Heavy Metal
Nightwish Singer Floor Jansen Issues Update on Breast Cancer Surgery
Earlier this week, Nightwish vocalist Floor Jansen announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. In the message, she shared the news that she was hoping to get the tumor removed this week and that her prognosis was “very good.” Now, Jansen has issued an encouraging update via social media, letting fans know that the surgery “went well.” “The tumor removal surgery went well without any surprises,” she wrote. “I’m recovering well and should be up and about soon. It will take a few weeks to know what the findings are regarding the tumor and lymph node that will be tested. I’ll keep you posted.” Advertisement Related Video She added, “I want to use this opportunity to thank the medical staff that took care of me. All done with so much care, empathy, and professionalism! I felt comp...
Disturbed Unleash Title Track from Upcoming Album Divisive: Stream
Disturbed have unveiled the title track from their upcoming album, Divisive, which arrives on November 18th. The song is classic Disturbed, with crunchy riffs, David Draiman’s powerful vocals, and a soaring, melodic chorus. Speaking about the theme of the song in a press release, Draiman explained, “The title track and the title itself are indicative of the incredibly fucked up state of things we are living in. It’s about how hyper-polarity has influenced everything people do in life.” He continued, “People are addicted to outrage. They’re addicted to finding the next thing that will piss them off so they can rave about it on social media. Everything negative was given a shot of steroids.” Advertisement Related Video Guitarist Dan Donegan added, “David was in the room listening to me play ...
Avatar Announce New Album Dance Devil Dance, Release Title Track: Stream
Avatar have announced their ninth album, Dance Devil Dance, set to arrive on February 17th. In advance of its release, the Swedish metal band has unveiled the LP’s title track. Avatar — vocalist Johannes Eckerström, guitarists Jonas Jarlsby and Tim Öhrström, bassist Henrik Sandelin, and drummer John Alfredsson — have also shared the somewhat graphic video for the title track, directed by Johan Carlèn. “I woke up to the truth one day,” Eckerström said in a statement. “With my heart pounding, and a heavy breath, I knew for sure. I am Satan. The snake and forbidden fruit with a longing for knowledge, freedom and agency. My feet were moving. I thought I was running, but I was dancing. A celebration. Yes, I am the Devil, and I believe that one day you can be the Devil too. It is my hope and amb...
Pantera Move First Headlining Reunion Show to 17,000-Seat Arena After Smaller Venue Quickly Sells Out
The Pantera reunion — or celebration or resurrection or whatever you want to call it — is clearly off to a strong start. The metal band’s first headlining show, set for Santiago, Chile, sold out so quickly that it’s moving to an arena that has triple the capacity of the original venue. The concert has been moved from December 13th at the 5,400-capacity Teatro Caupolicán to December 12th at the 17,000-seat Movistar Arena. In addition, Sepultura have been added to the bill as support. As previously reported, classic members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) have revived Pantera, with guitarist Zakk Wylde and Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante filling in for late brothers Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul, respectively. Advertisement Related Video The Santiago gig is not Pantera’s first...
Mining Metal: Abduction, Daeva, Faceless Burial, Forlesen, God Alone, MAL, The Otolith, and SUMAC/Keiji Haino
Every month, I could write to you all about how the selection process for this column is hard. When you first sit down to do something like this, there’s a hunger to write about all the bands that really get your engines going, to finally get to make people outside of your circle hear the things you’ve rehearsed in your head to pitch all this music you love to others. But as the months (and now years) creep on, you start finding that, well, those bands keep putting out music and a lot of it has stayed pretty good, but now new bands have joined the pack, and oh that’s a new label, and I’ve never even heard of this scene before, and wow these classic bands came back and put out a really special release, and… So sometimes the choices are less based on pure quality as other paradigms. One of t...
Top 5 Mötley Crüe Guitarist Candidates Following Mick Mars’ Retirement from Touring
With Mick Mars stepping away from touring, one of the highest profile guitar gigs in rock music is now on the job market. Mötley Crüe’s founding axeman will still remain a member of the band, but will no longer play live shows due to his ongoing battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a crippling degenerative disease that affects the spine. In addition to his health issues, Mars is the elder statesman of the Crüe, roughly a decade older than everyone else in the band. In the infamous Crüe biography The Dirt, Mars described how he often caught flak for his age, as he was already established as a journeyman guitarist in the years prior to Mötley Crüe’s formation. Given Mars’ experience, it’s only fitting that Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, and Vince Neil tap someone who not only fits the part but has al...
