Alternative Rock
Liam Gallagher Says He Fell Out of a Helicopter
Here’s another story to add to the legend of Liam Gallagher: the former Oasis singer apparently fell out of a helicopter and lived to tell about it. “So check this out I fell out the helicopter last night you couldn’t rite it,” Gallagher tweeted on Saturday alongside a photo of his face heavily bandaged. He added, “all good who said RnR is dead Keith moon eat your drum skin out C’mon you know LG x.” Gallagher also joked that the image would be used for the cover of his next album. The British rocker didn’t provide many other details about his fall. When one fan surmised Gallagher had simply faceplanted after exiting a helicopter upon its landing, Gallagher responded, “100 thousand feet you bumblecart.” He also suggested there’s footage of the incident that will be included in a future vide...
Smashing Pumpkins Perform Siamese Dream’s “Quiet” for First Time in 27 Years: Watch
Smashing Pumpkins took the stage at Chicago’s Riot Fest on Friday night for their first live performance in over two years. Alongside greatest hits, fan favorites, and material from the band’s latest album, CYR, the 20-song setlist also included several rare performances. Billy Corgan and co. dusted off the Gish song “Crush” for the first time since 2008 and the Adore track “Shame” for the first time since 2010. But the evening’s most unexpected moment came when the Pumpkins waxed nostalgic and performed Siamese Dream’s “Quiet” for the first time since 1994. Watch fan-captured footage of “Quiet” below. Siamese Dreams, Gish, and Adore aren’t the only old Pumpkins albums Corgan has been revisiting as of late. He’s also been working on a sequel concept album to both Mellon Coll...
Mental Metal: Tool’s Ænima Turns 25
Dusting ‘Em Off is a rotating, free-form feature that revisits a classic album, film, or moment in pop-culture history. This piece celebrates Tool’s acclaimed sophomore album Ænima. Editor’s Note: This article originally ran in 2016, but has been updated in 2021 to reflect the 25th anniversary of Ænima. Many musicians have been influenced by books, but there seems to be something especially literary about the genres of hard rock and metal. This goes double for horror and fantasy fiction: Led Zeppelin meditated on The Lord of the Rings, Black Sabbath wailed about “The Wizard,” and Metallica thrashed to the monster Cthulu. Others have drawn imagery out of the Bible, Norse mythology, or the bloodier epochs of European history. For their second album, Tool drew on the writings of Carl Jun...
Dave Navarro, Taylor Hawkins, and Chris Chaney Form New Band NHC, Share Two Songs: Stream
Dave Navarro, Taylor Hawkins, and Chris Chaney have formed a new supergroup called NHC, based on the first initial of their last names. The band has now shared its first two songs, “Feed the Cruel” and “Better Move On.” “Feed the Cruel” features a jam-room clip of the trio ripping through the song. There’s immediate chemistry between the three rock veterans. After all, Navarro and Chaney are both members of Jane’s Addiction. Meanwhile, Chaney and Hawkins played together as members of Alanis Morisette’s backing band in the 1990s. Fans of the Foo Fighters and Navarro’s guitar playing will immediately recognize the musical familiarities between NHC and the full-time projects of each member. With Hawkins on drums and lead vocals, both tracks have definite Foo vibes and also recall Hawkins’ rec...
Placebo Return with “Beautiful James,” First New Song in Five Years: Stream
Placebo have returned with their first new single in five years, “Beautiful James.” Buzzing out of the early aughts on a thorny bed of synths, the track evokes a very specific feeling — somewhat nostalgic, lovingly haunted. That’s entirely deliberate, as a press release notes the song originated with just a title and some photographic imagery, with the band working to write music to fit the feelings that combination elicited. “If the song serves to irritate the squares and the uptight, so gleefully be it,” said Placebo’s Brian Molko said in a statement. “But it remains imperative for me that each listener discovers their own personal story within it — I really don’t want to tell you how to feel.” Advertisement Related Video You can listen to Placebo’s “Beautiful James” via the visualizer b...
Snail Mail Announces New Album Valentine, Unveils Title Track: Stream
Nothing signals the beginning of Sad Girl Autumn quite like a a new Snail Mail album. Right on cue, Lindsey Jordan has announced the follow-up to her massive 2018 debut, Lush, with her second LP, Valentine, out November 5th via Matador. Today, the 22-year-old indie rocker is offering a preview of the album with its title track, and she’s also unveiled a lengthy list of worldwide tour dates beginning this fall and heading into 2022. Valentine sees Jordan mature from the wide-eyed teen yearning of Lush, further pushing her limits as a songwriter. Her new album sees her adopt a wider array of sonics while still staying authentic to her scrappy, slacker-rock roots. “Referring to the process as the deepest level of catharsis and therapy I have ever experienced would be ...
