Heavy Metal
The Black Dahlia Murder Announce First Tour Since Passing of Frontman Trevor Strnad
The Black Dahlia Murder will embark on their first tour since the tragic passing of frontman Trevor Strnad. Support will come from Terror, Frozen Soul, Fuming Mouth, and Phobophilic during the six-week North American run. The Spring outing, dubbed “The Verminous Remnant Tour,” kicks off with a performance at the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Philadelphia on April 14th and runs through a May 26th gig in Minneapolis. A pre-sale begins Wednesday (January 18th) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster using the code SOUND, with a general on-sale starting this Friday. Alternatively, tickets can also be purchased via StubHub. Strnad died at the age of 41 in May 2022. No cause of death was revealed, but the band did share the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline when announcing his...
Heavy Song of the Week: Dryad Conjure an Icy Gust of Midwestern Black Metal on “The Abyssal Plain”
Heavy Song of the Week is a new feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week the honor goes to Iowa black metal band Dryad’s “The Abyssal Plain.” Winter is upon us. The days are short, and the trees bare. A seasonal depression creeps in as we stay indoors to escape the cold. No wonder black metal was pioneered upon the tundras of Scandinavia. Otherworldly howls and walls of guitar that recall the bitter arctic wind — it just sounds right this time of year. A life indoors also means more time to consume, perform, write, and record music. Ideal circumstances for those looking to indulge the dark arts and channel whatever thoughts, negative or otherwise, through the escapism and personal journey black metal provides, bo...
Cradle of Filth and DevilDriver to Embark on 2023 US Co-Headlining Tour
Cradle of Filth and DevilDriver have announced a March 2023 US co-headlining tour with support from Black Satellite and Oni. Billed as the first leg of the “Double Trouble Live” tour, the initial set of dates kicks off March 8th in Tempe, Arizona, and runs through March 26th, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The route for the first leg of the outing (which promises to be a “world tour,” according to Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth) will stick mainly to West Coast and Southwest markets. Tickets go on sale Friday (January 13th) at 10 a.m. local time. You can pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video “Cradle of Filth are maniacally looking forward to this two-pronged headline assault with fellow noisemongers DevilDriver,” remarked Dani Filth via a press statement. “Frontman...
Godsmack Singer Sully Erna Apparently Once Dated Lady Gaga
One sings about “Bad Religion,” the other sings about “Bad Romance.” According to Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin, frontman Sully Erna once dated pop superstar Lady Gaga. While appearing on the 2020’d podcast, Larkin was asked by the host (who appeared to have some inside knowledge) about Erna’s relationship with Gaga. “I don’t think [it’s] a secret,” responded Larkin. “I don’t think Sully would bum out if people knew he dated Lady Gaga. I mean, she’s hot, and she’s mega talented.” The drummer went on to say that, unlike certain other rock stars, Erna didn’t go out of his way to publicize the relationship. “He’s not Tommy Lee or whatever, or whoever the guy is now… What I mean by that is — Travis Barker, Tommy Lee, whatever — is dudes that have public girlfriends that are super famous...
Touché Amoré, Deafheaven, AFI and Alexisonfire Members Cover Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979”: Watch
“Two Minutes to Late Night” has returned with a new cover of The Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” featuring members of Touché Amoré, Deafheaven, AFI, and Alexisonfire. The YouTube channel’s all-star cover series became a staple during the days of lockdown, gathering notable musicians to remotely record songs from home. As “Two Minutes to Late Night” plans to make its return as a live talk show next month at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, the cover collabs have become more infrequent, but no less star-studded. For this heavy metal / post-hardcore take on “1979,” corpse-painted host and performer Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) tapped Touché Amoré’s Jeremy Bolm, who delivers a fine lead vocal performance and even reprises the car-ride shot of Billy Corgan from the original music video. The rest of t...
Kerry King Was Angered by Slayer’s “Premature” Retirement: “That Livelihood Got Taken Away”
When Slayer famously announced that the band would call it quits after wrapping up their final tour in 2019, fans weren’t the only ones disheartened by the news. As it turns out, guitarist Kerry King had “anger” about the decision to end the legendary thrash band. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, King said that he thinks it was “premature” to break up the band when they did. When asked about his reaction to the band’s initial conversations to call it a day, King responded, “Anger… what else? It was premature. The reason I say ‘premature’ is because my heroes from my childhood are still playing! I can still play, I still want to play, but that livelihood got taken away from me.” Advertisement Related Video He added, “But, anyway, on to the next chapter, I guess. We were on top of the w...
