Hottest Chicks

Italian metallers Lacuna Coil will be releasing their sixth album, Dark Adrenaline, on January 24. While frontwoman Cristina Scabbia—featured in out Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue—may seem like the embodiment of poise and grace, during the band's more-than-a decade on the road she has found herself in a fair few awkward moments. Here, she recounts her top five for your reading pleasure.

Mic Mishap
"We were playing in San Francisco a few years ago, and the roadies didn't set the microphone up properly. The stand wasn't really stable, and it was moving all by itself. The first thing I do when I go onstage is, like, a violent headbang right near the mic stand, but this time my head went right into it. My forehead cut open above the right eye. I was bleeding like hell, but I didn't realize it. The next thing I know, my face is hot and wet and I don't know why. I looked at Marco [Coti Zelati, bass], and he just turned white. I put my hand up to my face and it came back red. I didn't know what to do, so I just hid my face behind my hair and finished the concert. In the end, the cut was not that bad, but I still have a little scar."

DiGiorgio Who?
"At that same San Francisco show, I was on the bus putting on my makeup before the gig. The other guys were in the venue. The door of the bus opened, and I see this guy with long blond hair walk up. He was obviously not a regular fan, and he asked me where the guys were. Then he says, 'By the way, I'm Steve.' So I shook his hand and said, 'Cristina. Nice to meet you.' Then he grabbed my hand again and goes, 'DiGiorgio.' But I had no idea who he was—I was not familiar with any of his bands [Death, Autopsy, Testament, Iced Earth, Obituary, et al] at that time. So I just said, 'Scabbia!' [Laughs] The guys still make fun of me for that one."

Ponytail Up
"Around the time of Comalies, we were playing in Vienna, Austria. My hair was a little shorter back then, so I was wearing a fake ponytail onstage. At a certain point during the show, I must've been headbanging and I didn't realize that my ponytail just flew away. At the very end of the show, we bowed to the crowd, and as I look down I see what looks like a dead cat. Of course it was the ponytail. Everyone at the show probably saw it fly off."

Falling Angel
"At the Electric Factory in Philadelphia, I slipped onstage and fell right on my butt. It was a part where I was singing, so I couldn't stop. Instead of getting up, I just lay down on the stage completely and finished the song. The guys were just looking at me, like, 'What the fuck are you doing?' It happened again at Ozzfest not long after that. I actually fell all the way offstage that time. I don't know how I didn't break a leg. I probably walk too much onstage, I think. I need to fucking stand still."

Leaving Las Vegas
"In 2006, we went on tour with Rob Zombie. After the Vegas show, he knocked on the door of our dressing room and tells us that his friend Nic really enjoyed the show and wanted to come and say hi. So he asked if he could bring him into our dressing room for a minute. Of course we said yes. So he calls his friend in, and Nicolas Cage appears at the door of the dressing room. It was one of those moments where you don't know if you are on Candid Camera or what. We just looked at each other like, 'That's fucking Nicolas Cage!' It was awkward, but fantastic."

Icon for Hire—who are fronted by onetime Revolver Hottest Chick in Hard Rock, Ariel—have released a new video for their song "Get Well." The track is taken from the band's debut album, Scripted, which was was released in August. Let us know what you think in the comments.

When we interviewed Picture Me Broken's Brooklyn for the new Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue–she's also featured in the 2012 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock calendar–we talked about a range of topics, from her band's upcoming album to how she celebrated her milestone 18th birthday. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the issue, we weren't able to include most of our chat–but that's what the Internet is for! Read what she has to say below.

REVOLVER How's the new album coming along?
BROOKLYN I'm absolutely ecstatic about the new album. We have two phenomenal new guitar players and fresh vision for the band entirely. I've been taking a very active role as far as the songwriting goes, using my eight years of classical piano training to write a lot of the instrumental work, arrangements, and songs as a whole, and that's been very rewarding for me as a passionate musician. Collaborating with my boys has also produced something that stands as an album capitalized on musicianship and being in a real band that formed organically, setting us apart from the plague of manufactured gimmicks out there today.

What are you guys trying to do differently this time around?
I say with confidence that we are an entirely different band. We're abandoning all genre criteria, musical trends, and silly subgenres like "screamo"—that's not to say I wont continue screaming—and simply creating music regardless of whether or not it fits into any of the boxes we've been placed in or are expected to fit. We're no longer a group of 15 or 16 year olds experimenting as we were on our previous releases. We're seasoned musicians with a vision and much more mature songwriting capabilities.

