Heavy Metal
Jeopardy! Celebrated Rob Zombie’s Birthday with a Clue About the Rocker-Director: Watch
Rob Zombie turned 56 years old on Tuesday (January 12th), and he received the ultimate television honor — a mention on Jeopardy! The rocker-director was the correct response to a clue about his movie House of 1000 Corpses. With previous champion Ken Jennings guest hosting in the wake of the legendary Alex Trebek’s tragic passing in November, last night’s new airing of Jeopardy! featured a category titled “Insane Clown Posse”. No, the category wasn’t about the face-painted rap duo or their Juggalo fans. Instead, it focused on famous clowns from horror movies and TV. The clue was, “Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the murderous clown in House of 1000 Corpses, directed by this White Zombie frontman.” The correct $1,200 question, of course, was, “Who is Rob Zombie?”, as answered by contestant Dus...
ERRA Announce New Self-Titled Album, Share Music Video for “Divisionary”: Stream
Metalcore act ERRA have announced their self-titled fifth studio album, which arrives March 19th. The band has also shared the music video for the lead single, “Divisionary”. ERRA’s dynamic take on progressive metal shines through on the new song. Complex riffs mingle with upfront melodies to create an immersive soundscape. It’s a fitting single for the new album, which aims for an atmospheric, escapist listening experience, even if the songs like “Divisionary” are rooted in a very real dystopian fear. “It’s a song about our relationship to technology,” vocalist/guitarist Jesse Cash said in a press announcement. “The song is pretty on the nose and intentionally a bit tongue-in-cheek. It creates a sort of campy parallel between our phones and religion. In the song, technology is God and we ...
Corey Taylor Recruits Reality Star, Movie Actors, and Steel Panther for “Samantha’s Gone” Video: Watch
Corey Taylor’s new music video for his solo single “Samantha’s Gone” is a star-studded affair. The Slipknot frontman recruited the likes of Vanderpump Rules reality star Tom Sandoval, actor Dean Cameron (Summer School, Straight Outta Compton), and hair-metal parody band Steel Panther for the humorous clip. The backdrop is the set of the video shoot for the song, a track on Taylor’s recent debut solo album, CMFT. Sandoval appears as a mulleted frontman of an overzealous indie-rock band that also features Greg Grunberg (Star Wars movies), Latin musician Travis Miguel, guitarist Ace Von Johnson (Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns), and musician Jonah Nimroy. As they deliver a ridiculous performance of “Samantha’s Gone”, the director (played by Cameron) screams in disgust. When he begs them to stop, T...
Bassist Marko Hietala Quits Nightwish, Condemns Music Industry on the Way Out
Former Nightwish bassist Marko Hietala, second from right, courtesy of Nuclear Blast Longtime Nightwish bassist Marko Hietala has quit the symphonic metal band after joining the Finnish group in 2001. Hietala issued a highly personal statement regarding his departure, condemning the music industry in the process. Among his grievances, Hietala cited “streaming company big guns demanding 9-to-5 work from artists of inspiration while unfairly sharing the profits.” Nightwish have long been a leading artist in the world of symphonic metal, and their 2004 opus, Once, remains one of Nuclear Blast Records’ most successful releases after topping the charts in multiple countries. The bassist didn’t expressly call out his record label, specific promoters, or any of his bandmates, but said that a pers...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Gift Us with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” on an Exercise Bike: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah owned the pandemic in 2020 with a “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series featuring a number of memorable performances. Thankfully, for those of us still wanting eccentric covers of our favorite rock songs, the couple have continued the series into 2021. Their latest effort is a rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” featuring Toyah riding an exercise bike. As Fripp plays the iconic “Enter Sandman” riff on guitar, Toyah rides the bike, writhing around as she sings and acts out the song’s lyrics. This time around, it’s not so much the performance as it is Toyah’s revealing choice of apparel that has garnered the most comments on YouTube. In just one day, the clip has more than a half million views. “Enter Sandman” isn’t Robert and Toyah...
R.I.P. Marsha Zazula, Megaforce Records Co-Founder Who Helped Launch Metallica’s Career Dies at 68
Marsha Zazula, who co-founded Megaforce Records with her husband Jon Zazula (aka Jonny Z), has sadly passed away at the age of 68. The couple were instrumental in launching the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, and other metal bands. Marsha’s passing was confirmed by her daughter Rikki Zazula, who wrote, “RIP Mom April 21, 1952 – January 10, 2021. Your love, Your strength, Your memory and Your music has changed lives and will continue to FOREVER.” Along with Jonny, Marsha helped open the door for thrash metal on the East Coast. Jonny quit a Wall Street job and the pair began selling records at a flea market under the name Rock N’ Roll Heaven. Eventually, they established a New Jersey store that became an influential metal destination. Upon hearing Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo, Jonny ...
