After carefully watching what different media outlets released this holiday season, we decided that instead of creating an end of the year summary using old content, we would instead create a 30-minute program that showcases the impact of Heavy Music in 2010. In order to make this a successful program, we would have to find the ideal platform. That platform? New York City’s Times Square, also known as the “center of the world”!
You may be thinking that we went into a Broadway show and bumped elbows with tourists. But the reality is that what we experienced was magical.
We arrived at the Best Buy Theater (formerly the Nokia Theater), which is the best sounding venue in New York City. The place is pimped out! As soon as we got there we ran into a lot of familiar faces, one face that stood out was Tommy Vext (formerly from Divine Heresy and Snot). From that moment on, we knew this night would be like no other! The video special will make this very evident, so make sure you check it out. We have live footage, exclusive interviews and more!
Seventh Void, which features members of Type O Negative opened the night with a tight set, and made all the concert attendees remember the great Peter Steele (RIP)! A few minutes later, it was time for Long Island’s Kings of Hardcore Vision Of Disorder. VOD never just shows up to a show, they make sure they get the crowd pumped and could have easily headlined the show. We had the chance to talk to their singer Tim Williams (included on the video special), and 2011 is shaping up to be an awesome year for this phenomenal band.
As soon as VOD finished their set, we caught up with Revolver Magazine’s Editor In Chief Brandon Geist and discussed the impact of Heavy Music in 2010 (also included on the video special). Revolver Magazine’s latest issue is a tribute to all the “fallen heroes” of Heavy Music. Make sure you pick it up!
Next up was Biohazard, who always makes sure to get the crowd moving and that they leave with a smile on their face. We had the chance to talk to their guitarist Bobby Hambel (also included on the video special), and he is a true legend!
In our opinion, Biohazard should have been the main headliner, simply because they are a lot more energetic then Life Of Agony. As a result, the crowd was somewhat tired once Life Of Agony took center stage. Nevertheless, Life Of Agony sounded amazing!
WIthout further due, here is our 2010 Holiday Special (includes bonus footage starring Brian Fair from Shadows Falls)! We want to dedicate this piece to Peter Steele, Ronnie James Dio and Paul Gray! And of course, all the fans of Horns Up Rocks!!!
Special thanks to our photographers Evil Steve, Damien Mitchell and Simi Friedman. Our videographers Lucky, Evil Steve, Lisa Marie Gort DeStefano and Alissa Shimansky. And last but not least, Jose Mangin, Brandon Geist, Tim WIlliams, Bobby Hambel, and Brian Fair!
The "Prince of Darkness" Ozzy Osbourne has inspired Horns Up Rocks since our inception in early February. Actually, our second post ever was a review of Ozzy's book titled "I Am Ozzy". 11 months later, we are writing about Ozzy again, but this time is to inspire you to give to those who needed the most this holiday season. So how can Ozzy inspire you?
During a recent shopping spree in Toronto with his daughter Kelly, Ozzy ran into a struggling musician. After hearing the man's story, Ozzy reached in his pocket and handed the man a $100 bill. The man was very thankful, and obviously excited. Before parting ways, the man asked Ozzy for an autograph. Ozzy took the $100 bill back, and signed it for the man. Then Ozzy said: "Maybe now it's worth more than a 100 bucks".
This was not the first time that Ozzy showed us how generous he is. Earlier this year, Ozzy ran into a homeless man in the streets of Los Angeles and gave him his $4500 gold necklace! According to various sources: "The guy asked Ozzy for some change. After searching his pockets Ozzy realised he didn't have any so handed him his $4,500 gold necklace instead. He took the gold crucifix from around his neck and gave it to the man telling him to pray with it. The man could not thank Ozzy enough."
OZZY rules! Let him inspire you this holiday season! HEAVY HOLIDAYS from your friends at Horns Up Rocks! \m/
Horns throwers listen up! Do YOU want to win tickets to go see the mighty GWAR on Sunday December 26 at the Best Buy Theater in Times Square, New York?
HOW? Listen to WQMC Radio at 3 PM Eastern on Wednesday December 22nd. Make sure you keep your ears wide open for the keyword that can win you a pair of tickets for Gwar! Once the DJ says the keyword...
THEN WHAT? Call 718-997-3986 for YOUR chance to win!
Good luck and remember: if it's getting too loud, you are getting too old!
Horns Up Rocks wants to wish every single one of you: HEAVY HOLIDAYS and a METALLIC 2011! Thanks so much for your support, and rest assured that will keep the HORNS way UP in 2011! Please be safe, because we need every single one of you to keep the Heavy Music Army growing and becoming STRONGER THAN ALL!
We decided to take a look at all the memories that we lived throughout 2010, and give you our beloved fans, the ultimate Top 10! Starting today, we will post one memory a day! The best memory of 2010 will be posted on New Years Day (December 31st)!