Ghost’s Tobias Forge Promises “Good Change” and More Touring in 2023
A fresh year often brings change, and that appears to be the case with Swedish metallers Ghost. Frontman Tobias Forge (aka Papa Emeritus IV) tells Metal Hammer that “good change” is ahead for the band before hitting the road on additional tours in support of their 2022 studio album, IMPERA. “We’re doing a lot of touring again,” Forge explained in the interview. “On previous album cycles, we’ve done four legs in America and two or three in Europe and repeated. We’re going to go into every territory next year, but there’s going to be one European tour, one American tour. We are going to do a little bit of everywhere.” He added, “There’ll be a little bit of something up in upper Asia, on the far end there – a very well-established country with a lot of pop cultural fascination, and the home o...
Kings of Thrash (David Ellefson) Announce 2023 US Tour Performing Two Megadeth Albums in Full
Kings of Thrash, featuring former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, have announced an early 2023 US tour on which they’ll perform two Megadeth albums in their entirety. The trek will see the group playing 1985’s Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good and 1988’s So Far, So Good…So What in full. Dates kick off February 16th in Joliet, Illinois, and run through March 15th in Atlanta. Hatriot will provide support. You can pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. Related Video Ellefson formed Kings of Thrash last year alongside guitarist Jeff Young, who played lead guitar in Megadeth in 1987 and 1988 during the So Far, So Good…So What era. Singer-guitarist Chaz Leon and drummer Fred Aching round out the Kings of Thrash lineup. Advertisement The band played its first shows back in October and recor...
Dee Snider: Robert Plant and Ronnie James Dio Not “Great Frontmen” Despite Being “Great Singers”
Dee Snider stirred up an ongoing Twitter debate just before the new year when he claimed that he doesn’t consider Robert Plant and the late Ronnie James Dio to be great frontmen. The Twisted Sister vocalist explained that he admires both rock legends as singers but insisted that they lacked excitement onstage as performers. It all started when Snider praised late drummer Cozy Powell, who was bandmates with Dio in Rainbow and played on select tracks on Plant’s debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven. When a fan tweeted at Snider that Dio was the second best frontman after Freddie Mercury, Snider responded, “You are confusing singing with performing. There is a huge difference between a great frontman & a great singer. Ronnie was one of the greatest singers of all time, but as a frontman, h...
Tony Iommi Is Prepping a New Solo LP and Reissues of the Tony Martin-Era Black Sabbath Albums
The new year is shaping up to be a busy one for Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi. In a year-end video message to fans, the guitarist revealed that he’s been building a recording studio and plans to write a new solo album. There are also plans for numerous reissues, including a box set of the long-out-of-print Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath LPs. “It’s been a good year for me, 2022, in parts anyway,” Iommi said [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “I’ve been writing and recording. I’m having a new studio built, which I’m really pleased about. Well, actually, the studio is built, and it’s almost ready to go … I think I’ll be ready to go in and start work in there, which I’m really looking forward to — writing another album.” Related Video Iommi then discussed the reissue projects lined up for 2023...
John Dolmayan: System of a Down “Should Have Moved On” Without Serj Tankian in 2006
It’s now been 17 years since System of a Down released a new studio album, and drummer John Dolmayan thinks they may have been better off moving on without singer Serj Tankian at the time the band went on hiatus in 2006. While System of a Down continue to be an active band, playing sporadic shows and releasing a pair of surprise singles in 2020, the multi-platinum act’s internal conflicts have been well documented. A few years back, Tankian and guitarist-vocalist Daron Malakian each opened up about the creative differences that led to a dearth of new music from the acclaimed metal band. In the summer of 2018, Malakian told Kerrang! magazine, “If everyone got together and was ready to play ball, I have an album ready. If it was up to me, System would have never gone on hiatus. … To be hones...
Sebastian Marino, Former Guitarist for Overkill and Anvil, Dead at 57
Sebastian Marino, who played guitar in the bands Overkill and Anvil, died at the age of 57 in the early morning of January 1st after being rushed to a hospital while working a sound job at a New Year’s Eve event in Florida. Marino was a member of Canadian metal heroes Anvil from 1989 through 1995, appearing on their 1991 album Worth the Weight. Upon learning of Marino’s passing, Anvil singer-guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow wrote, “Condolences to my friend Sebastian Marino’s family and friends. Seby was a dear friend and I will miss him profoundly!! Worth the Weight was an extremely special Anvil album and it will keep Seby alive through our history forever! RIP SEBASTIAN MARINO.” The guitarist joined New Jersey thrash legends Overkill in late 1995, and remained with the band until 1999. He p...
