Hard Rock
Motörhead Crew Get Tattoos Using Ink Blended with Lemmy’s Ashes
Members of Motörhead’s road crew paid the ultimate tribute to the late Lemmy Kilmister by getting tattoos with ink blended from his ashes. The band’s longtime tour manager Eddie Rocha and production assistant Emma Cederblad recently got inked up with a portrait of Lemmy and the iconic “Ace of Spades” image, respectively. A short video documenting the process was posted on Motörhead’s official YouTube channel on Tuesday (December 28th) — six years since the day Lemmy passed away at age 70. Advertisement Related Video Tattoo artist Stina Nyman of Eye Scream Tattoo handled the blending and artistry. Clearly gifted with the tattoo needle, Nyman rendered a striking portrait of Lemmy on Rocha’s calf. As previously reported, Lemmy’s ashes were encased inside bullets and sent to his closest friend...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Johanna Platow Andersson of Lucifer
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. Erickson is also a music artist herself, recently releasing the song “Eternal Way” with Upon Wings. This month’s piece features an interview with Johanna Platow Andersson of Lucifer. Lucifer craft a unique brand of music, combining the dark, sludgy sounds of ’70s hard rock with a dose of modern doom metal. The band was formed in 2014 by singer Johanna Platow Andersson and has since performed hundreds of shows around the world, from the Kiss Kruise to Psycho Las Vegas to Sweden Rock. The band released its latest album, Lucifer IV, in October via Century Media. For He...
Alice Cooper Set Money Aside for His Crew When Pandemic Started
Live music was one of the industries hit hardest when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Shock rock icon Alice Cooper saw the writing on the wall and put money aside for his road crew as lockdowns hit last year. In a new interview with Forbes, Cooper revealed that he supported his crew during the tough time before the widespread return of concerts. He only hopes other major acts did the same. “When we saw this coming, we put money aside for our crew,” Cooper said. “We could see that it was… something. So we put money aside as a backup for them. Because we knew that their unemployment would run out, you know? And then they’d have something to go to. I think all responsible bands did that. Hopefully.” Advertisement Related Video Cooper is known for his elaborate stage show and theatrical set piece...
KISS’ Paul Stanley and His Entire Family Infected with Omicron Variant of COVID-19
KISS singer-guitarist Paul Stanley is dealing with his second bout of COVID-19 in the past six months, and this time he’s been infected with the Omicron variant. In fact, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s entire family has tested positive for the new strain. The rock veteran first contracted COVID-19 in August, just a few shows after KISS had resumed their postponed farewell tour. Although Stanley has been a staunch advocate for mask-wearing and vaccines, he faced criticism when he was seen outside a hotel without a mask just days after revealing that he tested positive. On Sunday evening (December 26th), Stanley announced that he had once again contracted COVID-19, writing alongside a selfie on Instagram, “My Omicron face! Yup. My entire family has it. I’m tired and have sniffles. Most ...
Sammy Hagar Says He Was Once Asked to Join Pantera (and Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe and Velvet Revolver)
If Sammy Hagar joined every band he was asked to be in, he could have fronted every act on one of the greatest theoretical one-day rock festivals himself. The Red Rocker says in a new interview that he was approached by Pantera’s manager to join the legendary metal group as their singer, and it’s certainly not the only time he’s been asked to sing for a high-profile band. Of course, Hagar will forever be known as one of the most notable replacement singers of all time, taking David Lee Roth’s spot in Van Halen. Granted, he already had a very successful solo career at the time. Hagar took a recent ride in Pantera’s old limousine, which was gifted to radio host Jose Mangin by the estates of late brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. Advertisement Related Video “How about if I tell you so...
In Photos: Bands Featuring Sons of Metallica’s Hetflied, Ulrich, and Trujillo Team Up for San Francisco Gig
As part of Metallica’s “San Francisco Takeover” to mark their 40th anniversary, a handful of club gigs were announced to surround the metal titans’ massive shows at the Chase Center. One of those shows included three bands — OTTTO, Taipei Houston, and Bastardane — with each featuring at least one son of a Metallica member. The gig took place Saturday night (December 18th) at The Chapel, with Bastardane taking the stage first. Based out of Savannah, Georgia, the group features drummer Castor Hetfield, son of Metallica frontman James Hetfield. The trio had a sound that was just as much thrash metal influenced as it was hard rock, and put on an impressive set. Next up were Taipei Houston, a two-piece whose members Myles (drummer) and Layne (singer-bassist) are the sons of Lars Ulrich. Althoug...
Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2021
The 2021 edition of our Annual Report continues with our list of the Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2021. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2021. You can find it all in one place here. Another heavy year deserves another heavy soundtrack of standout songs. While we still find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic, our favorite acts continue to churn out tunes that stir inspiration, hope, anger, rage, sadness, and all the emotions that go with the uncertain world in which we live. Music serves as an escape we need during difficult times, briefly diverting our attention from the daily grind or reminding us that there is still beauty in the world, no matter the circumstances. In 2021, we were once again blessed ...
Tool’s Danny Carey Due in Court January 12th for Alleged Assault as New Details Emerge
Tool drummer Danny Carey will have to make a January 12th court appearance stemming from his arrest for alleged assault at the Kansas City International Airport. Along with the court date, a few new details have emerged regarding the incident. As previously reported, Carey was arrested for misdemeanor assault Sunday night (December 12th) after law enforcement received a report of a “disturbance between two males at an airport terminal,” with TMZ reporting that the acclaimed musician allegedly got into a physical altercation with an airport security worker. A citation from the Kansas City Airport Police, newly obtained by Billboard, confirms TMZ’s earlier report that Carey allegedly hurled a homophobic slur at the security worker he is accused of assaulting. “[Carey] did intentionally cause...
John 5 and The Creatures Announce 2022 North American Tour
John 5 and The Creatures will take their show on the road in 2022, as they’ve announced a headlining trek dubbed “The Sinner Tour.” The Rob Zombie guitarist and his band will be supported by The Haxans at select shows. The spring run kicks off April 21st on Roseville, California, and wraps up with a May 21st set at the Welcome to Rockville festival in Daytona Beach, Florida. John 5 and The Creatures will also open two shows for Fozzy in the midst of the spring jaunt, and also have a handful of headlining gigs in Canada and New York City scheduled for July. Tickets for most shows go on sale Friday (December 17th) via Ticketmaster. On the road, John 5 will perform cuts off his latest solo album, Sinner, which arrived in October. The lead single off the set, “Que Pasa,” features a guest...
Coheed and Cambria Announce 2022 US Tour
Coheed and Cambria are hitting the road in 2022 on their “Great Destroyer Tour,” a US headlining run that will welcome support from Sheer Mag. The tour will kick off on February 16th at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California, and run through a March 19th show at XL Live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pre-sales for the tour start Wednesday (December 15th) at 10 a.m. local time, while the general on-sale begins Friday (December 17th) at 10 a.m. local time. Pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. Coheed and Cambria most recently released a pair of new singles, 2021’s “Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)” and “Shoulders,” the latter of which just broke the Top 10 on active rock radio, scoring the band its highest-charting radio hit to date. Advertisement Related Video “In art, in your career, in ...
Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Albums of 2021
Our 2021 Annual Report continues with our Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Albums list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2021. You can find it all in one place here. After a rough 2020 that saw a global pandemic take over our lives and the concert industry shut down, 2021 was hopefully primed to be the year of the comeback. While live music has returned to a certain degree, it’s been a bumpy ride thus far, as bands deal with COVID outbreaks amidst their camps and fans enter venues with extra caution. One thing we can all still count on is new albums to get us through difficult times, and while 2021 may not have been super prolific as far as new releases, it still proved to be another strong year for the heaviest genre...
The Pretty Reckless and Shinedown Team Up for 2022 Tour
The Pretty Reckless are a band that loves to play live, so it’s been hard for them to stay off the road. Now, Taylor Momsen and company have announced their first run of tour dates since 2017, a spring US outing supporting Shinedown. Prior to linking up with Shinedown, The Pretty Reckless will perform two sold-out headlining gigs at the new venue Brooklyn Made on March 22nd and 23rd. From there, TPR and Shinedown will kick off a 24-date tour on April 1st in Spokane, Washington, with Diamante serving as opening act. Tickets are available starting December 17th via Ticketmaster, with a pre-sale kicking off on Tuesday, December 14th (pre-sale code: BELLS). Advertisement Related Video Shinedown, meanwhile, will precede the spring trek with a previously announced month-long winter North America...
