Heavy Metal
R.I.P. Lee Kerslake, Drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and Uriah Heep Dies at 73
Lee Kerslake, drummer on Ozzy Osbourne’s classic solo albums and longtime member of Uriah Heep, passed away Saturday (September 19th) at the age of 73. The veteran musician died after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. The drummer’s death was reported by Ken Hensley, a fellow former member of Uriah Heep. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I share with you that Lee Kerslake, my friend of 55 years and the best drummer I ever played with, lost his battle with cancer at 03:30 this morning,” wrote Hensley. “He died peacefully, praise The Lord, but he will be terribly missed.” He continued, “I know many of you were praying for him not to suffer and I thank you for that and, now that Lee is at peace, our thoughts and prayers should turn to his wife Sue who will need all the support she ca...
Ozzy Osbourne Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Blizzard of Ozz with Animated “Crazy Train” Video and More
Ozzy Osbourne is commemorating the 40th anniversary of his legendary solo debut, Blizzard of Ozz, with a wealth of experiences and goodies. In addition to the previously announced expanded digital edition of Blizzard of Ozz, Osbourne is re-releasing the 2010 documentary 30 Years After the Blizzard in HD while also sharing a newly created animated music video for “Crazy Train” — arguably Ozzy’s most well-known solo recording and perennial sports arena anthem. The festivities don’t stop there: SiriusXM Radio will air a one-hour special on Osbourne’s station, “Ozzy’s Boneyard”, on Friday (September 18th) at 5 p.m. ET. And if that’s not enough, Osbourne himself is hosting a Twitter listening party on Sunday (September 20th) at 7 p.m. ET, discussing songs from the album. Tons of new Blizzard-th...
Transgender Metalhead Satanist Wins Republican Nomination for County Sheriff
Wait until Fox News gets a load of this: A transgender metalhead satanist has won the Republican nomination for Cheshire County Sheriff in Keene, New Hampshire. Aria DiMezzo earned 4,211 votes from registered Republicans in a primary held Tuesday. Granted, DiMezzo ran unopposed and still has to compete in the general election against popular incumbent Eli Rivera, a Democrat seeking his fifth term. But DiMezzo was still amazed that so many registered Republicans voted for her. “I went into it expecting that I would lose the primary to a write-in candidate, because I didn’t think that so many voters were just… completely and totally oblivious about who they are voting for,” she wrote in a blog post. She continued, “Because the fact is that you didn’t bother. You trusted the system. You trust...
Pallbearer Share New Song “The Quicksand of Existing”: Stream
With Pallbearer gearing up to release their fourth album, Forgotten Days, the band has today offered up the LP’s third single, “The Quicksand of Existing”. The track continues a string of strong singles for the album, including “Rite of Passage” and the title track. Again, it’s Pallbearer in full doom mode. Chugging riffs make way for Brett Campbell’s vocals, delivered in a theatrical style that invokes the genre’s great singers like Ozzy Osbourne and Scott Weinrich. Director Ben Meredith’s narrative video for the song parallels the band’s own concept — the song being a “reflection on family and loss,” according to the band. “As we strive to be, the forces of entropy perpetually pull us down into a state of being unmade,” bassist/songwriter Joseph D. Rowland said in a press release. “The b...
The Ghost Inside Now Say Firing Bassist Over Past Racial Insensitivity Was a Mistake
Earlier this year, The Ghost Inside decided to part ways with bassist Jim Riley over his past use of a racial epithet. Now, the metalcore act asserts that firing Riley was a mistake. Riley’s past remarks created a debacle around the release of The Ghost Inside’s latest album, which came out in June. The occasion should have been a celebration for the band after a remarkable comeback from a horrific bus accident that left most of its members seriously injured. When The Ghost Inside began selling a charity t-shirt with proceeds benefitting the NAACP, Bracewar drummer Rashod Jackson called out Riley for using the N-word back in 2015. Riley admitted to the accusation, and was promptly let go from the band. Apparently, the band members have come to regret the hasty decision to fire Riley. At th...
Geezer Butler’s Three Solo Albums to Get First-Ever Vinyl Release
Founding Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has announced the first-ever vinyl pressings of his three solo albums: Plastic Planet (1995), Black Science (1997), and Ohmwork (2005). They will also be reissued on CD and arrive October 30th. Plastic Planet was issued under the artist name g/z/r, while Black Science was originally credited to the single name Geezer. Ohmwork, meanwhile, was released under the moniker GZR. For the 2020 reissues and vinyl pressings, those monikers have been dropped, and each album is credited to Geezer Butler. The timeline of the solo records aligns with Butler’s stints outside Black Sabbath. Plastic Planet came after Butler departed the group following 1994’s Cross Purposes, though he would rejoin the band for various reunions beginning in 1997. In the meantime,...