Can you share some song titles?
My current favorite track is titled "Corrupt Me."

What have you been listening to recently?
In seeking lyrical inspiration, I've been immersing myself in a lot of Eminem and Bad Meets Evil simply because they so clearly convey the most high-strung emotions and dramatic life situations. I'm trying to capture this more in my own lyrics. I've also been gravitating back to a lot of my HIM albums lately because I love electronic textures mixed with dark rock music.

Congrats on turning 18. How did you celebrate your birthday?
Thank you. I spent my 18th birthday on the set of the first Black Veil Brides music video shoot of their new album, with Andy [Biersack, vocals] and the rest of the guys. It was a blast!

How does it feel to be officially an adult?
I've felt like an adult and always had a sense of maturity since I was in grade school, perhaps because I started working toward building my music career so early in life, but turning 18 certainly makes it more official. I even got myself a lip piercing in honor of being legal that I took out three months later.

Who are you musical heroes and why?
Davey Havok has always been the figure that I've looked to both as a musician and as a person. I remember stumbling upon a couple of AFI albums when I was about 10 years old and they sparked my interest in darker, more aggressive music, which is what I continue to write to this day. I also practiced a vegan/vegetarian and straightedge lifestyle throughout high school to match his. He has had a very positive effect on my life in terms of being a role model and I think that's rare to find in rock musicians. Other heroes include [Muse's] Matthew Bellamy, Skylar Grey, [Heart's] Ann Wilson, and Eminem.

What's the sexiest hard-rock or metal song and why?
"Welcome to the Jungle"–Guns N' Roses. It's the essence of sexy and rock and roll.

When we interviewed Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia for the new Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue, we talked about a range of topics, from her band's upcoming album, Dark Adrenaline—which will be released on January 24—to her pick for the sexiest hard-rock or metal song. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the issue, we weren't able to include most of our chat—but that's what the Internet is for! Read what she has to say below.

REVOLVER What are your feelings about the album right now?
CRISTINA SCABBIA I feel fucking great, man. [Laughs] I know that, of course, you know, you couldn't expect a different opinion from me because, of course, I'm part of the project. But I really feel that it is really, really a good album with good songs. I think that it totally captures the essence of Lacuna Coil because it's definitely a mixture of our roots and something completely new. We never repeated ourself with any album, but this one, it's a perfect balance between the old stuff and the new. And the new stuff, it's more obscure than the usual. It's definitely heavier—the sound is way heavier than we did before. A lot of people will be surprised. I think so.

Because of the heaviness of it?
I believe that, you know, it's something that they don't really expect from us. They probably expect us to go, I don't know, more melodic and mellow and actually this is not the direction we are taking. [Laughs] We're kind of getting heavier while everybody else is getting mellower. [Laughs]

Did you guys have specific aims when you went into the studio?
No, not really, because I think that when you are writing songs, it's not about what you want to achieve. You just go with the flow and you just like what you hear. And if you like something, you just, like, work on it. I don't think it would make sense for us just to think about a song or like, Oh, the album is going to sound like that. That wouldn't be honest and that wouldn't be hard, you know? Of course, you kind of know what you want to do, just because you know that's your taste, but you don't really know what's gonna be the final result. You just, you know, put down layers and layers and layers and layers, and then you just hear the result at the very end. Actually, after the mixing you're just like, Oh, wow! [Laughs] It's hard to see things, you know. You just kind of draw the image of what you think it's gonna be, but you don't really know what's gonna be in the end.

Did you guys do anything different this time around?
Well, what we did is that we basically felt free to do what we wanted to in the songwriting period. We wrote a little bit of everything 'cause we didn't really know what clear direction we wanted to follow. We know that we wanted to go heavier and darker because that's we like, that's what we are, but we felt free to throw every idea in the pot. And that gave us an amazing feeling because we were all like, Wow, we are in the position where we can be free to do whatever we want because we never got any pressure from the label or anything. And I'm actually really happy about [that] because we can be artistically free without anybody telling us what to do. And that made us feel great and hungry for more material, and it just ended up that we had so many songs to choose from.

So I believe that probably the difference was that we were really, really artistically creative and really, really, really extremely passionate about it. Not that we weren't in the past, but we just felt that we had more time. We kind of took a little break, so, you know how it is, it's like after you take a vacation, you know, you're full of energy, just want to do a lot of stuff. So after we took a little break form the tour, I guess that all we wanted was to write music and you can totally hear it.

