Hard Rock
Mr. Bungle Unveil Cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, First New Recording Since 1999: Stream
Mr. Bungle have just released their first new recording in more than 20 years. It comes in the form of a cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts. Mike Patton joined fellow original members Trevor Dunn (bass) and Trey Spruance (guitar) for a series of reunion shows in February of this year, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo rounding out the touring lineup. The shows focused on the group’s hardcore roots, as they performed their early 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, along with a number of cover songs. Then in March, news came that the very same touring lineup had convened in a studio shortly after those shows to re-record the 1986 demo, and lay down studio versions of the cover songs ...
Rush’s Alex Lifeson Doesn’t Feel “Inspired or Motivated” to Play Music Following Neil Peart’s Death
Next week marks six months since the death of Rush drummer Neil Peart, however, bandmate Alex Lifeson is still finding it hard to return to music. In a recent interview, he said that not only has he barely picked up his guitar, but that there’s currently little “motivation” to make music in general. “It’s been difficult,” Lifeson recently admitted on the sports radio program Talkin’ Golf (via Rolling Stone). “After Neil passed in January, I’ve played very little guitar. I just don’t feel inspired and motivated.” Fans of the legendary rock band have wondered whether the surviving members would forge ahead without Peart, but it sounds as though that won’t be happening anytime soon. “I don’t know if the motivation is there for us to really do anything now,” noted Lifeson. “We’re cer...
Justin Chancellor Writing “Interesting” New Tool Riffs, Collaborating with Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy
Tool bassist Justin Chancellor has been keeping busy with multiple projects during the pandemic, one of which is writing “interesting riffs” for his main band. Among his other ventures is “bouncing some ideas around” with Bauhaus legend Peter Murphy. While checking in from lockdown with Bass Magazine, Chancellor offered up a glimpse of what his day-to-day life has been like since the COVID-19 pandemic forced Tool off the road. The bassist disclosed that he’s been cleaning up his house and gardening, as well as restoring a 15-foot Statue of Liberty head movie prop that he “purchased years ago on a tipsy impulse.” When asked about his current and upcoming projects, Chancellor responded, “I’m working on tracks for a second MTVoid album/EP with Peter Mohamed, who is in Poland. It looks like it...
Former Misfits Drummer Joey Image Reportedly Dies at 63
Joey Image, a drummer for The Misfits during the band’s formative years, has reportedly passed away at the age of 63. While no official cause of death was mentioned, the musician had been battling liver cancer since 2016. Image’s death was reported by the New York Hardcore Chronicles Facebook page, which simply stated, “Joey Image of The Misfits dead at 63. Rest in Peace.” The drummer was a member of the Misfits from 1978 to 1979, appearing on the band’s Horror Business EP, which contained the title track as well as “Teenagers from Mars” and “Children in Heat”. He also drummed on the “Night of the Living Dead” 7-inch single (also containing “Where Eagles Dare” and “Rat Fink”), plus the song “Who Killed Marilyn?” that was included on the 1985 compilation Legacy of Brutality. Image left...
System of a Down’s Serj Tankian to President Trump: “Run Donny Run Into Your Bunker”
Members of System of a Down have posted strong reactions to the protests and rioting going on in response to the death of George Floyd. Singer Serj Tankian focuses his anger on President Trump, while drummer John Dolmayan is calling out celebrities for supporting looters and violent rioters. Multiple cities are experiencing daily protests, riots, and looting in reaction to Floyd’s death under custody of the Minneapolis police officers, and reports have come out that President Trump took shelter in a White House bunker while violence erupted in Washington, D.C. Seeing those headlines, Tankian took to Instagram to ridicule the president and express his feelings on the protests: “Run Donny run into your bunker. You may be the first US President to do so out of fear of your own citizens. A rea...
10-Year-Old Girl Rocks Rage Against the Machine in Support of Black Lives Matter: Watch
The very talented Nandi Bushell has offered her support of Black Lives Matter and the fight against racism with a multi-instrumental cover of the Rage Against the Machine classic “Guerrilla Radio.” The 10-year-old musician rocked the drums, bass, and guitar for the performance. This is certainly not the first we’ve seen of Bushell. The UK pre-teen previously wowed us with a drum cover of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows”, which received an endorsement from QOTSA themselves. And her YouTube channel features dozens of more impressive performances. Her Rage Against the Machine cover comes with a poignant message during these tumultuous times, with protests raging across America and the world following the death of George Floyd while in police custody. A description of the performance o...
