Heavy Metal
Heavy Culture: Palaceburn Singer Meredith Bell and Hyro the Hero on Juneteenth and Being Black in America
Heavy Culture is a monthly column from journalist Liz Ramanand, focusing on artists of different cultural backgrounds in heavy music, as they offer their perspectives on race, society, and more as it intersects with and affects their craft. The latest installment of this column features Palaceburn singer Meredith Bell and Hyro the Hero and focuses on Juneteenth and other topics. Juneteenth has just been declared a federal holiday in the United States by the Biden administration. The day, marked on June 19th, commemorates the end of slavery as the date the last remaining slaves in Texas learned of their freedom in 1865, two years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Philadelphia-based Palaceburn began their music journey with their EPs The Awakening in 2013 and Curs...
Hellfest 2022 Lineup: Metallica, GN’R, NIN, Faith No More, Deftones, and Many More to Play Expanded 7-Day Event
We may already have a winner for the most mind-blowing festival lineup of 2022. Hellfest is more than making up for missing the past two years, expanding to a seven-day event and featuring just about every heavy band imaginable. Among the headliners are Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Deftones, and more. The massive metal fest will take place June 17th-19th and June 23rd-26th in Clisson, France. Also on the bill are Scorpions, Avenged Sevenfold, Megadeth, Korn, Ministry, Judas Priest, Volbeat, Alice Cooper, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, and Rise Against, among dozens more. You know a festival lineup is stacked when bands like Mastodon, Opeth, The Offspring, Baroness, and more only appear in small print on the poster. Any one of those acts would be at the top of...
Mastodon to Livestream Acoustic Show from Georgia Aquarium
Mastodon are set to play their first-ever acoustic concert from the Georgia Aquarium, and will livestream the gig across the globe. The Atlanta metal band is teaming up with HD streaming platform Dreamstage for the July 15th event. The hometown concert will mark Mastodon’s first gig of 2021, before they play a handful of festival dates in the fall. The livestream show has been dubbed “Captured Live at Georgia Aquarium”, and a press release hints that it may be only time the band performs an acoustic set. In addition to the performance, the livestream will feature commentary from the members of Mastodon, who will offer insight into the band’s creative process. Related Video Virtual tickets are $19.99 in advance at this location, and can be bundled with merch items like an event poster or T-...
GWAR Introduce Bud of Gods Dugout and Delta-8 Tincture
Looking for a convenient way to bring your Bud of Gods CBD flower with you or take some of that sweet Bud of Gods Delta-8 THC? Well, GWAR are showing pity on you Scumdogs with their two new products: the Bud of Gods dugout and Delta-8 tincture. Available now at the Consequence Shop, the aluminum Bud of Gods dugout brings all-in-one convenience to your CBD experience. Twist the rotating magnetic lid to release the cigarette-shaped pipe with sharp teeth for easy packing. Fill the dugout’s empty pocket with some freshly ground Bud of Gods CBD flower (ground up with the Bud of Gods card grinder, perhaps?), and simply tap the pipe down for ready-to-smoke convenience. There’s even a small slide-out rod so you can keep the storage compartment cleaner than your soul. To celebrate the launch o...
Knocked Loose Announce Fall 2021 US Tour with Gatecreeper
Knocked Loose have announced a fall 2021 US tour with Gatecreeper and additional support from Magnitude and Kharma. Between the swinging hardcore of Kentucky’s Knocked Loose and the death metal of Arizona’s Gatecreeper, the circle pits will be churning when the trek kicks off on September 9th in Chicago. It runs a month before wrapping up on October 8th in Santa Cruz, California — just days before Knocked Loose join Gojira’s headlining tour as support. “First tour back,” Knocked Loose posted on Twitter. “Small rooms. No barricades. Friends. Two nights in certain cities. Blue.” Related Video “Blue” refers to the band’s 2019 LP, A Different Shade of Blue, and the LeAnn Rimes song of the same name, which served as the band’s walk-out music on their last tour. Meanwhile, Gatecreeper spent the ...
Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx to Release New Memoir in October
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx is chronicling his early years in a new book titled The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx. The memoir will be released on October 19th via Hachette Books. “You’ve heard the tales of excess and debauchery,” stated Sixx in a press release. “All the peaks and the valleys that came with rock and roll stardom and my life in one of the world’s biggest bands. This is the story that you haven’t heard. The one that led up to those stories.” He continued, “It’s the intimate, personal story of how an innocent Idaho farm boy with a burning dream and desire — for music, for love, and for fame — became the notorious Nikki Sixx. I believe our first 21 years have a lot to do with shaping who we become. These are my first 21, and it’s my hope that they thrill and inspire you ...
