Our Discovery Download puts the focus on a different genre each week, offering up a free track we think is worth your attention. This instrumental powerhouse hails from our nation’s capital and has the sort of virtuoso authority that’ll make you either start playing guitar or give up. Imagine the most complex arrangements by bands like The Mars Volta or Mastodon and strip the vocals out, and you’re halfway there. The intro alone is a baffling mixture of African highlife–style guitar patterns and skittering electronics. What follows is a progressive master class that dives into the heart of 21st-century metal, with an after-hours course in advanced fretboard management.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we find a track from an artist or band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. With members from some of the past few decades’ most popular bands (namely Blink-182 and 30 Seconds to Mars), it’s no wonder Angels & Airwaves can craft songs so immediate and explosive. "Surrender" is from the group’s second album. It marches into the arena with a slight synth backbeat and a grand statement: "I will not surrender."
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Each week we find a track from an artist or band we’ve been enjoying and bring it to you, for free, as our Single of the Week. This five-piece from New Jersey go for maximum volume on this hard-rocking jam from its latest album, Dogs. The thunderous, cavernous riffs hit immediately. With guitar harmonies at play, Mark Melicia’s vocals help bolster the Led Zeppelin–like heavy metal aesthetic as he belts out timeless lyrics about an underdog persevering to step out of the shadows and into the sun.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
Freshly inked Tooth & Nail act Icon for Hire crushes expectations on “Make a Move,” its first single from the album Scripted. The band melds alt-metal with Top 40 — think Flyleaf and Paramore — to arrive at a combination that inspires change as much as it incites action in the pit. And with pink-haired lead singer Ariel Jump at the controls, Icon for Hire is an exciting presence on the contemporary Christian rock scene.
IMPORTANT: Downloads are only free on iTunes for approximately 1 week from this post date.
