Entertainment Earth

12/31/2015

The 10 Best Hard Rock/ Metal Albums of 2015

There was a lot of great hard and heavy music made this year, so whittling this list down to just ten and then ranking them wasn't an easy task. Regardless, there were some definite gems, in particular when it comes to more extreme metal. A couple of the albums on here  even stand as the best work these bands have done, as of yet.

10. Lamb of God- VII: Sturm Und Drang- After all the legal troubles that their singer Randy Blythe unjustly went through, LoG got back together and released a killer album. It shows a band that is willing to grow and mature, embracing even cleaning signing and collaborations with others. The result is a heavy and thundering release that perfectly sums up one of the greatest American metal bands of the last few decades.





9. Halestorm- Into the Wild Life- Showing an ever growing and changing in sound, Halestorm's latest has some great rocking tracks, but it also slows it down for some moving and powerful ballads. A great and hook filled hard rock album, Into the Wild Life has some the catchiest songs that I have heard all year. It might be the album that I listened to the most amount of times this year, as a matter of fact! The beautiful Lzzy Hale continues to be one of the best signers in all of heavy music.

 
8. Disturbed- Immortalized- Just when it looked like one of the most popular bands in rock and metal were done, they come back. And, man do they ever come back! A crushing and chugging masterwork, this is one of their very best albums. But, it really should come as no surprise, as they have consistently ranked in my yearly best albums. On a side note, their beautiful cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence" has become another huge hit for them. And, it's really one of the most beautiful songs that I have heard this year.





7. Bring Me the Horizon- That's the Spirit- In a bold move, this British metalcore band continued to move towards a more mainstream sound. But, I think they really succeeded with an accessible, but still hard rocking and dark hard rock/ metal ass kicker. It's one of their very best albums, and where I would usually be damning a band for this type of change, I can only sign their praises. Sometimes change is good, and sometimes it's fucking awesome!



6. Iwrestledabearonce- Hail Mary- One of the most abrasive and out-right heavy albums released this year, Hail Mary rarely slows down. It feels like your head is getting pummeled with a sledgehammer over and over again. Filled with piss and vinegar, but sprinkled with moments of serenity this is their best work to date. Signer the lovely Courtney Laplante has really breathed new life into one of the most original extreme acts out there.





5. Myrkur- M- Who would have thought that the best black metal album would come from pretty, Danish, former. pop signer, Amalie Bruun, but so is the case with M. It is a haunting, beautiful, heavy, and atmospheric work that takes all of the best things in black metal makes a fresh and powerful album with it. Considering she is a one woman show, this is immensely impressive. Exceptional musicianship and an all encompassing sound make this a future classic of the subgenre.


5. Cattle Decapitation- The Anthorpocene Extinction- This band just keeps getting better and better and that is saying a lot. Quite frankly, I did not think they could top their last album, the masterful Monolith of Inhumanity, but holy fuck did they ever! This is death/ grindcore at it's very best and most brutal. Machine gun drums and crunching brutality combine with various screams of lead signer Travis Ryan, for a full speed assault on the senses. This is blistering and utterly eviscerating metal that cuts your guts open then fucks you in the cut that it leaves. Utterly killer!  

3. The Agonist- Eye of Providence- It's always a gambit when a band gets a new signer. Especially when the band is so closely associated with that signer. It comes as a great accomplishment when said band does that and then ends up making the best album of their entire career (thus far, anyways). And, so is the case with The Agonist's Eye of Providence. Gorgeous Vicky Psarakis has more than taken the reigns. Her joining the band has breathed new and fresh life into band, giving them a great mix of the melodic and catchy with the fast and crunchingly heavy. Quite possibly the metal album that has the best grooves released this year.


 
2. Periphery- Juggernaut: Alpha and Omega- Releasing a double album is always a gamble and one that doesn't really pay off. But, Periphery have given us one of the very best double albums in the history pf metal. It also stands as one of the most technical albums I have heard all year. Complex and ever changing, yet always flowing with energy, the songs are completely captivating and enveloping. As a whole, it's a sonic feat, and as separate it's hard to pick which is the better half. But, it doesn't matter, cause either way it ranks as the year's second best album (and certainly the best of the ever more crowded djent subgenre).
 