\m/ NUMBER 10: THE HIXON Chronicles - On August 27th, Horns Up Rocks and Jefferson Avenue Productions brought the annual Hixonfest to the Ace of Clubs bar in New York City. The event featured live music by Lies Beneath, Canons, S.W.A.K., female Judas Priest tribute band Judas Priestess, and New Jersey's Thrash Metal titans The Hixon. Additionally, the event was hosted by Richard Christy from the Howard Stern Show and Charred Walls of the Damned. The event also featured a sexy model search hosted by Crown Ink Divas CEO Frankie Scorpion.
Before the event, and before we all started our drink-a-thon, Horns Up Rocks founder Jo Schuftan interviewed The Hixon. Here is what went down:
\m/ NUMBER 9: METAL meets COMEDY (with Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine of VH1 Classic's THAT METAL SHOW) - When it comes to mixing Heavy Metal and Comedy, there are very few people that can blend them together like Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine do. You may be familiar with this two maniacs, from VH1 Classic's That Metal Show, or from the infamous "Terrorizing Tele-marketers CD's. You may also know them from Comedy Central's Crankyankers and Meet the Creeps, or maybe from a Heavy Metal concert. Regardless of where you know them from, what this two man have achieved in their careers, is truly admirable! We had the chance to interview both of them together, and somehow managed to keep them somewhat controlled! Check it out:
\m/ NUMBER 8: SLAYER, MEGADETH & ANTHRAX @ American Carnage 2 - On Friday October 8th, we headed to the Nassau Vetarans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island to experience one of the best tours in Heavy Metal history. Which tour are we talking about? The second leg of the American Carnage tour, sponsored by Jägermeister Music, which features Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax.
We arrived at the venue around 4 o'clock, and immediately headed to lot 6 (pretty appropriate) for Jo Schuftan's (founder of Horns Up Rocks) tailgate birthday party! As soon as we arrived to lot 6, Heavy Metal was blasting from every car in the parking lot! It was heaven for any Metal head and hell for everyone else. Check out the videos we captured!
\m/ NUMBER 7:At the 2010 Hixonfest, the Judas Priestess played a furious set right after New Jersey's Metaleros The Hixon almost burned the house down. The all female Judas Priest tribute band puts the pedal to the Metal, and they do it from start to finish. Judas Priestess deliver a vulgar display of adrenaline, that can be addictive. Not only can they make the dudes headbang out of control, they also get the chicks to shake their booties lambada style. When the Judas Priestess ladies rock the hell out of the stage, nobody is safe. Here is the interview that METAL LOVE did with the ladies of Judas Priestess! This became an instant hit and was published on BLABBERMOUTH! \m/
\m/ NUMBER 666: New Orleans has always been known for its influence in music and its multilingual cross-cultural heritage. This ever-changing region of the United States gave birth to Jazz music, and is universally known for its cuisine. Recently they became known for their NFL football team, thanks to the New Orleans Saints victory over the Indianapolis Colts at this years Super Bowl in Miami. What does all this have to do with Heavy Music? Well, NOLA is the birthplace of some of the best bands in the country! This year we produced a lot of legendary interview videos, but two interviews that we are very proud of are the ones with Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Down, Kingdom of Sorrow), and Ben Falgoust (Goatwhore, Soilent Green). Check this two jewels out:
\m/ NUMBER 5: Eugene Victor Hoglan II, known by many of you as Gene Hoglan or "The Atomic Clock", is one of the best drummers in the world. During his 26 year career he has played in bands such as Strapping Young Lad, Testament, Dark Angel, War God and Dethklok. When I heard that he was joining the mighty Fear Factory, my heart started beating at triple the tempo. I started envisioning what the new generation of Fear Factory would sound like. The results blew my mind when I heard their latest album titled "Mechanized". Here is our interview with Gene Hoglan (featured on Blabbermouth), as well as some live footage of Fear Factory!
\m/ NUMBER 4: As we all know, Ronnie James Dio passed away earlier this year after losing his battle to stomach cancer. A few weeks before his passing, Ronnie made his way to Los Angeles from a cancer clinic in Texas, for the Revolver Golden Gods Awards. To me this is very inspiring and proofs the power behind Heavy Music. Ronnie James Dio will always be remembered as a true warrior!
We had a chance to talk to Jose Mangin (Sirius XM Liquid Metal & MTV Headbangers Ball), Don Jamieson (That Metal Show), Brandon Geist (Revolver Magazine), and even Alex Skolnick (Testament) about the legacy of Ronnie James Dio which Corey. All of them tell us their "behind the scenes" stories involving Ronnie James Dio. Check it out!
