Heavy Metal
Dethklok Perform for First Time in Three Years at Adult Swim Festival: Watch
Cartoon metal band Dethklok returned to the live stage for the first time in three years last night (August 7th) at the Adult Swim Festival Block Party in Philadelphia. Dethklok, whose real-life incarnation is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Brendon Small, played a career-spanning 18-song set, traversing the full discography of the Metalocalypse stars. Their previous physical appearance came at the 2019 iteration of the Adult Swim Fest. Unfortunately the reunion set didn’t tease anything new from the upcoming Metalocalypse feature film, but Small recently said that it is in production and that a release date is yet to be determined by Adult Swim. Advertisement Related Video “I can tell you… what has already been released, which is that we are making a feature Metalocalypse movie, and that’s ...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Jump Aboard Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train”: Watch
Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox pay tribute to the Prince of Darkness in their latest “Sunday Lunch” performance. The King Crimson guitarist and his singer wife perform Ozzy Osbourne’s signature solo hit “Crazy Train” with their usual frisky flair. In yet another revealing ensemble (see-through top and black pasties), Toyah pays homage to Ozzy by adding a cross necklace and fringe evening gloves, mimicking the fringe sleeves that Ozzy has sported on several onstage outfits. Fripp, meanwhile, does his best to play the late Randy Rhoads’ iconic guitar riff. The hilarity ensues when Toyah rubs the fringe all over Robert’s face as he’s trying to focus on his guitar-playing, with the prog-rock legend unsuccessfully attempting to blow the material away from his noggin. At the end of the performan...
Slipknot Unleash Wide-Ranging New Song “Yen”: Stream
Slipknot have unveiled the new song “Yen” from their upcoming album, THE END, SO FAR. The new track marks the second single from the forthcoming LP, which arrives on September 30th. “Yen” is a wide-ranging song that starts with a slow instrumental build leading to a melodic opening verse by singer Corey Taylor, before kicking in with heavier vocals and instrumentation in the chorus. The track gets downright experimental at the 3-minute mark, delving into industrial and noise, as Slipknot continue to venture into new territory more than a quarter century into their career. Advertisement Related Video The song follows previous single “The Dying Song (Time To Sing),” which was released upon the album’s announcement last month, as well as “The Chapeltown Rag,” which arrived late last year. The...
Pallbearer Announce 10th Anniversary Reissue of Sorrow and Extinction
Pallbearer have announced a 10th anniversary deluxe reissue of their debut album Sorrow and Extinction. The band is teaming up with its original label 20 Buck Spin for the release, which comes in a trio of formats: a triple-LP deluxe edition (shipping September 16th), a double-LP version in multiple colorways (shipping September 1st), and the first-ever cassette release of the album (available now). The deluxe edition is limited to 500 copies and is housed in a foil-stamped slip case. The tri-color splatter vinyl consists of the double-LP version of Sorrow and Extinction and a bonus LP featuring the band’s 2010 demo on one side and a B-side featuring live versions of “Devoid of Redemption” and “The Legend” recorded at The Glass House and previously only available on a 2012 Scion A/V vinyl ...
The Offering Announce New Album, Unleash Pummeling Lead Single “WASP”: Stream
The Offering have announced their sophomore album, Seeing the Elephant, arriving November 4th via Century Media. The Boston thrashers also shared the video for lead single “WASP.” The track is one of the most extreme pieces of groove-oriented thrash we’ve heard this year. Ceaseless torrents of blast beats and technical riffs compliment the aggro growls of frontman Alexander Richichi, creating a sonic fray that waylays the listener. While the lyrics might be hard to make out, both the song and album have a political slant, having been written during the “warzone of cultural upheaval” that was 2020. This is epitomized by the shirt Richichi is wearing in the single’s performance clip, bearing the phrase: “God Isn’t Real – Climate Change Is.” Advertisement Related Video “’WASP’ is first and fo...
Hatebreed Announce Perseverance 20th Anniversary 2022 US Tour
Hatebreed are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Perseverance with a Fall 2022 US headlining tour. Gatecreeper and Bleeding Through will support select dates, with Bodysnatcher and Dying Wish along for the full run. The outing kicks off October 27th in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and runs through November 20th in San Diego. Bleeding Through will sub for Gatecreeper for the final three dates. There are also additional shows that have yet to be announced. Pre-sale tickets are now available for select dates, with the general on-sale beginning Friday (August 5th). Purchase tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video Hatebreed’s sophomore album Perseverance was the LP that elevated them to household-name status in metal circles. Released in 2002, it marked the band’s major ...
