Punk Rock
Beach Slang’s James Alex Accused of Abuse, Now Receiving Treatment Following Suicide Attempt
Last week, Beach Slang frontman James Alex was accused of years of abuse by former manager Charlie Lowe. Now, in a lengthy statement, Alex’s family has revealed that Alex has since been admitted into “an inpatient facility after attempting to take his life.” The note also says that Beach Slang have officially broken up. On Tuesday, January 5th, Lowe tweeted, “I endured constant emotional, psychological & narcissistic abuse from James Alex for years.” She added, “I have learned he sells his too-kind-to-be-true persona to hide that he is truly the most selfish horrible person I will ever meet.” As a result of the alleged abuse, Lowe claimed she was diagnosed with C-PTSD (complex posttraumatic stress disorder).” The statement from Alex’s family, shared this afternoon via Beach Slang’s soc...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Perform Eccentric Covers of Nirvana, Alice Cooper, GN’R, and Sex Pistols: Watch
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and his singer wife, Toyah Willcox, have stayed busy in recent weeks with eccentric interpretations of classic heavy songs by Nirvana, Alice Cooper, Guns N’ Roses, and Sex Pistols. They’re the latest additions to the couple’s “Sunday Lunch” pandemic performance series. You may remember the couple’s utterly bizarre Halloween rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, which saw Fripp playing the song on guitar while Willcox sang and danced in what appeared to be a prison cell. Although the new covers aren’t quite as unconventional as the Sabbath performance, they still showcase the idiosyncratic talents of each artist. Fripp tends to handle most of the music, while Willcox sings and supplies interpretative dances, including a one-person mosh for Nirvana’s “Smells Li...
Patti Smith Announces Birthday Livestream Performance
For years, Patti Smith has celebrated her birthday by playing an intimate gig with friends in New York. Thankfully, the punk rock pioneer is carrying on the tradition this year — albeit in the form of a livestream. On December 30th, Smith will perform with her band for the first time in 2020. Their show will be streamed by Veeps, which Smith recently used to broadcast a solo set of hers on Black Friday. “I just thought it would be nice to uphold that tradition in a certain way because it’s always a joyful moment,” Smith said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I love birthdays because we’re born and life is the greatest thing we have, I just thought it would be a nice thing to share with everybody.” Smith sees the one-off show as something of a makeup for the world tour she...
Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020
Our Annual Report looks back upon the strange year that was 2020 and the music, film, and television that came with it. Here, we present our Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020. In a year we’d mostly like to forget, the world of heavy music brought us many memorable releases. While we wait for concerts to return, we have a treasure trove of new metal and hard rock albums that amplify the anticipation of seeing our favorite bands return to stages. 2020 has been dominated by a worldwide pandemic, and if anything can provide us with a daily distraction from the suffering and uncertainty, it’s good music. Thankfully, dozens of bands decided to release new albums this year, despite not being able to tour in support of their latest studio efforts. As a reminder that life is filled with comeb...
Bad Religion Announce Four-Part “Decades” Streaming Performance Series
Bad Religion were hoping to tour in celebration of their 40th anniversary this year. Instead, the punk-rock veterans will mark the milestone with a four-part streaming performance series dubbed “Decades”. “Decades” will be divided into four episodes, one for each decade of the band’s existence: “The ’80s”, “The ’90s, “The ’00s”, “The ’10s”. Each episode will feature footage from a new set filmed at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. In addition to the new performances of songs from each era, the episodes will include exclusive interviews, archival footage from each decade, and more. The band will also participate in a live chat as each episode premieres. “I can speak for the whole band when I say that we were so disappointed to not be able to tour this year,” said singer Greg Graffin in a pr...
Distillers, My Chemical Romance, Murder by Death, and Thursday Members Cover Annie Lennox: Stream
Distillers singer Brody Dalle leads a new quarantine rendition of the Annie Lennox hit “Walking on Broken Glass” featuring members of My Chemical Romance, Murder by Death, and Thursday, among others. The performance is the latest in the “Bedroom Covers” series from the Two Minutes to Late Night YouTube channel. Dalle shares vocal duties with Murder by Death singer Adam Turla, as My Chemical Romance guitarist Frank Iero, Thursday drummer Tucker Rule, and Soul Glo bassist GG Guerra back them up. As always, Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) is on board to provide additional vocals and guitar. The all-star group of performers take Annie Lennox’s 1992 pop classic and give it a punk and metal vibe, with some heavy guitars and Dalle’s raspy delivery. Murder by D...