Iced Earth Bandmates Address Jon Schaffer Storming the Capitol: We Do Not Support Riots or Acts of Violence
Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer was among the hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, and is currently being sought by the FBI and Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police. On Saturday (January 9th), his bandmates addressed the situation, stating, “We absolutely do not condone nor do we support riots or acts of violence.” Schaffer was photographed at the head of a mob that broke into the Capitol building in an effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. The riot occurred shortly after Donald Trump held a rally nearby and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol, at one point saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The guitarist’s face was plastered all over m...
Comedian Brian Posehn Trashes Just About Every Pop Act in “New Music Sucks” Video: Watch
Comedian and metalhead Brian Posehn takes aim at a who’s who of pop music acts in his just-released video for “New Music Sucks”. Musically, he gets help from from Patrick Stump and Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy, whom he also humorously trashes in the song. The clip also features cameos from Weird Al Yankovic and Patton Oswalt. The track appears on Posehn’s 2020 album, Grandpa Metal, with Stump singing the hook and Trohman playing guitar. In the song, Posehn names a whole bunch of music stars, with lyrics like, “Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Drake and even Macklemore/ Alan Thicke’s kid, One Direction, Mumford and the Shitty Sons/ Kesha, Biebs, Lorde, Miley, Even Bruno Mars/ I’m sure he’s super talented, but try telling that to my ears.” He gets more vicious with Imagine Dragons, singing, “Imagine Dr...
Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Sought by Police for Storming the U.S. Capitol
Earlier today photos emerged of Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer storming the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. Now, the veteran metal musician is among the persons of interest sought for “unrest-related offenses” by the Metropolitan Police in Washington, D.C. The Metropolitan Police unveiled a Powerpoint presentation of dozens of people who are wanted for unlawful entry of the U.S. Capitol Grounds. A photo of Schaffer, which has already run on several major news outlets, was among the pictures included. Schaffer can be seen at the front of a mob, with an Oath Keepers hat and his finger pointed while yelling at someone out of the frame. The guitarist, who formed Iced Earth in 1984, has been outspoken about his political beliefs in the past. In the past, he questioned whether H...
Metallica’s Music Provides Soundtrack to Student Protests in Istanbul: Watch
Metallica’s James Hetfield (photo by Amy Price), Istanbul Protest (via Twitter: Ahval) University students in Istanbul blasted the Metallica classics “Master of Puppets” and “Sad But True” to protest the appointment of a new rector with ties to Turkey’s conservative ruling party. Interestingly, the new rector himself has claimed to be a Metallica fan. According to The Guardian, Melih Bulu was appointed rector of Boğaziçi University by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 1st. The decision outraged students and professors, who argue that the decision was an affront to their academic freedoms. Bulu was the first official to be appointed outside the university community since a 1980 military coup. Bulu is a self-described fan of heavy metal, exclaiming, “I am a rector who l...
Miley Cyrus’ Metallica Tribute Album Features Elton John, Chad Smith, and Yo-Yo Ma
Miley Cyrus, Elton John (photo by Lior Phillips), Chad Smith (photo via Wikipedia), and Yo-Yo Ma (photo via Wikipedia) Miley Cyrus isn’t slouching on the Metallica tribute album that she first announced back in October. In a new interview, the Plastic Hearts artist confirmed that the project is well underway and that it will feature an eclectic range of collaborators, from Elton John and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith to famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The 28-year-old first revealed her affinity for the metal titans when she busted out a roaring cover of “Nothing Else Matters” at Glastonbury 2019. Last year, she doubled-down on her admiration by saying that Plastic Hearts was heavily inspired by the thrashers. However, much like Cyrus’ latest full-length was a modern pop take on ’80s rock ...
Melvins Unveil New Song “Caddy Daddy’: Stream
The Melvins have shared the riff-filled “Caddy Daddy” from their upcoming album Working with God, out February 26th. The album sees the re-formation of the band’s 1983 lineup featuring Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and original drummer Mike Dillard. Given the young ages of the band members when they formed the Melvins, some teenage sense of humor in the new track is inevitable. These aren’t archival recordings, but new music from the 1983 lineup, in the vein of their previous full-length album, 2013’s Tres Cabrones. Like lead single “I F**k Around”, which crudely debauches The Beach Boys’ “I Get Around”, the new single, “Caddy Daddy”, boasts a similar irreverence both lyrically and musically. If it’s any indication of what to expect from the rest of Working with God, fans can look forward to ...
