Heavy Metal
Korn’s Brian “Head” Welch Admits That He “Went Too Far” with His Christian Beliefs
Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch has professed that he “went too far” with Christianity after becoming a born-again Christian in 2005 and kicking his substance abuse problems. In fact, Welch compared his obsession with the religion to his drug addictions, opening up about his experiences in a recent appearance on the podcast No F**kin’ Regrets with Robb Flynn, hosted by the Machine Head frontman. When asked if Christianity became his “new addiction”, Welch replied, “The crazy thing is I had an experience with something from another dimension. And it wasn’t the religion — going to church and being a good boy — it was, like, I felt something come into my house, and I can’t explain it to this day. But I believe that it was Christ doing something in me. So that was real — that was very real. ...
Children of Bodom Founder Alexi Laiho’s Cause of Death Revealed
Roughly two months after the tragic passing of former Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho at the age of 41, his cause of death has been revealed. According to Kimberly Goss, his ex-partner to whom he was still legally married, the singer-guitarist died from “alcohol-induced degeneration of the liver and pancreas connective tissue,” along with a “cocktail of painkillers, opioids and insomnia medication in his system.” Laiho’s death was first reported on January 4th, but he actually died on December 29th, 2020. He fronted the Finnish melodic death metal act Children of Bodom for more than 25 years (including their early days as Inearthed) until they split up in 2019. The musician, who formed the new band Bodom After Midnight in early 2020, was considered one of world’s premier heavy metal...
Tom Morello Considers Ted Nugent a Friend Despite Polar Opposite Political Beliefs
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello opened up about his unlikely friendship with rocker Ted Nugent during a recent appearance on The Howard Stern Show. Morello said he still considers Nugent a friend despite their opposing political beliefs. The RATM guitarist’s views are firmly on the left, while the gun-toting Nugent is about as far to the right as can be. Morello called Donald Trump an “orange-faced demagogue.” Meanwhile, the Nuge defended the former president following the Capitol insurrection, instead blaming Antifa and Black Lives Matter for the violent riot. Despite being polar opposites politically, Morello said he instead focused on their similarities as worldclass guitarists and staunch free-speech advocates. “For his 60th birthday, someone reached out to me and said, ...
Metallica Celebrate Master of Puppets Anniversary by Crushing “Battery” on Colbert: Watch
With Wednesday (March 3rd) marking the 35th anniversary of their landmark album Master of Puppets, Metallica returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to celebrate the iconic LP. The metal masters performed one of the thrash masterpiece’s standout tracks, “Battery”. Metallica really couldn’t have gone wrong with any song off the 1986 album. As we pointed out in our new retrospective piece on Master of Puppets, the band’s third LP is all killer, no filler from front to back. In fact, it’s arguably the greatest thrash metal album ever made. Positioned next to a graphic of the Master of Puppets album cover, Stephen Colbert introduced the performance by saying, “Their album Master of Puppets was released 35 years ago today, and had such an impact that it was added to the National Recordin...
Stryper’s Michael Sweet Fears It’s “Just a Matter of Time” Before the Bible Is Canceled
Michael Sweet, frontman of prominent Christian metal band Stryper, believes it’s “just a matter of time” before the Bible is canceled. The singer expressed his sentiments in a tweet on Tuesday (March 2nd), joining a slew of conservative personalities who’ve expressed similar fears about cancel culture in recent months. Sweet tweeted, “We’ve been handing out bibles for almost 40 years. For the first time in my life I’m asking myself this question – I wonder how long it will be before this book is cancelled? I know it may seem like a silly thought but it’s really not. It’s just a matter of time. Frightening!” The beginning of his tweet refers to Stryper’s stage show where they literally hurl Bibles into the audience, much like how other bands would throw guitar picks. As of a 2017 report, mo...
Dave Lombardo Reveals That His Classic Slayer Drum Sets Were Stolen
In a new interview, drummer Dave Lombardo has revealed that all of his classic Slayer drum kits were stolen in various thefts over the years. Lombardo offered up the awful news during a recent appearance on YouTube metal program “Hangin’ and Bangin’”. In addition to having two storage units broken into, a Slayer rehearsal room in Riverside, California, was also pilfered, resulting in the loss of Lombardo’s classic kits from his long stint as a founding member of the legendary thrash band. When asked the standard and typically innocuous question of how many drums he owns, Lombardo took a somber tone, replying, “Unfortunately… I don’t have many. Two storage units, at two different times in periods of my life, were broken into. So, I think, probably five-six drum kits out of the first storage...
