Progressive Metal
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Spotlights His Ducks in Short Film An Easter Story: Watch
Tool and Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan has shared a touching short film, An Easter Story, which tells the story of the ducks he raises in Arizona’s Verde Valley. Keenan shot and narrated the film, which is scored by Nagual del Judith’s mix of Puscifer’s “A Humbling River”. The story focuses on one duck in particular, Larry, who Keenan raised from a duckling. When Larry goes missing, Keenan is sent on a search that would lead him to unexpected philosophical revelations regarding the season of spring, Easter egg hunts, and the meaning of renewal. When Keenan finds Larry, she is sitting on one of her eggs, protecting it. It’s a heartfelt, sincere personal account from the usually veiled and elusive Tool/Puscifer singer. The story of Larry leads him to reflect on the Easter egg h...
Mastodon’s “Biggest-Sounding” New Album Currently Being Mixed for Fall Release
Mastodon are currently mixing their highly anticipated eighth studio album. According to guitarist Bill Kelliher, the LP is slated for a fall release. Previously, the metal band teased a studio update with Tool producer David Bottrill at West End Sound in Savannah, Georgia. In a new interview, Kelliher told the Talking Metal podcast that Mastodon and Bottrill are “halfway through the mixing [process]” for the record, calling it the band’s “fullest” and “biggest-sounding” album to date. Bottrill is currently mixing remotely and sending the files to Mastodon for feedback via Dropbox. “[David will] mix a song every couple of days, and he’ll send it over to us in Dropbox,” Kelliher said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And we all listen to it. I go listen to it in the car, I listen to it in ...
20 Years Ago, Opeth Unleashed the Progressive Death Metal Masterpiece Blackwater Park
Despite being an exceptional concept album, Opeth’s fourth album, 1999’s Still Life, failed to garner enough industry attention to fully reward the amount of hard work and hope they’d been put into it. Even so, their recent signing with Peaceville Records and increased touring opportunities meant that mastermind Mikael Åkerfeldt and company still felt hopeful that their big break was just over the horizon. Luckily, that turned out to be true, as 2001’s Blackwater Park was not just a major steppingstone for the Swedish troupe, but also a huge leap forward for extreme metal as a whole. Part of the reason for why was that Opeth was forced to leave Peaceville and move to Music for Nations / Koch, resulting in an expansion of distribution and promotional prospects. At first, Åkerfeldt was unhap...
Chevelle Unveil Anthemic New Single “Remember When”: Stream
Chevelle have unleashed the latest single from their upcoming album NIRATIAS, and it comes in the form of the anthemic track “Remember When”. NIRATIAS (an acronym for “Nothing Is Real and This Is a Simulation”) arrives on March 5th. “Remember When” marks the third tune released from the album, following the songs “Self destructor” and “Peach”. The new single is a grand musical statement from Chevelle. Recording as a duo of brothers Pete and Sam Loeffler for first time — following the departure of bassist Dean Bernardino — the Chicago rockers prove they can still pack a sonic wallop. “Remember When” delivers on the otherworldly themes of the album, with Pete’s soaring vocals and a driving guitar riff throughout. Editors’ Picks NIRATIAS marks Chevelle’s first album in five years, follo...
Jason Momoa Says Performing Tool’s “Sober” Inspired His Love of Playing Bass
Jason Momoa (via Instagram), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan (photo by Melinda Oswandel) Heavy metal-loving actor Jason Momoa has revealed that performing Tool’s classic song “Sober” inspired his love of bass guitar. The Game of Thrones actor certainly looks the part of a heavy metal bassist. He has pursued the instrument with fervor, even recently jamming with Primus bass legend Les Claypool. But it was performing “Sober” with his kids that initially sparked his love for the low end, as he divulged in a new interview. While he had already been an avid guitar player, his passion for bass developed on the set of 2018’s Aquaman. “I always have instruments on the set, so my son was playing drums and my daughter was playing guitar,” Momoa told Bass Player magazine. “It was my assis...
Steven Wilson Transforms into Brad Pitt, David Bowie, Donald Trump, and More in “Self” Video: Watch
Prog rocker Steven Wilson has unveiled a disturbing deepfake music video for his latest single, “Self”. The track appears on Wilson’s new album, The Future Bites, which was released last week. Following the post-modern dystopia theme of the album, Wilson used deepfake facial mapping technology for the video, transforming himself into a motley crew of notable celebrities, politicians, and musicians. If you’ve ever wanted to see Donald Trump go prog, now’s your chance. The likes of Joe Biden, David Bowie, Hillary Clinton, Brad Pitt, Mark Zuckerberg, Robert Downey Jr., and more appear in Wilson’s influencer choir. The deepfake imaging falls somewhere between convincing and downright terrifying — maybe more toward the latter, since Wilson’s face changes but his hair stays the same, resulting i...
