Heavy Metal
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Indulges Classical and Prog Tendencies on His Excellent Debut Solo EP Portals: Review
For a band with a such a storied career as Metallica, it is rather surprising that the longtime active members haven’t ventured off into various solo projects. That said, if we were to have wagered which member was most likely to go it alone, our best bet would’ve been Kirk Hammett. For years we’ve been hearing about the guitarist stockpiling hundreds, if not thousands of riffs on his phone. Considering Metallica’s deliberate workflow, only so many of these riffs and melodies, if any, will actually make it onto one of their records. Kirk needed an outlet, and he found it with his debut solo EP, Portals. No, this isn’t Kirk’s foray into becoming a singer-songwriter. Rather, the four-song release is entirely instrumental and contains minimal traces of heavy metal. Hammett said he took a “Aud...
Without Randy Blythe, Lamb of God Perform with Singers of Chimaira, Trivium, and In Flames: Watch
As reported yesterday, Randy Blythe tested positive for COVID-19, leading Lamb of God to announce that Chimaira singer Mark Hunter and a “few friends” would handle vocals for the band at Tuesday night’s show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those “few friends” included Matt Heafy and Anders Fridén of support acts Trivium and In Flames, respectively. Blythe contracted COVID after just six shows on Lamb of God’s co-headlining “Metal Tour of the Year” with Megadeth. Instead of canceling any gigs, Lamb of God are proceeding for the time being with Hunter and company helping out on vocals. Last night saw Lamb of God play an abbreviated 10-song set (they had been playing 12 songs with Blythe), with Hunter handling vocals on seven of the tunes, including newer tracks like “Memento Mori” and classics li...
Spirit Adrift Announce 20 Centuries Gone Collection, Share New Song “Sorcerer’s Fate”: Stream
Spirit Adrift have announced a new collection of songs titled 20 Centuries Gone. The eight-song release arrives August 19th and includes two new original tracks and six cover songs. One of those originals is “Sorcerer’s Fate,” which the band have offered up as the lead single. The song melds melodic guitar leads with propulsive riffing in a modern-yet-classic style. There’s a distinct Euro power metal flavor to the sound, while the lyrics are inspired by filmmaker William Friedkin (The Exorcist). “Musically, I would say it’s one of our heaviest and most straightforward songs,” singer-guitarist Nate Garrett said via a press release. “Inspired equally by New Orleans sludge, flipped-cap crossover, and Scandinavian metal, but with the distinct Spirit Adrift sound and approach.” Advertisement R...
Randy Blythe Tests Positive for COVID-19, Lamb of God to Perform with Chimaira’s Mark Hunter on Vocals
Just six shows into Lamb of God’s Spring 2022 North American tour with co-headliners Megadeth, frontman Randy Blythe has tested positive for COVID-19. Instead of canceling any shows, Lamb of God will perform on Tuesday night (April 19th) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with Chimaira singer Mark Hunter and a “few friends” on vocals. This is the second leg of the two headliners’ “Metal Tour of the Year,” which had a successful run this past fall. The first leg went off without a hitch, but unfortunately, COVID has reared its ugly head early in the current leg. A statement on Lamb of God’s Facebook page reads as follows: “Grand Rapids – Randy Blythe tested positive for COVID over the weekend and has been isolating away from the rest of the band. While his symptoms have been mild and he’s on t...
Anthrax and Black Label Society Announce Co-Headlining 2022 North American Tour
Metal veterans Anthrax and Black Label Society are teaming up for a co-headlining North American tour this Summer. Rounding out the bill are hardcore metallers Hatebreed. The outing kicks off July 26th in Phoenix, and runs through an August 28th show in Philadelphia. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 22nd) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster, but a series of pre-sales begin before then, including a Citi pre-sale on Monday (April 18th) at noon ET and a Live Nation pre-sale tomorrow (April 19th) at 10 a.m. local time (use code ROADIE). Anthrax, who formed in 1981, will finally be able to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band in person with their fans, after a series of virtual events last year. The trek will also offer a chance for the thrash masters to hit ...
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Shares New Song “High Plains Drifter” from Upcoming Solo EP: Stream
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has unveiled the new song “High Plains Drifter” from his upcoming instrumental solo EP, Portals, out April 23rd. The song offers the first taste of music from the EP, and sees Hammett embracing his fondness for cinema and epic musical composition. The guitarist enlisted the help of Edwin Outwater (Metallica’s S&M2), Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age (and a member of Kirk’s covers act The Wedding Band), and members of the LA Philharmonic orchestra to achieve the grandeur heard on “High Plains Drifter.” As Hammett explained in a press release, the track shares an inspirational relationship with the 1973 film of the same name. Advertisement Related Video “[The song] was not meant to be specifically music for that film, but … once it was written, I im...
