music blog
JUDAS PRIEST’s ROB HALFORD Takes Over PANDORA’s ‘Classic Metal’ Station
Rob Halford will take over Pandora‘s Classic Metal station for a special JUDAS PRIEST “Artist Takeover” mode. During the takeover, Halford will share never-before-heard stories about the trailblazing metal band, while playing a selection of his favorite songs from PRIEST‘s own discography as well as others. Halford will discuss his love for QUEEN, what it was like touring with AC/DC in the 1970s, and how a late-night incident at John Lennon‘s house inspired PRIEST‘s song “Living After Midnight”. Listen to JUDAS PRIEST‘s “Artist Takeover” mode on Pandora here. Pandora “Artist Takeover” modes live on the platform’s top stations and feature the biggest names in music across Pandora‘s most popular genres....
Realms Of Exquisite Morbidity – MALIGNANT ALTAR
RATING: 8.5/10 He probably won’t thank me for saying it, but the presence of Dobber Beverly on a record is a pretty firm guarantee of quality. MALIGNANT ALTAR can be enthusiastically added to the Texan’s impressive resumé, which already features OCEANS OF SLUMBER, NECROFIER and the legendary INSECT WARFARE, among many other projects. As with all of the aforementioned, this latest dive into the dark is the work of a bona fide band, not some mere side project, and “Realms of Exquisite Morbidity” resounds with clarity of vision and a self-evident, shared devotion to old-school death metal that should warm the heart of any ageing misanthrope. Or to put it more simply, this is absolutely fucking filthy. Neither slaves to a 30-year-old sound nor victims of modernity’...
SMASHING PUMPKINS’ BILLY CORGAN Joins CAMEO To Raise Money For PAWS Chicago No-Kill Animal Shelter
SMASHING PUMPKINS leader Billy Corgan has launched a charity fundraiser on fan engagement platform Cameo to benefit a hometown organization close to his heart: PAWS Chicago. The limited-quantity fundraiser will allow 100 fans to book and receive personalized video messages — priced at $250 per person, or $4,500 for business use — from Corgan and his partner Chloe Mendel for themselves or loved ones. Each of the lucky fans will also receive a surprise holiday gift from the frontman, who will donate 100% of his Cameo earnings to PAWS Chicago, Chicago’s largest no-kill animal shelter. “With supply chains in disarray, Santa needed a little help this year getting special gifts to you… So he reached out to Billy + Chloe, and they came up with an idea for 100 special fans,” the ...
Martin Garrix and Matisse & Sadko Reunite for Euphoric Song With John Martin, “Won’t Let You Go”
Longtime collaborators Martin Garrix and Matisse & Sadko have always had a magic touch when it comes to electronic music. So when they threw the iconic dance music vocalist John Martin into the mix, expectations were high. And to the surprise of no one, they all delivered. Martin’s signature cadence is as strong as ever in “Won’t Let You Go,” a euphoric progressive track designed for music festivals. The riveting tune quickly became one of Garrix’s most anticipated unreleased tracks over the course of the pandemic. He dropped it live as early as August 2021, when he threw down at Austria’s Electric Love festival. It seems “Won’t Let You Go” is a bellwether of a huge 2022 from Garrix. According to a press ...
Promising Electronic Music Producer CharlestheFirst Dead at 25
CharlestheFirst, a fast-rising DJ and electronic music producer, has tragically died at the age of 25. “Early this morning our beloved Charles Elias Ingalls passed away in his sleep,” reads a tweeted statement shared by Lab Group, a multimedia collective co-founded by CharlestheFirst. “Amongst many things, Charles was a larger than life presence that deeply moved and affected all who knew him.” “A son, a brother, a friend, a poet, and an absolutely brilliant musician,” the statement continues. “He lived his life with a sense of magic and inspiration that most people only dream of.” Known for his ability to blend hypnotic bass music with lo-fi and hip-hop, CharlestheFirst released his latest album SOLUS in March 2021. The expansive record was ...
Listen to Sam Feldt and Rita Ora’s Sun-Kissed Collab, “Follow Me”
Sam Feldt is closing out the year on a high note, connecting with Rita Ora for a summery collaboration called “Follow Me.” As he usually does, Feldt has put together a surefire crowd-pleaser, which arrives via Kygo’s Palm Tree Records. “Follow Me” encapsulates the Dutch producer’s sound perfectly, taking on the upbeat feel he’s known for. Ora’s unmistakable voice drives the arrangement, blending with warm piano chords and vocal chops to bubbly effect. In Addition to Feldt’s production, Ella Henderson—a collaborator of Kygo and Jax Jones, among many others—is attributed as a co-writer. “I had so much fun making ‘Follow Me’ with Rita, not just the track but also the video too, which we filmed out in the C...
