Heavy Metal
Disturbed’s David Draiman Applauds Spotify for “Making the Right Call” in Neil Young vs. Joe Rogan Decision
After receiving an ultimatum from rock legend Neil Young to choose between his music and Joe Rogan’s podcast, Spotify decided to keep streaming The Joe Rogan Experience and remove the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s music. Now, Disturbed singer David Draiman has weighed in on the decision, applauding Spotify for “making the right call.” As previously reported, Young issued an open letter deriding Rogan for spreading false COVID information, asking Spotify to remove his music because he didn’t want to be associated with the same streaming service that profits from Rogan’s podcast. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them,” wrote Young. “Please act on this immedi...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Lena Scissorhands of Infected Rain
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 will release a new single, “Scars,” on February 4th with Upon Wings. This month’s piece features an interview with Lena Scissorhands of Infected Rain. Moldovan metal band Infected Rain released their fifth studio album, Ecdysis, on January 7th. Created during lockdown, the new record covers the gamut of themes, from the strength and power of the female experience (“Fighter”) to tumultuous world events that took place during pandemic (“The Realm of Chaos”). Infected Rain also just announced that they’re returning to North A...
35 Most Anticipated Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2022
The pop culture forecast for 2022 is looking mighty fine, and we’re previewing everything we’re excited about this year with a series of lists. Just so you have it all in one place, we’ve also published our Most Anticipated (Non-Heavy) Albums, Most Anticipated Films, Most Anticipated TV Shows and Rising Artists to Watch roundups. Every corner of the music industry has been affected by the pandemic, and the realms of heavy metal and hard rock were put in a precarious limbo following the lockdowns of 2020. For visceral genres so reliant on the energy of live performance, the lack of shows cast a malaise over the scene, resulting in an album drought. For many acts, it simply didn’t make sense to release an album they couldn’t support with a tour. Many, like Avenged Sevenfo...
Anthrax’s Scott Ian Pays Tribute to Father-in-Law Meat Loaf: “There Are So Many Stories I Want to Tell”
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian has posted a tribute to his father-in-law, Meat Loaf, who passed away at age 74 on Thursday (January 20th). The veteran metal musician is married to the late singer’s adopted stepdaughter, Pearl Aday. Ian posted two photos on Instagram, including one of Pearl and her sister Amanda making silly faces with Meat Loaf, and another of Meat Loaf having fun with his grandson Revel (Scott and Pearl’s child). “There are so many stories to tell, and I know they will all be told over time,” wrote Ian. “For now, what I know is that Meat’s legacy will live on through his family — Pearl, Amanda and Revel. Their forever love for their father/grandfather (Papa Meat) outweighs the heaviness of their hearts. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love, we feel it. I love you...
Evan Rachel Wood Says Marilyn Manson “Essentially Raped” Her on Camera During Music Video Shoot
Editor’s Note: The following article contains a description of an alleged sexual assault that may be triggering or sensitive to some readers. Roughly a year ago, Evan Rachel Wood named Marilyn Manson as her abuser, opening the door for many other women to allege abuse at the hands of the rock singer. In a new documentary, Phoenix Rising, the actress reveals more details about her relationship with Manson, at one point alleging that he “essentially raped” her on the set of the “Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)” music video. In the film, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, Wood discusses her experience on the set of the music video as follows (via Pitchfork): “We had discussed a simulated sex scene, but once the cameras were rolling, he started penetratin...
Ozzy Osbourne’s CryptoBatz NFTs Hit by Scam That Bilked Users Out of Thousands of Dollars
A few weeks ago, Ozzy Osbourne announced his new CryptoBatz NFT collection, making 9,666 unique digital bat designs available to those willing to part with their cryptocurrency. Now it turns out that a large number of people were scammed out of thousands of dollars worth of crypto thanks to a bad link shared by the project’s official Twitter account and website. As tech site The Verge reports, Cryptobatz uses the site Discord for its transactions and initially used the shot URL “discord.gg/cryptobatznft” (do NOT click) in its Twitter posts. Somewhere along the line, the official short link was changed to discord.gg/cryptobatz, but hackers took advantage of the old URL to set up a fake Discord site. Unfortunately, Ozzy and his partner companies still left up the old Tweets with the old link...
