Hard Rock
Serj Tankian on His Film Truth to Power, the Chaos Around Toxicity, and the Time He Feared for His Life
Serj Tankian’s life as an activist and musician is captured in the new documentary, Truth to Power. The just-released film offers a fascinating look at the singer’s journey inside and outside of his multiplatinum rock band System of a Down. Following Tankian’s path from his childhood to to his pre-SOAD band Forever Young to the present day, Truth to Power features testimonials by Serj and his bandmates, along with such associates as producer Rick Rubin and Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. The film also uses archival video to tell Tankian’s story of activism, while also touching on the origins and highlights of System of a Down’s career. Interspersed are newly shot scenes that include the singer visiting his old high school in Hollywood and voyaging to Armenia during a revolutio...
Marilyn Manson Abused and Threatened to Kill His Current Wife, Claims Ex-Assistant
Dan Cleary, a former personal assistant for Marilyn Manson, alleges that the rocker abused and threatened to kill his current wife, Lindsay Usich. The revelation comes weeks after Manson’s ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, former girlfriend Esmé Bianco, and several other women accused the singer of abuse. Cleary, who initially worked as a a keyboard tech on Manson’s touring crew, served as his personal assistant from 2014 to 2015. He claimed on his Rare Form Radio podcast (via Huffington Post) that during that time he saw Manson be abusive to his “then girlfriend” and “now wife”. “I saw some physical abuse as far as like pushing and throwing things at her and a lot of like violent outbursts around her ― breaking things,” Cleary claimed. “A lot of mental abuse and name-calling and thr...
Myles Kennedy (Slash, Alter Bridge) Announces New Solo Album, Shares Single “In Stride”: Stream
Slash co-conspirator and Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy has announced his second solo album, The Ides of March, due out May 14th. In anticipation, Kennedy has shared the lead single, “In Stride”. The Ides of March follows Kennedy’s debut solo effort, 2018’s Year of the Tiger. The singer-guitarist first told Heavy Consequence about the new album in our interview last year, where he revealed “a lot of it is blues-based.” The single “In Stride” definitely has some bluesy elements, with a bit of a country-rock tinge. Throughout the song, Kennedy’s soulful voice is front and center. The single’s chorus of “take it all in stride” could be considered Kennedy’s advice for coping with the pandemic, as he wrote the lyrics during the panic of the first wave of lockdowns. “Chill out. That pretty mu...
10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Honors Keith Moon with Rousing Drum Cover of The Who’s “My Generation”: Watch
Having owned 2020 and conquered Dave Grohl in an epic drum battle, 10-year-old Nandi Bushell has now set her sights on the Mount Rushmore of rock drummers. Her latest YouTube video sees her dedicating a drum cover of The Who classic “My Generation” to the late, great Keith Moon. Moon is in the pantheon of drumming gods along with the likes of Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Rush’s Neil Peart, among others, but that didn’t stop young Nandi from tackling the iconic Who song. As she’s shown us in her previous videos, she’s incredibly talented. What’s more, she’s a bundle of energy and joy behind the kit. “My Generation” is a fitting choice for Nandi, as she represents a new generation of young rockers. It was also, in many ways, one of the first punk songs before punk rock was even a thing — w...
Wolfgang Van Halen Performs “Distance” on Kimmel as Tribute to Eddie Van Halen: Watch
Wolfgang Van Halen paid tribute to his late father, the legendary Eddie Van Halen, with a performance of his debut solo single, “Distance”, on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. The song, which was released in November, appears as a bonus track on Wolfgang’s upcoming debut solo album under the moniker Mammoth WVH. While Wolfgang played all of the instruments on the album, he debuted his backing band for the Kimmel gig. The group includes Ronnie Ficarro (bass/vocals), Jon Jourdan (guitars/vocals), Frank Sidoris (guitars), and Garret Whitlock (drums). During the Kimmel performance, Wolfgang sang and played guitar as home videos of him and Eddie were projected behind him. The footage was similar to the music video he unveiled upon the single’s initial release. Editors’ Picks The late-night T...
Ozzy Osbourne Gets COVID Vaccine After Asserting That Contracting the Virus Would Likely Kill Him
Ozzy Osbourne has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The legendary metal singer got the shot this week after previously stating that if he didn’t, contracting the virus would likely kill him. The Black Sabbath frontman revealed the good news during an appearance on UK talk show Loose Women. Taking a page out of the John Lennon and Yoko Ono handbook, Ozzy laid in bed next to his wife, Sharon, and the family dogs. When asked if he’d received the vaccine, Ozzy replied in the affirmative: “Of course!” Sharon chimed in, “He says, ‘Of course’ — he only had it yesterday.” “It felt like I was being stabbed,” Ozzy said of the shot. “My arm was hurting yesterday, but I’m glad I got it, you know?” Ozzy said he feels “relieved” after getting the first dose, and for good reason. At 72 yea...