Kim Gordon’s Body/Head Announce New Album with Wolf Eyes’ Aaron Dilloway, Share “Goin’ Down”: Stream
After the dissolution of her band Sonic Youth, Kim Gordon teamed up with experimental guitarist Bill Nace to form the duo Body/Head. Now, that project is expanding with the addition of former Wolf Eyes member Aaron Dilloway for the aptly titled Body/Dilloway/Head. Today, the newly-formed trio have announced their self-titled debut, out November 19th via Three Lobed Recordings. As a preview, they’ve shared the song “Goin’ Down.” Body/Dilloway/Head combines Gordon’s pioneering alt-rock spirit with Nace and Dilloway’s knack for boundary-breaking experimentation. The album is three tracks long, with its opener clocking in at 17 minutes and the last track being over 13 minutes. A press release deems Body/Dilloway/Head as being “as disorienting a listening experience as you’re likely to enc...
Stone Temple Pilots and Bush Cancel US Tour Due to “COVID-Related Circumstances”
Stone Temple Pilots and Bush have scrapped their upcoming co-headlining US tour, with Bush citing “unfortunate and unavoidable COVID-related circumstances” as the reason for the cancellation. However, STP are still moving forward with their own headlining shows later in the fall. The two bands recently announced the joint trek, which was set to kick off on September 30th and run through October 16th. In separate statements from the bands, it was made clear that it was Bush’s decision to cancel the tour. Bush’s full statement reads as follows: “Due to unfortunate and unavoidable COVID-related circumstances, we will be unable to move forward with our planned Fall tour dates — including our festival appearances and our tour with Stone Temple Pilots. We cannot stress enough how heartbreaking i...
Sneaker Pimps Return with Squaring the Circle, First New Album in 19 Years: Stream
After nearly two decades away, what better time for Sneaker Pimps to return than in 2021? Today, the cult trip-hop band return with their long-awaited fourth studio album, Squaring the Circle, out now via Orphic. Squaring the Circle was written, performed, and produced by founding members Sneaker Pimps members Chris Corner and Liam Howe. It spans 16 tracks total, many of which feature guest vocals from Berlin-based singer Simonne Jones. The album was recorded between Sawtooth Studios in Pioneertown, California, and London’s Tower Studios. The band teased the album earlier this year with the title track, as well as with the single “Fighter.” Stream it on Apple Music and Spotify below. Advertisement Related Video Sneaker Pimps are best known for their 1996 hit, “6 Underground”, featuring the...
Foo Fighters’ “Everlong” Returns to Charts After Viral Performance With 11-Year-Old Nandi Bushell
It takes a lot of talent to put a quarter-century-old song back on the charts, whether you’re one of the most established alt-rock bands working today or just an especially precocious 11-year-old. This week, Foo Fighters’ 1997 classic “Everlong” has cracked each of Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Hot Alternative Songs, and Hot Hard Rock Songs charts, likely a result of the band’s recent live performance of the track with pint-sized drumming legend Nandi Bushell. The gig in question went down on August 26th at the Forum in Los Angeles, and has since driven US streams of “Everlong” up 4 percent. That’s good enough to propel “Everlong” to No. 19 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, No. 2 on the Hot Hard Rock Songs chart, and No. 17 on Hot Alternative Songs chart. Bushe...
Sleigh Bells Share New Album Texis: Stream
Sleigh Bells return today with their new album, Texis. The New York noise-pop duo’s sixth studio set, released via Mom+Pop, has technically been in the works since 2017, and was recorded between members Alexis Krauss and Derek E. Miller’s homes. Texis spans 11 tracks in total, and includes the previously-released singles “Locus Laced,” “Justine Go Genesis,” and “True Seekers.” Though it’s been over a full decade now since Sleigh Bells’ acclaimed debut, Treats, Texis still feels right in line with the band’s gritty, proto-hyperpop roots. In an interview with Consequence, Krauss said Texis is her favorite Sleigh Bells record yet: “If you strip away all of my bullshit fireworks and the crashes and banging, if you strip away all the noise and the high end and the drums, there’s ...
Cage the Elephant on Covering Metallica’s “The Unforgiven”: “It’s Almost Like Their ‘Stairway to Heaven’”
Cage the Elephant were among the 53 artists to participate in the just-released covers compilation The Metallica Blacklist. Each act covered a track from “The Black Album,” with all proceeds from the release benefitting a charity of the artist’s choice and Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation. For their contribution to The Metallica Blacklist, Cage the Elephant took on the epic ballad “The Unforgiven.” Proof of the song’s universally captivating arrangement, Cage make it sound like their own song while preserving the grandeur and dynamics of the original. In an exclusive Q&A with Heavy Consequence, Cage the Elephant guitarist Nick Bockrath discussed the experience of covering “The Unforgiven,” the impact of “The Black Album,” and the legacy of Metallica. Advertisement Related Vid...
