To get into the adrenaline-rush spirit of the upcoming heist thriller Armored (Dec. 4, Screen Gems), we’ve put together a blood-pumping adrenaline mixtape, just for you. If you’re looking to get the heart racing, this 15-song collection should do the trick!
Queens of the Stone Age – Hangin’ Tree
Featured on the incredible Rock Frankenstein that was Queens of the Stone Age’s 2002 release Songs For The Deaf, this track features Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Them Crooked Vultures) on drums as well as the rawhide vocals of Mark Langegan (Soulsavers, Screaming Trees). A smooth-talking sledgehammer to the face.
Metallica – Ride The Lightning
This classic Metallica gem is the title track to the band’s seminal 1984 album, which many consider to be the best Metallica album ever made. A reminder of the hair metal days of old never hurt anyone, did it?
Clutch – Burning Beard
“Swan diving off the tongues of crippled giants / International business machine,” frontman Neil Fallon wails, weaving clever metaphorical labyrinths as only he can do best. A stomping, triumphant powerhouse, “Burning Beard” is among Clutch’s finest tunes.
Incubus – Vitamin
A powerful track off S.C.I.E.N.C.E., the album that put Incubus on the map. Brandon Boyd and the boys may be riding high on sappy ballads these days, but there was a time when their hyperactive hybrid rock was cutting edge and ferocious.
The Distillers – Coral Fang
This breathless screamer may be from the only female-fronted band in the bunch, but Brody Dalle can hang with the hardest and roar like the rock lioness she is. Welcome to Courtney Love’s worst nightmare.
Electric Six – Mr. Woman
If you’re not familiar with Electric Six, imagine Prince as a handful of white men from Detroit hopped up on chemicals after a 76-hour Anchorman marathon, and you’d have one foot in the door of understanding this special blend of sex-charged fun-rock. The song is a hilarious lesson in peacockery that makes it hard to keep a straight face while you’re rocking the hell out.
Nas – Hero
Nas is offering himself up to be the superhero we all need, and he makes a good case for it with an irresistible hook and a guest appearance by the crushing beauty that is Keri Hilson. Epic, anthemic and addictive, this is Nas at his finest.
The Mars Volta – Goliath
The semi-title track to The Mars Volta’s unbelievable 2008 release is a fast-paced tripping daymare with jagged beats and otherworldly, haunted, Zeppelinesque grooves. It’s Volta at their very finest, confidently channeling the collective prowess of each member into a blinding light of breathless grooves and breakneck, jaw-dropping prog arrangements that make for an unforgettable blood-pumper.
The Bronx – Inveigh
“Look at us now! Up in the sky! We went and taught ourselves to fly!” The most rockin’ track of the most kickass album of 2008 (The Bronx III), by a band that kept themselves sharp by recording a Mariachi record at the same time.
Pearl Jam – Blood
This pendulous explosion of a song nearly shreds frontman Eddie Vedder’s vocal chords with every repeated “It’s….my…blooooood!!!” It’s one of several songs on Pearl Jam’s sophomore album Vs. that proved they were more than just the guys who made “Jeremy”.
Nine Inch Nails – 1,000,000
Track two of Nine Inch Nails’ farewell album is a high-octane blast of reassurance that Trent Reznor still has every bit of fire we first heard on Pretty Hate Machine.
Paris – The Devil Made Me Do It
“The Devil Made Me Do It” is a venomous social assessment that leaps off a skyscraper on the third verse. Buoyed by the “now let’s get wild” stanza, this track has precisely the kind of rising sound to get the juices flowing. Sometimes the temptation is too great not to give in.
Busta Rhymes – Don’t Touch Me
With more high-profile guests than you can shake a gold chain at, “Don’t Touch Me” makes you feel like you’re running uphill at an ever-increasing speed. From Nas to Lil’ Wayne to Big Daddy Kane, this song is a star-studded phenomenon that deserves far more exposure than it ever got.
Tool – Jambi
Tool’s latest release 10,000 Days is as dense and darkly psychedelic as the notoriously-mysterious band gets, but “Jambi” stands out as one of the most powerful rising-sound jams the band has ever laid on wax. Just try to keep your hair from standing on end in the final minute of the song.
Iggy & The Stooges – T.V. Eye
The raw power and attitude from a song nearly forty years old stands head and shoulders above the pound-&-growl doom rock most might consider for a spot on this list. You’ve been warned – this is sex with a sneer for your ears.