UK Adaptation of Saturday Night Live in Development
Live from New York — and London — it’s Saturday night! NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live could soon be getting an adaptation across the pond with a UK version. Variety has confirmed that the Comcast-backed TV broadcaster Sky is in the early stages of developing a British SNL. Considering Sky and NBC share a parent company in Comcast — and the fact that China, Japan, the Middle East, France, Italy, Poland, Brazil, and Korea have already put their own spins on the format — a UK adaptation was pretty inevitable. Since late night programming isn’t as big in the UK as it is in the US, however, Variety points out that a British SNL is likely to air much earlier than its American counterpart. It was only just recently that Sky began distribu...
RZA and Flatbush Zombies Team Up for Collaborative Single “Plug Addicts”: Stream
RZA and Flatbush Zombies have released their new joint single “Plug Addicts,” as well as the track’s accompanying music video. Watch it below. “Live now or die today/ We ain’t used to holidays, we ain’t used to commonplace,” Flatbush Zombies’ Erick the Architect raps on the opening verse before tossing the mic to RZA. “We ain’t got no common sense, we ain’t got no confidence/ Fuck a 9 to 5, a n***** worth the length of monuments.” “I’ve had my eyes on the Flatbush Zombies for some time now,” said the Wu-Tang Clan leader in a statement about the collaboration. “Their style of Dark hip-hop lyricism is reminiscent of my days in the Gravediggaz. This type of collaboration was overdue.” Advertisement Related Video Erick the Architect added, “In a lot of ways I saw RZA in myself, as a fellow pro...
Napalm Death Announce New Mini-Album, Release “Narcissus” Single: Stream
Grindcore titans Napalm Death have announced a new mini-album called Resentment Is Always Seismic – A Final Throw of Throes, dropping February 11th via Century Media Records. The new record, which features eight tracks spanning 29 minutes, is a companion set to the veteran UK band’s stellar 2020 full-length effort, Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism. Ahead of the release, Napalm Death have released the first single from the mini-album — the brutal and pummeling “Narcissus.” “You can certainly consider Resentment Is Always… as an extension of — or partner recording to — the Throes… album,” frontman Barney Greenway said of the set in a release. “We had long since wanted to put a mini-album out — in the spirit of the old days — and found we had enough quality tracks even after all the Thr...
Tom Holkenborg Unveils New Junkie XL EP A Fluff Scam: Stream
Tom Holkenborg has dusted off his Junkie XL persona for a brand new EP, A Fluff Scam, which is out today. Stream it below via Apple Music or Spotify. The four-track EDM project arrives via Sasha’s Last Night on Earth imprint, and the idea came to fruition as the film composer was working on the score for the Iziba-set Netflix series White Lines. “These tracks were something fun and personal for me, a chance to stretch my dancefloor muscles again, after recalling so many of my Ibiza memories during White Lines,” Holkenborg said in a statement. “They are quite different from the classic Junkie XL sound, and I never had any intention of releasing them, but when Sasha asked me to, I couldn’t say no.” Advertisement Related Video A Fluff Scam marks the first Junkie XL release in more than n...
SKID ROW Guitarist: Producer NICK RASKULINECZ ‘Reminded Us A Lot Of Who We Were As Writers Back In The Day’
SKID ROW guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo spoke to SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation” about his band’s upcoming album, tentatively due in early 2022. The band is recording the LP in Nashville, Tennesse with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who has previously worked with FOO FIGHTERS, STONE SOUR, HALESTORM, EVANESCENCE, RUSH and ALICE IN CHAINS, among many others. SKID ROW‘s new effort will mark its first release with South African-born, British-based vocalist ZP Theart (DRAGONFORCE, TANK, I AM I), who joined the band in 2016 following the departure of Tony Harnell (TNT, STARBREAKER). Unlike 2014’s “Rise Of The Damnation Army – United World Rebellion: Chapter Two” and 2013’s “United World Rebellion: Chapter One”, SKID ROW‘...
TED NUGENT On How He Beat COVID-19: ‘I Listened To What The Government Told Me To Do And I Did Just The Opposite’
Ted Nugent spoke to Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about how he managed to beat COVID-19 eight months ago. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “[The virus] was designed by the communist Chinese and Mr. Fauci [the nation’s top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci] to be gain of function — they designed it so everybody would get it — and I happen to be one of those bodies in the everybody team, so I got it. But what I did is I’m really smart. You know how smart I am? I listened to what the government told me to do and I did just the opposite. And whatever the government told me not to do, that’s exactly what I did do, and I was cured in about two days.” Nugent, an outspoken conspiracy theorist who has refused to take th...
