Alternative Music
10-Year-Old Girl Fronts Crushing Cover of Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem”: Watch
Ten-year-old Zoë Franziska channels her inner Corey Taylor on a new cover of Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem,” the latest video from the metal-loving folks at the O’Keefe Music Foundation. The performance is introduced by four-year-old Laura, who offers up the song’s very metal countdown 8-7-6-6-6-5-4-3-2-1 to get things started. Then, Zoë and her backing band — ranging in age from seven through 17 — proceed to deliver a crushing rendition of the classic track off Slipknot’s 2001 album Iowa. In some of the previous performances produced by the O’Keefe Music Foundation, the singer has a sweet kid’s voice set against heavy instrumentals, but Zoë’s vocals are metal to the bone. Seeing her scream, “If you’re 555, then I’m 666,” is quite the sight. Advertisement Related Video Meanwhile, 12-year-...
Little Simz Shares Gorgeous Musical Short Film NO THANK YOU: Watch
Little Simz is ending 2022 with a bang: Coinciding with last weekend’s release of her new album NO THANK YOU, the British-Nigerian rapper has today shared an 11-minute short film of the same name. It comprises five songs from the album, including “Heart on Fire,” “X,” “Silhouette,” “Sideways,” and “Broken.” Simz offers some words of wisdom before the video sets into action: “Emotion is energy in motion,” reads text across the screen in its first seconds, just as the music is about to begin. “Honor your truth and feelings. Eradicate fear. Boundaries are important.” Visually, the Gabriel Moses-directed clip is on par with a feature-length noir arthouse film, as Little Simz raps in an array of settings: Alongside some contemporary dancers, in the drivers’ seat of a car on a rainy ni...
Apocalyptica Unveil “Rise Again” Featuring Epica Singer Simone Simons: Stream
Finnish metal cellists Apocalyptica have unleashed a new single, “Rise Again,” featuring vocals from Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. The song precedes a 2023 UK/European tour co-headlined by Apocalyptica and Epica. “Rise Again” is a new take on the instrumental song “Rise,” which appears on Apocalyptica’s latest studio album, 2020’s Cell-0. “It was so great to make ‘Rise Again’ with Simone Simons!” Apocalyptica’s Eicca Toppinen said of the new song in a statement. “When we were putting the ‘Epic Apocalypse’ tour together, we were thinking of making this collaboration with Epica even deeper by releasing a song together.” Advertisement Related Video He continued, “‘Rise’ from our Cell-0 album had the beauty and feel which we felt could fit perfectly for Simone’s unique voi...
Dino Danelli, The Rascals Founder and “One of the Greatest Drummers of All Time,” Dead at 78
Dino Danelli, a founding member of The Rascals and one of the foundational drummers of early rock and roll, is dead at the age of 78. His passing was announced in a Facebook post by friend and Rascals historian Joe Russo. Russo didn’t cite an exact cause of death, but noted, “His primary challenges were coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure, but there were many others.” Born in 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey, Danelli co-founded the Young Rascals in 1965 with guitarist Gene Cornish, keyboardist and vocalist Felix Cavaliere, and singer Eddie Brigati. Together they scored a No. 1 hit with a cover of Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick’s “Good Lovin’,” and they matched the feat with the original tune “Groovin’.” Advertisement Related Video In 1968 the band rechristened themselv...
If These Walls Could Sing: 5 Things We Learned From the Abbey Road Doc
There’s a certain reverence linked with Abbey Road Studios. It’s one of the most famous recording studios on the planet, and a household name, having welcomed such greats as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, John Williams, Oasis, and so many more. It’s also the namesake of The Beatles’ final — and arguably best — record. Its iconic album artwork, taken on the street opposite the studios, continues to inspire thousands of fans to make a pilgrimage to London themselves and recreate their own tribute. If These Walls Could Sing is the debut documentary feature by Mary McCartney, daughter of Paul McCartney, and it is her love letter to a recording space that her father still has such an intimate connection with, a place that she herself calls home. Featuring interviews with the musical greats who have c...
