My Rock Spotlight on: Stitched Up Heart

 

Time for me to pick another band that I think you should be listening to. This week, I am going with gothy post-hardcore/ alt metal band Stitched Up Heart.

This band was born from the ashes of four different bands: Mixi, High Risk, Never Like The Movies, and Sexual Harassment and their members; Mixi, Mikey, Andrew, Nikki, and Dave. Together they formed Stitched Up Heart on Oct. 2010. Fitting that the band was born on this month, since goth and horror imagery do play a part in their kick ass music, image, and look.

I really like their genre bending sound, as it is an addictive mix of a hardcore groove, metal, punk, and pop, all done in a catchy and fun manner, that is very pleasing to your ears and totally kicks your ass.

 
It's all fronted by a charismatic and gorgeous singer in Mixi. I actually first heard about this band via her continuous appearances in Revolver's Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock. Mixi has a great clean signing voice that carries and adds that extra catchy hook to their music. But, she also has an awesome metal scream with a hardcore edge that adds to the heaviness with an aggressive punch.

Mixi is not just notable for her breath-taking beauty and amazing vocal talents but for her look as well. She has long, wild hair, that she has worn in different styles. And, has changed it's color many times, be it blue, purple, black, blonde, or some mix of different colors. But, no matter what color it is, she always looks so beautiful! She also happens to have some cool ink!

In the six years the band has only gotten better. They have tightened their sound and gotten heavier while still be able to keep their memorable pop hooks.

Here are some videos, so you can hear their awesomeness for yourself. This first video is actually the first song that I ever heard from the band.

The next two songs are from their latest EP, Skeleton Key, which came out last year. I only got last month, though. But, I just can't stop listening to it! The music is catchy and kick ass, a great mix of fun and aggressiveness, with just the right amount of darkness to give it some edge. The musicianship is tight, and Mixi is fucking awesome, of course. This is the first single, which is actually the last song on the album. The video is pretty cool, and she looks beautiful in it!

The latest single of off that EP, "Frankenstein" is, coincidentally, the album's opener. It's one of the best songs on the album (if you are curious, my favorite track on it is the 3rd one "Marionette" which has some really fuckin cool lyrics to go with killer music), one that gets better with each listening. I also really like her screaming in it, the mini breakdown at the end, and little touches of horror lyrics.

If you want to learn more about Stitched Up Heart go to:
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StitchedUpHeartRock
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/stitchdupheart

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My Rock Spotlight on: Diamante

Let's try a new and hopefully regular column on here, as I add more hard rock, punk, and metal related coverage. Every once in a while, I would like to do a spotlight on band or artist in hard rock, metal, or punk, that I think you should check out and it deserves your attention. Today, I'm focusing my attention on hard rocking beauty, Diamante.

This talented and beautiful signer from Boston, Mass. who writes her own songs, was by the age of only 17 (she's currently 18), already garnering the following accolades, according to her Facebook page: "Best Rock Record at the Indie Music Channel Awards two years in a row, as well as wins in the categories of, Best Young Rock Artist, Best Rock Recording, Best Music Video for “IMPOSSIBLE,” and the coveted title of Teen Artist of the Year." 

I first time I heard about this talented beauty was via this year's Revolver's Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue (currently out in newsstands and bookstores). After reading about her there, I decided to check out her music and like what I heard. It's got an early Pat Benatar feel to it, with riffs to please fans who like there rock catchy but still with some punch to it, as well as with some bad attitude. It's lead by her impressive, beautiful, and sexy vocals. 

What follows are some songs and videos of hers, so you can check out some of her tunes, for yourself. She has a new song that just debuted this week called "Dirty Blonde" that is just sooo fucking good. It's sexy, filled with attitude, and one of my favorite new songs that I have heard this entire month. The song is from her upcoming EP Dirty Blonde, which you can preorder here on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/dirty-blonde-ep/id964667524.

If you really wanna hear just how amazingly beautiful her voice is check out her cover of Bon Jovi's hair metal classic, "You Give Love a Bad Name"

And, from 80's pop metal we go to the 90's mainstream rock antithesis of it: grunge, as she covers Nirvana's classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Here are some videos that showcase her own, original music. First off, we have one from last year, it's the very catchy and melodic rocker "Savage". Also, it is very worth mentioning that she looks really sexy and absolutely beautiful in the video.

And, finally we have the hard rocking and totally badass "Bite Your Kiss" which has the feel of a Ratt and Motley Crue with a touch of the bluesier Great White or AC/DC mixed with the sexiness of The Pretty Reckless.

If you want to learn more about Diamante check out the following links of hers:
Official Site: http://www.diamanteofficialmusic.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DIAMANTEband
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/diamanteofficialmusic/

And, be sure to let me know, if you like this column, I already have an artist in mind for the next one.

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