Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. “Listen to them, children of the night, what music they make.” Even casual film buffs probably recognize that line, and not just because Tribulation titled an album after it. It was spoken by Bela Lugosi in the titular role of Dracula in the 1931 film. If you’ve never seen the movie, now’s the time, since it’s Halloween, and thanks to streaming it’s more readily available than probably any other film of its generation. But if you get a chance, watch the Spanish-language version, too. Moodier and more luxurious in its...
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating yet another album anniversary in 2021. The Prince of Darkness has announced a 40th anniversary expanded digital edition of his 1981 album, Diary of a Madman, out November 5th. The release includes the original eight-song tracklist and two live recordings previously unavailable digitally: “Believer” and “Flying High Again.” Diary of a Madman is considered a classic album in Ozzy’s canon. It was the last studio effort to feature the virtuosic guitarwork of Randy Rhoads, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1982. Advertisement Related Video Notable tracks from the album include the chugging opener “Over the Mountain,” the weed ballad and radio hit “Flying High Again,” and the epic closing title track. To coincide with the expanded digital edition, Ozzy has team...
Rammstein have premiered a new song from their forthcoming album … to one astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Drummer Christoph Schneider streamed the song from the comfort of his own studio, beaming it up to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet stationed on the ISS. The exchange was filmed and posted on Instagram. “Space is calling!” wrote Schneider. “I had the honor to speak with ISS astronaut @thom_astro on behalf of @rammsteinofficial. He is the current commander of the @iss and living in space since half a year. It felt like a child’s dream coming true for me — talking to a person living in the sky, sharing a glimpse of his view, realizing again how small we all are compared to the depth of the universe…” Advertisement Related Video Schneider continued: “He was the fir...
Red Fang are back with more comedy gold, this time staging their own funeral for the hilarious video for “Rabbit in Hives.” Just in time for Halloween, the four members of Red Fang find themselves deceased. At the open-casket memorial, a host of the band’s fellow heavy rock luminaries are in attendance to pay their respects: a shirtless Matt Pike of High on Fire, members of YOB, Lord Dying, and more. “I was surprised by the death of Red Fang,” eulogizes the band’s now jobless tour manager. “I guess a life of marginal fame and fortune takes a toll.” Advertisement Related Video One by one the guests take their turns at the podium, which devolves in a tongue-in-cheek roast of Red Fang. When it’s Pike’s turn, he unfolds a piece of paper to read a poem he “wrote”: “Carry on my wayward sons, the...
Slipknot have announced that they will stream their upcoming Knotfest Los Angeles concert. The stream goes live at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 5th. It marks Slipknot’s first-ever livestream event. In addition to their headlining set, bonus performances by support acts Killswitch Engage, Fever 333, Code Orange, Vended, and Cherry Bombs will also be streamed. Bring Me the Horizon is the only Knotfest Los Angeles act not included. Tickets are on sale now at this location for a pre-sale cost of $15, with day-of tickets going for $20. The stream will remain available for on-demand viewing for 72 hours after it goes live. Advertisement Related Video Knotfest Los Angeles will be another major stop on the ongoing Knotfest Roadshow tour. Slipknot recently hosted the sold-out Knotfes...
Mastodon are coming up on the release of a new album, Hushed and Grim, which marks their first-ever double album. In advance of the record’s release, the Atlanta metal giants have premiered the new song “Sickle and Peace.” “Sickle and Peace” is the third track Mastodon have unveiled off Hushed and Grim, the first two being “Pushing the Tides” and “Teardrinker.” The new song features groovy, pulsating bass and drums, in typical Mastodon fashion, coupled with doomy guitars and powerful vocals. Heavy Consequence recently caught up with Mastodon singer-bassist Troy Sanders via Zoom video to talk about the inspiration behind Hushed and Grim. Advertisement “The album is about losing our manager, Nick John, just over three years ago to a battle with pancreatic cancer,” Sanders said. “He was monum...
