METALLICA’S ‘MASTER OF PUPPETS’ GETS CLASSICAL-PIANO TREATMENT

She’s a classically trained, award-winning musician … and Ukranian pianist Viktoriya Yermolyeva is also a Master of Puppets.

While Yermolyeva might not be a household name as far as most metal fans are concerned, she probably should be. Since diverting her focus from classical performances several years ago, she’s compiled an impressive list of rock and metal covers, applying her prodigious piano skills to new versions of classic cuts by a long list of bands that includes the Doors, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and Metallica.

Yermolyeva’s performance of ‘Master of Puppets,’ which you can hear above, isn’t new — it was uploaded in 2011 — but it perfectly encapsulates the way she brings her years of training to bear on a composition that, while certainly not easy to play, is often thought of more in terms of headbanging power than musical complexity. With the spotlight on Yermolyeva’s piano, the song’s stark beauty is emphasized, giving ‘Puppets’ a very different (but just as evocative) feeling.

If you like what you hear, there’s a lot more where that came from: Yermolyeva’s YouTube channel is stocked full of performance footage, and at her website, she’s offering free MP3s of her many rock and metal covers (although she requests — and certainly deserves — donations). Heck, she even takes requests!

THE MOST ANTICIPATED ROCK + METAL ALBUMS OF 2014

Stephen Lovekin, Getty Images / Puscifer / Kevin Winter, Getty Images

For fans of the acts listed below, 2014 will likely be a year of sweet relief. We know you’ve been waiting on these albums for a while, so you’ll be glad to know there’s new music coming from these bands in 2014

Some of these records are simply follow-ups to recently released albums, while others have been long in the making. Any of these albums may very well be your personal ‘album of the year’ pick in 2014, so make sure you check out our picks for these 10 Most Anticipated 2014 Rock + Metal Albums.

Gary Miller, Getty Images

Tool

 

 

There's no better way to start off this list than with Tool. Is there a fan base more rabid for a new album? We can't think of one, but luckily, it seems very likely that 2014 will be the year Tool's fifth studio album will see the light of day. Once 2014 comes around, it will have been eight years since the band released, '10,000 Days,' but both Maynard James Keenan andDanny Carey have teased a 2014 unveiling for Tool's next effort.

 

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Judas Priest

 

 

Judas Priest completed the writing process for their 17th full-length back in August, but it's just been confirmed that 2014 will see a Judas Priest recording! On the band's website, Priest posted a Christmas message along with the promise, "We will be releasing a new album sometime in 2014 so stay tuned……!!" Merry Christmas indeed! We can't wait to press our ears against speakers for the long-anticipated successor to 'Nostradamus.'

 

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Motley Crue

 

 

Motley Crue fans lapped up the new song 'Sex' in July 2012, but since then, we haven't heard any other sonic offerings from heavy metal's most notorious act. Motley Crue have been talking about their farewell for a while, and according to singer Vince Neil, both the goodbye tour and the final album will coincide in 2014. Rumors had been stirring that Crue's upcoming farewell is due to guitarist Mick Mars' health issues, but both Mars and other Crue members have refuted the claim.

 

Photo by KOBARU

Behemoth

 

 

Not all musicians are lucky enough to recover from cancer, but Behemothfrontman Nergal has been going strong since receiving a bone marrow transplant to treat his leukemia. Fans have given Nergal a tremendous amount of support since his initial diagnosis, so Behemoth's 2014 album, 'The Satanist,' brings a sense of redemption for both the Polish extreme metallers and their loyal followers. 'The Satanist' is scheduled for impact on Feb. 3.

 

Kevin Winter, Loudwire

Anthrax

 

 

Fresh off their 'Anthems' EP, which garnered the band a Grammy nomination for their cover of AC/DC's 'T.N.T.,' Anthrax are set to attack 2014 will a new full-length record. Anthrax began the writing process in September to pen the proper follow-up to the critically acclaimed 'Worship Music,' which came out in 2011. The 2014 release will be the band's first since Shadows Fall guitarist Jonathan Donais replaced Rob Caggiano in early 2013.

 

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com

Linkin Park

 

 

Chester Bennington may be lending his vocal talents to Stone Temple Pilots, but Linkin Park are by no means over. The rock / nu-metal act released their fifth studio album, 'Living Things,' in 2012 and the group is looking to craft a speedy follow-up for 2014. In a recent 'Ask Anything' chat with Linkin Park members Mike Shinoda and Steve Aoki, Shinoda expressed a desire to release the band's sixth studio album in 2014.

 

Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com

Mastodon

 

 

With the release of 'The Hunter' in 2011, Mastodon continued their streak of dominance in modern metal. Mastodon fans are insatiable, which is understandable considering the amount of acclaim the band has drawn in with five straight studio albums. The Georgia metal quartet are currently in the studio, and according to drummer / vocalist Brann Dailor, the new effort will be "massive and insane" with "lots of epic greatness." We're inclined to believe him.

 

Mark Davis, Getty Images

Foo Fighters

 

 

Foo Fighters announced in late 2012 that they'd be taking a break, but only a few months later, frontman Dave Grohl began revealing plans for the group's eighth full-length. "We begin recording soon," Grohl stated to Rolling Stone in November, "but we’re doing it in a way that no one’s done before and we’re writing the album in a way that I don’t think has been done before.” According to various sources, the new Foos record can be expected for a 2014 release.

 

Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire

Slayer

 

 

The metal world was lucky enough to experience 10 studio albums and two EPs with Jeff Hanneman as the creative heart of Slayer. Following Hanneman's untimely death in 2013, the future of Slayer was in question, but the thrash legends have no intensions of slowing down. In fact, frontman Tom Araya told us first that Slayer would be delving into Hanneman's audio archives to possibly include the late guitarist's work for a new album. Slayer are expected to release their 11th full-length in 2014.

 

Nuclear Blast

Suicide Silence

 

 

Suicide Silence laid still for nearly a year after vocalist Mitch Lucker was killed from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. However, All Shall Perish vocalist Eddie Hermida was recruited to join Suicide Silence full-time in October 2013. Shortly after, Suicide Silence revealed that they would soon begin recording a new album. "Expect the unexpected," said guitarist Mark Heylmun. "This is for Mitch." The new record is currently stated for a summer 2014 release via Nuclear Blast.

 

Beyond 2014?

 

 

There's no guarantee that all of the albums listed above will arrive in 2014 (cough ... Tool ... cough), but we're fairly confident in the 2014 arrival of most if not all the discs that made the list. In case you're wondering why some of the biggest acts in the world aren't listed above, there's either no concrete evidence that the discs will arrive in 2014 or we are anticipating that those albums will arrive in 2015. Among those acts are Metallica,Slipknot, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden and AC/DC, to name a few. While all are reported to be working on new discs, fans may just have to wait a bit longer for those albums to arrive.