Hard Rock
Rammstein Drummer’s Early East German Band Had Two Government Spies in Its Lineup
Drummer Christoph “Doom” Schneider was an active member of the East Berlin music scene prior to the formation of Rammstein in 1994. In the ’80s, he was the drummer of new wave act Die Firma (The Firm), and it turns out he had two government spies in his band. When asked by Metal Hammer about playing music prior to the take down of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Schneider recounted his time in Die Firma. The band’s music had dark goth influences, indicative of his latter work with Rammstein, featuring protest lyrics that were poignant, if incriminating, given who might be listening or in the case of Die Firma, literally singing them. “Die Firma was like a new wave punk band,” Schneider said. “The style was a little dark, with gothic influences. We had lyrics that protested against the system...
Corey Taylor Responds to Slipknot Tribute Band’s Craigslist Ad Seeking New Singer
Corey Taylor is one of the hardest-working dudes in metal, but apparently he has time to consider a gig impersonating himself in a Slipknot tribute band. The singer actually responded to a Craigslist ad from a Slipknot tribute act seeking a new vocalist. Taylor has his hands full with Slipknot and Stone Sour, not to mention his upcoming solo album, and his work as a best-selling author. But the fact of the matter is that he fits the description in the Craigslist ad to a tee. And, with his bands currently sidelined from the road due to the pandemic, perhaps he’s looking for some new ventures to conquer. The Craigslist ad is titled “Established Slipknot tribute seeking accurate, dedicated Corey Taylor.” It comes from New Jersey-based Of the (Sic), who promote themselves as the “most accurate...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch Metallica’s First-Ever Show in Colombia
Metallica’s weekly concert-streaming series #MetallicaMondays continues with a 1999 show in Bogotá, which marked the band’s first-ever gig in the country of Colombia. The 20-song set at Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park featured a healthy helping of songs from “The Black Album” and other staples. The trek was dubbed the “Garage Remains the Same Tour” in support of Metallica’s covers compilation Garage Inc., and the show included a rendition of the Misfits’ “Die, Die My Darling” that appeared on the LP. As the band wrote on Instagram while announcing this week’s stream, “#MetallicaMondays takes a trip back to 1999! We dug through the dusty, old VHS tapes in @larsulrich’s vault to uncover Live in Bogotá – May 2nd, 1999, which happens to be the first gig we ever played in Colombia.” Of cou...
Sevendust Return with Cover of Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried to Live”: Stream
Sevendust are back with a cover of Soundgarden’s “The Day I Tried to Live”, their first new recording since their acclaimed 2018 album, All I See Is War. Singer Lajon Witherspoon pointed to the song’s timeless lyrics as one of the main reasons the band decided to cover the Soundgarden track, which originally appeared on the 1994 album Superunknown. “Soundgarden is such an important band to all of us in Sevendust and this love for them goes all the way back to when we were starting,” said Witherspoon in a press release. “We discussed trying to do one of their songs and our producer Elvis [Baskette] suggested ‘The Day I Tried To Live’.” The frontman continued, “When I first heard it, I thought the lyrics were timeless. The lyrics are about trying to experience new things and c...
Sammy Hagar Clarifies Comments About Going Back on Tour: Only When It’s “Safe and Responsible”
Sammy Hagar made headlines recently when he said he’d “rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes” to get the concert industry going again amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the veteran rocker is clarifying the extreme portion of his comments, while also saying he does want to get back on the road this year, if possible. For more context, Hagar’s longer quote in Rolling Stone read, “This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truthfully, I’d rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes. We have to save the world and this country from this economic thing that’s going to kill more people in the long run. I would rather see everyone go back to work. If some of us have to sacrifice on that, OK. I will die for my children and my grandchildr...
Pearl Jam Perform “Dance of the Clairvoyants” for First Time During COVID-19 Relief Concert: Watch
As one of several acts to play the “All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief” livestream event on Wednesday night (June 24th), Pearl Jam treated viewers to the first-ever live performance of their recent single “Dance of the Clairvoyants”. The socially distant rendition of the song featured each member of Pearl Jam performing from his own home. The band’s longtime lineup of Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron was bolstered by former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who provided backing vocals. In the video of the performance, Vedder holds a handheld camera, as his two daughters and wife Jill are seen dancing, bringing to life the song’s line, “I know the girls wanna dance.” Musically, the band mixes things up, with guitarist Gossard pla...