New Lemmy Kilmister Action Figure Comes with Three Heads and 10 Hands
A newly announced Lemmy Kilmister action figure comes packaged with three different heads and 10 different hands, allowing fans to pose the late Motörhead frontman in various scenarios. Super7 has unveiled “The Lemmy ULTIMATES! Figure,” which “captures his iconic 1980s era with lavish paint, details, and details to recreate his larger than life personality and attitude.” What makes this 7-inch-tall figure special is that you can swap in the various heads (including “neutral head,” “snarling head,” and “sunglasses head”) and interchange the different hands, including one that’s flipping the bird and another that’s holding a cigarette. You also get a whiskey bottle, a bass guitar, a mic stand, and a fabric Motörhead shirt that fits snuggly over Lemmy’s muscular body. Advertisement Related Vi...
Late Metallica Bassist Cliff Burton Immortalized with New Collectible Statue
Late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton is being immortalized with a new KnuckleBonz Iconz collectible statue. The finely detailed statues are limited to 3,000 pieces and retail for $164. They’re currently in production with an anticipated ship date of early 2023. A portion of the proceeds will support the Cliff Burton Music Scholarship Fund. The KnuckleBonz statues are hand-crafted by artists using “a fine-arts process where each figure is hand-cast, painted, and numbered.” The 1/9 scale figures stand 8.5 to 9 inches tall and come with a certificate of authenticity on the base. Advertisement Related Video “Working on this design allowed us to go back to the foundations of thrash and this is our way to pay tribute to the ferocity and brilliance of Cliff Burton,” said KnuckleBonz CEO/creative d...
Metallica Jam with Stranger Things Actor Joseph Quinn Backstage at Lollapalooza
Metallica were joined backstage by a special guest ahead of their headlining performance at Lollapalooza on Thursday. Joseph Quinn, who played Eddie Munson on season four of Stranger Things, paid a pre-show visit to the band and even got a chance to join them for a performance of “Master of Puppets.” During a backstage powwow, Metallica’s James Hetfield revealed that he has watched Stranger Things since season one. “[For] my kids and I, it’s been a bonding experience for us,” the band’s frontman explained. Hetfield also thanked Quinn for doing the song “justice.” Metallica then invited Quinn to their rehearsal trailer for a quick jam session, where the actor got to show off his guitar chops on “Master of Puppets.” Afterward, the band gifted Quinn a signed guitar similar to the one he playe...
Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante Open Up About Pantera Tour: “It’s Gonna Be Awesome”
Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante have opened up about the highly anticipated Pantera reunion tour in a new interview. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, the guitarist and drummer discussed their aspirations for the shows and the legacy of the late brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. In fact, initial discussions took place prior to Vinnie’s passing in 2018. “It’s gonna be awesome…,” Wylde said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “When Vinnie was still with us, it was always rolling around that, ‘Zakk, would you honor Dime and all of us get together and do this thing?’ And I said, ‘Fellows, whenever you wanna do this thing, I’ll be over here waiting in the dugout and in the bullpen. And just call me when you need me and I’ll learn everything and we’ll go do this.’” Advertisement E...
Pantera’s 10 Best Songs
The story of Pantera is bound to the modernization of heavy metal in the 1990s, but the band’s origins began long before that. Formed by guitar virtuoso “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, Pantera began as a rather rudimentary ’80s metal band: big hair, glam riffs, and unfortunate album titles such as Metal Magic and Projects in the Jungle. Bassist Rex Brown was along for the ride from nearly the beginning, but things shifted when vocalist Phillip H. Anselmo joined the band after they had already released three under-the-radar albums. While Anselmo was on board for 1988’s Power Metal, It would be the seminal 1990 album Cowboys from Hell that truly marked the arrival of the Pantera that is now recognized as one of the best heavy metal bands of all time. Perhaps th...
Metallica Took a Quantum Leap on Ride the Lightning
The first four Metallica albums are among the genre’s most powerful and enduring documents, and while the band’s debut LP, Kill ‘Em All, was a landmark for thrash metal, Ride the Lightning presented a quantum leap in terms of songwriting and structure. Kill ‘Em All leaned heavily on elements of boogie beats nabbed from ’70s Judas Priest and the heavy swung feel to fast-paced riffs that Dave Mustaine would eventually take with him to Megadeth, but Ride the Lightning, released July 27th, 1984, almost wholly struck the swung-boogie vibe from its mostly slower-paced riffs, focusing instead on a near neo-classical sense of grandeur plucked more from the pages of groups like Rush, Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult and even Priest’s more grandiloquent epics than bands like Sweet or even the more rock ‘n’...
