Kik Axe Music and Entertainment

The ''year-end list'' is always a weird thing for me because I'm not personally a huge fan of the rundown. To call something the ''Best Of (insert year here)'' is a stretch because what indicates ''best'' may not be indicative of a release that makes it into constant rotation, thus becoming a favorite. While a five-star review might be given to an album with exceptional songwriting and technical playing, a three-star record might be a lot more fun and have more staying power in the long-haul. That said, I'm doing a personal ''favorites'' list for 2011. This will compile releases by category that I've been digging throughout the year. If it was reviewed here on Kik Axe Music™ there will be a link to the review. If it didn't get a proper review, that will be noted as well. Bands, Fans, and Publicists seem to love these lists, so here we go... 

During the sessions for their 1999 album ISSUES, the members of KORN laid down a heavy version of the Christmas classic Jingle Bells with producer Brendan O'Brien. Coming in at Day 22 in our 2nd Annual 25 Days of AXEmas is that very track - Jingle Balls.

Originally recorded and released by ELVIS PRESLEY for 1957's ELVIS' CHRISTMAS ALBUM, Santa Claus is Back in Town has seen it's fair share of covers over the years. For 2011, Kentucky's BLACK STONE CHERRY have given the song a straight-up hard rock facelift, and the track comes in at Day 11 in our 2nd Annual 25 Days of AXEmas here at Kik Axe Music™. Stream the rock below...

This past Tuesday, Dec. 6, KORN performed an exclusive live concert featuring songs from their new album THE PATH OF TOTALITY (read the Kik Axe Music™ review here) with special guest performances by some of the leading dubstep and electronic music producers in the world, including Skrillex, Excision, Datsik, Downlink, Kill the Noise, and 12th Planet along with Korn classic hits. Now, Roadrunner Records and KORN are streaming the entire thing for this weekend only - and you can watch it below, right here on Kik Axe Music™!

Having first experienced KORN in a live setting during the Reckoning Day Tour with MEGADETH, FEAR FACTORY, and FLOTSAM & JETSAM in 1995, it's somewhat hard to believe that the band has been infiltrating my ears and pummeling my speakers for over 16 years. During that time, the band has evolved, devolved, and faced it's own identity crisis on more than one occasion. Following up the back-to-basics approach of KORN III: REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE comes THE PATH OF TOTALITY, a radical, genre-bending departure that arrives just over a year past their last effort.

It's no secret that I love MEGADETH, and I'll forever be grateful to Dave Mustaine for giving a 16-year-old kid (me) a chance to interview him for a half-hour back in 1993. TH1RT3EN, however I like, but it's definitely not loved. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the feelings I had about YOUTHANASIA when it came out when compared to it's predecessor, COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION... good, but can't help wondering if maybe it could've been better.

I distinctly remember the morning of August 28, 2001. I was in a weird space at the time - technically unemployed, yet I still found myself at Best Buy when the doors opened to score a copy of IOWA, the second album from SLIPKNOT. The Heretic Anthem was already on my computer as a pre-release MP3 at a time when digital singles were still a frightening prospect for the music industry, and having already been hooked by the band's self-titled debut just a couple years prior, I had to get my hands on the new record. A decade later, IOWA still holds up, and remains my favorite release in the SLIPKNOT library of audio domination.

Don't let the headline fool you: It's technically a Chimpanzee playing the lead role in the video for Public Enemy No. 1, the first official single from the new MEGADETH album TH1RT3EN (which I have yet to hear). The video was filmed back on September 17th, and looks to have been jam-packed with pre-sets from the Magic Bullet Looks suite when the edit took place. ''The output from these one-day video shoots just doesn't hold up like the old days, but that's what happens when folks don't buy music no more.'' I say within my head in an old-man ''grandpa'' voice.

MEGADETH will release TH1RT3EN on November 1st via Roadrunner Records, and today we've got a stream for you of Black Swan. The song debuted via Hot Topic this morning, and can be streamed in the player below. Some readers may recall that an early version of the song was released as a fanclub-only bonus track for those who purchased UNITED ABOMINATIONS a few years back. Remember, if you're picking up some music next Tuesday, leave that METALLICA and LOU REED piece of shit LULU on the shelf, and grab the new MEGADETH instead. Click here to Pre-Order TH1RT3EN from Hot Topic!

KING DIAMOND. Falsetto glory. MERCYFUL FATE brought the evil on their 1983 debut, MELISSA, from which this week's Satanic Sunday highlight rose forth. The sixth song on the album, Satan's Fall has it all. Full-speed riffing with a solid groove on the breakdown for pure rock fury and aural assault. While the masses congregate to pass the offering plate at their multi-million-dollar Mega Churches this morning, crank this up and throw up those horns in salute to a far more rockin' Lord!