Heavy Metal
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Pioneering Rocker Leather Leone
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. Erickson is also a music artist herself and has a new EP and single out, “Last Love,” with Upon Wings. The latest edition of Beyond the Boys’ Club features an interview with Leather Leone. Throughout the 1980s, Leather Leone was a strong voice in metal music. From her early days in Rude Girl to her high-profile performances with guitar icon David T. Chastain’s band Chastain, Leone was one of the pioneers for women in heavy music. After a long break away from the music scene, Leather is as active in the industry as ever. She recently released her third solo album, We...
Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain Quietly Battled Laryngeal Cancer a Couple Years Ago
Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2020, but thankfully is now cancer-free. The metal veteran actually revealed his cancer battle last year in an inconspicuous interview with the University of Miami’s School of Medicine that has just been picked up by Blabbermouth. McBrain started noticing a change in his voice in 2019 that served as a cause of concern. He initially chalked it up to a habit he’s developed while drumming: “When I play drums with the band, I actually sort of scream and yell while I play, like a Judo guy slapping the mat.” However, he eventually felt that there was something more to his vocal issues this time around. “When you are lying down in a quiet room and you speak and hear your voice in your head and have a cold, you sound differen...
Bam Margera Rocks Out at Amon Amarth Show After Hospitalization: Watch
Bam Margera was spotted side-stage at an Amon Amarth concert on Friday (December 16th) in San Diego following his recent hospitalization. It was certainly encouraging to see Margera rocking out with the Swedish Viking metal band after his serious health scare. The former Jackass star was hospitalized at a San Diego hospital ICU earlier this month and placed on a ventilator after testing positive for COVID-19. His condition included a case of pneumonia, with deteriorating oxygen levels. It appears Bam made a full recovery, as footage from the Amon Amarth show sees him wearing a huge smile while headbanging and capturing video on his phone. Advertisement Related Video Earlier this year, Margera completed a one-year substance abuse program as part of a court-mandated rehab ...
Metallica Play New Single “Lux Æterna,” Perform with St. Vincent at Benefit Show: Recap, Photos and Video
Founded in 2017 by Metallica and their management, the All Within My Hands Foundation was started as a way to give back to the community by fighting hunger, supporting workforce education, helping with disaster relief, and so much more. The band has hosted two previous “Helping Hands Concert and Auction” performances in previous years, and Friday night (December 16th) marked the third, taking place at the sold-out Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. After being introduced by Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., Metallica took the stage with acoustic guitars, and opened the evening with “Blackened 2020.” Although they were “unplugged,” the band sounded just as heavy as always, with Kirk playing a 12-string version of his classic white Ouija board inspired guitar. After “The Unforgiven,” James...
Candlemass Announce 2023 West Coast Tour
Swedish doom metal legends Candlemass have announced their first batch of 2023 US tour dates. The run is comprised of a handful of West Coast dates in support of their new album, Sweet Evil Sun, which arrived in November via Napalm Records. The tour will set off March 10th in Seattle, and run through a March 17th date in San Diego, with support acts yet to be announced. Tickets for select shows are currently available here. Candlemass — featuring vocalist Johan Lanquist, lead guitarist Lars Johansson, rhythm guitaristMappe Björkman, bassist Leif Edling and drummer Janne Lind — took 18 months to craft Sweet Evil Sun. Produced by Marcus Jidell, the record explores “themes of ambition and strife, hope and failure,” according to a statement. Advertisement Related Video Sweet Evil Sun was named...
10-Year-Old Girl Fronts Crushing Cover of Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem”: Watch
Ten-year-old Zoë Franziska channels her inner Corey Taylor on a new cover of Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem,” the latest video from the metal-loving folks at the O’Keefe Music Foundation. The performance is introduced by four-year-old Laura, who offers up the song’s very metal countdown 8-7-6-6-6-5-4-3-2-1 to get things started. Then, Zoë and her backing band — ranging in age from seven through 17 — proceed to deliver a crushing rendition of the classic track off Slipknot’s 2001 album Iowa. In some of the previous performances produced by the O’Keefe Music Foundation, the singer has a sweet kid’s voice set against heavy instrumentals, but Zoë’s vocals are metal to the bone. Seeing her scream, “If you’re 555, then I’m 666,” is quite the sight. Advertisement Related Video Meanwhile, 12-year-...
