Heavy Music News
R.I.P. Dave Greenfield, Stranglers Keyboardist and Vocalist Dies at 71
Dave Greenfield, the longtime keyboardist and vocalist for UK punk rock / new wave band The Stranglers has passed away at the age of 71. The veteran musician had been hospitalized for heart problems, but then contracted COVID-19 last week and succumbed to the virus on Monday, May 3rd. Greenfield joined The Stranglers in 1975, a year after the band’s formation. He remained in the group up until his death, playing keyboards and providing backing and occasional lead vocals. He appeared on all 17 of seminal punk band’s albums, and wrote the music for one of their best known hits, “Golden Brown”. That tune won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for songwriting. The news of Greenfield’s passing was announced on the band’s official website: “We are deeply and profoundly saddened to announce the u...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch Metallica’s 2016 “House of Vans” London Show in Full
Metallica are back with another concert stream, continuing their weekly #MetallicaMondays series. Today’s offering is of the band’s 2016 “House of Vans” gig in London. The “House of Vans” show came on the same day (November 18th, 2016) that Metallica’s most recent album, Hardwired … To Self-Destruct, was released. The set featured 15 songs, including three from the new LP, among classics like “One”, “Master of Puppets”, and “Enter Sandman”. Metallica announced the free streaming series after postponing or canceling their spring shows due to the coronavirus pandemic. Their South American outing with Greta Van Fleet was rescheduled to December, and headlining festival slots at Epicenter and Welcome to Rockville were canceled. Metallica were also slated to headline the Louder Than Life Festiv...
Axl Rose Calls Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin an “Asshole”, Mnuchin Responds
Axl Rose is no stranger to ripping apart political figures on Twitter, but this time he actually provoked a response from one of his targets. After the singer called Steve Mnuchin an “asshole”, the Secretary of the Treasury replied by questioning the Guns N’ Roses frontman’s worth to the United States (or Liberia, if you consider his initial response). Earlier this evening (May 6th), Rose tweeted out, “It’s official! Whatever anyone may have previously thought of Steve Mnuchin he’s officially an asshole.” A short time later, Mnuchin responded to Axl’s tweet, remarking, “What have you done for the country lately?” Initially, Mnuchin added a Liberian flag to the end of his question, as captured by Associated Press reporter Philip Crowther in the tweet below. Mnuchin then deleted that respons...
Tom Morello Is “Disgusted” That Young People Won’t Practice Guitar Eight Hours a Day
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello had some choice words for young musicians trying to cut corners to get famous, especially when it comes to practicing. In an interview that previously ran in Metal Hammer’s print edition but was just shared online this week, Morello lamented over the current lack of guitars in popular music. “I’m disgusted by the fact that a lot of young people these days aren’t willing to sit down and practice the electric guitar for eight hours a day,” said Morello. “They are all looking for an easier route to becoming famous. Look at the Top 50 songs on the radio in the U.S. — there are no guitar solos in them.” While it’s tough love from the ever-opinionated guitarist, he went on to suggest that young musicians likely don’t have a chance of topping th...
Neurosis’ Steve Von Till Announces New Solo Album and Poetry Book, Shares Single “Dreams of Trees”: Stream
Neurosis singer Steve Von Till has announced a new solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, as well as book of poetry and lyrics, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics. Both arrive August 7th. Von Till also offered up the album track “Dreams of Trees”. Like much of Von Till’s solo work, the track is rooted in softer aesthetics and electronic instrumentation rather than the atmospheric sludge metal of Neurosis. Here, he explores ambient soundscapes, giving emphasis to the words and poeticism of his lyrics. The spiritual tug and introspection of his prior solo outings remains intact. “It’s about personal longings and loss, and the loves and insecurities we all feel combined with meditations on humanity as a whole,” Von Till said in a press release. “I’m exploring the great disconn...
Guns N’ Roses Collaborate with James Patterson on New Children’s Book Sweet Child O’ Mine
Years ago, the idea of one of the world’s most debauched bands, Guns N’ Roses, collaborating with best-selling thriller author James Patterson on an illustrated children’s book would have been an odd thought. But that’s exactly what’s happening in 2020 with the new book Sweet Child O’ Mine. According to People, the book was inspired by two girls named Maya and Natalia, the daughter and niece of one of Guns N’ Roses’ managers, Fernando Lebeis. The book plays off the lyrics of the classic GN’R song “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, turning them into a narrative children’s story. “My sister and I have been lucky to be able to watch our daughters — Maya and Natalia Rose — grow up while touring with the [band],” said Lebeis in a statement. “We ourselves have been part of the ‘Guns family’ for over 30 year...
