he's got up there!

Two Slipknot Contests, Trivium Updates, Free Shit

All this week on RoadrunnerRecords.com.

Slipknot play the Cypress Hill Smoke Out and you could win. OR win a trip to see Slipknot play Trinity of Terror in Las Vegas on Halloween.

Be a part of Tommy Lee's new Methods of Mayhem album.

If you're in London, a special offer on Trivium shows.

More signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com updates are in the works.

Win signed Megadeth posters and more in Free Shit and see some winners of our Dream Theater and Opeth poster design contest.

Brand new Black Stone Cherry music posted. Listen to "Soulcreek" now.

Mutiny Within are giving you updates every day on their goings on.

Adam D From KSE Is In Love With Mikey

That's right. Adam D loves Mikey:

"Mikey makes it a breeze to record something wicked fast and on-the
go. Great for riff ideas, lectures, or even rehearsals to capture
sick riffage at a high rate of efficiency. And, you can even import
it into your itunes...WICKED EASY AND WICKED FAST, DUDE!"

Find out more about Mikey HERE.

One Psyched Mayhem Prize Winner!

Meet Amanda Duncan: one happy Mayhem prize winner with her autographed Killswitch Engage guitar!!!

Killswitch Engage Postpone South American Tour

Killswitch Engage will unfortunately have to postpone their upcoming South America tour due to the illness of lead singer Howard Jones. Howard is currently bed-ridden with a gall stone issue and has been told by his doctor that he should not leave his bed until further notice. He is currently getting proper medical care and hopes to be on his feet and in less pain by the end of the week, at which time we will determine how soon we can reschedule these South America dates. Killswitch would like to apologize to their fans in South America for this set back and want to assure them that the band has every intention to make up these dates in the near future.

Killswitch would also like to thank Marcos Suarez from Liberation Music Company as well as all the other South America promoters who helped to put this tour together: El Cambio Music / Volumen 4 (Argentina), BTS Producciones / The Knife (Chile), Alarma Producciones (Ecuador), Inmigrant Music (Colombia). We definitely appreciate all of your hard work and we will be sure to let Marcos know as soon as we have new dates to come to South America with his help. Thanks, KsE

Headbangers Ball: VMA Edition

Killswitch Engage will be shown in segments throughout today's Headbangers Ball on MTV2. Show airs from 2 AM to 3 AM. Visit MTV2 and scroll down to the metal section for even more KSE.

SATURDAY'S VIDEOS (THIS EPISODE IS VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS EDITION FROM THE MAYHEM FESTIVAL):

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - TESTIFY (VMA PERFORMANCE)

GUNS N' ROSES - WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (VMA PERFORMANCE)

MOTLEY CRUE - DON'T GO AWAY MAD (VMA PERFORMANCE)

MARILYN MANSON - THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (VMA PERFORMANCE)

METALLICA - UNTIL IT SLEEPS (VMA PERFORMANCE)

WHITESNAKE - STILL OF THE NIGHT (VMA PERFORMANCE)

METALLICA - ENTER SANDMAN (VMA PERFORMANCE)

GUNS N' ROSES - NOVEMBER RAIN (VMA PERFORMANCE)

Adam D. from KSE Interviwed at Metal Injection

Join MetalInjection.net's Scarlett as she interviews Adam D. on the Mayhem Tour. Pro tip: hold the mic further away from your face.

Headbangers Ball This Saturday

If you're awake. Personally I'll be out partying.

http://headbangersblog.com

2AM-3AM ON MTV2

SATURDAY'S VIDEOS (THIS EPISODE IS A ROCK BAND: BEATLES EDITION FROM THE MAYHEM FESTIVAL):

HATEBREED - IN THE ASHES THEY SHALL REAP/HBB PREMIERE

MARILYN MANSON - DISPOSABLE TEENS

KITTIE - CUT THROAT/HBB PREMIERE

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - MY CURSE

AUGUST BURNS RED - MEDDLER

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE - WAKING THE DEMON

IWRESTLEDABEARONCE - YOU AIN'T NO FAMILY

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER - WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT

HALESTORM - I GET OFF

Killswitch's Mike D'Antonio new interview

GO HERE to check out puregrainaudio.com's interview with Killswitch Engage bassist Mike D'Antonio

Howard Jones Interview @ 525powertracks.com NOW!

525powertracks.com is interviewing Howard Jones right now - 7/24 3 PM EST. GO HERE and listen during the interview for your chance to win the new self-titled Killswitch Engage album.

Howard Jones Interview @ 525powertracks.com

This Friday 7/24 12 PST/3 PM EST. Listen during the interview for your chance to win the new self-titled Killswitch Engage album.

GET YOUR VIDEO UPDATES FROM MAYHEM HERE

Couldn't make it out to Mayhem Festival this year? Want to relive some of the insanity? Then check out the Roadrunner Records Mayhem Kyte player! Heff, the Roadrunner Records Mayhem Festival correspondant is on the road with the bands and bringing you live video clips straight from the Mayhem. Click on the SHOWS tab in each player to get a listing of the clips you can watch.

You can check out the Roadrunner Records player here:

The Killswitch Engage player here:

And the Trivium player here:

Keep checking back throughout the festival, these will be constantly updated with brand new clips from Mayhem Festival 2009 throughout the duration of the tour!