1. The Black Dahlia Murder- Abysmal- TBDM has long been one of my very favorite death metal bands. And, that's cause they keep releasing amazing albums that capture the very best of melodic death metal. Abysmal is no different, in fact it is very well their best work since their classic Nocturnal. Considering how high in regards I hold the last couple of albums, this is saying a lot. Blast beats, melodic, soaring guitars, and head smashing sounds combine with Trevor Strnad's screeching and roaring vocals for pure death metal ecstasy. This albums pummels you from it's vicious opener, "Receipt", all the way to it's final track the savage "That Cannot Die Which Eternally Is Dead". Even the awesome cover is pure and classic death metal. What an album!
 

Honorable Mentions:
Chelsea Wolfe- Abyss
New Years Day- Malevolence
One-Eyed Doll- Witches
Trivium- Silence in the Snow
Nachtlieder- Female of the Species
Bullet for My Valentine- Venom
Cradle of Filth- Hammer of the Witches
Iron Maiden- The Book of Souls

So, now I would love to hear from you. What where your favorite metal/ hard rock albums of 2015?

12/30/2015

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 7: 10-1

10. Tatiana Maslany (last year same)- Orphan Black continues to be one of the best damn sci-fi shows on TV, and the beautiful Ms. Maslany one of the finest actresses on all of TV. In fact, considering how many roles she plays on the show, and how great she is, she might just be THE best actress on TV. The new clone that they introduced that she plays, blonde Krystal is especially yummy!





9. Asa Akira (last year #1)- After holding the top spot for four years (a record!), Asa remains in the top ten. She continued to be one of the best and hottest contract girls, thanks to her work for Wicked Pictures. And, yet she remains one of the nicest girls in the biz.


8. Melissa Benoist (new)- The highest ranking new entry this year, Supergirl's title star is a truly captivating beauty. She reallyu captures Supergirl and brings her physically and emotionally to life perfectly. Whether in or out of the iconic costume, Benoist looks amazing. But, she has the talent to back it up, being able to kick ass and give the right emotional depth to the character. At only 27 years of age and the popularity of the show the sky is the limit (pun intended) for this blonde beauty.


7. Deborah Ann Wohl (last year #9)- Thanks to the amazing Marvel/ Netflix series Daredevil, we didn't have to lament the former True Blood beauty being away from our TV sets for long. If anything, it introduced this now blonde goddess to a legion of new fans. And, her solid acting as Karen Page solidifies her position as one the best actresses on genre related TV shows.






6. Vera Farmiga (last year #7)- The beautiful Ms. Farmiga is, in my humble opinion, the most gorgeous MILF on all of TV land. And, this season in the awesome Bates Motel, she proved that she is holding on to that title and not letting it go anytime soon. Her beauty is so intense that it sometimes distracts me from the show's excellent script. Thank God for her amazing acting ability which draws me right back in and insures her ever rising spot on this list.





5. Dani Daniels (last year #6)- The beautiful Dani Daniels moves up a spot to become the highest ranking adult star still working in the biz on the list this year. And, with good reason. She is unquestionably one of the hottest and most popular adult performers in porn today. Her personality helps, too, as I consider her to have one of THE best Twitter (which you can follow if you click on her name in this post) accounts to follow, porn or not. Enough so that she won the AVN award for Social Media Star, an award chosen by her loving fans. And, then of course, there is her stunning and natural beauty. Seriously, Dani is one of the most beautiful women, ever to live on the Earth.


4. Tera Patrick (last year same)- Tera remains as beloved by her fans, as ever. This year, I got to see her at the Adult Entertainment Expo, where she was seated at the Red Light Center booth. There I learned that the 3D game had an animated version of Tera herself in the game. My subsequent write up and pics became one of my most popular posts of this year.






3. Jennifer Lawrence (last year same)- J. Law remains one of the most beautiful and talented stars in Hollywood, today. She continues to draw in huge fan and critical acclaim, in both dramas like Joy and mainstream action/ sci-fi blockbusters like the final entry in the Hunger Games series: Mockingjay Part 2. Even in that good but uneven movie's lesser moments, she continued to shine.





2.  Jen & Sylvia Soska (last year same)- Holding in at the silver medal are horror's most beloved sisters, the beautiful and ubber-talented Soska twins. This year saw them having their entertaining and ultra-violent revenge/ prison flick Vendetta released, their second with WWE Studios. Their first TV show, the wild and creepy game show Hellevator saw their popularity extend even further. It has developed a rabid following from fans who just love tweeting about it along with the Canadian beauties live during its air time. Currently, they are working on their own feature Puppet Killer. It will be fascinating to see what spin they have on the killer doll sub-genre.

