Heavy Metal
Mastodon Explore Every Facet of Their Musical Language on Hushed and Grim: Review
The Lowdown: The four-year wait for Mastodon’s eighth studio album, Hushed and Grim, felt like an eternity. As one of the definitive modern metal bands, the group has displayed a level of craftsmanship that’s elevated its discography to the top of the heap. There’s a reason Mastodon garnered so many Metallica comparisons early in their career; not that they sounded alike, but rather, people could sense that the Atlanta quartet were going places. After releasing four now-considered-classic LPs, the band took a similarly mainstream turn, and for good reason. Mastodon had amassed a global audience that yearned for their cracking brand of prog-tinged sludge metal. If the wait for Hushed and Grim felt long, it’s because Mastodon were prepping a double-album opus spanning 15 tracks — a huge unde...
Mastodon Release Hushed and Grim, First New Album in Four Years: Stream
Atlanta metal band Mastodon have released their much-anticipated eighth studio album, Hushed and Grim, via Reprise Records. As Troy Sanders explained to Heavy Consequence, the new double album is deeply personal for Mastodon. Late band manager Nick John served as the inspiration for the set, as the band chronicled his battle with pancreatic cancer. “He was monumental in our existence,” Sanders says. “Almost as important, or more important, than being our band’s manager, he was our dear friend. I always called him my friend before I called him, ‘Oh, He’s also our manager.’ That’s kind of how our relationship worked, not just with me and him but all four of us in the band. He scooped us up in 2004 and, without compromising anything at all, brought us to many bigger and better stages all over...
Don’t Worry, Metallica Are Here to Teach You How to Be a Band
Who better to teach a class on how to be a band than one that’s seen it all? Enter Metallica! The metal legends will be the first band to use the virtual MasterClass teaching platform and will “unpack 40 years of success and share principles of communication, collaboration, creativity, perseverance, and longevity.” The course is now available via MasterClass’ subscription service. According to the description, Metallica walk viewers through the interpersonal dynamics of being in a longstanding band, as well as analyze some of their greatest songs such as “Enter Sandman” and “Master of Puppets.” Advertisement Related Video In addition to learning techniques related to songwriting and arrangement, the masterclass features social topics, such as the audience-performer relationship and ad...
Mining Metal: Abstracter, Conjureth, Fire-Toolz, Kowloon Walled City, Light of the Morning Star, The Silver, Sunless, Worm
Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. “Listen to them, children of the night, what music they make.” Even casual film buffs probably recognize that line, and not just because Tribulation titled an album after it. It was spoken by Bela Lugosi in the titular role of Dracula in the 1931 film. If you’ve never seen the movie, now’s the time, since it’s Halloween, and thanks to streaming it’s more readily available than probably any other film of its generation. But if you get a chance, watch the Spanish-language version, too. Moodier and more luxurious in its...
Ozzy Osbourne Announces Diary of a Madman 40th Anniversary Expanded Digital Edition
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating yet another album anniversary in 2021. The Prince of Darkness has announced a 40th anniversary expanded digital edition of his 1981 album, Diary of a Madman, out November 5th. The release includes the original eight-song tracklist and two live recordings previously unavailable digitally: “Believer” and “Flying High Again.” Diary of a Madman is considered a classic album in Ozzy’s canon. It was the last studio effort to feature the virtuosic guitarwork of Randy Rhoads, who tragically died in a plane crash in 1982. Advertisement Related Video Notable tracks from the album include the chugging opener “Over the Mountain,” the weed ballad and radio hit “Flying High Again,” and the epic closing title track. To coincide with the expanded digital edition, Ozzy has team...
Rammstein Premiere New Song … to an Astronaut in Space: Watch
Rammstein have premiered a new song from their forthcoming album … to one astronaut aboard the International Space Station. Drummer Christoph Schneider streamed the song from the comfort of his own studio, beaming it up to French astronaut Thomas Pesquet stationed on the ISS. The exchange was filmed and posted on Instagram. “Space is calling!” wrote Schneider. “I had the honor to speak with ISS astronaut @thom_astro on behalf of @rammsteinofficial. He is the current commander of the @iss and living in space since half a year. It felt like a child’s dream coming true for me — talking to a person living in the sky, sharing a glimpse of his view, realizing again how small we all are compared to the depth of the universe…” Advertisement Related Video Schneider continued: “He was the fir...