Are you anxious to get back on the road, especially after being in the studio for so long, and play the new material for people?
You know, I love touring because, if you love music, if you're passionate about it, it's the best job in the world, you know? It might be really hard at times because there's no private life anymore, you know, personal life because you're far from the people you love. You can't be in your own bathroom, you know, little things in life. But, you know, I love to travel, I love to find out different cultures and different types of food that I don't know, meet people. I just love that and I love the music we are doing with the band, so that's the best job in the world. And we haven't been touring for a while so it's gonna be fun. Sometime I just wish we could have, you know, like, an insane budget so we could put up like a super theatrical show, very entertaining, but sometimes it's not possible. We have a lot of ideas so we're gonna try to make them real. [Laughs]

What do you think is the sexiest hard rock or metal song?
The sexiest metal song. Oooh, that's a tough question. What do you mean with the sexiest one, like, the one that I would use to… I don't know.

Just something that sounds sexy to you.
Oh my God, I don't know if I can consider it metal but I like very much "Closer" from Nine Inch Nails. And I think that anything from Nine Inch Nails would be really, really sexy—I mean, at least if you like that sexy with a little bit of a twist, which I like.

Evanescence and the Pretty Reckless are currently on tour together. Last night, they played the House of Blues in Atlantic City and photographer Derek Brad was on hand to capture the pre-Halloween mayhem. For more of Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee and the Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen, pick up Revolver's current Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue, on newsstands everywhere now and available here, and our Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock calendar, available here.

Russian hard-rock outfit the SLoT–the band featuring singer Nookie, one of the women spotlighted in Revolver's current Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue–recently released their debut English-language, international album, Break the Code. Now the group is debuting the video for their Russian-language song "сумерки," meaning "Twilight." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

When we interviewed Nookie, frontwoman of Russian hard-rock outfit the SLoT, for the new Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue, we talked about a range of topics, from her band's debut English-language, international release, Break the Code, to her unusual stage name. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the issue, we weren't able to include most of our chat–but that's what the Internet is for! Read what she has to say below.

REVOLVER How did the SLoT form?
NOOKIE Our male singer, Cache, and guitarist, I.D., got together after a concert in 2001 or 2002. I joined the group in 2006. They said that they should do something like what they just heard, but do it better and different. They got another couple of their friends together and found a singer. So they had three guitarists, a singer, and a drummer. Cache put away his guitar onstage and has been the male voice since the beginning, but he still writes a lot of the songs along with the rest of the band, musically. The band had two songs picked up by a Russian blockbuster movie called Boomer before they even had decided on a name for the band. They had literally one day to choose a name, so they voted and decided on the SLoT.

I joined the band shortly after I moved to Moscow to study music. My vocal coach at the institute I was studying at told me that the SLoT was looking for a singer and so I tried out. They had me re-record the vocals on the album they had just released with their second singer, and it was re-released. Lots of confusing details about the band, but we've been pretty stable for the last five years. The band has had two drummers, three bassists, and three female lead singers since it started nine years ago. Nobody can get our name right or our roster right online. Our Japanese release this year in May even printed the wrong name for our bassist on an insert they included with the CD. For the record, our bassist's name is Nixon and our drummer is a fan of The Big Lebowski and calls himself the Dude.

How would you describe your music?
Modern rock that consists of a mix of various genres. Electronic, clean vocals, rap, screaming vocals, heavy guitars, acoustic guitars, industrial effects, and traditional Russian melodies. Modern sound mixes various styles and pulls from various types of genres. Rock music has been moving towards pop. Pop is moving more towards rock. Hip hop is mixing with metal, think about Lil Wayne at the MTV Music Awards this year. Soon I think all the music will be without genres and we'll just have really one popular style. Experiments with music are OK—you can stretch the boundaries of what's possible as long as the final product is good music. That's what really matters.

What is your goal with the band?
To make music that makes our fans think for themselves and be themselves. We don't preach in our lyrics, we don't tell people how to live. We show things from our own perspective and let people make their own decisions about if it's right or wrong or some kind of example to follow. Also, we're not trying to be in one genre like metalcore or rapcore or industrial or hip-hop rock or heavy rock or anything when we write our music. We just want to make music that we like. It's why our record label went crazy trying to put a genre tag on our CD because it really isn't any one genre. We've got songs competing against brutal death metal on the charts, and other songs that could compete with Lady Gaga or trip hop on our CD. We don't care about tags—we just make music that we like and that sounds good to us.