Song of the Week: Rosalía Recruits Cardi B for Revved-Up “DESPECHÁ” Remix
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Rosalía and Cardi B stave off winter blues with a reimagined version of MOTOMAMI+ cut “DESPECHÁ.” Good news, everyone: Rhe MOTOMAMI era doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon. Rosalía has recruited Cardi B for a new remix of “DESPECHÁ,” which was initially a cut off the expanded MOTOMAMI+ and has since become a lively, upbeat staple of the global pop artist’s live shows. This marks the first time the two chart-toppers have teamed up — in a recent interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, Rosalía sh...
Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman Became Unlikely Friends in Trailer for A Good Person: Watch
Zach Braff is looking to recreate the feel-good magic of 2004’s Garden State with his upcoming film, A Good Person, which has received a new trailer. Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman star in the drama, which promises to prove that “friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places,” per the official logline. Pugh plays Allison, who was involved in a fatal accident that killed her future sister-in-law, who also happened to be the daughter of Freeman’s character, Daniel. After years apart, they stumble into each other in a meeting and begin to forge an unlikely friendship. The clip shows both Allison and Daniel have been struggling to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy in their own ways. Whereas Allison’s life has spiraled out of control under the influence...
Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs of 2022
Our 2022 Annual Report continues with our Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here. Heavy music has reached a golden age of sorts. The family tree of genres continues to branch out, with artists finding new ways to expand upon the styles of the past. For example, Spirit Adrift are a loving update on vintage thrash and doom, while a band such as Boris seek to constantly test themselves with new sounds and concepts. Any and every sonic direction is viable, and that’s the beauty of it …a never-ending well of art that has tirelessly evolved into a aural universe unto itself. This year offered some welcome surprises and reunions, such as the ret...
The Recruit Review: Netflix’s Spy Thriller Asks Too Much of Noah Centineo
The Pitch: Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo) is a fresh-faced, 24-year-old lawyer at the CIA’s Office of the General Counsel, and though he’s only been there for a couple of weeks, he finds himself way in over his head, beginning with an investigation into an already chaotic “graymail” attempt on the CIA. by Maxine Meladze (Laura Haddock). A former asset and CIA spy who was stationed in her native Belarus, Meladze is imprisoned in Arizona when Hendricks takes her case, and she threatens to reveal incriminating evidence against the CIA unless Hendricks can get her out of prison and back home to Europe. It’s a lot to ask for the relatively inexperienced Hendricks, who claims to have a passion for law but frequently finds himself jumping straight into the deep end, navigating murderous mobsters,...
Damien Chazelle’s Babylon Proves He Loves and Hates the Art of Cinema: Review
The Pitch: It’s 1926, and the movie business is a-boomin’. If you’re on top, you ride along with big-time movie producers to glittery bacchanals out in the California desert, uninhibited orgies stuffed with ticker tape, booze, cocaine, and elephants trudging through the masses of people. If you’re not, well, you sneak in anyway and hope for your big shot. It’s at one of these parties that we meet six figures who represent the end of one era and the beginning of another: Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), a silent film star whose shine is wearing off after decades in the biz; Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), a hard-partying Jersey girl desperate to make it in the pictures; and Manny Torres (Diego Calva), a hustling assistant climbing the ladder one ludicrous favor at a time. There’s also Elinor St....
The Weeknd Shares New Song “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” From Avatar Soundtrack: Stream
The long-awaited Avatar sequel The Way of Water hits theaters December 16th, and ahead of its release, The Weeknd has shared “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” the song he contributed to the film’s soundtrack. “You give me strength,” The Weeknd sings over an epic choral backing track. “I’m with you either way/ If I die, If I stay, give me strength/ I’m with you either way/ Nothing’s lost, no more pain/ You give me strength.” Listen to the single below. “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” follows The Weeknd’s January album Dawn FM. Next year, the artist will take his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour to the UK, Europe, Mexico, and South America, and tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video He’s also gearing up t...
Inside the Chaos and Cameos of Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery. Do not read until after watching!] “We wanted the whole thing to feel like a surprise party, where just one thing after another happens,” showrunner Krister Johnson says about the newly released Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery, a special episode of the Netflix improv comedy series where the chaos of Season 1, released last February, gets amplified to a whole new level. In the special, hard-nosed and mustachioed Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is joined by not one, not two, but three clueless celebrities as he attempts to solve a murder; there are additional guest stars sprinkled throughout the double-length episode, along with plenty of other surprises. Advertisement “Th...
