Heavy Consequence
Black Sabbath Selling Black Lives Matter T-Shirt in Style of Band’s Classic Logo
Black Sabbath are showing support for Black Lives Matter by selling a t-shirt with the activist movement’s name spelled out in the style of the iconic metal band’s logo. All net proceeds from the sale of the shirts will be donated to support Black Lives Matter. The godfathers of heavy metal played their last show in 2017, but they continue to have legions of fans throughout the world. The reaction to the t-shirt on the band’s Facebook page has been mostly positive, with some dissenters renouncing their fandom over its political nature. Those naysayers have been called out by supportive fans, who cite the band’s political anthems like “War Pigs” and “Wicked World” as examples of the heavy metal legends taking a stance on social issues in the past. The shirt plays off the purple band logo ma...
System of a Down’s Serj Tankian: If You Love Our Music and Trump, “You’re a Hypocrite”
The recent political back and forth between System of a Down bandmates Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan is as jarring as some of the band’s most popular songs. While neither band member is directly responding to the other, they’ve each been using social media to share views from opposite ends of the political spectrum. Tankian leans far left, while the right-wing Dolmayan seems like he’s auditioning for a show on Fox News. On Monday, Dolmayan called the Democratic Party the “true bigots” and wished Donald Trump good luck in the November election. Now, the focus shifts back to Tankian, who is digging up old System of a Down lyrics to help illustrate his disdain for Trump. In a new Instagram post, Tankian shared the lyrics to the early System of a Down song “Temper”, which appeared on the band...
Alekhine’s Gun Premiere New Song “21”: Stream
Brooklyn band Alekhine’s Gun, fronted by Jessica Pimentel, have been working on the follow-up to 2014’s …And Things Will Fall EP. The group is now premiering its new single, “21”, exclusively via Heavy Consequence. The track picks up where the band left off in 2014. Building from an angular riff, the song is blast of blackened death metal, with improved production over past Alekhine’s Gun releases. The six-year hiatus paid dividends for the band, which sounds as strong as ever on “21”. Pimentel, best known for her role as Maria Ruiz during all seven seasons of Orange Is the New Black, offered some conceptual background on the song’s lyrical themes. Like on prior records, Pimentel mines the spiritual and philosophical for her weighty, literary subject matter. She says of the track: “Inspire...
DMC Joins Anthrax, Volbeat, Suicidal Tendencies Members for Run-DMC Quarantine Medley: Watch
Rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels celebrated his legendary hip-hop group Run-DMC with a quarantine performance featuring members of Anthrax, Volbeat, and Suicidal Tendencies. Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante has arranged a number of socially distant performances during the pandemic. For this one, he was joined by his former Anthrax bandmate and current Volbeat guitarist Rob Caggiano and Suicidal Tendencies bassist Ra Diaz, as they back McDaniels on a medley of Run-DMC classics. “I always wanted to do a medley of Run-DMC songs, so back in March I decided to put an arrangement together and asked these amazing people to be a part of it,” explained Benante in the YouTube description. “How can you do a Run-DMC medley without the King of Rock — Darryl McDaniels DMC.” The drummer added, “I have been a...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Calls Democrats the “True Bigots” While Wishing Trump a Happy Birthday
Despite being antithetical to the sociopolitical ideals that have long been presented in his band’s music, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan keeps doubling and tripling down on some far-right viewpoints. Now, he has gone so far as to call Democrats the “true bigots” in his latest Instagram rant. At this point, it may seem like Dolmayan is just trying to get a rise out of the band’s fans, but he has made it clear that he stands on the opposite end of the political spectrum than his bandmates, especially singer Serj Tankian. Already the two have expressed very different views about the ongoing protests, with Dolmayan hailing President Trump as the “greatest friend to minorities” and Tankian calling for the Trump regime to resign. Last week, Dolmayan followed up his initial comments by d...
Rammstein Working on New Songs While in Lockdown
Rammstein would have been in the middle of a European tour right now had it not been for the pandemic, but the industrial metal veterans are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Instead, the legendary German band is working on new music. In an interview with Germany’s “Bosshoss” podcast on Rodeo Radio, drummer Christoph Schneider was asked what the band has been up to during the lockdown. Schneider responded, “Last week, we were supposed to play our first 2020 concert and then we said, ‘Let’s meet and think about what we could do this year.’” He continued, “We still have so many ideas lying around, so many unfinished songs. We met and we’re working on new songs. We want to work on songs, but whether it’s going to be a new record, nobody knows.” It took Rammstein roughly 10 year...