\m/ NUMBER 3: "When I think about what brought me to New York, the first thing that comes to my mind is New York Hard Core. Growing up in Colombia in the mid 90's, back when Pablo Escobar and crew controlled the country through acts of violence. I experienced lots of hardship by watching my own country, become the country of fear. I was around 15 years old when I first heard downset, I know downset are from LA but once I was hooked on the Hard Core movement, I started to listen to New York Hard Core through bands like Sick Of It All, Madball, Agnostic Front, Biohazard, Vision of Disorder and a whole bunch of other bands (mostly through mix tapes)." -Jo Schüftan (Founder of Horns Up Rocks)
Here are some legendary interviews I did this year with some of the biggest Hardcore artists:
\m/ NUMBER 2: "Ever since I became a diehard Pantera fan, I wanted to get a CFH (Cowboys From Hell) tattoo! Not only is Pantera my all time favorite band, but also a huge influence on who I am. Pantera defines what life is all about: Determination, Passion and making the best out of every single moment lived. With that said, when I went to the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention I knew I had to have an appointment with the needle and chinese ink. Now I am officially Scarred For Life and a Pantera fan until the day I die." -Jo Schuftan (Founder of Horns Up Rocks)
Apart from covering the CFH tattoo story, we also covered some awesome Pantera events, check this out:
\m/ NUMBER UNO: As we all know, the great Peter Steele from Type O Negative died on April 14, 2010 from heart failure. Peter will always be remembered as one of the most charismatic musicians in history. Together with his bands Type O Negative and Carnivore, he created a legacy that will never die! Fortunately, Peter will always live through his passionate music and if you ever had a chance to meet him or to see perform live, you know that he was a true legend.
This was the saddest and biggest story this year for Horns Up Rocks to cover. Pete ignited a flame that we will never let die! Here are some of the videos we produced in memory of Peter Steele, 'the giant man with a heart of gold!"
There was a lot of hype for this show, which was held at Santos Party House in New York City (too small a venue for such majestic band). This, however, made for a very intimate ritual among the attendees.
When we arrived to the carnage with a group of headbangers, Black Anvil took the stage. Good stuff from a former Hardcore band, who blurred the lines between Hardcore Punk and Black Metal, to create their own brand of music.
Up next was Goatwhore. Hail the Goat! The brothers never disappoint with the onslaught of blackened Thrash Metal. The sound was not all that great, but the band knows how to get Metal heads all riled-up. Always refreshing is to hear this band play tracks from “Funeral Dirge For The Rotting Sun”, as it is to hear their latest stuff, “Carving Out The Eyes Of God”, which absolutely destroys.
Then it was time for the main rotted final course: Watain.
I was not sure what to expect since this was my first time seeing this band live. There was a lingering stench in the air. It truly smelled like entrails and blood. Pure evil. It all made sense once Watain took the stage. The satanic stage, blessed with animal skulls, and drenching blood, the corpse paint, the negative vibe in the air. It was all demented and a great production, but Watain’s brilliance is in their music.
Flawless Black metal, with slabs of Death, and technicality that was simply awesome.
The band played some classics that got the old school Black Metal maniacs pumped, and also a showcase of their latest album titled “Lawless Darkness”, not surprisingly the #2 record in the “Top 40 Extreme Albums of 2010”, compiled by Decibel magazine.
Watain with their horrific brand of Heady Metal demonstrated why they are such an important Metal band, possibly the most important Black Metal band of this generation. This band shows no boundaries, and their music is a destructive machine that did not stop until everyone in the audience is taken aback. \m/
Here fan footage of Watain's legendary performance:
After carefully watching what different media outlets released this holiday season, we decided that instead of creating an end of the year summary using old content, we would instead create a 30-minute program that showcases the impact of Heavy Music in 2010. In order to make this a successful program, we would have to find the ideal platform. That platform? New York City’s Times Square, also known as the “center of the world”! 
Seventh Void, which features members of Type O Negative opened the night with a tight set, and made all the concert attendees remember the great Peter Steele (RIP)! A few minutes later, it was time for Long Island’s Kings of Hardcore Vision Of Disorder. VOD never just shows up to a show, they make sure they get the crowd pumped and could have easily headlined the show. We had the chance to talk to their singer Tim Williams (included on the video special), and 2011 is shaping up to be an awesome year for this phenomenal band.
As soon as VOD finished their set, we caught up with Revolver Magazine’s Editor In Chief Brandon Geist and discussed the impact of Heavy Music in 2010 (also included on the video special). Revolver Magazine’s latest issue is a tribute to all the “fallen heroes” of Heavy Music. Make sure you pick it up!
Next up was Biohazard, who always makes sure to get the crowd moving and that they leave with a smile on their face. We had the chance to talk to their guitarist Bobby Hambel (also included on the video special), and he is a true legend!
IMPRINTED by Jo Schüftan (Founder of Horns Up Rocks)
