Thrash Metal
Vinnie Paul’s Estate Insists “There Can Never Be a Pantera Reunion” but Supports Upcoming Tour
The estate of the late Vinnie Paul has issued a statement in support of Pantera’s upcoming shows. However, the statement refrained from calling the band’s reformation a “reunion.” This past summer, news broke that the surviving classic members of Pantera — singer Philip Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown — were joining forces with guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante to play select dates and festivals as Pantera. At the time, Billboard reported that the estates of Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell had given it the go-ahead. On Wednesday (November 30th), Vinnie’s estate posted the following message on Facebook, clarifying its stance on the matter with a pointed first sentence, but an overall positive attitude toward the upcoming shows: “There can never be a Pantera reunion with...
Metallica’s Helping Hands Benefit Concert To Stream on Paramount+ and YouTube
Metallica have announced that their Helping Hands benefit concert on December 16th will stream via Paramount+, Pluto TV, and YouTube. The show will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and also features a charity auction. Along with the streaming announcement, the band also revealed that Greta Van Fleet will play an opening set and Jimmy Kimmel will host the evening’s festivities. Metallica shared the following in a statement: “We’re looking forward to celebrating the achievements of All Within My Hands in our final show of the year, the Helping Hands Concert & Auction at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Friday, December 16. This will be the third time we hit the stage to benefit the Foundation, but the very first time that it will be streamed live with a full audi...
Dave Mustaine Pushes for More Big 4 Shows, Details Failed Collaboration with James Hetfield
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine opened up on a number of topics in a new interview, including his desire to stage more “Big 4” concerts and a failed collaboration with one-time Metallica bandmate James Hetfield. From June 2010 to September 2011, Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax played 14 concerts as the “Big 4” of thrash metal. While speaking with Songfacts, Mustaine expressed a great interest getting the bands back together for at least one more show. Mustaine was asked about the guitarists he admires, replying, “I think a lot of the household names in metal can go without saying: Michael [Amott] from Arch Enemy, and some of the guys like Jeff Loomis. And the guys from Lamb of God and the guys from Trivium. They’re all really good guitar players in their right.” Advertisement Rela...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Put the Squeak in Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy”: Watch
Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox return to covering the band that truly sent their “Sunday Lunch” performances viral with a rendition of Metallica’s “Seek & Destroy” in the latest edition of the popular YouTube series. It was the married couple’s version of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” in January 2021, featuring Toyah riding an exercise bike while wearing a revealing top that took the “Sunday Lunch” series to new heights. That clip has racked up more than 8 million views to date. The new cover of “Seek & Destroy,” which is misleadingly titled “Search and Destroy” in the YouTube title — making us initially think it was a take on the Iggy & The Stooges song — finds Fripp ripping through the thrash riff while Toyah sings the early Metallica classic. Wearing a camouflage hat and a tie...
Metallica Share Pro-Shot Footage of Zazula Tribute Show, Plus Heartfelt Video Testimonial: Watch
Metallica celebrated late Megaforce Records co-founders Jon and Marsha Zazula with a special show earlier this month in Hollywood, Florida. The band only played songs from its first two albums (along with a couple of tunes they covered during that era) and has now shared pro-shot footage from the concert. In addition, the band’s heartfelt video tribute to the Zazulas has also been posted online. Jon and Marsha Zazula sadly passed away roughly a year apart in February 2022 and January 2021, respectively. The married couple helped discover Metallica and essentially founded Megaforce Records to release the metal band’s debut album, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All, followed by 1984’s Ride the Lightning. On their official YouTube channel, Metallica have posted their performances of “Phantom Lord” (Kill ‘Em...
Lamb of God Announce 2023 “Headbangers Boat” Cruise with Mastodon, GWAR, and More
Lamb of God have teamed up with Sixthman for the inaugural Headbangers Boat cruise festival. The cruise is set to leave port aboard the Norwegian Pearl on October 31st of next year from Miami and heads to the Bahamas prior to its return on November 4th. In addition to Lamb of God (who are performing two sets), the heavy metal cruise will feature a stacked lineup including Mastodon, GWAR, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, God Forbid, Fit for an Autopsy, and a performance from the solo project of Lamb of God’s Mark Morton, with more acts to be announced. The festivities will be hosted by Jose Mangin and Riki Rachtman, while Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta will conduct live tapings of his Jasta Show podcast. Other activities include a Q&A conversation and photography show with Lamb of God frontman Randy B...
