Heavy Metal
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...
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler Talks Coffee, Bill & Ted, and Livestream Shows
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. During a pandemic that’s drastically altered the day-to-day operations of the music industry, Lamb of God have forged ahead. The metal veterans released their new self-titled studio album in June, despite not being able to tour in support of the LP. And the decision brought much-needed joy to metal fans everywhere, as the album ranks among Lamb of God’s finest works. Upon completing the album, the band was then commissioned to write a song for Bill & Ted Face the Music. The film’s music supervisor handpicked the Lamb of God, who delivered “The Death of Us”, a crushing anthem to friendship that cemented 2020 as a veritably productive year artistically for the band. With one full-length and a major soundtrack appearance in the...
Marilyn Manson Releases New Album WE ARE CHAOS: Stream
Marilyn Manson is back with his 11th studio album, WE ARE CHAOS, which is now available to stream in full below. The LP follows 2017’s Heaven Upside Down. The 10-song album was produced by Shooter Jennings, and finds Manson exploring his various influences from ’70s glam rock to ’80s new wave. The LP’s release was preceded by two singles — the title track and “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD”. While the album was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manson told us in our recent interview that he hopes the themes of WE ARE CHAOS help people cope during these difficult times: “A lot of people interpret some of the themes or particularly [the song] ‘WE ARE CHAOS’ as being related to what we’re going through right now. But I think the song was probably written a year and a half ago or so, lyrically....
Marilyn Manson Masterfully Embraces His Influences on WE ARE CHAOS: Review
The Lowdown: While Marilyn Manson has developed a signature sound over the past 30 years, it never manages to get stale. One reason for this is the revolving door of musicians and producers with whom he has worked throughout his career. Manson is back with his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, and he recruited Shooter Jennings — son of legendary country artists Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter — as his new musical compatriot. The two met when Manson was working on the TV show Sons of Anarchy and, according to Manson, have wanted to work together for a while. With Tyler Bates at the production helm on Manson’s critically acclaimed albums The Pale Emperor (2015) and Heaven Upside Down (2017), one might be concerned about this change in the ranks. Have no fear, though, as the resulting collaboration ...