Lzzy Hale and Members of Code Orange and Baroness Cover Pantera’s “Mouth for War”: Watch
Two Minutes to Late Night‘s “Bedroom Covers” quarantine series rolls on, and the latest socially distanced collab is an all-star rendition of the Pantera classic “Mouth for War”. Among the participants is Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale, Baroness guitarist Gina Gleason, and Code Orange guitarist/vocalist Reba Meyers. Rounding out the lineup is Year of the Knife’s Madi Watkins, drummer Ben Koller of Mutoid Man, along with “Two Minutes” host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds). Needless to say, it’s a star-studded ensemble, and they rip through the opening track from Pantera’s 1992 thrash masterpiece, Vulgar Display of Power. “Mouth for War” is one of Pantera’s most extreme songs both vocally and guitar-wise. The collection of talented musicians do Philip Anselmo and Dimebag Darrell justice in ...
Over 100 Italian Music Acts Staged a “Silent” Strike in Place of a Livestream Concert
Lacuna Coil and more than 100 other Italian music acts staged a “silent” non-performance strike during a planned livestream concert event on Saturday, February 27th, much to the surprise of viewers who tuned in to see the show. After video showed Lacuna Coil getting ready for the “show,” the band took the stage in white jumpsuits. Instead of launching into their powerful brand of heavy metal, they stood quietly. In an initial statement, Lacuna Coil explained, “You were expecting to see a live show while we just stood in silence. It’s not a bad joke. This is the situation of live clubs in Italy. Places where we got to meet many of you. It is with this bitter taste in our mouths that we’re asking for your support. For them a live show with no music is not a live show. A silent live club is n...
Rammstein Recorded a New Album They “Hadn’t Planned On” During Lockdown
Rammstein did indeed record a new album during lockdown, affirms keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz in a new interview. The confirmation comes after the German industrial metal band had shared images from the studio last year. Originally, Rammstein had intended to spend much of 2020 on the road, including their first-ever full-scale stadium tour of North America. Due to the pandemic, touring was put on hold, and the band found itself with a lot of time on its hands. Instead of sitting around waiting for concerts to resume, Rammstein hit the studio and recorded a very quick (especially by their standards) follow-up to their 2019 untitled album. “The fact that we couldn’t perform live increased our creativity,” Flake told the German website Motor Music. “We had more time to think of new th...
Actress Bianca Allaine Calls Marilyn Manson the “Most Terrifying Person I’ve Ever Met,” Sets Up Meeting with FBI
Bianca Allaine has joined the growing list of women who have accused Marilyn Manson of abuse. The actress claims that the shock rocker forcibly kissed her when she was 16 in 1995, and then engaged in a “terrifying” sexual relationship with her when she was 19. She plans to soon speak to the FBI about her experiences. Allaine, who has mostly acted in B-movies like Zombinatrix and Nightmare Next Door, told her story to The Sun, explicitly detailing a disturbing experience with the singer. “Marilyn Manson might be scary, but Brian Warner is the most terrifying person I’ve ever met in my life,” said Allaine, referencing the rocker’s real name. “He’s evil.” She added, “We were often never alone on the tour bus, and his fetish back then was to watch people have sex with me or do things to ...
Melvins Celebrate 1983 Lineup on Noisy Riff Fest Working with God: Review
The Lowdown: At this point in their lengthy career, the Melvins are out to entertain themselves as much as their audience. This has included fruitful solo projects from founding members Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover, as well as alternate versions of the band itself such as Melvins Lite and Melvins 1983 — the latter being a modern take on an early Melvins lineup. The “Melvins 1983” lineup is featured on the new album Working with God, with Osborne on vocals and guitar, Crover on bass, and original drummer Mike Dillard back in the fold. The LP is the trio’s second album in this format, and like the first, it sees the Melvins reveling in copious riffage and lowbrow humor. After all, they were teenagers when they formed the band. The Good: Technically, the band’s 1983 lineup includ...
Sabaton Unveil Music Video for New Song “Livgardet”: Stream
Swedish military historian metallers Sabaton have unveiled the music video for new song “Livgardet”, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Swedish Royal Guard. The track is the first new music from Sabaton since their 2019 album, The Great War. Once again, the band look toward history and heroism for inspiration, this time focusing on the feats of Sweden’s longstanding guard. Appropriately, the band don period-centric regalia for the music video and accompanying press photo. And for the first time in years, Sabaton have penned a song in their native Swedish language. “Since 2012 and Carolus Rex, we have been looking forward to writing more songs in Swedish, and we felt that we were not done with the history of our fatherland,” bassist and co-songwriter Pär Sundström said in a press re...
