Metro Station

The phenomenon that is METRO STATION were propelled to significant popularity in the UK with single ‘Shake It’ and sold over 240,000 copies/downloads of the single in this country alone. If ever a band defined the term ‘internet phenomenon’ it’s Metro Station. The newest names to hit the MySpace generation, the LA band who formed as 17 year olds, just two years ago, have witnessed an incredible 28 million plays across four tracks on MySpace alone. Then there’s the 35 million plays across three videos on YouTube (including 23.5 million views of ‘Shake It’ alone) plus 29k page views on Bebo and 16.7k fans. You get the picture.

The story began in 2007 on the set of Disney teens’ favourite Hannah Montana, where Trace and Mason were set up on a ‘rock’n’roll ‘blind date’ by their respective mums who knew they had so much in common. With Trace being the older half-brother of Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus (and son of Billy Ray Cyrus) and Mason the brother of the show’s Oliver Oken, actor Mitchel Musso, you’d expect pop music to be part of the Metro Station make-up. And it is. But not how you’d imagine. “We’re pop but electronic pop. Our music is all about dancing and having a good time. The band we all love which influenced all of us is The Postal Service. We love that style of music,” says Trace.

Trace comments of his family Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus – “When people meet me and they find out who my sister and my dad are, they are shocked. The type of music that Metro Station make is different to theirs, it’s different to anything out there. And that’s why so many people respect us.”

Kerrang! The Album

THE BIGGEST names, and the LOUDEST tracks – it could only mean one thing… KERRANG! THE ALBUM. Every year, showcasing a who’s who of rock, punk and metal at that moment in time, it always shows the compilation world of Dance and R&B exactly what an album should sound like!

Previous CDs have included exclusive tracks from established acts such as My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, Alexisonfire, Marilyn Manson, Gallows and a showcasing of the new breed with the likes of Ghost Of A Thousand, Outcry Collective and Rolo Tomassi. ‘Kerrang! The Album’ really is the biggest, and the BEST compilation you could rock out to, year after year!

In This Moment

Century Media’s In This Moment is fronted by the dazzling Maria Brink who is already one of the most photographed women in rock music with numerous US covers under her belt including Revolver & Metal Edge. Their album ‘The Dream’ was released in 2009 to a deluge of online coverage and performances at the likes of Download Festival and Give It A Name. The band’s previous album ‘Beautiful Tragedy’ took the band on the road with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Rob Zombie and Lacuna Coil (and to festivals such as Download and Germany’s Rock Am Ring/Rock Am Park). With over 6.5 million Myspace plays to date and a growing army of fans, In This Moment are set to join the likes of Paramore in crossing over from critical success in the rock world, to the consciousness of the mainstream.

The Ghost of A Thousand

Having kicked, screamed and fought their way out of Brighton, England in early 2007 with awe-inspiring debut full-length ‘This Is Where The Fight Begins‘, The Ghost Of A Thousand have rapidly become of one of the UK’s most valuable and unique musical assets, thanks to their unhinged, uncompromising and utterly invigorating style. Having spent the last couple of years challenging old perceptions of what British hardcore was made of – collecting a Kerrang! Award nomination and a place in Q Magazine’s Top Five metal bands, along the way – the quintet returned in 2009 with an album that doesn’t just tear up the rule book, it sets it ablaze and leaves it on your doorstep in a middle of the night drive by.

Having formed in 2004, The Ghost of A Thousand have relentlessly pushed themselves forward – whether that’s via a punishing tour schedule or annihilating live shows – in the pursuit of greatness. The pinnacle of that boundary pushing ethos (so far at least), arrived in the form of 2009’s ‘New Hopes, New Demonstrations‘ – an album that steps beyond the band’s hardcore roots and squares boldly up to swaggering rock ‘n’ roll, hard rock heroism and, in places, epic opuses. Released on Epitaph Records, it’s a record that will stand the test of time and prove that …Ghost… are in this for the long haul. In fact, ‘End of 2009’ lists were rife with mentions of the album, notably Rock Sound’s end of year issue which featured the ‘NHND’ as Number 7 in their Top 10.