Metallica File Insurance Suit Against Lloyd’s of London for Losses Suffered from Pandemic-Postponed Shows
Metallica have sued insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London in an effort to be compensated for losses the band suffered as a result of postponing its South American tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuit was filed on Monday (June 7th) in Los Angeles Superior Court. The legendary heavy metal band had planned to embark on a six-date tour of South America with support from Greta Van Fleet in April 2020, but the pandemic shut down the concert industry a month prior. Metallica rescheduled the shows for December 2020, but with the pandemic still going strong, those dates were also postponed. At the time, the band said it hoped to reschedule the shows for late 2021, but no new dates have been announced yet. According to CBS Los Angeles and City News Service, Metallica’s lawsuit alleges br...
GWAR Announce Lust in Space and Bloody Pit of Horror Vinyl Reissues
GWAR have announced vinyl reissues of their 2009 album Lust in Space and its follow-up, 2010’s Bloody Pit of Horror. Each will be available in two color variants on July 16th. The albums were previously only issued on CD and limited-edition picture disc vinyl. The latter quickly went out of print and now go for steep prices on the secondhand market. Although collectible, picture discs aren’t known for their fidelity — the manufacturing process inherently detracts from the sound quality — so these two albums are essentially receiving their first proper vinyl pressing. Lust in Space is available in a silver variant and a clear magenta-and-purple splatter edition, while Bloody Pit of Horror comes in a black-inside-red version and an orange-red-melt edition (as seen in the image abov...
Black Label Society Announce 2021 US Tour with Obituary and Prong
Black Label Society will be back on the road this fall on a U.S. tour with support from Obituary and Prong. The two-month itinerary kicks off in early October and runs through the end of November. As the pandemic hit in March 2020, Black Label Society were in the midst of a North American tour. The metal veterans were forced to postpone the last 12 shows of the outing, and originally rescheduled the gigs for August of last year. Those dates were eventually nixed, as well, but frontman Zakk Wylde and company have now mapped out an extensive trek that more than makes up for those missed dates. The 43-date tour will launch with an October 1st show in Sacramento, California, and run through a November 28th gig in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Related Video BLS have been working on a proper follow-u...
Ronnie James Dio Virtual Birthday Fundraiser to Feature Members of Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Anthrax, and More
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-09T14:50:55+00:00“>June 9, 2021 | 10:50am ET The birthday of late metal legend Ronnie James Dio will be celebrated with a virtual fundraiser event at 2 p.m. PT on July 10th. Proceeds will support the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund. Metal luminaries and former band members will drop in on the virtual celebration to perform, share birthday messages, and reminisce on the life of Dio, who shared both a passion for heavy metal and charity work. Among the star-studded list of guests are Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, former Dio/Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice, Anthrax singer Joey Belladonna, current Guns N’ Roses drummer Frank Ferrer, former GN’R guitarist Gilby Clar...
Ohio Venue Where Dimebag Darrell Was Murdered to Be Demolished for Affordable Housing Development
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-08T21:58:33+00:00“>June 8, 2021 | 5:58pm ET An affordable housing development is planned for the current site of Alrosa Villa, the Columbus, Ohio, venue where legendary Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed while he played onstage with his band Damageplan in December 2004. Four other people were also killed that night. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the plot was put on the market in 2019 for $1.295 million, including the 10,000-square-foot music venue, two lots totaling 7.2 acres, a liquor license, and various equipment. The venue hosted major hard rock and metal shows for 45 years, and in its heyday, booked such acts as Pantera on the Cowboys from Hell tour,...
Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe and a Ton of Other Acts Turn Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” into a Hardcore Song: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-07T18:07:06+00:00“>June 7, 2021 | 2:07pm ET Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe and a host of other heavy music artists have turned Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” into a hardcore song. It’s the latest edition of Two Minutes to Late Night’s “Bedroom Covers” quarantine series. In addition to Blythe, some other big names appearing on the cover include Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits and Quicksand, The Armed’s Urian V. Hackney, and current and former members of Harm’s Way, the Dillinger Escape Plan, War on Women, and many more. The massive crew help with the New York Hardcore-style gang vocals that make this Prince cover truly one of a kind. Who knew the classic ’80s love song c...