Killswitch Engage Reviewed at Metalbuzz.net

Metalbuzz.net has a quick review of Killswitch Engage's self-titled release which also includes commentary on the special edition portions.

PHOTOSHOP ADAM D. CONTEST WINNER ANNOUNCED

And the winner is Rick Orlando! Rick posted numerous entries, all of which were decent, however his Wheaties box was superb work. See it below and click the box to see a gallery of his other submissions. To see all the submissions, head over to the closed contest page.

ULTIMATE-GUITAR TAB CONTEST

For the next two months we're working with Ultimate-Guitar.com to bring you bi-weekly tab contests. They provide the tab, you learn the song and upload a video, best performance wins. Ultimate-Guitar.com is the premeire site for all things guitarist need.

This week, try out a tune from Killswitch Engage's new self-titled album.

VIDEO FEATURES UPDATED

Catch Dommin, The Parlor Mob, Killswitch Engage, and DevilDriver in our new featured videos right now at www.roadrunnerrecords.com/video.

WHAT'S THE FREE SHIT TODAY?

We're giving away DevilDriver, Dream Theater, and Killswitch Engage music.

There are also some great new contests for visitors to RR.com: win Call of Duty: World at War, an autographed Stone Sour photo, signed CD booklets from Dream Theater and Opeth, or a DragonForce patch.

In tickets we've got two biggies: a flyaway to party with Nickelback in Vegas (sponsored by AOL Radio) and a chance to win tickets to a Collective Soul show in your hood.

Finally, from our partners: the Killswitch Engage fan club is offering a backstage tour with the band, Madina Lake are giving away a signed guitar, win a copy of Guitar Hero: Smash Hits featuring DragonForce from AltSounds.com, and enter Megadeth's Endgame lyrics contest.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE DEBUTS @ #7 ON BILLBOARD TOP 200

Roadrunner Records is proud to announce that Killswitch Engage’s fourth album, titled Killswitch Engage, debuted at #7 on this week’s Billboard Top 200, shifting over 58,000 copies. It is the highest charting album of the band’s career. Killswitch Engage also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Hard Music chart. The album, which is the band’s fourth effort for Roadrunner, was produced by noted knobsman Brendan O’Brien (AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine) and co-produced by guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz.

KsE –whose lineup consists of Dutkiewicz, singer Howard Jones, guitarist Joel Stroetzel, bassist Mike D’Antonio and drummer Justin Foley— are also celebrating another huge accomplishment hot on the heels of their new album release! As Daylight Dies, the third album from these Grammy-nominated innovators, which was released in November 2006, has just achieved Gold certification. That album featured the Massachusetts band’s highest charting radio singles to date, including “My Curse” and the fan favorite, a “Killswitch’ed” version of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”

Additionally, As Daylight Dies is KsE’s second Gold release, as 2004’s The End of Heartache has also achieved Gold-selling status. The band’s DVD (Set This) World Ablaze is also certified Gold. With sales totaling nearly 80,000, the DVD is nearing Platinum status.

Killswitch Engage are spending the summer as a main stage attraction on the second annual Rockstar Energy Mayhem Fest, alongside the likes of Marilyn Manson and Slayer.

Mayhem tour dates are as follows:

7/10/2009

Sleep Train Amphitheatre

Marysville, CA

7/11/2009

Shoreline Amphitheatre

Mountain View, CA

7/12/2009

Glen Helen Pavilion

San Bernardino, CA

7/14/2009

White River Amphitheatre

Auburn, WA

7/17/2009

Cricket Pavilion

Phoenix, AZ

7/18/2009

Journal Pavilion

Albuquerque, NM

7/19/2009

Fiddler's Green

Englewood, CO

7/21/2009

Sandstone Amphitheatre

Bonner Springs, KS

7/22/2009

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Maryland Heights, MO

7/24/2009

Lakewood Amphitheatre

Atlanta, GA

7/25/2009

Verizon Wireless Music Center

Noblesville, IN

7/26/2009

First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Tinley Park, IL

7/28/2009

Molson Amphitheatre

Toronto, ONT

7/29/2009

Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain

Scranton, PA

7/31/2009

Blossom Music Center

Cuyahoga Falls, OH

8/1/2009

Post Gazette Pavilion

Burgettstown, PA

8/2/2009

DTE Energy Music Center

Clarkston, MI

8/4/2009

Comcast Center

Mansfield, MA

8/6/2009

Verizon Wireless Music Center

Virginia Beach, VA

8/7/2009

Susquehanna Bank Center

Camden, NJ

8/8/2009

New England Dodge Music Center

Hartford, CT

8/9/2009

Nissan Pavilion

Bristow, VA

8/11/2009

Ford Amphitheatre

Tampa, FL

8/12/2009

Cruzan Amphitheatre

West Palm Beach, FL

8/14/2009

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

Selma, TX

8/15/2009

Superpages.com Amphitheatre

Dallas, TX

To celebrate the release of Killswitch Engage, Take This Oath, the official Killswitch Engage fan club, is running “The Return KsE Fan Contest.” Some of the prizes include a backstage tour at a KsE show, air-guitaring on stage with the band, a Mike D. signature Ibanez bass guitar, a Parker P44 guitar finished with the Killswitch Engage album artwork and much more. The contest is open to everyone. For more information and to enter, visit http://www.takethisoath.com/thereturn.