Herd Immunity Fest Dumps Its Own Name as Nonpoint Drop Off the Bill
Following the announcement of next month’s Herd Immunity Fest in Wisconsin, the band Nonpoint have dropped off the lineup due to the event’s name. What’s more, the festival itself has dropped its own name after widespread backlash. The festival’s announcement has caused quite a stir, given that a number of health experts and promoters aren’t expecting concerts to return in earnest until 2021 in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The three-day event takes place July 16th-18th of this year at an outdoor stage at the Q&Z Expo Center in Ringle, Wisconsin. Heavy Consequence reached out to a handful of the bands for statements as to why they decided to play the festival, given the advice and guidelines from health officials over the past couple months. In responding, Nonpoint’s manag...
Filter Return With “Thoughts and Prayers”, First New Song in Four Years: Stream
Filter are back with a new single, “Thoughts and Prayers”, their first song in four years. The track will appear on the band’s upcoming album, Murica, tentatively due before the end of the year. Frontman Richard Patrick, the lone constant member of the veteran industrial rock act, reunited with original Filter guitarist Brian Liesegang to pen the new song. The pairing has given the track a throwback industrial feel, reminiscent of some of the band’s ’90s output. Lyrically, the song is politically charged, with Patrick condemning empty gestures in the wake of events like school shootings. As he sings in the chorus, “Thoughts and prayers/ Post and shares/ I’m bleeding out of open wounds/ Another day that no one cares.” Back in 2018, it was announced that Patrick and Liesegang had reunited, a...
Sammy Hagar Is Willing to “Get Sick and Even Die” to Kickstart the Concert Industry Again
While most music acts have acknowledged that public health comes first when it comes to touring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sammy Hagar would “rather personally get sick and even die” if it means kickstarting the concert industry again. The Red Rocker was one of several veteran artists polled by Rolling Stone as to when they would feel safe returning to the road. Most of the artists remarked that they would want to wait until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine or safe measures in place, but the former Van Halen singer is willing to put his life on the line. “I’ll be comfortable playing a show before there’s a vaccine, if it’s declining and seems to be going away,” remarked Hagar. “I’m going to make a radical statement here. This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truth...
Tom Morello Gifts Signature Guitar to 10-Year-Old Girl Who Performed Viral Rage Against the Machine Cover
A few weeks ago, 10-year-old Nandi Bushell delivered an impressive cover of the Rage Against the Machine classic “Guerrilla Radio”, in which she played drums, bass, and guitar. Now, RATM’s Tom Morello has gifted the young rocker with his new signature Fender Soul Power Stratocaster. Nandi has been wowing music fans for a few years now, mostly with her skillful drumming. Her rendition of Nirvana’s “In Bloom” has more than a million views on YouTube, and a recent performance of Queens of the Stone Age’s “No One Knows” got kudos from the band itself. She’s even jammed with Lenny Kravitz and appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show. The young musician dedicated her RATM cover to Black Lives Matter and the fight to end racism, and Morello shared the performance on Twitter, writing, “Well now we are...
Psycho Las Vegas 2021 Lineup: Danzig, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, Flaming Lips, Mayhem, and More
Danzig (photo by Heather Kaplan), Mercyful Fate’s King Diamond (photo by Kevin RC Wilson) Psycho Las Vegas has revealed its 2021 lineup, and it features most of the acts who were set to perform on the festival’s 2020 bill. Danzig, Mercyful Fate, and Emperor will headline, just as they would have done this summer if the fest wasn’t called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In essence, the 2020 edition of Psycho Las Vegas has been rescheduled for 2021. In addition to the three headliners, such notable acts as The Flaming Lips, Blue Öyster Cult, Down, Mayhem, Satyricon, Obituary, Warpaint, Blonde Redhead, Katatonia, Amigo the Devil, Thursday, Pig Destroyer, Watain, Poison the Well, and more have all committed to the 2021 fest. Among the acts who were scheduled to play in 2020 but are no ...
Deftones Celebrate White Pony 20th Anniversary with Listening Party and New Merch Collection
Deftones are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their White Pony album with a global listening party and a new capsule of commemorative merch. The band’s landmark 2000 album turned 20 years old this past Saturday (June 20th), and we’ve already listed 20 reasons why we still love the stellar LP, in addition to examining the album’s enduring impact. Today (June 22nd), fans can join the band at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT for a global listening party on Deftones’ YouTube channel, with band members taking part in an online chat as the LP plays. In addition to soaking in songs like “Change (In the House of Flies)”, “Digital Bath”, and “Passenger” again, fans can also rep White Pony with some new apparel issued in conjunction with the album’s 20th anniversary. A new capsule on Deftones’ merch s...
