Heavy Metal
30 Years Ago, Megadeth’s Countdown to Extinction Tackled Politics and Personal Demons
By the start of the ’90s, Megadeth were on track to dominate heavy metal. After all, 1990’s Rust in Peace garnered stellar sales and press reviews, with the corresponding Clash of the Titans tour — featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax — further bolstering their hegemony. Plus, as he confessed to Guitar School in 1993, Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine was finally getting “stone sober” after years of addiction to marijuana, cocaine, cigarettes, heroin, and other vices. At the same time, however, the meteoric rise of grunge meant that metal was becoming “the red-headed stepchild of the music industry” (as Mustaine postulated to Goldmine in 2012). Advertisement Although they faced some industry pressure to follow the tides, Mustaine told Patch.com the same year, Megadeth chose instead to “...
Disturbed Return with “Hey You,” First New Song in Four Years: Stream
Disturbed are back with a new single, “Hey You,” marking their first new original song in four years. The multiplatinum metal band has also revealed that it will release a new as-yet-untitled album later this year. While Disturbed have recorded notable cover songs in the past, including their smash-hit version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence,” it is very evident in the opening seconds of the new song is that it’s NOT a cover of the iconic Pink Floyd hit of the same name. “Hey You” harkens back to Disturbed’s massive debut 2000 album, The Sickness, with singer David Draiman delivering his signature staccato vocals over a crushing Dan Donegan guitar riff in the verses. The chorus showcases the more melodic side of Disturbed, while still maintaining the overall heaviness of t...
Ex-Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Launches New Band Dieth, Unveils First Single: Stream
Former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has launched a new band called Dieth. The group also shared a performance clip for its lead single “In the Hall of the Hanging Serpents.” Dieth’s lineup is rounded out by Swedish singer-guitarist Guilherme Miranda (ex-Entombed A.D.) and Polish drummer Michał Łysejko (ex-Decapitated). A second guitarist, Michał Grall, is featured in the video, but does not appear to be an official band member. With ex-Entombed A.D. and Decapitated members on board, it’s no surprise that “In the Hall of the Hanging Serpents” is in the technical death metal style, with pummeling blast beats, snarled vocals, and chugging breakdowns. Advertisement Related Video “The three of us have all been recognized in our respective bands and careers but at some point, we had to close ...
Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” Enters Billboard Hot 100 for the First Time Following Stranger Things Inclusion
First Kate Bush, now Metallica: Thanks to a high-profile feature on Season 4 of Stranger Things, the metal legends have enjoyed a nice little bump on the Billboard charts, with the 1986 song “Master of Puppets” entering the Hot 100 for the first time ever. After Eddie Munson (Joseph Quinn) shredded the song from the Upside Down (with an assist from Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo’s son Tye, who recorded additional guitar parts for the scene), “Master of Puppets” entered at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of July 16th. Metallica already thanked the popular Netflix series for the feature by duetting with Munson on TikTok, with each member of the band sporting “Hellfire Club” T-shirts. Advertisement Related Video Kate Bush was the first artist to benefit from the so-called...
Horror-Thriller The Retaliators Featuring Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach, and FFDP Members: Watch Official Trailer
The official trailer, release date, and soundtrack details for upcoming horror-thriller The Retaliators have been revealed. The film will hit theaters September 14th via Better Noise Films and features appearances by a bevy of notable rockers such as Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe), Ivan Moody and Zoltan Bathory (Five Finger Death Punch), Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), and more. The starring cast includes Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me), Marc Menchaca (Ozark), and Joseph Gatt. The trailer gives us a glimpse at the aforementioned musicians in front of the camera. Bathory and Shaddix make obvious appearances in the clip, teasing what looks to be a bloodbath of a movie. The script is based off the true story of an “upstanding pastor who uncovers a dark and twisted underwo...
Mastodon Unveil Sinister “More Than I Could Chew” Video Ahead of Tour with Ghost: Stream
Mastodon have unveiled the music video for “More Than I Could Chew,” the latest single from 2021’s Hushed and Grim. The acclaimed metal band’s new video comes ahead of their high-profile North American tour with Ghost and Spiritbox. The outing kicks off August 26th in San Diego and run through September 21st in Peoria, Illinois, with tickets available via Ticketmaster. Directed by Zev Deans, the video is inspired by vintage psychedelic horror and is cast in hazy oranges and reds. The members of Mastodon appear as distorted images, cut amongst a vivid retelling of The Garden of Eden. Advertisement Related Video Lisa Saeboe assumes the role of Eve, while Brenden McGowan plays the tempter Lucifer. In contrast with Hellacious hues of red covering the band members, the cutaways to the Garden ar...
