Thrash Metal
International Day of Slayer Celebrated with On-Demand Release of Repentless Killogy Movie
International Day of Slayer is celebrated annually on June 6th, and this year it features the on-demand release of the band’s 2019 movie The Repentless Killogy. This year marks the 18th annual International Day of Slayer. The special day (6/6 — closest date to 666) has seen fans skip work or school to listen to the legendary thrash band’s music all day. And beginning Saturday, fans who didn’t catch The Repentless Killogy in theaters or purchase the Blu-ray can now stream it via video on demand. The VOD stream is available via the band’s website for the appropriate price of $6.66 for 48 hours of access. The Repentless Killogy is essentially two movies in one, combining a narrative story that weaves together the ultra-violent music videos from the band’s Repentless album with a full concert ...
Iron Maiden, KISS, and System of a Down Headline Virtual Download Festival
Iron Maiden and KISS (photos by Kevin RC Wilson) / System of a Down (photo by Raymond Ahner) Iron Maiden, KISS, and System of a Down will headline the virtual Download TV festival, which will stream on YouTube and social media June 12-14th. All three bands were set to headline this year’s Download Festival, a massive annual UK heavy music gathering that was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The virtual fest promises footage from prior Download appearances, socially distant performances, interviews, and exclusive content from the bands that were initially slated for this year’s lineup. The weekend schedule will be divided into day and evening programming. The day content “celebrates the spirit of Download Festival” and the evening will feature two to three hours of “tailor-made prog...
Charlie Benante on New Anthrax Album: “The First Thing I Wanna See Come Out Is a Vaccine”
Anthrax have a number of songs written for their next album, but drummer Charlie Benante wants to see a COVID-19 vaccine arrive before the legendary thrash-metal act releases a new LP. During an interview with Lou Brutus for HardDrive Radio, Benante offered an update on the follow-up to 2016’s For All Kings. “There is new music, there actually is,” said the drummer. “There’s about six, seven songs — and it’s really good.” When asked whether fans would get to hear some new music in the near future, Benante responded, “The first thing I wanna see come out is a [COVID-19] vaccine. Then we’re gonna put a record out.” Benante also revealed that Anthrax will not play any shows in 2020, and that their first gig back will be January 11th, 2021, at the rescheduled Knotfest Japan. “Other than that, ...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch Metallica’s 2014 “By Request” Peru Show
Metallica’s weekly concert-streaming series #MetallicaMondays continues with a March 2014 show from Lima, Peru, which took place as part of the band’s “By Request” tour. The outing allowed fans to help pick the set for each gig. The 2014 trek offered online song polls for each city, and the sets were determined by fan voting. While most of the 18-song setlist for the Lima show featured Metallica’s usual concert staples like “Master of Puppets” and “Enter Sandman”, there were a few surprises such “Fight Fire With Fire” from Ride the Lightning and the “Vote of the Day” selection “Hit the Lights” from the band’s 1983 debut, Kill ‘Em All. Last week, Metallica shared a show that took place in Chicago in August 1983, just a few weeks after they had released Kill ‘Em All. Overall, the #MetallicaM...
Death Angel Drummer Says He Met Satan and Morphed Into Jabba the Hutt-Like Monster During COVID-19 Coma
In a new interview, Death Angel drummer Will Carroll likened his recent COVID-19 coma to a trip through hell itself. Carroll was in a 12-day coma after contracting coronavirus during a European tour in March, an outing that led to numerous infections among the bill’s three Bay Area thrash bands — Death Angel, Testament, and Exodus — and their crew. But Carroll’s battle became especially dire, with doctors unsure if he would survive. The drummer told the San Francisco Chronicle that the experience felt like returning from hell, with “dreams of visiting the afterlife” where Satan, who appeared as a woman to Carroll, “punished him for the deadly sin of sloth, morphing him into a Jabba the Hutt-like-monster who vomited blood until he had a heart attack.” “I woke up on the hospital bed wi...