OTTTO and Bastardane, Each Featuring the Son of a Metallica Member, Announce Co-Headlining 2022 Tour
Two bands that each feature the son of a Metallica member have announced a co-headlining 2022 US tour. OTTTO (with Robert Trujillo’s bassist son Tye Trujillo) and Bastardane (with James Hetfield’s drummer son Castor Hetfield) will hit the West Coast together beginning in late May. Both OTTTO and Bastardane played shows in San Francisco back in December as part of Metallica’s 40th anniversary celebration takeover in the city. Each band is set to perform at the previously announced BottleRock festival in Napa Valley on May 27th (Bastardane) and May 28th (OTTTO). From there, they’ll play six co-headlining shows together, all in California, with tickets available here. Tye, who was also in the now defunct band Suspect208 (which featured the sons of Scott Weiland and Slash), is a seasoned pro a...
Machine Head Announce New Album, Unveil Single “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate”: Stream
Machine Head have announced a new concept album, Of Kingdom and Crown, set to arrive on August 26th. In advance of its release, the veteran metal act has released the heavy single “Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate.” Regarding the concept surrounding the upcoming album, frontman Robb Flynn stated, “Thanks to my two teenage boys, my family has become obsessed with this awesome Japanese anime series called Attack on Titan. The album’s concept was loosely inspired by the series in the sense that in the storyline, there is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ guy — both characters believe they’re doing the right thing as it applies to their being, but make no mistake, both are committing acts of pure atrocity and evil. The opening track ‘Slaughter the Martyr’ is basically our character No. 1’s origin story.” A pr...
Five Finger Death Punch, Megadeth and The HU Announce 2022 US Tour
Five Finger Death Punch have announced a 2022 US tour with Megadeth, The HU, and Fire From the Gods. In addition, FFDP have unveiled the title track from their upcoming album, AfterLife. The tour kicks off August 19th in Portland, Oregon, and runs through an October 15th show in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tickets go on sale Friday (April 15th) at 10:00 a.m. local time to the general public via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning today (April 12th). In addition to the tour announcement, FFDP revealed that they will release their ninth studio album, AfterLife, later this year. The LP is being produced by Kevin Churko, and is being touted as “arguably most diverse record of the band.” For the first taste of the LP, FFDP have just unleashed the title track (listen below). Advertisement Related V...
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Once Purposely Peed on a Bathroom Floor in The White House
Megadeth kicked off the second leg of their “Metal Tour of the Year” with co-headliners Lamb of God over the weekend, and on the second night of the outing (April 10th) in Tucson, Arizona, frontman Dave Mustaine shared some inside information from The White House. Actually, he confessed that he once purposely pissed on a bathroom floor in the president’s residence. Mustaine visited The White House back in 1992 as part of the “Rock the Vote” campaign. It was then that he left his mark on The White House. As seen in the footage from Sunday night’s concert below (and transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine began, “I want you guys to know that I’ve lived through a lot of different eras in the United States and seen different things, and one thing that makes me the most proud of everything here ...
Decapitated Unleash New Song “Hello Death” Featuring Jinjer’s Tatiana Shmayluk: Stream
Polish death metal band Decapitated have unveiled the new song and video “Hello Death” featuring Tatiana Shmayluk of Ukrainian metal band Jinjer. It’s the second single we’ve heard from Decapitated’s forthcoming album, Cancer Culture, out May 27th. This time the band enlisted Shmayluk for a powerful duet, bolstering the melodic sensibilities of Decapitated’s multifaceted brand of death metal. Considering Decapitated hail from Poland — the neighboring country that’s been a haven of refuge for Ukrainians escaping the horrors of Russia’s invasion — the duet and song contents are particularly poignant in this moment. Jinjer previously dropped off their US tour with Slipknot to help aid their country when the war broke out. Advertisement Related Video Decapitated guitarist Waclaw “Vog...
Rammstein Undergo Radical Plastic Surgery in Video for New Single “Zick Zack”: Watch
Rammstein have unveiled another new single ahead of their forthcoming album, Zeit. The latest song is called “Zick Zack” and it was preceded by a clever marketing campaign. On April 1st, Rammstein announced that they had invested in the “Zick Zack Beauty Clinic” in Berlin, which many fans thought to be an April Fools joke. While there’s no proof of the existence of the beauty clinic, fans around the world called a “Zick Zack” hotline to speak with a “team of experts.” Now, it’s evident that the campaign was tied to the new single and its accompanying music video, which, according to a press release, “deal with what is nowadays often a compulsive tendency on the part of the individual towards self-optimization, sometimes through radical alteration of the visual appearance by use of the scal...
