Alternative Music
Ava DuVernay’s Production Company Cuts Ties with Spotify
Ava DuVernay’s production company Array has cut ties with Spotify, The New York Times reports. The decision comes just a year after Array signed an exclusive, multiyear deal with Spotify to produce podcasts. No projects were released, but several scripted and unscripted series had been in development. Neither DuVernay nor Array has given a reason for the split, and Spotify has not offered comment. But the A Wrinkle in Time director joins a growing list of artists who have exited the streaming giant in recent weeks, ever since Neil Young called out the company for spreading COVID-19 misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience. Since Young’s music was removed, many artists have either followed suit or offered their support to Rogan, and #CancelSpotify t...
Dog Review: Channing Tatum and His Canine Co-Star Anchor a Surprisingly Emotional Road Trip Tale
The Pitch: Let’s begin this review with what the dog lovers want to know first. Spoiler alert: Nothing bad happens to the dog. There’s some minor peril, and the climax of the film is tough to watch. But no Marley and Me-esque tragedy lurks in the final act. At the end of the film, the dog is fine. With that out of the way, let’s talk about Dog, the often-charming road trip dramedy that marks Channing Tatum‘s (co)-directing debut, starring Tatum alongside a trio of Belgian Malinoises for a darker and more emotionally affecting film than you might expect from its marketing. What the Trailers Don’t Mention: All the advertising for Dog sells a pretty authentic version of the film as a whole: Former Army Ranger Jackson Briggs (Tatum) gets tasked with a new mission: Bring a former Army Ranger do...
SCORPIONS’ RUDOLF SCHENKER Says MIKKEY DEE Added ‘Kick-Ass’ New Energy To The Band
SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker has addressed some of the issues that led to the departure of the group’s longtime drummer James Kottak more than five years ago. In September 2016, Kottak was dismissed from the legendary German hard rock band during his well-publicized battle with alcoholism and was replaced by former MOTÖRHEAD member Mikkey Dee. Asked in a new interview with Javier Hualde of Spain’s classic rock radio station RockFM how he would compare the drumming styles of Kottak and Dee, Schenker said: “Every musician has his own style. James was great, and is still a great drummer — no question about this — but we had a little problem… well, he had a problem, and we tried to help him through the problem. In this case, we noticed that he need[ed] more time than w...
SPIRITBOX Teams Up With Z2 COMICS For Haunting New Graphic Novel
Following their formation in 2017, Canadian quartet SPIRITBOX has continually possessed the charts with its dynamic blend of metal and block-leveling live shows. The group will now channel the story behind its 2021 debut, “Eternal Blue” (topping at No. 13 in the Billboard 200), in a new graphic novel co-created alongside veteran comic scribe Jim Krueger (“Earth X”, “Justice”) and artist Amilcar Pinna (“Poppy’s Inferno”, “Generation X”). The graphic novel unspools the eerie tale of Eva, a brilliant painter on the verge of unbelievable acclaim and success. But her inability to reconcile her public perception with her true self allows a Spiritbox — a device used to communicate with the dead — to transport her to an ethereal wor...
Rakshak – BLOODYWOOD
RATING: 7.5/10 The greatest ideas can often come from the simple act of dicking about. BLOODYWOOD began life as a fervently internet-based phenomenon — the New Delhi band launched themselves via metal covers of popular Bollywood hits. After a re-recorded version of LINKIN PARK‘s “Heavy” caught the attention of international metal media, BLOODYWOOD started to ride a wave of interest and intrigue, releasing their debut album “Anti-Pop Vol.1” in 2017. Five years on, “Rakshak” offers a very different proposition. The covers are gone, replaced with ten self-penned anthems, all still predicated on the same wild and irresistible hybrid of crushing post-’90s metal and euphoric samples from Bollywood soundtracks and Indian classical music. The great n...
THE TROOPS OF DOOM Feat. Ex-SEPULTURA Guitarist JAIRO ‘TORMENTOR’ GUEDZ: ‘Antichrist Reborn’ Album Due In April
THE TROOPS OF DOOM, the new Brazilian band featuring former SEPULTURA guitarist Jairo “Tormentor” Guedz, has signed a deal with Alma Mater Records, the Portuguese powerhouse label run by MOONSPELL‘s Fernando Ribeiro. THE TROOPS OF DOOM also includes acclaimed graphic artist Marcelo Vasco on guitar, Alex Kafer (ex-NECROMANCER, EXPLICIT HATE, ENTERRO) on vocals/bass and Alexandre Oliveira (SOUTHERN BLACKLIST) on drums. The band’s goal is to revisit the essence of 1980s-style death metal, exploring a more primitive sound that takes listeners back to that era, while remaining fresh and genuine. Following their critically acclaimed EPs “The Rise Of Heresy” (2020) and “The Absence Of Light” (2021), which have been lauded by both the international m...