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Surprises Nurse on Kimmel, Announces S&M2 Box Set
Throughout the pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel has been paying tribute to healthcare workers on his late-night talk show by having celebrities surprise them during their video chat sessions. Last night, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich surprised pediatric nurse Tracey Bednar, and also spilled the beans on a new box set capturing last year’s “S&M2” performances with the San Francisco Symphony. When Kimmel introduced Bednar, who is a pediatric ICU nurse in Long Island, New York, the two initially discussed the effects of COVID-19 on children. Kimmel asked her what she does to relax while working such a stressful job, and Bednar responded, “I actually play golf, I love yoga, and the best thing I do is, on my way home from work, when it’s my own private time, I play my radio really, really loud.” The ...
Deftones Complete Work on New Album, Eye September Release
Deftones have completed work on their highly anticipated new album. Drummer Abe Cunningham says the LP is currently being mastered, with hopes for a September release. Back in February, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Deftones revealed that the album was being produced by Terry Date, who helmed Deftones’ first four LPs, including Around the Fur and White Pony. And in April, Cunningham briefly teased a guitar riff from the new album. While mixing had commenced, singer Chino Moreno said last month that the process was going slowly due to the social distancing between band members and Date. He added that the band had originally planned to release the album this summer, but they would “have to figure out” a new release date. Now, in a new interview with Download TV’s Kylie Olsson, as part...
Rage Against the Machine Re-enter Charts as Protests Rage On
Rage Against the Machine are experiencing a chart surge as protests continue across the United States and throughout the world. Not only is the band’s debut album back on the Billboard 200 chart, all three of their LPs of original material are making a big splash on the Apple Music chart. Amid ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody, the politically charged band’s music is as relevant as ever. As Forbes reports, Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 self-titled debut is back at No. 174 on the Billboard 200 chart. The debut LP features the classic “Killing in the Name”, which was written in the wake of Rodney King’s beating at the hands of the LAPD and the subsequent riots that followed. The song includes the timely lyric, “Some of those that work forces are the sa...
Grey Daze (Chester Bennington Band) Debut New Song “B12” Featuring Korn Guitarists: Stream
Grey Daze, the band in which Chester Bennington was a member before joining Linkin Park, has debuted a video for the new song “B12” featuring Korn guitarists Brian “Head” Welch and James “Munky” Shaffer. The song is the latest single from Grey Daze’s upcoming album, Amends, which arrives on June 26th after being delayed due to the pandemic. Prior to his death in 2017, Bennington had approached his old bandmates about re-recording their old songs. While the singer died before they started the project, Grey Daze soldiered on by incorporating Bennington’s original vocal tracks with newly recorded music The video for “B12” debuted today as part of the virtual Download TV Festival. The clip pays tribute to Bennington, showing footage of his days performing with Grey Daze in the ’90s. ...
Avatar Release Chugging New Song “God of Sick Dreams”: Stream
Swedish metallers Avatar have released a new song, “God of Sick Dreams”, from the band’s upcoming studio album, Hunter Gatherer, out August 7th. “God of Sick Dreams” features heavy, chugging riffs and a catchy, almost punk-inspired chorus. The song is the second track to arrive off Hunter Gatherer. The album’s first single, “Silence in the Age of Apes”, has amassed more than 1 million YouTube views since its release in May. Hunter Gatherer promises to be “an unflinchingly ruthless study of a clueless humankind’s ever-increasing velocity into an uncertain future, furthering the reach of the band’s always expanding dark roots,” according to a statement. “The forthcoming album,” the statement continues, “is the darkest, most sinister version of the band yet, with deep studies of cruelty, tech...
Dead Cross (Mike Patton, Dave Lombardo) Cover Black Flag’s “Rise Above” in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter: Stream
The hardcore supergroup Dead Cross, featuring living legends Mike Patton on vocals and Dave Lombardo on drums, have covered the Black Flag classic “Rise Above” in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) and Lombardo (Misfits, ex-Slayer) are joined by Dead Cross bandmates Michael Crain (guitar) and Justin Pearson (bass) on the socially distant performance. The song is preceded by an audio recording of a resident’s profanity-laced tirade against the LAPD as he called in to an actual police commission meeting on Zoom. In posting the video on Facebook and YouTube, the band stated that the performance was “created in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and staunchly opposing police brutality and systemic racism.” Dead Cross hit the studio ...