Red Fang Eulogized by Matt Pike, YOB, and More in Video for “Rabbits in Hives”: Stream
Red Fang are back with more comedy gold, this time staging their own funeral for the hilarious video for “Rabbit in Hives.” Just in time for Halloween, the four members of Red Fang find themselves deceased. At the open-casket memorial, a host of the band’s fellow heavy rock luminaries are in attendance to pay their respects: a shirtless Matt Pike of High on Fire, members of YOB, Lord Dying, and more. “I was surprised by the death of Red Fang,” eulogizes the band’s now jobless tour manager. “I guess a life of marginal fame and fortune takes a toll.” Advertisement Related Video One by one the guests take their turns at the podium, which devolves in a tongue-in-cheek roast of Red Fang. When it’s Pike’s turn, he unfolds a piece of paper to read a poem he “wrote”: “Carry on my wayward sons, the...
Slipknot Announce Knotfest Los Angeles Livestream
Slipknot have announced that they will stream their upcoming Knotfest Los Angeles concert. The stream goes live at 9:00 p.m. ET on Friday, November 5th. It marks Slipknot’s first-ever livestream event. In addition to their headlining set, bonus performances by support acts Killswitch Engage, Fever 333, Code Orange, Vended, and Cherry Bombs will also be streamed. Bring Me the Horizon is the only Knotfest Los Angeles act not included. Tickets are on sale now at this location for a pre-sale cost of $15, with day-of tickets going for $20. The stream will remain available for on-demand viewing for 72 hours after it goes live. Advertisement Related Video Knotfest Los Angeles will be another major stop on the ongoing Knotfest Roadshow tour. Slipknot recently hosted the sold-out Knotfes...
Mastodon Unveil Doomy New Song “Sickle and Peace”: Stream
Mastodon are coming up on the release of a new album, Hushed and Grim, which marks their first-ever double album. In advance of the record’s release, the Atlanta metal giants have premiered the new song “Sickle and Peace.” “Sickle and Peace” is the third track Mastodon have unveiled off Hushed and Grim, the first two being “Pushing the Tides” and “Teardrinker.” The new song features groovy, pulsating bass and drums, in typical Mastodon fashion, coupled with doomy guitars and powerful vocals. Heavy Consequence recently caught up with Mastodon singer-bassist Troy Sanders via Zoom video to talk about the inspiration behind Hushed and Grim. Advertisement “The album is about losing our manager, Nick John, just over three years ago to a battle with pancreatic cancer,” Sanders said. “He was monum...
David Ellefson on Megadeth Ousting: I’m “Disappointed” but “Not Bitter”
David Ellefson has directly addressed his firing from Megadeth in a new interview, stating that he is “disappointed” but “not bitter.” Earlier this week, we reported on the bassist giving his first post-Megadeth interview, though he was not directly asked about his firing from Megadeth in that conversation. Now, in a separate interview, Ellefson has discussed his exit from Megadeth. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Ellefson opened up about the sexually compromising incident with a young woman that led to his ousting, as well as his relationship with Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. Advertisement Related Video For context, Ellefson was initially accused of grooming an underage fan for an online sexual encounter. Videos of the encounter were leaked online by a separate party, leading to...
Corpsegrinder’s Name Removed as World of Warcraft Character Due to Past Homophobic Remarks
Game-maker Blizzard has removed George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher’s name from his World of Warcraft non-playable character (NPC) due to past homophobic remarks made by the Cannibal Corpse frontman in 2007. “Gorge the Corpsegrinder” was an NPC and quest-giver that paid homage to the death metal vocalist, an outspoken WoW fan and a prominent player for the multiplayer online game’s Horde faction. However, calls to remove Corpsegrinder from WoW began in September when gamers shed light on homophobic remarks Fisher made in a 2007 interview. The interview in question originated from 2007, and aired at the 2011 BlizzCon event. Fisher spoke about his love for World of Warcraft and playing for the Horde, but he called the rival faction, the Alliance, the “homo-alliance” and referred to those players a...
Judas Priest’s Rob Halford on 50 Years of Metal, Handcuffing Andy Warhol, and Touring with Ozzy Osbourne
Fifty years of doing anything in the arts is impressive — even more so in popular music, and especially in heavy metal. It’s a rigorous and demanding genre, and certainly of a niche for faithful. But it’s proved resilient, welcoming to new directions and trends while continuing to revere its traditions and its long-haulers. Judas Priest have become the latest to join the golden anniversary club, and in its case a band that’s spent the past half-century rocking uninterrupted, weathering lineup changes and changing audience tastes. But anyone who’s seen the quintet as recently as this year’s “50 Heavy Metal Years Tour” — which came to an abrupt and unexpected stop on September 26th after guitarist Richie Faulkner suffered a ruptured aorta onstage and more than 10 hours of open heart surgery ...