Body Count Unleash Socially Distant Video for “Point the Finger” Featuring Power Trip’s Riley Gale: Stream
Body Count’s Ice-T, photo by Matt Akana / Power Trip’s Riley Gale, photo by Jon Hadusek Thrash veterans Body Count released their new album, Carnivore, in early March, as the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding. The band couldn’t gather to shoot a video for the album’s latest single, “Point the Finger”, so they all filmed themselves on cell phones while in quarantine. The track and video feature appearances by Power Trip’s Riley Gale, who has become one of the most distinct voices in modern thrash, particularly crossover thrash — of which Power Trip and Body Count are mutual practitioners. The video was produced and edited by Jay Rodriguez and begins with a monologue from Ice-T, who pulls down a bandana face covering and addresses the camera: “What’s up everybody? You’re not bei...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch a Young Metallica Play Kill ‘Em All in Chicago in 1983
Metallica are offering up an extra-special treat for the latest installment of their weekly #MetallicaMondays streaming series. This evening (May 18th), the band is airing an August 1983 show from The Metro in Chicago, filmed a few weeks after the thrash masters released their now-legendary debut album, Kill ‘Em All. To put the show in perspective, James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett were both 20 years old; Lars Ulrich was 19; and the late, great Cliff Burton was 21. The entire show was comprised of nine songs from Kill ‘Em All, including classics like “Hit the Lights” and “Seek and Destroy”. Plus it featured a guitar solo that ended with fans grabbing and destroying the instrument. Two of the Metro performances — “No Remorse” and “Metal Militia” — were featured on Metallica’s Cliff ‘Em All ho...
Anthrax Members Offer Virtual Classroom Clinics
With the concert industry expected to be shut down for months to come, artists are getting innovative in ways to connect with fans and earn a living at the same time. With that in mind, four members of thrash-metal legends Anthrax are offering virtual classroom clinics. Drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, and guitarists Scott Ian and Jon Donais are each serving up different experiences. Ian is offering a “Guitar Session,” a “Songwriting Session,” and a “20 Questions Session”; Bello is hosting a “Bass Clinic,” a “Songwriting Session,” and a “20 Questions Session”; Benante is holding a “Drum Session” and a “Songwriting Clinic”; and Donais is conducting a “Guitar Clinic.” Prices range from $300 for a “Drum Session” with Benante to $75 for a “Guitar Clinic” with Dona...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch Metallica Perform “The Black Album” in Full at 2012 Austria Show
Metallica have been digging through their vast archive of live performance footage for their weekly #MetallicaMondays concert series. The latest installment should particularly appeal to fans of “The Black Album”, as the band unearths a back-to-front performance of the LP recorded in 2012 in Austria. The footage captures Metallica’s headlining set for the Nova Rock Festival on June 10th, 2012 in Nickelsdorf, Austria. After playing a handful of hits including “Master of Puppets”, the band launched in a full performance of 1991’s Metallica (aka “The Black Album”) in reverse order, starting with “The Struggle Within”. After playing the full album, they finished the lengthy show with a few more hits. The set and the band’s respective European tour celebrated the 20th anniversary of the legenda...
Fearless Records and Century Media Each Announce Streaming Festivals
Two record labels specializing in heavy music are giving their bands a platform to perform for fans during the pandemic. Fearless Records is staging an “At Home” live-streaming event on May 9th, while Century Media is holding the “Isolation Festival” on May 14th. The Fearless event will feature acoustic performances from The Pretty Reckless, who just inked a new deal with the label, plus As It Is, Grayscale, Ice Nine Kills, Locket, Plain White T’s, Set It Off, The Almost, The Plot In You, and Wage War. In addition, there’ll be appearances from members of All That Remains, August Burns Red, Capstan, Eat Your Heart Out, iDKHOW, I Prevail, Kill the Lights, Movements, My Kid Brother, Oceans Ate Alaska, Starset, The Word Alive, Underoath, Varials, and Volumes. “Fearless At Home” begins at 3:00 ...
Dave Mustaine Records Vocals for New Megadeth Album, Says Cannabis Aided His Cancer Battle
Megadeth were hoping to hit the studio this spring to properly record their new album, but the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed those plans. That said, frontman Dave Mustaine didn’t let the lockdown stop him from recording vocals this week. A new tweet from the band shows a pic of Mustaine in his home studio, with the caption, “Laying down some vocals today! #Megadeth16.” The hashtag refers to Megadeth’s upcoming 16th album, the follow up to 2016’s Dystopia, which yielded the metal legends a Grammy for its title track. Last month, bassist David Ellefson said that the new album was “written and ready to be recorded” and that the band members had planned to convene in Nashville to record the LP. However, the pandemic put those plans on hold, with Ellefson adding, “Once the lockdown lifts and it’s...
#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...
