The Best Video Ever Of The Week: Coheed And Cambria Get Spacy

Coheed and Cambria have premiered “The Broken,” the first video from Year of the Black Rainbow, and it’s a good one. It looks like Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Matrix had a baby with a video game. While it probably ties into the whole science fiction mythology running through all of their concept albums together, we just like it because it looks awesome.

Dragonforce Looking For Their Next Singer And It Could Be You

Dragonforce has announced that lead singer ZP Theart has left the band. The band is currently working on their fifth album, while simultaneously looking for a new singer.

“It is with great regret that DragonForce announce a parting of the ways with singer ZP Theartm” the band said in a statement. “This is due to insurmountable differences of musical opinion but the rest of the band sincerely wishes ZP great success with his future projects.”

While the band has a signature sound, I don’t think that Theart’s vocals are at the heart of it. I mean, he’s a great singer, but pretty much anyone that has a melodic voice could probably fill the void without there being too much of a difference. Including you! Anyone that wants to audition can go to their Web site and download a backing track to sing over. Then they upload it to YouTube, and go on to fame and fortune.

This is a good idea for Dragonforce. Considering they already owe a lot of their buzz to YouTube due to the viral awesomeness of the “Through the Fire and the Flames” video, it makes sense for them to go back for more. Tons of people will submit videos – some funny and some serious, and it will get people talking about the band again. However, if that doesn’t work out, here’s a few suggestions for who else might be able to replace Theart:

• Don Henley: The Eagles singer already sang on one of their biggest hits.
• Steve Perry: Speaking of Journey. He definitely has melodic vocals. Check. Then again, he already left his gig in another high profile band.
• Mega Man: Let’s be honest. Dragonforce music sounds like a video game in the best possible way. They could go the Gorillaz route and just have a cartoon be their frontman.

The Best Video Ever of the Week: The Dillinger Escape Plan’s “Farewell Mona Lisa”

The Dillinger Escape Plan’s new album is called Option Paralysis, but the first video for said album is anything but. The camera movement roughly matches the tempo of the song, with frenetic movement in the earlier part of the song giving way to the slower middle part of the song. The washed-out look of the overall clip gives it a surreal quality, like it’s found footage from the late ’70s. Option Paralysis comes out on March 23rd on the band’s own Party Smasher label through Season of Mist.

Britney Spears Stole From Britny Fox

And not just her first name either. Our friend Spike, who used to co-host the metal show on Philly rock station WYSP (R.I.P. Rockers!), brought something to our attention earlier this week. This might be a ten year-old observation, but it’s pretty obvious that Britney Spears’ breakout video, “…Baby One More Time” is a complete and total ripoff of Philly hair band Britny Fox’s “Girlschool.” Don’t think so?

Compare this:

to this:

Girls in catholic school uniform? Check. Video starts with a school bell ringing? Check. Girls dancing/headbanging? Check. The only real difference is that Spears’ school is coed, while the Britny Fox video appears to take place in a girl’s school. Go figure.

The Best Video Ever Of The Week: Shadows Fall’s Bark Has Bite

It takes balls to cover an Ozzy classic, so not only do you have to kill it, there better be a great video to accompany it. Shadows Fall’s take on “Bark at the Moon succeeds on both levels. Sure, the video looks like it was shot for about 8 cases of beer, but it pays homage to the original, and is pretty funny to boot. Werewolf for werewolf, Ozzy wins hands down though. And while dressing like a waiter at a pirate-themed restaurant might have worked for Jake E. Lee, it just adds to the absurdity of the new version to see the Shads dressed up that way. The song is currently available on the special edition of Retribution, the band’s first album on their own Everblack Industries label. We’ve also included the original video after the jump, so you can A-B it. Read more »

Dave Grohl Steals The Show On ‘SNL’

When it was announced that Them Crooked Vultures were going to be the musical guests on this past weekend’s Saturday Night Live, I instantly was hoping to see the supergroup make an appearance in a skit. While only one member joined the cast in action, I still got my wish. Dave Grohl joined host Ashton Kutcher and cast member Fred Armisen in a sketch where the father of the bride reunites with his old band mates for a performance at the wedding. Lets just say that the wedding guests are in for a Suicidal Tendencies-esque surprise.

Hit the jump to see Them Crooked Vultures performing “Mind Eraser, No Chaser” and “New Fang” on the show.

Read more »

Worst Video Ever of the Week: Slash Embarrasses Himself At Grammys

Hey, did you watch the Grammys last night? Us neither. Sure, Judas Priest won best metal performance, but not only was it semi-lame that their live album won over new studio albums, but the presentation of Best Metal Performance wasn’t even televised. What was televised, however, was Slash coming out in the middle of a T-Pain, Doug E. Fresh and Jamie Foxx performance to play the coda to “November Rain” while a choir sang.

Wait, what? Does he have his shades on because he didn’t want anyone to see this? Hey Slash, you might not have been able to see us, but we can see you. A tipster let us know of the “impending clusterfuck” that was going to happen, and after looking at the video that Metal Injection captured, we’ve gotta say that was an accurate description.

The Best Video Ever Of The Week – White Wizzard’s “Over The Top”

When we last saw White Wizzard in the video for “High Speed GTO,” we declared it one of the best videos we’d seen. Campy, with cheesy special effects,  and featuring both a high speed GTO and a white wizard, it stands as an over the top tribute to concept videos from the ’80s. Fitting that the next video, the title track to their forthcoming album Over the Top, is a sequel that ups the ante in every way. We especially like the smooth jazz interlude in the middle. Look for their debut full length in March.

Second Best Video Ever Of The Week: If System Of A Down Never Reunites, You’ll Always Have This 5 Year-Old

Just saw this on Videogum. How apropos to this week’s SOAD rumors. Man, I’m so talentless.

UPDATE: Bill thinks we should track him and this kid down to form a child supergroup:

The Best Video Ever Of The Week: (Grand) Mother

Did you ever wonder what happened to the hot blonde chick in Danzig’s video for “Mother?” You probably haven’t, and you’re better off for it. However, if you thought she might have aged not all that gracefully, continued living the dream of her minor fame from days past by calling herself ”themotherchick,” and uploaded a YouTube vide of herself dancing to said song, you’re totally right. Metal Inquisition unearthed this, and it’s a fascinating cautionary tale. We warned you.