SoundBites: Yoko-Zuna, Bailey Wiley, Third3ye, Halestorm, Avenged Sevenfold

The cover of Bailey Wiley's S.O.M.M. EP.

Yoko-Zuna, Bailey Wiley and Third3ye will play intimate gigs this summer at North Auckland and Coromandel venues.

It's been a big year for all three Loop acts, each releasing an EP: Yoko-Zuna with Luminols, Bailey Wiley with S.O.M.M. and Third3ye's 3P.

They'll play Luke's Kitchen at Kuaotunu Bay on Coromandel's east coast on January 4, and Leigh Sawmill on January 6, performing their own sets and joining in collaboration.

Hard rockers Halestorm have announced the third instalment in their series of cover songs.

ReAniMate 3: The CoVeRs eP will be released on January 6, and will feature Halestorm's versions of songs by Whitesnake, Twenty One Pilots, Soundgarden, Joan Jett, Sophie B Hawkins and Metallica.

The first EP was released in 2011 and the second in 2013.

Singer Lzzy Hale said: "On this EP we were inspired to push the limits and challenge the ears of our fans. There are some surprises that you may not have expected from us, and there are also things that you've always wanted to hear from us."

The Pennsylvania band are also set to tour New Zealand, with concerts in Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, New Plymouth, Mt Maunganui, Auckland and Taupo from December 31 onwards.

More hard rock cover news: Avenged Sevenfold's new compilation The Best of 2005-2013 features 18 tracks including a rendition of Black Sabbath's Paranoid.

The Californian band formed in 1999 and have released seven studio albums. In 2006 they were named Best New Artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, beating out Rihanna, Chris Brown, Panic! At The Disco and James Blunt.

The compilation also features songs they wrote for video games Call of Duty II and Call of the Dead.

Avenged Sevenfold

Revisit a classic
To mark the end of John Key's prime ministership, and the key word is Key, why not check out Stevie Wonder's seminal Songs in the Key of Life.

The 1976 release was Wonder's 18th, a double LP considered one of the best albums of all time that went to number 5 on the New Zealand chart and picked up the Grammy for Best Album.

It's best-known track is Isn't She Lovely, with other singles including I Wish, Sir Duke, Another Star and As.