Testament Part Ways with Drummer Gene Hoglan in Advance of “Bay Strikes Back” Tour
Testament have announced that they’ve parted ways with drummer Gene Hoglan as they prepare to headline the “Bay Strikes Back” tour this spring. The veteran thrash band cited scheduling conflicts involving Hoglan’s other projects as the primary reason for the split. Hoglan, one of heavy metal’s most skilled and respected drummers, has earned the nickname “The Atomic Clock” for his precision playing. He briefly played in Testament from 1996 to 1997, appearing on 1997’s Demonic. He then rejoined the band in 2011 and had been Testament’s drummer for the past 10-plus years, performing on their last three albums, including 2020’s Titans of Creation. A statement from Testament reads as follows: “First off, we are beyond grateful to have had Gene Hoglan behind our drum throne for ten years, severa...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Debuts Black Metal Project Ibaraki with First Single “Tamashii No Houkai” Feat. Ihsahn: Stream
Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy has unveiled his new black-metal solo project Ibaraki, sharing the video for debut single “Tamashii No Houkai” featuring Ihsahn. Ibaraki — the name for a Japanese demon taken from feudal legend — celebrates Heafy’s Japanese heritage and appreciation for the music of Ihsahn. It was the Emperor founder that inspired Heafy to embark on the path of black metal, acting as a friend and mentor. The mutual appreciation between the two artists led to collaboration, with Ihsahn producing the Ibaraki material. “Tamashii No Houkai” is only the first of numerous songs “assembled over months and years,” and Ihsahn himself appears on the song. Advertisement Related Video The track opens with a gust of Nordic black metal. Incorporating harsh and clean vocals, Heafy so...
Midnight Announce New Album Let There Be Witchery, Share “Szex Witchery”: Stream
Midnight, the one-man metal project of multi-instrumentalist Athenar, has announced a new album, Let There Be Witchery. Lead single “Szex Witchery” is available now ahead of the LP’s March 4th release date. Under the Midnight moniker, Athenar has proliferated a brand of blackened heavy metal where sodomy and blasphemy reign. For the uninitiated, the new song “Szex Witchery” is a perfect introduction to the Midnight’s Motörhead-playing-black-metal assault. This is “music to start fights to,” as record label Metal Blade so gently puts it. “I always want it to be loud and nasty,” Athenar said via the label’s press release. “That kinda thing never gets old with me. How funny will that look to see me at age 77 — if I reach that point — sitting on the porch blasting Hellhammer?” Advertisement Re...
Behemoth and Arch Enemy Announce Co-Headlining 2022 North American Tour
Behemoth and Arch Enemy are joining forces for the co-headlining “North American Siege” tour this spring. Napalm Death and Unto Others (formerly known as Idle Hands) will support the outing, making for a stacked bill of extreme metal. The tour spans 19 shows and kicks off on April 16th in Tempe, Arizona, running through a May 15th date in Los Angeles. Tickets go sale Friday (January 21st) at 10 a.m. local time and can be purchased via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning tomorrow (January 20th). “To say that we are dying to return on the road would be an understatement!” remarked Behemoth frontman Nergal. “In fact, we’ve never been more hungry to reunite with our legions… not only to bring young of the hottest extreme metal touring lineups in a long time but also to bring you new Behemot...
Clutch to Embark on 2022 North American Tour with Eyehategod, The Sword, and More
Clutch have announced an extensive Spring 2022 North American tour with support from Eyehategod and The Sword on select dates. The trek is split into two legs. The first part launches March 18th in Birmingham, Alabama, and runs through an April 10th date in Joliet, Illinois. Eyehategod and Tigercub will support these shows. After a break, Clutch will return to the road with The Sword and Nate Bergman for the second leg of the tour, kicking off April 27th in Burlington, Vermont, and running through May 22nd in Richmond, Virginia. All tickets go on sale Friday (January 21st) and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Clutch recently wrapped up their annual string of holiday shows, which followed an earlier run of dates in the fall. Before that, the band made the most of lockdown with a series of...
Slipknot Announce 2022 North American Knotfest Roadshow Tour
Slipknot have announced the 2022 edition of their “Knotfest Roadshow” package tour. The North American outing will be divided into two distinct one-month legs, with In This Moment and Jinjer supporting the first run, and Cypress Hill and Ho99o9 opening the second round. The first leg of the tour kicks off March 16th in Fargo, North Dakota, and runs through an April 17th show in Vancouver, British Columbia. The second leg launches May 18th in University Park, Pennsylvania, and wraps up with a June 18th concert in Chula Vista, California. Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 21st, at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning as early as today (January 18th). The new dates come as Slipknot continue to support their 2019 album, We Are Not Your Kind, while also prepari...