Tool and Nirvana Songs Performed with a Chinese Hammered Dulcimer Are Mesmerizing: Watch
A musician named Anthony “Bones” Reid has been covering songs by Tool, Nirvana, and other acts using a Chinese hammered dulcimer, and the performances are absolutely mesmerizing. On top of his skillful instrument playing, Reid is also a talented singer. Reid, who performs under the moniker Horns of Pan, has posted a number of videos on YouTube and Facebook over the past couple years. Surprisingly, his YouTube channel has a relatively low number of views considering his impressive musical gifts. The musician has mastered the Chinese hammered dulcimer known as the yangqin, an elaborate percussion-stringed instrument with an ethereal sound. Among his standout performances are covers of Tool’s “Lateralus” and “Descending”, along with Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box” and The Cure’s “Close to Me”. E...
Baby Dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” Will Lift Your Spirits During These Dark Times: Watch
Dancing Tool Baby (via YouTube), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan (photo by Kevin RC Wilson) With a pandemic still plaguing the world and insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol, we need a bit of levity in these dark times. That’s where a new video of a baby dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” comes in, brightening our spirits with every one of his little stomps. We stumbled on this video in its infancy, and we’re not just talking about the baby’s age. Criminally, it only had 20 views since being uploaded just before Christmas by YouTube user Mom of Five. With the Fear Inoculum track “Invincible” playing on the family’s television, complete with a graphic of the album cover, the little Batman-pajama-wearing toddler seems to be drawn to the music. As he makes his way to the TV with his sippy...
Chevelle Announce New Album NIRATIAS, Unveil First Single “Self destructor”: Stream
Chevelle have announced their ninth album, NIRATIAS, set for release on March 5th. In advance of its release, the hard-rock act has unveiled the first single, “Self destructor.” NIRATIAS marks the band’s first LP as a duo, featuring frontman Pete Loeffler and drummer Sam Loeffler, following the departure of bassist Dean Bernardini in 2019. The progressive and heavy “Self destructor” finds Pete singing in a high register, with a strong sense of urgency in his voice. The new album will mark Chevelle’s first LP in nearly five years, having released their last effort, The North Corridor, in July 2016. Check out Chevelle’s “Self destructor” below, followed by the eye-catching NIRATIAS cover artwork. Vinyl pre-orders for the LP are available here, while the album can be pre-saved on digital stre...
Mastodon Tap Tool Producer David Bottrill for New Album
Mastodon are working with Tool producer David Bottrill on their upcoming eighth studio album. The band confirmed Bottrill’s involvement with a not-so-subtle Instagram post from the West End Sound studio in Atlanta. Fans were quick to point out Bottrill commanding the mixing board in the picture, with guitarist Bill Kelliher in the foreground. Bottrill since confirmed that he’s producing the record. The producer shared the original image on his official Instagram, with the caption, “@mastodonrocks. We have been keeping this one quiet for a while. But David has been having a fantastic time in Atlanta. :)” Bottrill is an alt-metal stalwart, producing such masterpieces as Tool’s 1996 opus Ænima, in addition to the live album Salival and 2001’s Lateralus. His other credits include work wi...
An Entire Pallet of Tool Guitarist Adam Jones’ New Custom Les Pauls Was Stolen
Just last week, Tool guitarist Adam Jones unveiled his first-ever signature guitar, a beautiful limited-edition 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom Silverburst. Now, Gibson and gear retailer Sweetwater Music report that an entire pallet containing 13 of the prized guitars has been stolen. The guitar comes in two editions: a super-limited aged and signed version that retails for $9,999 and is limited to a run of 79, and a VOS (Vintage Original Spec) version that retails for $5,999 and is limited to 179 guitars. Thirteen of those guitars (including four of the more expensive edition) are now missing after an entire pallet was stolen out of a Sweetwater Music truck at the Flying J Travel Center in Whiteland, Indiana, on October 30th. The signature Les Pauls were on their way to be dispensed to custom...
Maynard James Keenan on “Arrogant” Pandemic Behavior: “There’s Logic Attached to Just Looking Out for Each Other”
Maynard James Keenan recently revealed that he battled COVID-19 earlier this year and is still feeling the residual effects months later. Unfortunately, the singer of Tool, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle fears any serious warning that he or others give about coronavirus is “just going to fall on deaf ears.” In interviews with Arizona Republic and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Keenan disclosed that he contracted COVID when Tool were on tour in Australia and New Zealand in late February. Eight months later, he still has lung damage, leading to daily coughing fits. Tragically, the United States is currently experiencing its worst single-day infection numbers yet, with roughly 100,000 people testing positive for COVID-19 every 24 hours. To this day, there’s a large contingent of the popula...