Game of Thrones’ Esmé Bianco Calls Marilyn Manson a “Monster Who Almost Destroyed Me”
Esmé Bianco, who played the character of Ros on Game of Thrones, has accused Marilyn Manson of abuse, going as far to describe him as a “monster who almost destroyed me.” The British actress’ claims come a week after Manson’s former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood and four other women alleged that too they were abused by the shock rocker. In a tell-all interview with New York magazine’s The Cut, Bianco details a tumultuous relationship with Manson. While she had already known him platonically for a few years, things got physical in 2009 on a video shoot for his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies”. The actress says Manson’s violence against her began during the making of the video, when he told her, “You are gonna have to pretend to like being manhandled by me.” As Bianco rec...
Ranking Every Van Halen Album From Worst to Best
It took the death of their iconic guitarist to finally stop Van Halen. For four decades, the band seemed like it could adapt to and survive anything. The arrival and departure of multiple lead singers. The rise of MTV. The births of heavier styles of rock that overtook the hearts and t-shirt collections of fans worldwide. Drugs and alcohol. Health problems. A constant clashing of egos and personalities. Even if they weren’t releasing music. Van Halen seemed destined to limp forward like a rusting muscle car for eternity. But on October 6th, 2020, the linchpin of the band’s sound, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, passed away and closed the book on one of the greatest rock groups of all time. As Wolfgang, Eddie’s son and the band’s latter-day bassist, put it to Howard Stern a month after his dad’s...
New Movie Long Live Rock Features Members of Metallica, RATM, Slipknot, GN’R, and More: Watch Trailer
Long Live Rock … Celebrate the Chaos A new movie documenting the culture of hard rock music, titled Long Live Rock … Celebrate the Chaos, is set to premiere on March 11th. Among the many artists appearing in the film are members of Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, and Guns N’ Roses. The documentary was filmed at various U.S. rock festivals, and boasts interviews with Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, RATM’s Tom Morello, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, Rob Zombie, Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell, Korn’s Jonathan Davis, Body Count’s Ice-T, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, and more. The movie is directed by film/TV producer and music supervisor Jonathan McHugh (Saw franchise), and produced by Gary Spivak (Danny Wimmer Presents) and Jonathan Platt (Saw franchise music pr...
Faith No More, Stone Sour, Lagwagon Members Form Dirty O’Keeffe, Unleash “Brick or Bullet”: Stream
Members of Faith No More, Stone Sour, Lagwagon, and Trash N’ Privilege have started a quarantine band called Dirty O’Keeffe, introducing themselves with the single “Brick or Bullet”. The group features bassist Billy Gould (Faith No More), Christian Martucci (guitarist for Stone Sour and Corey Taylor’s solo band), drummer Dave Raun (Lagwagon), and guitarist Steve Shephard (Trash N’ Privilege). “Brick or Bullet” is a riff-heavy rocker that features lead vocals by Martucci, who also delivers a blistering guitar solo around the two-minute mark. There’s no word yet on whether it’s a one-off song or if the new outfit has more music on the way. Gould had time to work on the new project after Faith No More’s summer tour with Korn was canceled due to the pandemic. Other Faith No More members have a...
Iggy and the Stooges’ Raw Power Still Thrives on Chaos and Unyielding Fury
When rock and roll evolved from the harmonious sludge of ditties about loving a gal from down the street or how kids wanted to rebel against their parents, The Beatles and Stones pushed our consciousness. Those bands dared us to see the emotional and sonic boundaries via large, orchestrated movements with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or the smooth but malicious undertones of Let It Bleed. These two bands broke the mold. They accelerated what the culture and artform were, but even as the Stones dipped their toes in dark water, it was still palatable to the masses, selling millions. But soon, new bands pushed harder. They came at the culture like a brick to the teeth: Jimi Hendrix took us to a different plane of existence, Black Sabbath dared us to see the devil and dance with him, ...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Salute a Famous Misheard Lyric in Cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”: Watch
It’s Super Bowl Sunday in the United States, but in the UK it’s another super “Sunday Lunch” with Robert Fripp and Toyah. This time around, the King Crimson guitarist and his singer wife have a little fun with the Jimi Hendrix Experience classic “Purple Haze”, incorporating rock’s most famous misheard lyric into their performance. As she did last week for “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”, Toyah straps on a guitar for the Hendrix song. While Fripp is considered one of rock’s most innovative guitarists, Toyah is no Jimi Hendrix … or Robert Fripp, for that matter. But this is not an exercise in guitar histrionics, it’s an amusing take on an iconic rock song. Compared to their recent “Sunday Lunch” covers, their take on “Purple Haze” is rather subdued, both in physicality and Toyah’s attire. Where it ge...
