Heavy Metal
Pallbearer Announce New Album Forgotten Days, Unveil Title Track: Stream
Doom metal act Pallbearer have announced their highly anticipated new album, Forgotten Days. To coincide with today’s announcement, the Arkansas quartet has also shared the music video for the title track in advance of the LP’s October 23rd release date. Pallbearer faithful have no fear: The band turns in a crushing track of vintage, riff-filled doom on “Forgotten Days”. The opening barrage of riffs, combined with singer/guitarist Brett Campbell’s slightly more nasal vocal delivery, make for Pallbearer’s most straight-up metal offering in years. A somber middle package recalls Jerry Cantrell’s melodic acoustic material, giving the track added depth and a musical reprieve from what is undoubtedly the band’s heaviest material since their now-legendary 2010 Demo. “Forgotten Days is us explori...
Static-X’s Project Regeneration Vol. 1 Properly Cements Wayne Static’s Legacy: Review
The Lowdown: In the late ’90s and early 2000s, Static-X were one of the bands the helped define that industrial/nu-metal era. Their debut album Wisconsin Death Trip went platinum with the video for “Push It” earning rotation on MTV (back when the channel still played videos). Over the next decade, Static X would release five more albums before drifting apart in 2009. When the band’s singer Wayne Static tragically passed away in 2014, it seemed to signal the end of Static-X forever; that was until original bassist Tony Campos uncovered demos of material that Wayne had been working on. Campos got together with fellow original members Ken Jay (drums) and Koichi Fukuda (guitar), and reworked the unearthed demos along with outtakes from previous albums. While there was an initial plan to recrui...
Kataklysm Announce New Album Unconquered, Unleash Lead Single “The Killshot”: Stream
Canadian death metal institution Kataklysm have announced their 14th studio album, Unconquered, which arrives on September 25th. As a preview, the band has shared the music video for the lead single, “The Killshot”. As the album title suggests, Kataklysm cannot be stopped, releasing album after album of consistent extreme metal. “The Killshot” adds another worthy piece to their already brimming canon of brutality. “‘The Killshot’ is very Machiavellian at its base meaning,” the band comments in a press release. “The song deals with revenge and planning it out, [we] wrote the song in an open interpretation because everyone has their own story that they can attach to it. “In general, the album deals with pain or setbacks, overcoming them and fighting back — especially in today’s situation, th...
Greg Puciato Sets Release Date for Solo Album, Shares New Song “Do You Need Me to Remind You?”: Stream
Greg Puciato has set an October 23rd release date for his upcoming solo album, Child Soldier: Creator of God. The former Dillinger Escape Plan singer has also shared the video for a new single called “Do You Need Me to Remind You?” Each track we’ve heard thus far reveals a different shade to Puciato’s forthcoming LP. Following the dark, sinister “Deep Set”, the new single, “Do You Need Me to Remind You?” is another heavy hitting track with sludged-out guitars and space for Puciato’s vocal talents. When the guitars drop out after the intro, his voice soars throughout he sudden openness in the mix, as drummer Chris Hornbrook continues pounding away. “It felt as if I had more to say, but nothing that necessarily filled the script of [my various] bands,” Puciato says of the solo material...
Avatar Unveil Video for Dark New Song “Colossus”: Stream
Avatar have released another song off their upcoming album, Hunter Gatherer. The new track, “Colossus”, comes with chugging riffs and rhythms, plus a disturbing music video. Vocalist Johannes Eckerström starts the clip off with a haunting prologue, stating, “The human soul can be found within a single cell. It’s like how the essence of a painting can be seen in a single brushstroke. Our drive to force our will upon the world is in shackles, as no thought is truly free.” As he ends his prologue, the band launches in with groovy rhythms, choppy guitars, and a mile-high chorus, making this a solid metal anthem. Visually, the music video depicts a body-less robot frustratingly trying to assemble some items, as a tiny human becomes a casualty of the process. “The accompanying video for ‘Colossu...
The Sword’s J.D. Cronise Talks New Compilations, Bootlegging Rare Clutch Tracks, and His Band’s Future
Modern stoner rock owes a major debt to The Sword. Formed in 2003 in Austin, the band’s propensity for Black Sabbath-influenced doom and desert grooves predated the subculture that suddenly emerged from the stoner rock scene in the 2010s. Suddenly, remote fans of bands like Sleep and Electric Wizard were connected by the familiar churning sounds of these bands. The Sword played a vital role in this movement, with their 2006 debut album, Age of Winters, and its lead single, the now legendary “Freya”, cementing their place in doom metal lore. It was a time of resurgence for classic rock, a new era of teenagers were discovering Led Zeppelin and Sabbath, and “Freya” garnered The Sword a cult audience of eager rock fans. Their music even reached Lars Ulrich of Metallica, who would eventually ta...