High on Fire and Municipal Waste Announce December 2022 US Co-Headlining Tour
High on Fire and Municipal Waste will embark on a short December 2022 US co-headlining tour. The two heavies will be supported by hardcore act GEL and doom metallers Early Moods on the 10-show run. Dates kicks off December 1st at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, and run through December 11th at The Orpheum in Tampa, Florida. See the full list of dates for High on Fire and Municipal Waste’s co-headlining tour below. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 28th at 10:00 a.m. local time. Grab your seats via Ticketmaster. Related Video The East Coast jaunt will wrap up a busy fall for High on Fire’s Matt Pike. Following High on Fire’s November 12th appearance at the Snowblind Festival in Atlanta, Pike will join up with his solo act — Pike vs. The Automaton — for a week-long trek throug...
Ozzy Osbourne to Perform Virtually as Part of “Ozzfest” at Metaverse Music Festival
Ozzy Osbourne is set to perform virtually for the “Ozzfest” portion of the second annual Metaverse Music Festival, which takes place online November 10th through the 13th. The Metaverse Music Festival (MVMF) will be hosted in Decentraland, the largest user-owned and operated virtual social world. Presented by digital asset platform Kraken, this year’s MVMF will feature 100-plus artists virtually performing across curated community genre stages that utilize new, Web3-enabled immersive virtual concert experiences. That said, the festival is free for all and can be attended even if you have don’t have a VR headset. As an example, the main attraction for this year’s MVMF is the “Tower of Babel” stage, which is set in a futuristic cyberpunk city. Here, attendees can watch headliners such as Uni...
Nita Strauss Unleashes New Song “The Wolf You Feed” Featuring Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz: Stream
Guitarist Nita Strauss has unveiled the new single “The Wolf You Feed” featuring Arch Enemy singer Alissa White-Gluz, along with an accompanying music video. Strauss and White-Gluz make for a mighty duo on the hard-hitting track. Strauss lays down dynamic riffs and the masterful shredding she became known for as the lead guitarist in Alice Cooper’s touring band. Meanwhile, White-Gluz wields her imitable harsh-clean vocal style, which will be immediately recognizable to fans of her work in Arch Enemy. The track follows Strauss’ 2021 rock hit “Dead Inside,” which featured Disturbed’s David Draiman. It would seem Strauss is set on tapping A-list vocalists for her as-yet-unannounced second solo album, with “The Wolf You Feed” fulfilling the guitarist’s longtime desire to collaborate with Aliss...
Iron Maiden Bring the “Beast” to Newark, New Jersey: Recap, Photos + Video
Iron Maiden are set to wrap up their extensive “Legacy of the Beast World Tour,” with the latest North American leg having kicked off last month in El Paso, Texas. The ongoing run made a stop in Newark, New Jersey, at a packed Prudential Center on Friday (October 21st), featuring support from Within Temptation. The worldwide outing, which began in 2018, comes to an end at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on October 27th, with tickets available here for the last couple shows. Iron Maiden are on the road in support of their 17th studio album, Senjutsu, and the UK heavy metal legends made sure to bring a few new tunes to Jersey, kicking off their 15-song set with the album’s title track, while also showcasing “Stratego” and “The Writing on the Wall.” Fans pumped their fists in the air as the b...
Immortal Announce New Album War Against All, Unveil Artwork and Tracklist
Norwegian black metal pioneers Immortal have announced their 10th studio album, War Against All. The new album is expected to arrive sometime in 2023 via Nuclear Blast, and will be the second Immortal album fronted by founding guitarist Demonaz, who took over vocals following the departure of Abbath in 2015. “Immortal continues the style that was established and defined on our very first records,” stated Demonaz in a press release. “It’s fast, furious, epic, and mighty Blashyrkh metal — the one and only way!” Related Video Regarding the artistic process of creating War Against All, Demonaz said that he still writes riffs and composes the same way he has since the early days of Immortal. Fans can expect the band to stick to its tried-and-true style of harsh black metal on the forthcoming LP...
Serj Tankian on What’s Next for System of a Down, Mixing Humor with Facts, and Interactive Experiences
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Amazon Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Serj Tankian catches up with Kyle Meredith to talk about Perplex Cities, his second EP in as many years, as well as what’s next for System of a Down. Advertisement Related Video The System of a Down singer tells us about using his car to mix his songs and the 95 tracks found in his vault, mixing humor with serious issues, and trying to change minds in order to save the world. In fact, it’s with that that Serj discusses the current atrocities in Armenia, how the song “I Spoke Up” touches on those topics, and musically mixing cultures. Tankian also talks about the interactive experiences he bring...
