Rupert Hine, who produced two RUSH albums, as well as releases from The Fixx, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, and more, has died at the age of 72. No cause of death has been revealed. The veteran UK producer’s passing was reported by the Ivors Academy, a songwriting association of which Hine was a board director. “His passion, wisdom, inspiration and his immense kindness will be hugely missed,” stated the organization. Hine produced RUSH’s gold-certified 1989 album Presto, which included the chart-topper “Show Don’t Tell”, and platinum-certified 1991 LP Roll the Bones, featuring the hit “Ghost of a Chance”. It was in the ’80s new wave scene that Hine really made his mark, producing multiple albums by The Fixx, including the platinum-certified Reach the Beach (highlighted by the si...
All Them Witches are offering up a nice respite from all the chaos going on in the world. The Nashville rockers have announced the forthcoming release of a new album, Nothing as the Ideal. Moreover, the band is teaming up with Heavy Consequence to share a taste of what’s to come with opening track “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”. Nothing as the Ideal will arrive on September 4th via via New West Records. The album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously laid down most of their iconic catalog. Regarding the song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, guitarist and songwriter Ben McLeod tells us, “We very specifically wanted to lead with this track. I think it’s the most well-rounded track on the record; it’s constantly changing, it has a lot of different vibes to it.” He giv...
Mr. Bungle have just released their first new recording in more than 20 years. It comes in the form of a cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts. Mike Patton joined fellow original members Trevor Dunn (bass) and Trey Spruance (guitar) for a series of reunion shows in February of this year, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo rounding out the touring lineup. The shows focused on the group’s hardcore roots, as they performed their early 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, along with a number of cover songs. Then in March, news came that the very same touring lineup had convened in a studio shortly after those shows to re-record the 1986 demo, and lay down studio versions of the cover songs ...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Blasts “Defund the Police” Movement as “Stupidest Thing I’ve Heard”
System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan has been very open about his political beliefs in the midst of protests across the country. Now, he’s blasting the “Defund the Police” movement as “probably the stupidest thing [he’s] heard.” Last week, Dolmayan made headlines when he called President Trump the “greatest friend to minorities” around the same time his bandmate Serj Tankian called for the protesters to “force the [Trump] regime to resign.” In a 13-minute Instagram video posted over the weekend, Dolmayan addressed the backlash he has received since that post, while also outlining his positions on a variety of socio-political issues. As far as the differences between him and his bandmates, particularly Tankian, Dolmayan said, “We have differing opinions in System of a Down. That shouldn’t...