Baroness, Old Man Gloom, Candiria Members Cover Danzig’s “Snakes of Christ” in Quarantine: Watch
Another day, another cool quarantine performance. This time, members of Baroness, Old Man Gloom, Candiria, and Potion join forces to rock Danzig’s “Snakes of Christ” as part of Two Minutes to Late Night’s “Bedroom Covers” series. The performance features Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) on vocals; Baroness’ Gina Gleason and Candiria’s John LaMacchia on guitars; Potion’s Stella Leung on bass; and Old Man Gloom’s Santos Montano on drums. What makes the video even more entertaining are the intro and outro, featuring Montano delivering his best Glenn Danzig impression as he mimics an old interview the rock icon did in which he talked about his book collection. As for the performance itself, it’s pretty impressive. Gwarsenio Hall does a nice job capturing Dan...
Deftones Hosting Diamond Eyes 10th Anniversary Listening Party
Deftones are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their sixth album, Diamond Eyes, by hosting a listening party on YouTube. The event takes place Tuesday night (May 5th), and will allow fans to “virtually chill with the band” and listen to the entire album. Diamond Eyes actually turned 10 years old on Monday, having been released on May 4th, 2010. The album was a pivotal one for Deftones as it marked their first without late bassist Chi Cheng, who at the time was in a coma as the result of a car crash. The band had started another album, the never-released Eros, with Cheng, but ultimately decided to start fresh with Diamond Eyes and new bassist Sergio Vega. The listening session will take place tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT at Deftones’ YouTube channel. The band encourages fan...
Mercyful Fate Have 6 or 7 New Songs “About to Be Ready” for First Release in Over 20 Years
Reunited metal legends Mercyful Fate are making progress on what would be their first new music release in more than 20 years. In a new interview, guitarist Hank Shermann revealed that the band has six or seven songs that are “about to be ready” for the long-awaited follow-up to 1999’s 9 album. Mercyful Fate’s initial reunion announcement last year teased new music in the vein of the band’s classic ’80s LPs Melissa and Don’t Break the Oath, in addition to a number of festival appearances. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many of those fests — including Psycho Las Vegas — have been canceled or postponed. But the band members have continued writing and working on music despite being in separate locations. “[Singer] King [Diamond] is living in Texas, in the States. I’m living here north ...
Tony Iommi: It “Would Be Good” to Play More Black Sabbath Shows
Black Sabbath seemingly played their final shows ever in February 2017, but guitarist Tony Iommi now says he’s “not opposed to” playing more gigs with his legendary metal band. In a new interview with SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation”, Iommi expressed a bit of regret in ending Sabbath’s touring career. “It was great to be able to go out and do a final tour,” said the guitar icon. “To be honest, I felt a bit bad [about] it, because it was basically my choice, my fault, because touring, for me, at that extent wasn’t a good thing physically.” Iommi was diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012, but revealed he was in remission in 2016. He added, “To get in at four o’clock in the morning from doing a gig … you’re living a life like I used to when I was 20 … It was just difficult, and my doctor said to me ...
Marilyn Manson Wants to Team Up with Brandi Carlile for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” Duet
Marilyn Manson is a big fan of Brandi Carlile, so much so that the Antichrist Superstar wants to duet with the alt-country singer on the Wizard of Oz classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. Carlile revealed the tidbit during a new interview with host Zane Lowe on his Apple Music program, remarking, “Marilyn Manson wants to record ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ with me. He’s been texting me about it.” When Lowe responded, “Do that!”, Carlile answered, “Okay, I will.” She also added, “[Manson] came to my Joni Mitchell Blue show. I did a show where I did all of Blue by Joni Mitchell at Disney Hall in LA. He came, and he cried so hard. He had all his makeup down his face, and turns out he’s the biggest Joni Mitchell fan on the face of the planet.” The original version of “Somewhere Over the R...