What is the rock scene like in Russia?
It's all underground. Rock almost doesn't exist as an industry. We have lots of good bands here, and a ton of great music of course. But there's no system to promote it here. It's hidden away from all the big media and mainstream news and all other things like that. What they call rock music on the Billboard charts here is really folk music, and not anything close to actual rock. There's no young bands on TV or radio, just mostly old men and old women who sing this kind of traditional Soviet music. There are a ton of pop acts, and some are really good. I know everybody has heard of t.A.T.u. as an example, but even the good pop acts are struggling in Russia—not as much as rock, but they still struggle. The SLoT has been a headliner on literally every major rock festival in Russia, and yet still we struggle for mainstream acceptance.

For example, we performed at the largest music festival in Russia a couple months back, and there they have three stages. Of course, music like ours is on the Alternative Stage. The organizers of the festival, "Nashestviye," meaning Invasion, put on an Internet poll before the festival where they asked people "who deserves to be on the main stage?" We won the internet voting with thousands of votes. Still they refused to put us on the main stage because they don't like the kind of music we play. So for the second year in a row, when we came onstage, literally thousands of people walked the kilometer from the main stage to the alternative stage. There must have been 10,000 people for a stage that usually has 100-300 people watching the performers. When we left, most went back to the main stage. I'm not trying to brag at all, but I want people to understand the point that even when fans show the people in control what they want, the people in control still don't care. They aren't interested in anything different.

We released our ballad "Mirrors" about a year and a half ago in Russia. It's not like America where there's thousands of radio stations that are all important in all the major cities. In Russia, you have only really two main cities and everything else is really spread out, small towns and such. But when this single came out we got the biggest radio station network in Moscow and St. Petersburg to play it. At that time, they were doing their charts based on Internet voting, really a democratic way to decide. We had the No. 1 song in Russia. A few weeks later, the program director of that station got fired and immediately our music was off the station and they eliminated the voting system the same week. If anybody wonders why we made an English-language CD, here is your answer.

Tell us about the band's latest release?
Break the Code is 15 of the SLoT's best songs from the last nine years and four studio albums. We hooked up with an American poet from California who wanted to write our lyrics in English and, of course, we agreed. What most people wouldn't ever know about the CD is that the first eight songs we recorded for Break the Code were produced by [the poet] from the U.S. while we were in Moscow, and it was done entirely over Skype.

The Russian version of "Time to Go" was about a guy hanging out a beach trying to hit on girls, and the new version is a song about a girl who tells her guy to fuck off. And the new lyrics suit the music perfectly, just in a different way. Also, the reaction we've gotten at home has been interesting. A lot of our Russian fans aren't excited about the new release, and, big shock, they tell us the Russian songs sound better. They make comments online that they don't want us to do anything in English. They're afraid we're going to abandon them and not make more music for them that they can understand. It's never going to happen. We're always going to make music in our native language. But there's no reason to be like the Russian music industry and hide ourselves from the rest of the world.

Where did the name Nookie come from?
Wow, I never get this question. If I told you it was from Limp Bizkit's song, would you believe me? For me, it wasn't just because I liked the song, it was because of what this word represents. Why does there have to be so much guilt with sex? Why does having sex have to mean that you have some expectation of something more like commitment or marriage or whatever? Do we react that way to a hug or a kiss or a handshake? Aren't they personal, too? I think it's not necessary to have so much stress because you want to have some fun with somebody. Nookie is a fun way to say what we all know it really means, and that's how I think about it: It should just be fun and without any serious consequences or head trips afterward.

Who are your biggest musical heroes and why?
My biggest musical hero is Kurt Cobain. Nobody changed rock music more than he did since the Beatles. He didn't know how to lie, and he died too soon.  As far as bands that are modern and current, really no heroes, but I really [In This Moment frontwoman] Maria Brink's voice—her screams are awesome.

What are your favorite hard-rock and metal albums?
Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson is a part of the big puzzle of my life's emotional outlook. It focuses on personal doom and the irrelevance of people in the world.

The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance always makes me feel better when I listen to it. To me, it sounds like some kind of black cabaret—it's my way of understanding it, like, a dark brothel. I imagine it just like in the video for The Black Parade, where all these freaks are traveling back from a funeral, or maybe on their way to one.

You'll Pay for the Whole Seat, but You'll Only Need the Edge by Animal Alpha because Agnete's vocals are amazing and their music is dark, and she is just insane live.