Metallica’s James Hetfield Dressed Up as Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson for Halloween
The love affair between Metallica and Stranger Things continued this Halloween, as the legendary metal band’s frontman, James Hetfield, dressed up as the popular Netflix series’ character Eddie Munson. Metallica shared a pic of Hetfield as Munson on their Instagram, with the singer-guitarist wearing the breakout character’s trademark denim vest over leather jacket along with a “Hellfire Club” T-shirt. Hetfield also sported a curly-mullet wig to match Munson’s hairdo. “Eddie Munson says Happy Halloween,” read the caption, with Hetfield throwing up the metal horns. The mutual admiration began when Munson (played by actor Joseph Quinn) shredded Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in a key scene in the fourth season of Stranger Things. Metallica returned the favor when they duetted with Munson’s s...
High on Fire and Municipal Waste Announce December 2022 US Co-Headlining Tour
High on Fire and Municipal Waste will embark on a short December 2022 US co-headlining tour. The two heavies will be supported by hardcore act GEL and doom metallers Early Moods on the 10-show run. Dates kicks off December 1st at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, and run through December 11th at The Orpheum in Tampa, Florida. See the full list of dates for High on Fire and Municipal Waste’s co-headlining tour below. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 28th at 10:00 a.m. local time. Grab your seats via Ticketmaster. Related Video The East Coast jaunt will wrap up a busy fall for High on Fire’s Matt Pike. Following High on Fire’s November 12th appearance at the Snowblind Festival in Atlanta, Pike will join up with his solo act — Pike vs. The Automaton — for a week-long trek throug...
Kid’s Impressive Street Performance of “Master of Puppets” Earns Props from Metallica: Watch
Ever since Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” was highlighted in season four of Stranger Things, the 1986 thrash gem has been all the rage. Metallica even saluted Stranger Things character Eddie Munson at Lollapalooza this year with an epic “Master of Puppets” performance that featured clips from the Netflix series. Now, a young kid in the UK is making waves with an impressive guitar rendition of the iconic metal tune that even earned props from Metallica themselves. TikTok user “fixer17d” recently shared a video of a youngster shredding “Master of Puppets” on a street in Cardiff, Wales. The kid appears to be a pre-teen or young teenager, and performs the thrash classic like an absolute champ. “Out in Cardiff and saw a kid plug in his #paulgilbert signature and thought I’d stick around,”...
Mike Patton Reveals Battle with Alcoholism During the Pandemic
Mike Patton has once again opened up about his mental health struggles, revealing that he coped with alcoholism during the pandemic. In a new interview with The Guardian, Patton discussed the upcoming sophomore album from his hardcore-thrash supergroup Dead Cross, stating that it was “forged through COVID, cancer, and alcoholism.” Patton alluded to guitarist Mike Crain’s battle with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Crain’s cancer eventually went into remission, with the guitarist crediting the making of the new Dead Cross album with helping save his life. Then the COVID pandemic happened, which sent Patton into a life of seclusion and solitude. Advertisement Related Video “My initial response to the pandemic was: ‘I love this shit!’,” Patton said. “It allowed me to be an ant...
GWAR Unveil Gory Music Video for “The Cutter” Featuring Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale: Watch
GWAR have unveiled a gory music video for their song “The Cutter” featuring Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale. The track hails from GWAR’s latest album The New Dark Ages. The scumdogs are currently supporting the LP with a fall North American tour, which continues tonight (October 19th) in Orlando and runs through November 3rd in Baltimore, Maryland. Pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. In typical GWAR fashion, the video for “The Cutter” is blood-letting good time — made even better by the appearance of Hale, aka Clitaurus Maximus. Little did we know, she has been apart of the GWAR universe all along. Advertisement “Lzzy Hale is wonderfully talented,” remarked Blothar the Berserker. “Few realize she is also an undercover Scumdog who came to Earth with the rest of GWAR eons ago under her true nam...
Decibel Metal & Beer Fest 2023 Philly Lineup: Suicidal Tendencies, The Black Dahlia Murder, Eyehategod, and More
Decibel Magazine has unveiled the lineup for the 2023 Philadelphia edition of its Metal & Beer Fest set for April 14th and 15th. Suicidal Tendencies are among the headliners and will be performing their seminal 1983 self-titled debut album, among other songs. Also on the bill is The Black Dahlia Murder (who recently announced that they were continuing as a band following the death of frontman Trevor Strnad), Eyehategod (performing 1993’s Take as Needed for Pain in full), and veteran death-doom metallers Incantation (performing 1998’s Diabolical Conquest). The remainder of the lineup is rounded out by a slew of notable underground extreme metal acts: Mizmor, Frozen Soul, All Out War, Undeath, Drowningman, Worm, Fuming Mouth, Phobophilic, and ...