Converge in CMU Top 10 of 2009

Converge‘s venomous ‘Axe To Fall’ appears in the CMU Newsletter today as one of their Top 10 Albums of 2009. They quite rightly observe – “The ability to write good songs at lower volume means that when they crank it up they know how to play hard and fast but still keep it interesting, making ‘Axe To Fall’ a far more varied and diverse album than most could manage.”

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Flogging Molly

When Celtic-punk legends Flogging Molly had an absolute stunner of a video crafted in 2009 for single ‘Float’, we here at Division just knew we had to help get it some love online in the UK. With a focus on the video around the release of a single, we worked to gain strategic placement of the footage across the web, from blogs right through to ISPs, MySpace and even The Sun. It also helped that we unleashed the video around the time of St. Patrick’s Day!

Founded in Los Angeles in 1997 by expatriate Dave King, Flogging Molly got its start and its name from a local bar called Molly Malone’s where the band played and grew and laid down the blueprint for its eventual success.  As every member of Flogging Molly will emphatically explain, there were no predetermined expectations for the band’s sound.  Traditional Celtic instruments like violin, mandolin and accordion blended seamlessly with grinding guitars and pounding drums.  Without consciously attempting it, Flogging Molly merged the music of King’s childhood in Dublin with the music of his adulthood in L.A.

Fake Problems

Growing up is never easy, but when you’re in a band it often seems impossible. Make the same record twice and you’re chastised for being repetitive, but if you make too large of a sonic shift your fan base will desert you. Luckily Fake Problems have never had to deal with this dilemma because with each release they’ve not only organically reinvented their sound, they’ve also successfully redefined who they are as musicians and human beings in the process. The band’s SideOneDummy debut ‘It’s Great To Be Alive’ shows Fake Problems’ unique brand of indie rock shaking off the insecurity and soul-searching of adolescence and sees the band embracing a sense of perspective that can only be gained by spending countless months on the road touring, laughing and writing music they believe in.

The album was produced in the midst of the cornfields of Omaha, Nebraska in a mere two weeks by A.J. Mogis (Bright Eyes, Cursive). From the sinister shuffle of ‘You’re A Serpent, You’re a She-Snake’ to orchestral ballads like ‘Tabernacle Song’ and intricately layered anthems like ‘There Are Times,’ It’s Great To Be Alive is less of a traditional album and more of a sonic journey that refuses to be limited by genre constraints.

Def Leppard

In 2009, Division had the honour of being approached to front the online campaign for two monstrous re-issues from the mighty Def Leppard. ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Adrenalize’ were both released with bonus material and we were able to maximise the band’s presence online through album reviews and select features around the releases and the band’s headline slot closing Download Festival.

Having sold over 65 million albums worldwide since their debut release in 1980 and proved themselves one of rock music’s hardest working and consistently powerful live bands (playing to over 50 million fans in the last 15 years alone), these timely deluxe expanded editions are a must for any discerning music fan. Def Leppard remain one of only five rock groups who can claim two separate original 10 million plus selling albums in the US (‘Pyromania’ being one of them).  The others are The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Van Halen.

Rock Sound accolades for Converge and TGOAT

Division acts play a big part in Rock Sound’s Albums of 2009. The Top 10 includes Converge‘s incendiary ‘Axe To Fall’ in like a bullet at Number 2 and The Ghost of A Thousand‘s rip-roaring ‘New Hopes, New Demonstrations’ claiming the Number 7 spot. That’s what we like to see.

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Slade featured on AOL Spinner

 Noddy Holder has been chatting about those X Factor scamps once again, this time to AOL’s Spinner Music site. He has even gone so far as to say “If ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ beats the ‘X-Factor’ winner to number one, I will stand on top of Broadcasting House and get my c— out for all the world to see.” Now that would be something. Check out the story here.

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