Mötley Crüe’s Comeback Tour with Def Leppard Postponed Until 2021 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard have postponed their co-headlining summer U.S. tour until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The “Stadium Tour” was meant to be a massive comeback for Mötley Crüe, who had seemingly played their last show ever at the end of 2015. The Crüe signed a legal agreement to never tour again, but blew it up this past November upon announcing their return. The legendary hard-rock act cited the success of the Netflix biopic The Dirt as one of the main reasons for their reunion. The tour would have kicked off June 18th in Jacksonville, Florida, and run through a September 5th gig in Los Angeles. Poison, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, and Tuk Smith & The Restless Hearts were set to provide support. According to an announcement, the dates are currently being res...
Faith No More and Korn Co-Headlining US Tour Officially Canceled Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Faith No More and Korn have officially canceled their co-headlining U.S. tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outing would have marked Faith No More’s first US tour in five years. The late-summer tour was scheduled to kick off August 7th in Denver, and run through a September 17th show in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Daron Malakian’s Scars on Broadway, Helmet, Spotlights, and ’68 were set to support various dates. The tour is being outright canceled, and will not be postponed or rescheduled. A statement from Faith No More’s Facebook reads, “The Faith No More & Korn Summer Tour will unfortunately no longer be taking place. It is with heavy hearts that we came to this decision out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our fans, crew, and fellow artists.” The statement conti...
Iron Maiden, KISS, and System of a Down Headline Virtual Download Festival
Iron Maiden and KISS (photos by Kevin RC Wilson) / System of a Down (photo by Raymond Ahner) Iron Maiden, KISS, and System of a Down will headline the virtual Download TV festival, which will stream on YouTube and social media June 12-14th. All three bands were set to headline this year’s Download Festival, a massive annual UK heavy music gathering that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The virtual fest promises footage from prior Download appearances, socially distant performances, interviews, and exclusive content from the bands that were initially slated for this year’s lineup. The weekend schedule will be divided into day and evening programming. The day content “celebrates the spirit of Download Festival” and the evening will feature two to three hours of “tailor-made prog...
Slay At Home Virtual Metal Festival to Feature Trivium, Suicide Silence, Gavin Rossdale, Tesseract, and More
Slay At Home, a two-day virtual metal festival, is slated to take place this Friday (May 29th) and Saturday (May 30th) with dozens of performances and appearances. The virtual music and art festival will feature exclusive performances by Trivium’s Matt Heafy, Suicide Silence, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale, Tesseract, Darkest Hour, Khemmis, Spotlights, Twelve Foot Ninja, Allegaeon, and more. There will also be collaborative performances featuring members of Stone Sour, Megadeth, GWAR, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and other acts. In addition to the performances, there’ll be appearances by comedian Don Jamieson, Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, Orange Is the New Black star Jessica Pimentel, Testament singer Chuck Billy, and more. Moreover, the fest will feature art installations from musicians, graphic...
Rammstein Officially Postpone North American Tour Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Rammstein fans in North America will have to wait until next year to see the German band’s electrifying stage show. The industrial metal act has just postponed the late-summer outing until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The North American run was set to be the first time that Rammstein brought their full-scale stadium production to the continent. As the band stated in the initial tour press release, “Rock ‘n’ roll’s most ambitious pyro-theatrical experience will be on display for a series of 10 open-air dates.” Now, that will have to wait until 2021, with rescheduled dates yet to be announced. The news of the postponement comes just a few weeks after Rammstein called off their early summer European tour. The North American run would have kicked off August 20th in Montreal, Canada, hitt...
Queen’s Brian May “Grateful” to Be Alive After Suffering Heart Attack
Queen’s Brian May revealed Monday that he recently suffered a small heart attack earlier this month, and was rushed to the hospital by his doctor. The incident came amidst other notable health concerns for the legendary guitarist. A few weeks ago, May revealed on Instagram that he had torn his gluteus maximus muscle in his buttocks during a “moment of over-enthusiastic gardening”. In his new video message, the guitarist admitted he was “pissed off” by the “Brian May Is a Pain in the Bum”-type headlines. While May did indeed tear his gluteus maximus, he said that he found out later, after another MRI, that the excruciating pain he described at the time actually came from a severely compressed sciatic nerve. “That’s why I had a feeling that someone was putting a screwdriver in my back,” he e...