1. Ash Costello (last year #8)- And, now our new #1, the first ever musician to rank in at the top spot, it's the beautiful Ash Costello of rockers New Years Day. Costello seems to get more and more beautiful each day. This year saw her band releasing their best work yet in the form of the ass kicker, Malevolence. The subsequent tour saw them play some kick shows, including the one where I got to see them perform. At said show, I also had the complete and utter pleasure of meeting her. She is so awesome in person! And, it is very clear that she is one of the most beloved front women in rock and metal, today. It is for those reasons, that this Gothic beauty takes the top spot for 2015's hottest babes!

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 1: 70-61 


The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 2: 60-51


The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 3: 50-41

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 4: 40-31

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 5: 30-21

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 6: 20-11

12/29/2015

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 6: 20-11

20. Jillian Janson (new)- One of the hottest continuously rising stars in the adult the naturally beautiful Jillian Janson is just awesome. Her blistering performances and stunning good looks have gained her a deservedly huge fan following, as well as industry acclaim. Her bubbly and sweet personality finishes sealing the deal. Take it from me, who had the pleasure of interviewing her this past AEE (one of my most popular posts of this year, by the way!), this girl is one of the sweetest and most awesome girls (in any industry) I've ever had the pleasure of having on camera.

 

19. Haley Atwell (new)- The gorgeous and naturally voluptuous Ms. Atwell stars as the title character of Agent Carter. Said show is the best Marvel TV series on network. She is also one of the finest female characters in all of TV land. Smart, sassy, sexy, and ass kicking, I found myself completely in love with her. Personally speaking, I cannot wait for the show to return next year!

 



18. Eva Green (last year #24)- One of the most beautiful women in the world, is also one it's most talented actresses. She continued to amaze this year. In particular, it's her role in the phenomenal Penny Dreadful that had me and everyone signing her praises, as well as continuing to be fascinated by her exquisite beauty.






17. Catherine Corcoran (last year #16)- The beautiful and all around awesome and sweet Corcoran provided me with a great interview at this year's New York Comic Con. I, and I am sure many of you agree with me on this, cannot wait to see Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol. 2 finally get released next year!

 




16. Tamzin Merchant (new)- Playing Anne Hale one of my favorite, if not in fact my actual favorite character, on horror series Salem, Merchant is just great in her complex role. She also looks utterly stunning. Although there are many lovely ladies on this show, I think she is the most beautiful one. This redhead has us under her spell, for sure! She does play a witch on the show after all!


 


15. Zoie Palmer (last year #14)- It really sucks that we won't be getting another season of Lost Girl, but Palmer seemed to become even more gorgeous this year. As if that was even possible! She also remained excellent in her role. Her relationship with lead character Bo is complex and sexy as fuck.


14. Anna Silk (last year #13)- The lost girl of Lost Girl, Silk is one of the most breathtaking stunners in the history of TV, be it a genre show or not. Those curves combine with her character's Bo's attitude to make for a dream come true.







13. Carter Cruise (new)- I am gonna say it right now: Carter Cruise is one THE very best girls in THE entire porn world. In fact, if I was to say that she is fucking awesome, I would be underselling her. There are not enough words in the English dictionary for me to give her praise. And, it's not just her hot porn scenes (which will make you go through a million tissue boxes) or her natural good looks that confirm this. Nope. It's also that she has one of THE best Twitters in the entire world (not just the fucking porn world). Want proof? Her Twitter link is in her name, click on it and start following her already! Plus, she loves pizza. Honestly, I could probably write a whole article speaking about how awesome this blonde babe is. So let's just end this one here.
 
12. Amanda Schull (new)- Playing the role of Dr. Cassandra Rally on the amazing 12 Monkeys series, Schull is truly one of the most beautiful women to ever be on TV. And, I do mean ever. What's most captivating is that as flawless as she is, it sometimes feels like she isn't even trying. It's just that she is this stunningly beautiful by virtue of nature, itself. Her character is probably my favorite on the show, and her acting in it is simply amazing.

  

11. Katharine Isabelle (last year same)- 88 was one of the coolest indie thrillers that I have seen this year. As always, Isabelle's acting in was top notch. Equally excellent was her turn in this the final season of the phenomenal Hannibal series. Throughout her work she remains as incredibly beautiful as ever. It is with good reason that Isabelle is one of my personal favorite actresses.