SNL Returns with New Episodes Featuring Rosalía, Charli XCX, and LCD Soundsystem
Saturday Night Live will revealed the guest list for the next three episodes of its 47th season. As previously reported, John Mulaney will become the third fastest person in SNL history join the Five-Timers Club when he pairs up with LCD Soundsystem on the show’s February 26th episode. Charli XCX, whose December 2021 appearance on SNL was canceled when everyone tested positive for COVID, will get a re-do on March 5th on an episode hosted by Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac. Charli will release her new album, CRASH, on March 18th. Related Video Then on March 12th, Catwoman actress Zoë Kravitz will host an episode featuring musical guest Rosalía. The Spanish pop star previously appeared on SNL last year as Bad Bunny’s surprise guest, but this will mark her first time getting to headline herself....
Megan Thee Stallion, Nathan Lane, Bowen Yang, and Megan Mullally Join A24’s Fucking Identical Twins
In a collaboration we certainly couldn’t have predicted, musical theater icon Nathan Lane and recent college graduate Megan Thee Stallion will be joining Megan Mullally and SNL’s Bowen Yang in Fucking Identical Twins, a forthcoming musical comedy from A24. Described as a “subversive spin” on The Parent Trap, Fucking Identical Twins stars and is written by comedians Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp. It’s based on the duo’s two-man stage show, which they premiered at New York’s iconic Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2014. Larry Charles (Borat) will direct the film, which is currently in production. Similar to the 1961 film (and the 1998 masterpiece of a remake), Fucking Identical Twins follows two rival businessmen who realize they’re, well, fucking identical tw...
Ed Sheeran and Bring Me the Horizon Unleash Collaborative Take on “Bad Habits”: Stream
Following an onstage collaboration at the Brit Awards, Ed Sheeran and Bring Me the Horizon have released a studio version of their heavier take on Sheeran’s smash hit “Bad Habits.” Sheeran and Bring Me the Horizon performed the song together last week during the Brits, the UK’s equivalent of the Grammys, with BMTH adding a metalcore flavor to the pop superstar’s No. 1 single. Sheeran and BMTH singer Oli Sykes traded verses, with the band adding some heavy breakdowns, leading up to Sykes’ screams at the very end. The studio version reproduces the same arrangement while adding some polish to the finished product. For Bring Me the Horizon, the collaboration with Sheeran isn’t as surprising as it may seem. The band has moved away from its deathcore and metalcore sound in recent years, embracin...
Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau to Hitler
Elon Musk took a break from murdering monkeys to accuse someone else of acting like Hitler. In a tweet on February 17th, the Tesla and SpaceX founder shared a meme comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the infamous Nazi leader. Musk’s indefensible comparison came in response to an article by CoinDesk reporting that Trudeau’s government was sanctioning 34 crypto wallets tied to the ongoing Canadian trucker vaccine protests. Musk, a crypto enthusiast, decided that such an action was tantamount to systematically murdering millions of people. Over a black-and-white image of Adolf Hitler, Musk’s tweet included the text, “Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau. I had a budget.” Advertisement Related Video This is wrong, not just morally and historically, but factually as well. Musk is...
ACCEPT Signs Worldwide Deal With NAPALM RECORDS
German/American metallers ACCEPT have inked a worldwide deal with Napalm Records. ACCEPT guitarist and founding member Wolf Hoffmann comments on the signing: “I am really looking forward to working with a renowned, independent and strong label like Napalm Records. There are hard-working metallers at work here; that suits us. We are convinced that together we will reach the next level.” Napalm Records CEO Thomas Caser states: “We are extremely proud and excited to welcome ACCEPT — an absolute heavy metal heavyweight to the Napalm Records family! Together we will drive this steel machine with full power and are very much looking forward to further musical milestones.” ACCEPT‘s latest album, “Too Mean To Die”, came out in January 2021 via Nuclear Blas...
DAVE GROHL Has Recorded Entire New Metal Album
Dave Grohl has told Rolling Stone that he recently recorded an entire metal album as the fictional band DREAM WIDOW in the FOO FIGHTERS‘ horror-comedy film “Studio 666”. In “Studio 666”, FOO FIGHTERS move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much-anticipated tenth album. Once in the house, Grohl finds himself grappling with supernatural forces related to related to the studio’s former residents — the aforementioned fictional act DREAM WINDOW — that threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the FOO FIGHTERS. “I wind up finding this creepy basement. And I go into the basement, I find this tape by a band [DREAM WIDOW] from 25 years ago that recorded there,” Grohl told Howard Stern. ̶...