Radkey Announce New Album Green Room, Premiere “Seize” Single: Stream
Punk-rock trio Radkey are ready to return with a new album titled Green Room. In anticipation, the band is teaming up with Heavy Consequence to premiere the first single, “Seize”. Radkey, made up of three brothers — Dee, Isaiah and Solomon Radke — have been going strong for a decade… Please click the link below to read the full article. Radkey Announce New Album Green Room, Premiere “Seize” Single: Stream Spencer Kaufman You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes Announce Interactive “By Request” Livestream Concert
UK rockers Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have announced “Brixton By Request”, an interactive streaming performance. The virtual show will be streamed live in real-time from the O2 Brixton Academy this Friday (November 13th) at noon PT / 3:00 p.m. ET. Unlike a number of other recent streaming performances, “Brixton By Request” will actually take place live. As the name implies, fans will be able to help choose the setlist as the concert happens and interact with the band via onstage screens. While streaming events have become the norm during the pandemic, few have featured fan interaction, arguably the most important aspect of live music. With their high-energy shows, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have proven themselves to be one of the most dynamic live acts to emerge in the pa...
The Offspring Cover “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: Stream
The Offspring have released their first-ever holiday song, a cover of the Darlene Love classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Along with the single, the band has promised new music in early 2021. As frontman Dexter Holland pointed out in a press release, the band felt it was a good time to bring some holiday cheer to their fans. “It just seemed like the world could use a nice holiday song right now,” remarked Holland. “We’ve always been huge fans of Darlene Love, so when the idea came up to do a Christmas song, we jumped at the chance to record that one … and tried not to wreck it!” The punk-rock veterans actually deliver a pretty faithful rendition of tune, with their version produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe). The original 1963 version was famously produced by Phil Spect...
Patti Smith Busks “People Have the Power” for NYC Voters: Watch
During the last few hours before Election Day, Patti Smith took to the streets of New York City to busk for those in line for early voting. The punk legend aptly delivered an impromptu yet still wholly inspiring performance of “People Have the Power”, while accompanied by longtime collaborator and friend Lenny Kaye. Standing on a Sixth Avenue street corner in Manhattan, Smith drew a sizable crowd on Monday. Some even knew the lyrics of Smith’s 1988 single and fervently sang along with the veteran rocker. Smith, who briefly took off her mask to sing, made sure to keep a safe distance from those around her, but the passion in her body language was readily apparent. The 73-year-old became especially fired up during the song’s rousing end. “The power to dream to rule/ To wrestle the world...
Superchunk Share Halloween Single “There’s a Ghost”, Cover Sisters of Mercy: Stream
Superchunk have returned with “There’s a Ghost”, their first new music in two years. As an extra Halloween treat, the single is paired with a cover of The Sisters of Mercy’s “Alice”. The band’s first original song since 2018’s “Our Work Is Done” and that same year’s What a Time to Be Alive, “There’s a Ghost” is a bopping punk track built on mirrored acoustic and crunchy electric guitar riffs. It taps into the paranoia of 2020 perfectly, as frontman Mac McCaughan wrestles with being trapped inside alone for far too long. “Now its the end of the season and the last of our supplies/So check your fingernails/ Burning through the calendars and E strings/ Oh yeah, we’re breaking all the scales,” he sings. “I didn’t write a song for probably the first six months of the lockdown,” said McCaughan i...
Aftershock 2021 Lineup: Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and More
Metallica (photo by Amy Price), My Chemical Romance (photo by David Brendan Hall) Aftershock Festival has unveiled its 2021 lineup, and it’s stacked with metal and punk heavyweights. Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and more are on the four-day bill. It was previously announced that Metallica and MCR would headline the 2020 edition of Aftershock. When that fest was canceled due to the pandemic, it was revealed that both bands would be back for the 2021 edition. Now, the rest of the lineup has been announced. The festival will take place October 7th through 10th at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California, with metal titans Metallica headlining the Friday and Sunday lineups by playing unique sets on each night. Reunited emo heroes My Chemical Romance wi...