Dee Snider Slams “Moronic” Anti-Maskers Who Shouted Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Dee Snider has blasted a group of anti-maskers who stormed into a Target store in Florida while shouting along to the Twisted Sister classic “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The band’s legendary frontman dubbed them “selfish assholes”. Snider recently voiced his disdain for Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking with us over Zoom. “The president’s response [and] the White House response has been to politicize [the pandemic] and to separate us more, and make it about politics, instead of joining together and helping each other,” the singer told us. On Tuesday night, Snider shared a video of a bunch of people who marched into a Target and urged shoppers to take off their masks, all while blasting and shouting along to “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” In his Twitter post, Snider ...
Thou Unleash Crushing Cover of Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones”: Stream
Alice in Chains classic 1992 album Dirt is the latest entry in Magnetic Eye Records’ ongoing Redux series, which re-imagines classic heavy album with cover versions by underground bands. With the September 18th release of Dirt [Redux] approaching, Louisiana doom outfit Thou have shared their cover of the iconic opening track, “Them Bones”. The original song’s verses are built around Jerry Cantrell’s chugging riff — one of his best. That central riff is well suited for Thou, whose southern sludge transforms the song into a crushing piece of extreme doom. “It seemed inevitable that we’d do another Alice in Chains song since their music was such a big part of [guitarist] Matthew [Thudium]’s and my formative years,” singer Bryan Funck said in a press release. “We had covered ‘No Exc...
Marilyn Manson on Ozzy Osbourne: “He Had This Strange Mystique That He’s Never Really Escaped From”
Marilyn Manson was set to support Ozzy Osbourne on tour this year, but those dates were canceled as Ozzy sought treatment for various health issues. Just as fans were excited to see the Antichrist Superstar and the Prince of Darkness on tour together, Manson himself was looking forward to hitting the road with Ozzy again. This past Friday (September 11th), Manson unleashed his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, but it was originally set to be released in time for his planned spring/summer tour with Ozzy. As Manson told us, not only was he concerned for Ozzy’s health, he had to rethink his own plans for 2020. “It was very upsetting when I found out that Ozzy couldn’t do the tour and that he [had health issues], and that was before the pandemic hit,” Manson remarked. “At the time for me, it complicat...
Ozzy Osbourne Announces 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his legendary debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, with a new expanded edition of his legendary solo debut. Osbourne’s also dusting off two live concert videos, 1993’s Live & Loud and 2002’s Live at Budokan, which are both receiving new digital releases. The expanded Blizzard of Ozz arrives this Friday (September 18th) on digital platforms. In addition to the original album and previously available bonus tracks (1980 B-side “You Looking at Me, Looking at You”, the 2010 guitar/vocal mix of “Goodbye to Romance”, and Randy Rhoads instrumental outtake “RR”), the expanded edition includes seven live tracks from the Blizzard of Ozz tour that were previously unavailable digitally. Six of the live cuts hail from the scarce Ozzy Live vinyl release f...
Rammstein Are in Studio Recording New Music: Report
With their tour plans on hold for 2020, Rammstein are reportedly back in the studio recording new music. While drummer Christoph Schneider reported back in June that the band had been working on material during the lockdown, it now appears Rammstein have returned to La Fabrique in France to begin tracking new music. The band previously recorded its 2019 untitled effort at the French studio. According to the reputable fan site Rammstein World, members of Rammstein and their recording engineers have been spotted in the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where La Fabrique is located. Moreover, members of the band’s crew have posted about their trip to France on social media. As the fan site states, “There’s no longer any doubt: Rammstein are back at La Fabrique studios, where they recorded their latest ...
Marty Friedman and Members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer Deliver Metal Cover of Fleetwood Mac Classic: Watch
The Two Minutes to Late Night YouTube channel continues to churn out impressive all-star quarantine covers each week as part of its “Bedroom Covers” series. The latest is a metal rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun” featuring former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman and members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer, and more. Friedman is one of metal’s premier guitarists, having appeared on Megadeth’s classic Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction albums, among others. For the Fleetwood Mac cover, he is joined by Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher on guitar; Baroness’ Nick Jost on bass; Lucifer’s Johanna Sadonis on lead vocals; Lucifer’s Nicke Anderson on drums; and Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) on guitar. Emily Panic and Mutoid Man’s Stephen Brodsky provi...