 

The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 1: 70-61 


The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 2: 60-51


The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 3: 50-41

 The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 4: 40-31


The 70 Hottest Babes of 2015, pt. 5: 30-21

12/23/2015

12/20/2015

Horror Crush: Charlie Spradling

It's been a while since I did a horror crush, but I recently been revisiting Full Moon's Puppet Master franchise (well the first three, anyways) on blu-ray. And, thus, now feels like the time to show love for the beautiful Charlie Spradling, star of many Full Moon features and their behind the scenes/ merch stuff, as well.

Charlie Spradling, born Charlie Lynn Spradling, is from Fort Worth, Texas. She was born on Sept. 27, 1968. She began her acting career in 1988, with various roles here and there, including a small role as a co-ed in the classic remake The Blob. But, it's her role Twice Dead, which came out the same year, that is her first role we will actually talk a little about. Twice Dead is a pretty entertaining movie, and it's made more fun thanks to the gore and the pretty ladies in it. Aside from having our lovely Ms. Spradling it also featured the gorgeous Jill (Night of the Creeps) Whitlow. Both ladies looked pretty fucking hot here! This movie also marks Spradling's first nude in a horror flick! Yay!
After a couple of TV appearances, Spradling returned to the horror genre with her first of a string of involvements with 90s popular indie horror company, Charles Band's Full Moon. That movie ended up being one of their most successful and popular titles, the erotic horror flick: Meridian. When I first saw it, I loved that movie. But, as you can see from my review, my opinion changed when I was older. However the double combo of nudity from Sherilyn (Twin Peaks) Fenn and Spradling definitely make it worth your time.
Afterwards, SHE appeared in two works from master auteur David Lynch. They were an episode of his classic genre series Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart. I saw the later movie at a young age and really couldn't get into or even finish IT. However, her brief but memorable role had my teen self standing in attention! The image of her in tight pants and Nicholas Cage grabbing her awesome butt became engraved in my brain forever!
 
Her next horror flick, Mirror Mirror, which I never saw. But, apparently she plays some sort of goth chick. Which is just hot as fuck in my book. And, apparently she is also in a shower scene. So, perhaps I need to change this and actually see it. Any of you seen this movie? Any thoughts on it?
For her next flick she returned to Full Moon. It was Puppet Master II, a movie that is arguably her most popular role. It certainly was the one that solidified her involvement with Band's much beloved horror studio. Puppet Master II is flawed, but I think it is better than the first film. Mostly thanks to a pretty good story, excellent FX, and solid acting. Spradling is quite good as one of the researchers investigating the hotel where the Puppet Master himself, Andre Toulon blew his brains out. Spradling also shows her perky boobs, much to delight of every horny and straight male (and undoubtedly some female ones) horror fan.
The VHS of this flick and just about every Full Moon video ever, came with bonus behind the scenes (I should note that the blu-ray release does, too), trailers, merch commercials, etc. It was the precursor to what LD, DVD, and blu-ray would go on to perfect. And, they always had Spradling. Seriously, if you want to sell your horror movie merch, you need to hire someone like her! This was what cemented her as one of my favorite babes in horror. I was pretty much in love!
She did a couple of non-horror movies before returning to appear in yet another Full Moon flick: Bad Channels. I never saw that one, cause despite her being in it, I always thought it looked bad. But, maybe I am wrong? Let me know if you think I should watch that one!

Her final horror movie was another erotic horror flick, To Sleep with a Vampire. Man, I used to love this movie as a kid! I am not sure what I would think about it nowadays. But, whatever the case maybe, it was successful and had a following, back then. In it, she plays a stripper who falls for a vampire. Spradling as a stripper and some vampire? That's pretty much is all you needed to tell teen Master Gio. She got naked, of course, and it might be the definitive movie for fans of her birthday suit. Well, it's either this one or the aforementioned Meridian, but since she has the lead in this one and plays a freaking stripper, I'll go with this one!
 
 
Spradling had a couple of more roles, all in non-horror movies. She eventually left acting in 2002. She would go on to launch Pasadena magazine and be the founder of Innovation Summit Pasadena. But, many horror fans will remember her as their late 80s/ early 90s horror crush. I know she was one of mine!