What is the sexiest hard-rock or metal song and why?
Limp Bizkit's "Nookie." We play it a lot as a cover song in our concerts, not all the time, but often enough. I feel like I'm flirting with all the guys in the crowd when I hear "I did it all the for the Nookie." I just imagine what everybody is thinking when they sing it back to me from the crowd, and it's like I'm making love to a thousand people at one time, with all the consequences.

When we interviewed Halestorm's Lzzy Hale for the new Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue–she's also featured on the cover of the 2012 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock calendar–we talked about a range of topics, from Halestorm's upcoming album—which they finished recording this weekend—to her Twitter nomination of Corey Taylor as the Hottest Dude in Rock. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the issue, we weren't able to include most of our chat–but that's what the Internet is for! Read what she has to say below.

REVOLVER Your new album was originally planned to come out this fall but was bumped to early next year. What happened?
LZZY HALE We've been on the road for, like, three-and-a-half years and so we have, like, tidbits of songs here and there, you know, whenever we could—we have a little rig that we travel with. And, you know, the blessing and the curse was, we started really, you know, digging into this and I ended up penning some of probably the most personal songs that I've ever written. And then people with the label called me up. They're like "Hey, we didn't know this about you! Uhh could you do more?" [Laughs] So we got really deep into it, and it's good because now, like, we can see the record for what it is and it's not gonna be this big, rush job to get it out, and then, you know, we might be disappointed with it later. We're so excited right now about everything. [Laughs]

For you, writing this more personal material, was that hard for you to get out?
I think it was. It was difficult for me at first to figure out what I wanted to say on this record and considering it all really falls on my shoulders and the guys have to live with it. [Laughs] That happened last time with "I Get Off" and they're like "Uhh, you sure you want to say this on the radio? And are we gonna have to do these backing vocals?" [Laughs] But it's fine. They've been really good and just kind of said, "Hey, you know, whatever you're feeling, go for it." So I have. And that means, you know, no real holding back, which is either a good or a bad thing. [Laughs] The reason why we dragged it on a little longer is just because we wanted to see how far we could take it—or how far I could take it, at least. [Laughs] There's always a line. There's a line somewhere, right? We'll find out. You'd think that we had crossed it already. [Laughs]

And a lot of the stuff has actually been inspired by, you know, our fans and their stories and, you know, I'm doing the advice column for Revolver and a lot of that is great fodder for new songs, just some of the craziest questions, [laughs] which I'm totally happy to do, you know? Sometimes I start thinking, Well, why on earth would they want my advice? [Laughs] You know, I'm the last person in the world they should be asking this, but OK.

You mentioned "I Get Off," and your first album also had "Dirty Work." Both songs have plenty of sexual innuendo. Is that something we can expect more of on the new album?
You know, I think that's just kind of a part of my personality. [Laughs] I mean, I room with a bunch of boys: You could say the sky is blue and they'd find some way to make it into a joke. [Laughs] And I've walked into it so much, where I'm not even thinking about it anymore, whereas usually one of the guys will be like, "Well, if somebody wanted to take this in the other way, they probably could." But, yeah, you can definitely, I mean, especially if you're looking for it, I'm sure you can find it. And then there are some obviously on purpose because I just, you know, I fell in love with the whole twist of phrase thing.

Is there a sample lyric that particularly stands out?
On the lighter side, there's a song that I wrote called "I Hate it When You See me Cry," and it's interesting because, when I wrote it, the guys were like, "You know what, you're so right." Because I used to, you know, hide a lot of stuff from them. I was kind of always keeping this camaraderie and this not really talking about or burdening anybody with some of my issues or some of the things that I've gone through. And so this time around, everyone's kind of allowing me to do that, so I'm seeing the advantage of that.

I have some songs that are specifically for the breed of chicks that come to the rock show, not necessarily because their boyfriend dragged them there, or they didn't have anything better to do that night, you know? We saw our first lady mosh pit the other day [laughs] and it was brutal. It was seriously like Ladies' Mosh Pit Time. [Laughs] Oh, my goodness. And, like, I was debating with the guys, I'm like, "I think that that was rougher than any of the male-dominated ones." But, you know, how it is: Bitches be crazy. And I say that being a female.

You mentioned on Twitter that you thought Corey Taylor was the hottest dude in rock...
[Laughs] Well, here's the thing: This is just the kind of girl that I am, but, you know, a lot of it is just because I got to know the guy and, I mean, he's such an incredible sweetheart. I'm gonna totally ruin his hard-ass reputation right now, but, you know, there's something that I've always liked about the scary-looking guy that will, you know, in the morning call me Darling. [Laughs] There's just something about that.

