The year is shaping up to be a impressive one for Andy Biersack and Black Veil Brides. They've already released The Wretched and Divine: The Story of the Wild Ones, which debuted at No. 7 in the US; they've unveiled a motion picture, Legion of the Black, done two North American legs and one European leg of the Church of the Wild Ones tour — and they're up for two Golden God awards.

Last year, Godsmack’s Sully Erna took a creative leap of faith and released Avalon. Godsmack has shown glimpses of Erna’s world and tribal influences most notably with tracks like “Voodoo." Avalon fully immersed the artist into a word of musicians and collaborators that resulted in an album that shows the depth and breadth of Sully’s talents.

Texas Hippie Coalition released their third studio album, Peacemaker, August 14 through Carved Records. The band — Big Dad Ritch (vocals), John Exall (bass), Wes Wallace (guitar) and Timmy Braun (drums) — blends Pantera-style riffs and energy with vocals that sound a bit like ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons.

Ask any guitarist to describe Eric Johnson in one word, and you'll likely get one response: “Tone." Johnson took the music world by storm with the release of his 1986 album Tones and the subsequent Ah Via Musicom from 1990. Since that time, he's released a successful DVD, appeared on several G3 and Experience Hendrix tours -- and he's even won a Grammy.