Apocalyptica Unveil “Rise Again” Featuring Epica Singer Simone Simons: Stream
Finnish metal cellists Apocalyptica have unleashed a new single, “Rise Again,” featuring vocals from Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. The song precedes a 2023 UK/European tour co-headlined by Apocalyptica and Epica. “Rise Again” is a new take on the instrumental song “Rise,” which appears on Apocalyptica’s latest studio album, 2020’s Cell-0. “It was so great to make ‘Rise Again’ with Simone Simons!” Apocalyptica’s Eicca Toppinen said of the new song in a statement. “When we were putting the ‘Epic Apocalypse’ tour together, we were thinking of making this collaboration with Epica even deeper by releasing a song together.” Advertisement Related Video He continued, “‘Rise’ from our Cell-0 album had the beauty and feel which we felt could fit perfectly for Simone’s unique voi...
Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs of 2022
Our 2022 Annual Report continues with our Top 30 Metal and Hard Rock Songs list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here. Heavy music has reached a golden age of sorts. The family tree of genres continues to branch out, with artists finding new ways to expand upon the styles of the past. For example, Spirit Adrift are a loving update on vintage thrash and doom, while a band such as Boris seek to constantly test themselves with new sounds and concepts. Any and every sonic direction is viable, and that’s the beauty of it …a never-ending well of art that has tirelessly evolved into a aural universe unto itself. This year offered some welcome surprises and reunions, such as the ret...
Hellfest 2023 Lineup: Iron Maiden, Pantera, Slipknot, KISS, Mötley Crüe, and More
Hellfest Open Air has announced its 2023 lineup, and once again it’s a mammoth list of the biggest metal and hard rock bands in the world. Iron Maiden, Pantera, Slipknot, KISS, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, and more than 170 other acts have signed on for the four-day extravaganza, taking place June 15th-18th in Clisson, France. This past year, Hellfest staged an unprecedented seven-day festival, making up for lost time due to the pandemic. In 2023, the French fest is returning to a four-day event, but the lineup is still quite impressive. Joining the aforementioned acts are Hollywood Vampires (the supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Johnny Depp), Tenacious D, Rancid, Porcupine Tree, Sum 41, Behemoth, Fishbone, Coheed and Cambria, Amon Amarth,, Puscifer, Machine Gun Kelly, Meshugga...
Heavy Band of the Year Lamb of God Reached New Heights in 2022: Interview
Our 2022 Annual Report continues with the announcement of Lamb of God as our Heavy Band of the Year, along with a video interview with guitarist Mark Morton. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here. Lamb of God absolutely crushed 2022. The metal veterans continued their ascent to the top of the genre’s ranks with another stellar album, Omens, and brought their live show to new heights on a couple of memorable tours. They are Consequence’s Heavy Band of the Year for 2022. With Slayer calling it a day in 2019, it can be easily argued that Lamb of God have taken over as the premier act when it comes to extreme metal. And whether the band agrees with that assessment or not, they’re...
2023 Welcome to Rockville Lineup: Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, Avenged Sevenfold and More
Welcome to Rockville Festival has revealed its 2023 lineup, and it’s absolutely jam-packed with many of the biggest names in rock and metal. The four-day fest features headliners Pantera, Tool, Slipknot, and Avenged Sevenfold, plus dozens of other notable acts. Taking place May 18th-21st at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Flordia, the 2023 edition of Welcome to Rockville also boasts such acts as Deftones, Queens of the Stone Age, Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Evanescence, Alice Cooper, Incubus, The Mars Volta, and more. Four-day passes are available via the official festival site. Slipknot will headline on Thursday (May 18th), and will be joined by Rob Zombie, QOTSA, Puscifer, Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, Black Veil Brides, Suicidal Tendencies, Avatar, Converge, Band-Maid...
Ozzy Osbourne Unsure About Touring Again: “I Just Can’t Fucking Walk Much Now”
Ozzy Osbourne hasn’t toured since various injuries and ailments forced him off the road beginning in late 2018. While he currently has an oft-postponed UK/European tour on the books for Spring 2023, the metal legend isn’t sure if he’ll be able to honor those dates, saying, “I just can’t fucking walk much now.” It’s been a rough four years for Osbourne, who contracted a staph infection in fall 2018; caught pneumonia in early 2019, at which time he suffered a serious fall at his home that dislodged previously-inserted metal rods in his back; and revealed an ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease in early 2020. In June of this year, he underwent a major neck surgery that his wife Sharon stated would “determine the rest of his life.” While he has been able to release two well-received albums ...