David Ellefson has directly addressed his firing from Megadeth in a new interview, stating that he is “disappointed” but “not bitter.” Earlier this week, we reported on the bassist giving his first post-Megadeth interview, though he was not directly asked about his firing from Megadeth in that conversation. Now, in a separate interview, Ellefson has discussed his exit from Megadeth. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Ellefson opened up about the sexually compromising incident with a young woman that led to his ousting, as well as his relationship with Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. Advertisement Related Video For context, Ellefson was initially accused of grooming an underage fan for an online sexual encounter. Videos of the encounter were leaked online by a separate party, leading to...
Game-maker Blizzard has removed George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s name from his World of Warcraft non-playable character (NPC) due to past homophobic remarks made by the Cannibal Corpse frontman in 2007. “Gorge the Corpsegrinder” was an NPC and quest-giver that paid homage to the death metal vocalist, an outspoken WoW fan and a prominent player for the multiplayer online game’s Horde faction. However, calls to remove Corpsegrinder from WoW began in September when gamers shed light on homophobic remarks Fisher made in a 2007 interview. The interview in question originated from 2007, and aired at the 2011 BlizzCon event. Fisher spoke about his love for World of Warcraft and playing for the Horde, but he called the rival faction, the Alliance, the “homo-alliance” and referred to those players a...
Fifty years of doing anything in the arts is impressive — even more so in popular music, and especially in heavy metal. It’s a rigorous and demanding genre, and certainly of a niche for faithful. But it’s proved resilient, welcoming to new directions and trends while continuing to revere its traditions and its long-haulers. Judas Priest have become the latest to join the golden anniversary club, and in its case a band that’s spent the past half-century rocking uninterrupted, weathering lineup changes and changing audience tastes. But anyone who’s seen the quintet as recently as this year’s “50 Heavy Metal Years Tour” — which came to an abrupt and unexpected stop on September 26th after guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered a ruptured aorta onstage and more than 10 hours of open heart surgery ...
Vended, the band featuring the sons of Slipknot members Corey Taylor and Shawn “Clown” Crahan, have announced their debut EP, titled What Is It/Kill It. The band also shared the new song “Burn My Misery” ahead of the EP’s November 12th release. It’s the second single we’ve heard from the Iowa metal act. Touting a serious pedigree with Corey Taylor’s son Griffin on vocals and Clown’s son Simon on drums, it’s no surprise that Vended bring a crushing extreme-metal sound, as heard on “Burn My Misery.” Like previous single “Asylum,” the band incorporate elements of prog and melodic metal into the five-minute track. There’s certainly some Slipknot influence, but Vended’s punk tendencies are more pronounced, with spitfire vocals from Griffin and lightning fast tempos. Advertisement Related V...
Andrea Meyer — a German metal musician, actress, and screenwriter — was one of five people killed in a bow-and-arrow attack in Norway on October 13th. According to the Associated Press, the horrific incident happened at a supermarket in Kongsberg, Norway. Police apprehended the suspect, 37-year-old Espen Andersen Braathen, and authorities believe the attack to be “an act of terrorism.” Meyer recorded pagan music under the names Nebelhexë, Hagalaz’ Runedance, and Andrea Nebel. She also contributed guest vocals to Cradle of Filth’s 1994 debut, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, and a spoken-word part to Satyricon’s 1996 album, Nemesis Divina. Advertisement Related Video The 52-year-old multimedia artist leaves behind a daughter, Alva, whom she shared with ex-husband Tomas “Samoth” Haugen, lon...
David Ellefson has given his first interview since being ousted from Megadeth earlier this year. Ellefson was fired from the thrash band after an embarrassing sexually compromising online encounter with a young woman went public, but seemed unfazed in the new interview. The bassist is currently promoting his new band, The Lucid, and opened up about his career after Megadeth. “It’s fun to create for creation’s sake and not because it has to be motivated from anything else,” Ellefson told Aftershocks TV (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “So I guess I’m kind of glad to just be right where I’m at. To be honest, I’m perfectly content and happy where I am right now. I’m not gonna lie — it’s perfectly fine. So I’m all good.” Advertisement Related Video Ellefson doesn’t get into specifics regardin...