<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-27T15:25:33+00:00“>May 27, 2021 | 11:25am ET Legendary Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider has announced his fifth studio album, Leave a Scar, arriving July 30th. He has also unveiled the video for the inspiring lead single, “I Gotta Rock (Again)”. In 1984, Snider and Twisted Sister proudly declared “I Wanna Rock” in one of their best known songs. Nearly 40 years later, the message hasn’t changed, but there’s a bit more urgency to it. For Snider, it’s no longer a want but a need. “‘I Gotta Rock (Again)’ is the starting gun for this album and the driving motivation behind me returning to the studio to record Leave a Scar,” Snider said in a press release. “At the end of 2019, I had ...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-26T17:18:49+00:00“>May 26, 2021 | 1:18pm ET Earlier this week, Megadeth announced that they were parting ways with their longtime bassist David Ellefson after a leaked video showed him taking part in a sexually explicit online encounter with a young woman. Now, the veteran thrash-metal musician has issued his first statement since the firing. When the video first leaked, the bassist initially addressed the situation by stating, in part, “While certainly embarrassing, I want to address it as openly and honestly as possible. As much as it’s not something I’m proud of, these were private, adult interactions that were taken out of context and manipulated to inflict maximum damage to ...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T14:57:44+00:00“>May 25, 2021 | 10:57am ET Zeal & Ardor have released the new song “Run”, offering a taste of what to expect on the band’s upcoming self-titled third album. The band, led by Manuel Gagneux, has earned well-deserved buzz for its first two albums, showcasing a unique sound that combines extreme metal with traditional slave spirituals. The band’s last LP, Stranger Fruit, landed on Heavy Consequence’s list of the Top 25 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2018, while the tune “Gravedigger’s Chant” made our decade list of the Top 25 Metal Songs of the 2010s. No further album details have been announced, but first single “Run” features Zeal & Ardor at their most extre...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T20:15:41+00:00“>May 25, 2021 | 4:15pm ET Metallica have expanded their community college scholars initiative to include 23 schools in 2021, with a planned total donation of $1.6 million via the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation. The Metallica Scholars Initiative began in 2019 as a partnership between the band’s All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Participating schools were chosen through a rigorous application process, and each received $100,000 to fund “programs designed to support students training to enter the American workforce.” Metallica singer-guitarist James Hetfield offered a statement in a press release...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T21:50:21+00:00“>May 25, 2021 | 5:50pm ET Nine months after the tragic passing of Power Trip singer Riley Gale at the age of 34, a cause of death has been revealed for the metal frontman. According to an autopsy report from the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office, Gale’s death was due to a pulmonary edema as the result of the toxic effects of fentanyl. The paperwork was obtained by the YouTube channel Heavy Metal Picker, and confirmed by the website MetalSucks. According to the autopsy, Gale’s death was accidental and estimated to have occurred on the morning of August 25th, 2020. It further revealed that he was “found unresponsive on the floor at home.” The report lists Ga...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T18:06:10+00:00“>May 25, 2021 | 2:06pm ET Rising metal band Spiritbox have announced their highly anticipated debut album, Eternal Blue, out September 17th via Rise Records. The Canadian trio also shared the new single “Secret Garden”. The album will arrive on a wave of hype following the band’s 2017 EP and a long string of successful one-off singles — three of which made the tracklist for Eternal Blue (“Constance”, “Circle with Me”, and “Holy Roller”). In a way, the singles format has both helped and hindered the band. As singer Courtney LaPlante explains, the single limits the listener’s perception to just one song at a time. In turn, the expectations for each new song b...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T13:00:20+00:00“>May 25, 2021 | 9:00am ET Slipknot are bringing an epic night of metal to their home state. The band has announced Knotfest Iowa 2021, a day-long festival taking place September 25th. It’s being billed as the “biggest heavy music festival to ever hit” Iowa — and for good reason. The lineup is absolutely stacked, featuring Slipknot themselves, Faith No More, Megadeth, Lamb of God, Gojira, hip-hip duo $uicideboy$, Trivium, and Tech N9ne, among others. Megadeth will be performing with an as-yet-unannounced new bassist after firing longtime member David Ellefson on Monday. “A home show is always insane, but a home ‘Knotfest’ show will be on a whole other level,...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T17:44:47+00:00“>May 24, 2021 | 1:44pm ET Megadeth have announced that they are parting ways with longtime bassist David Ellefson. The news comes after the veteran thrash-metal musician confessed to an “embarrassing” online sexual encounter with a young woman, but denied reports that he had groomed her. In a statement posted to all of their social media channels on Monday (May 24th), Megadeth announced that Ellefson was no longer in the band, also suggesting that the relationship between frontman Dave Mustaine and Ellefson had already been strained. The full statement reads as follows: “We are informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth and that we...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-25T02:35:11+00:00“>May 24, 2021 | 10:35pm ET Alright, you bohabs, GWAR heard you. All that delicious Bud of Gods CBD bringing a little too much peace to your inner Scumdog? Well, we’ve got the product for you, as GWAR’s launching their new limited edition Delta-8 THC vape cartridges. Derived from the beloved Blue Dream strain, the Delta-8 in these cartridges is guaranteed to bring the glorious chaos of your favorite intergalactic warlords right to your very soul. Think of Delta-8 THC like the more universally legal cousin cannabinoid of the more common Delta-9. It packs a lower psychoactive potency than that more standard THC, delivering a smoother ride to outer space. What’s mor...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T15:15:18+00:00“>May 24, 2021 | 11:15am ET Rammstein fans will have to wait another year before the German band brings its dynamic live show to North America. For the second year in a row, the industrial-metal veterans have postponed the stadium outing, with a new itinerary now set for 2022. Originally, Rammstein were set to stage their first-ever full stadium tour of North America in 2020, but that was postponed due to the pandemic and initially rescheduled for this year. While a number of bands have recently announced summer and fall outings, there are still restrictions in place for European acts who want to tour in the States. Thus, Rammstein aren’t taking any chances, inst...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-22T15:30:15+00:00“>May 22, 2021 | 11:30am ET An updated lineup for Psycho Las Vegas 2021 has been revealed, offering significant changes from the one that was announced last year in the wake of the festival’s postponement due the pandemic. Danzig and Emperor are still on board as headliners, but Mercyful Fate have dropped off the bill, with Down moving up into the vacant headlining slot. Back in June 2020, after it was announced that last year’s edition of the fest wouldn’t be taking place, organizers revealed that most of the planned 2020 lineup would return in 2021. However, a number of those acts are no longer on the bill, including Mercyful Fate, Boris, At the Gates, Katatoni...
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-21T16:53:56+00:00“>May 21, 2021 | 12:53pm ET A one-minute snippet of a previously unreleased Slash song featuring the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park has been uploaded online. The track, titled “Crazy”, was intended for release on Slash’s 2010 debut solo album. However, Linkin Park’s camp prevented the song’s release at the time. Instead, Slash enlisted legendary Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister for the vocals, and the track ended up being called “Doctor Alibi”. The snippet originates from producer Big Chris Flores, who recorded the aforementioned solo LP. In 2019, Flores went back into the studio to add drum programming and bass to the song. A final, full-length version...