Video Surfaces of Zack de la Rocha Playing Guitar in His Pre-Rage Against the Machine Band: Watch
Just a few years before becoming the electrifying frontman of Rage Against the Machine, Zack de la Rocha was cutting his teeth as the guitarist in the hardcore band Hard Stance. Now, 30 years later, video footage of a young Zack playing guitar with Hard Stance at a show in March 1990 has surfaced. Hard Stance formed in 1987 as a straight-edge hardcore band, with Zack on guitar and Eric Ernst on vocals. At one point, Ernst left Hard Stance, and de la Rocha took over lead vocals, eventually leading to the formation of the band Inside Out. The gig in question took place March 4th, 1990, and was apparently Hard Stance’s final concert. According to Zack’s Wikipedia page, by 1990 he would have been fronting Inside Out, so the show could have been a one-off farewell with Hard Stance. Nonetheless,...
#MetallicaMondays: Watch Metallica’s Hit-Filled 2007 Lisbon Show
For the latest installment of #MetallicaMondays, the thrash legends are revisiting their Lisbon, Portugal show in 2007. The archival concert footage goes live this evening (July 6th) at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT via Metallica’s YouTube channel below. The show took place at Lisbon’s Super Bock Super Rock and kicked off the “Sick of the Studio Tour” prior to the release of Death Magnetic in 2008. The European trek was named during a fan competition, with the band choosing the winning entry. Appropriately, it reflects Metallica’s many hours in the studio working on the laborious Death Magnetic, which was considered a return to the band’s thrash metal roots upon release. The hype for Death Magnetic was boiling by the time Metallica took the stage in Lisbon. Fans clamored for what message boa...
Metallica Honor the Late Ennio Morricone, Whose “Ecstasy of Gold” Has Intro’d Their Shows Since 1983
Ennio Morricone (via Instagram), Metallica’s James Hetfield (photo by Melinda Oswandel) Following the news that Ennio Morricone passed away at the age of 91, Metallica have paid tribute to the legendary Italian composer. Morricone’s “The Ecstacy of Gold”, from the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, has provided the intro music to the thrash icons’ concerts since 1983. Morricone died Monday in Rome after suffering complications following a fall at home in which he broke his leg. The composer was known for his work on Spaghetti Western movies, with “The Ecstasy of Gold” being one of his most famous pieces. On Instagram, Metallica issued the following statement on Monday morning: “R.I.P. Ennio Morricone, Your career was legendary, your compositions were timeless. Thank you for setti...
Liturgy and LEYA Collaborate on New Song “Antigone”: Stream
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (Liturgy), courtesy of Promo Jukebox / Marilu Donovn & Adam Markiewicz (LEYA), photo by Erin Krimian Brooklyn black metal group Liturgy and NYC avant-pop duo LEYA have joined forces for a new collaborative single, “Antigone”. The track showcases the ambitious experimentation of both projects. The genre-blending black metal present on Liturgy’s 2019 album H.A.Q.Q. returns to provide a backdrop, accentuating the yearning vocals of LEYA’s Adam Markiewicz. “Originally its purpose was as a single to promote a tour we were going to do together last April that ended up getting cancelled,” Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix told Paper magazine of the song’s origins. “The track had a different name originally, and we would have put it out in early April, but held off, because we ...
Sepultura Announce Rescheduled North American Tour Dates
Sepultura have officially rescheduled their upcoming North American tour for 2021 after postponing the spring outing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Brazilian thrash metallers will kick off their 2021 run on March 6th at Ace of Spades in Sacramento, California, and stay on the road through an April 10th date at UC Theatre in Berkeley, California. As with the originally scheduled trek, Sacred Reich, Crowbar, and Art of Shock will appear on the run. “So happy to announce the rescheduled North American tour with our friends from Sacred Reich, Crowbar and Art of Shock,” Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser said in a statement. “I can’t wait to go back to the stage to perform the new material from our album Quadra and to jam our history to you all! Stay safe and see you all soon!!” Sepultura ar...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan: Black Lives Matter “Never Had Legitimacy”
System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan has condemned Black Lives Matter in a new Instagram post, insisting the movement “never had legitimacy” and calling it a “propaganda tool” for the Democratic Party. Dolmayan has been making headlines for the past few months with his right-wing sociopolitical commentary. On Monday night, he posted a picture of Secoreia Turner, an 8-year-old black girl who was killed over the weekend in Atlanta amid a wave of gun violence in the city. Upon her death, Secoreia’s father exclaimed, “They say Black Lives Matter. You killed your own this time.” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms added, “You can’t blame this on a police officer; you can’t say this is about criminal justice reform. This is about some people carrying some weapons who shot up a car with an 8-yea...