But I don't think that anyone has really ever given him the recognition for what an incredibly handsome smile he has. He never gets recognized for that. It's the mask—it throws people completely off. [Laughs]

Recently you were Tweeting with Sebastian Bach and talking about doing a duet. Is that something you'd definitely like to do?
[Laughs] Absolutely, are you kidding me? I grew up on that stuff, thanks to my parents, you know? And so, it's kind of just a crazy turnaround to have him be Tweeting me, you know? [Laughs] Like, Oh, my God, Sebastian Bach is following me on Twitter! But it's great, man. We covered one of his songs on a covers EP [ReAniMate: The Covers EP] that we released a few months ago. We covered [Skid Row's] "Slave to the Grind." And shortly after we released it, he got in contact with us and, like, they put our version of it on the website. I mean, he's been a complete sweetheart about it all and, yeah, he's been telling me, "Hey, what would we sing if we ever got together?" I would love to make that happen. He's a beautiful man, why would I not?

What's your pick for the sexiest hard-rock or metal song?
Oh, sexiest hard rock song, let's see... You know what, I'm gonna have to go with Slipknot's "Gehenna." It's amazing. And the first time I ever heard it actually was the first time I was hanging out with Corey Taylor, right before—it's on the All Hope Is Gone record—and right before they had released the record, he had kind of a rough of it and he's like "I need to show you this song." And it literally, I don't know, it got me all tingly. [Laughs] And I was like, "When is this record coming out, because I'm going out to buy it." But every time that song comes on, I still get chills, you know? I guess it's the combination of the performance of Corey and just, you know, the words actually speak to me more so than anything else, you know, in my own battle of this weird kind of two-faced personality that I have. [Laughs]  It's definitely a sexy song.

Valora–the band led by singer Syd Duran, one of the women spotlighted in Revolver's current Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue–are releasing their single, "I Waited for You," on October 24. In anticipation, the group is debuting the motion capture video for "Chapter 3: ('I Waited for You')" of the accompanying graphic novel Valora. Read what Duran has to say about the video, as well as the official music video for "I Waited for You," below. Let us know what you think in the comments.

"Chapter 3 of the graphic novel Valora is inspired by the title track of our debut record, 'I Waited For You.' The motion capture video was created with the intent to awaken the thrill and mischief that goes hand in hand with forbidden love. This chapter is my favorite due to its unusual style of illustration, not to mention the perfect amount of suspense and sensuality. See for yourself!

"I couldn't be more grateful and excited to be the inspiration and co-creator of a five-chapter graphic novel to aid in the visual expression of my music. However, playing the Wizard of Oz behind a curtain of animated stories was something I initially struggled to accept. I would never take having my own music video for granted. There was a time when fans didn't realize Valora was a rock band with real people. That was rough, but we waited and waited.  Then, one meeting with director Lance Drake and I was hooked. Together we accomplished a better introduction of Valora to the world than one I could've hoped for. The troubled, yet hopeful, girl in me was displayed in subtle encounters with fairytale villains, while the rising, zero-tolerance frontwoman in me upholds all that Valora stands for in an explosion of revenge, resulting in more than your average bar fight."

"I have to admit, finishing this video in a single day was a challenge. Also, who's idea was it to shoot a winter scene in 100-degree weather in Downtown Los Angeles! I remember being tempted to run to the nearest closet, take off all my clothes, and just pass out! The fact that I had been waiting for so long for this day kept me going...and the case of Red Bull I requested helped. I had to ask at one point, 'How many Red Bulls can you drink in a day before it becomes detrimental to your health? Six? Oh good, I'm only on No. 4.'"

Every year, when we put out our annual Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue, we hear requests for a list of the Hottest Dudes in heavy music. So we have prepared this poll for you to tell us just who the sexiest of them all is. Below, we've started a short list of 16 of the guys you've told us are hot in the past, but, if you want, you can write in your own choice for other people to vote on, too. Who knows, we might just interview your top pick about his hotness.

UPDATE 1: The winner of the poll will be announced on Friday. We're hiding the poll results until then for maximum results. For more info, click here.

UPDATE 2: Due to the fact that pretty much every dude in every band is being written in as a candidate, we've suspended the option to add new hot rockers to the poll. If you can't find someone to vote for among the current 100-plus nominees, you're probably waaaay too picky.

UPDATE 3: AND THE WINNER IS...