Metallica Duet with Stranger Things’ Eddie on “Master of Puppets”: Watch
Metallica are officially members of the Hellfire Club, as they’ve shared a duet with Stranger Things 4 hero Eddie Munson on the epic “Master of Puppets.” Much like Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” the 1986 thrash metal classic played a pivotal role in the most recent season of the hit Netflix series. And just like Bush’s track, “Master of Puppets” has seen a major bump in streams as a result. Metallica have openly expressed gratitude for their part in the epic Stranger Things final, and now they’ve taken it a step further, giving Eddie the ultimate stamp approval by duetting with him via the magic of TikTok. Advertisement Netflix posted a duet challenge on the app earlier this week, tasking fans with playing along with Eddie as he ripped “Master of Puppets” from atop an RV. Do...
Metallica Help Shred Some Demons In Stranger Things Season 4
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers through the Season 4 finale of Stranger Things, “The Piggyback.”] For a show already known for killer needle drops, Stranger Things Season 4 took things to a new level with its season finale. In the epic-length Episode 9, “The Piggyback,” our heroes decide to venture into the Upside Down to take down the malevolent demon known as Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). The plan: Use Max (Sadie Sink) as bait to lure the demon into making a psychic attack, while the rest of the gang attacks Vecna’s comatose body. Vecna isn’t defenseless, though, as he’s guarded by an army of demonic bats. That’s when Eddie Munsen (Joe Quinn) — and his guitar — come into play. Eddie pulls out an amp and electric guitar and, with Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) headbanging beside...
France’s Hellfest Was One Helluva Festival, Featuring Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, and Many More: Recap, Photos + Video
Editor’s Note: The massive 2022 edition of Hellfest took place in Clisson, France, over two weekends, with seven days of performances from many of the biggest metal and hard rock acts in the world. Heavy Consequence photojournalist Raymond Ahner was on hand for the second weekend (June 23rd-26th), where he captured pics of Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Scorpions, Ministry, Alice Cooper, and many more acts. See his recap and photo gallery below. After canceling the 2020 and 2021 installments due to the ongoing pandemic, Hellfest returned in 2022 in a big way, with not one, but two completely jam-packed weekends, featuring many of today’s biggest metal and hard rock bands on the planet. When the massive lineup was announced last year, it almost seemed impossible that something this big could b...
Rob Zombie Unveils Wild NSFW Animated Video for “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass”: Watch
Rob Zombie has unveiled an animated music video for the song “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass” from his 2021 album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. The wild clip comes ahead of Zombie’s co-headlining US tour with Mudvayne. The month-long outing, featuring support from Static-X and Powerman 5000, kicks off July 20th in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and wraps up August 21st in The Woodlands, Texas, with tickets available via Ticketmaster. The video for “Shake Your Ass-Smoke Your Grass” features a bevy of outlandish characters shaking a lot of ass and smoking a lot of grass, and in some cases doing both at the same time. The clip, which has a few NSFW scenes, was created by Hungarian animator Balázs Gróf, whose work can be seen at his official website. Advertisement Related Vid...
Watch the Making of the Giant Lemmy Statue at Hellfest and See the Surviving Motörhead Members Pay Tribute: Video + Photos
Surviving Motörhead members Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell paid tribute to Lemmy Kilmister at the unveiling ceremony for his statue at Hellfest. Dee, now a member of Scorpions, spoke following his set with the German legends. Campbell would join in for “Rock You Like a Hurricane,” with the two Motörhead members then heading to the base of the massive statue to pay their respects to Lemmy and Hellfest. Heavy Consequence photographer Raymond Ahner is currently at the French festival, where he took pics of the proceedings. “It was magic, thank you Hellfest for making this happen, me and Phil are very proud, and proudest of all is of course Lemmy!” Dee said during the ceremony. “Now he is part of a great festival forever, and hopefully there will be many more to come all over the world so as Lem...
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Will “Forgive” David Ellefson but “Won’t Play Music With Him Anymore”
Upon the announcement of Megadeth’s new album, The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead, frontman Dave Mustaine has opened up about last year’s ouster of longtime bassist David Ellefson. While Mustaine says it was a “hard decision,” he insists he “won’t play music with him anymore.” Ellefson was fired from Megadeth in 2021 when an embarrassing online sexual encounter between him and a young woman surfaced on social media. His bass parts for the upcoming album were subsequently re-recorded by Testament’s Steve DiGiorgio, while James LoMenzo has since been named as Ellefson’s permanent replacement. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Mustaine discussed his decision to let Ellefson go from the band. “Let me just say this – it was a hard decision that had to be made,” said Mustaine. “There were a l...
