Heavy Metal
Metallica Tally More Than 1 Billion Spotify Streams in 2020
As they enter their 40th year of existence, Metallica remain a metal powerhouse: the band tallied more than 1 billion streams on Spotify in 2020 alone. Metallica shared a graphic on their Instagram feed, which lists their 2020 Spotify statistics as 1.1 billion streams, 99.3 million hours, 53.3 million unique listeners, and 92 different countries. ‘We thought last year’s numbers were insane,” wrote the band. “You guys have outdone yourselves! 99.3M hours?! That’s like if someone started listening on October 27, 9318 B.C. and never stopped. Can anyone guess what this year’s most-played song was, clocking in at 128.6M streams?? You remain the most dedicated fans in the world – thank you for spending so much of your year with us!” The two most-played songs were likely “Nothing Else Matter...
R.I.P. Alexi Laiho, Longtime Children of Bodom Frontman Dead at 41
Founding Children of Bodom frontman Alexi Laiho has tragically died at the age of 41. The musician, considered one of metal’s best contemporary guitarists, passed away at his home in Helsinki, Finland, after suffering from “long-term health issues,” according to his label, Napalm Records. Laiho originally formed Children of Bodom as Inearth back in 1993 as a young teenager. He remained with the acclaimed Finnish melodic death metal act until the band decided to split up after playing a final show in December 2019. Laiho formed a new group, Bodom After Midnight, last year after giving up the rights to the Children of Bodom name to three of the band’s other longtime members. “We are crushed by the sudden passing of our dear friend and band member. Words cannot describe this shock and the pro...
Alice Cooper, Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and More Star in Rock Camp, The Movie: Watch Trailer
A new documentary feature film titled Rock Camp, The Movie features such music icons as Alice Cooper, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, KISS, Judas Priest, and more. The movie chronicles the journey of four everyday people as they attend Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has been going on for 25 years, where aspiring musicians get to hang out and jam with legendary musicians. The movie takes viewers on a backstage pass of the camp, offering an inside look at what goes on during a typical experience. Among the rockers featured in the movie are Daltrey (who was a big part of getting Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp off the ground), Cooper, KISS’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and Richie Faulkner, Sammy Hagar, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, ...
Tommy Lee, Members of Papa Roach, Five Finger Death Punch, and More Star in Horror Film The Retaliators: Watch Trailer
Tommy Lee (photo by Myriam Santos) / Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix (via Better Noise) An upcoming horror film, The Retaliators, is packed with scary scenes … and rock stars. The movie, due out in 2021, features Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix, members of Five Finger Death Punch, and more musicians in dramatic roles. Directed by Bridget Smith (Sno Babies, Finding Christmas), The Retaliators stars Michael Lombardi (Rescue Me, The Deuce), Marc Menchaca (Ozark, Black Mirror) and Joseph Gatt (Ray Donovan, Banshee). The horror thriller is being produced by Better Noise Films, the film production arm of record label Better Noise Music, thus the bevy of rock musicians who appear in the movie. In addition to Tommy Lee and Jacoby Shaddix, The Retali...
TikTok Star Shreds Metallica Songs on Guitar After She’s Called Out for Wearing Band’s T-Shirt: Watch
A TikTok star set out to seek and destroy after commenters called her out for wearing a Metallica shirt in her videos. Not only did aspiring R&B/hip-hop vocalist and dancer Zaria prove she was a fan of the iconic metal band, she proceeded to shred some of their classic songs on guitar. Celebrities and social media personalities wearing heavy metal T-shirts as a fashion statement is nothing new. We’ve often wondered, “Do the Kardashians really listen to Metallica and Slayer?” So, it’s not surprising that Zaria got some pushback in her comments section, with at least one person challenging her to “name three Metallica songs.” Well, Zaria took her response one step further. In a clap-back video, she exclaims, “My response to you guys is like, ‘Really, only three songs? How ’bout I play th...
10-Year-Old Nandi Bushell Declares She’s a “Total Metalhead”, Rocks Slipknot’s “Unsainted”: Watch
Nandi Bushell was already our favorite kid musician of 2020, but she just gave us one more “wow” moment before the year ends. The 10-year-old prodigy rocked an impressive drum cover of Slipknot’s “Unsainted”, declaring herself a “total metal head.” It’s been an amazing year for Nandi, who found herself in the midst of a viral multi-round drum battle with the one and only Dave Grohl for several weeks. The drum-off culminated in each musician writing a theme song for one another, as well as a face-to-face video chat. Grohl eventually conceded defeat, but they even made plans to write a song together. While Nandi has proven herself to be a strong guitarist and bassist in recent months, her cover of Slipknot’s “Unsainted” shows off her mastery of the drums, the instrument that first made her a...
10 Times Lemmy Was the Coolest Man on Earth
While the rock world will never forget the legendary Lemmy Kilmister, late December is an especially poignant time to commemorate his legacy. This year, December 24th marks what would have been the late Motörhead frontman’s 75th birthday, while December 28th marks five years since the passing of one of rock’s all-time great icons. Few rockers were as instantly memorable and recognizable as Lemmy. Whether it be his lifestyle (pushing life to the max via his party-hearty ways), his looks (long hair, facial hair, and signature facial moles), or his music (penning dozens of headbanging classics that have influenced countless other artists, and have only improved with age), there will never be another gentleman like Ian Fraser Kilmister. So, what better way to celebrate the life of the late, gr...
Kirk Hammett Reflects on Entire Metallica Career: James and Lars “Don’t Even Remember” First Meeting Me
Kirk Hammett has certainly had a memorable 37-year career in Metallica, with the band still going strong. However, his first meeting with longtime bandmates James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich apparently wasn’t memorable for them. The guitarist reflected on his entire Metallica run in a new 80-minute interview for Gibson Guitars’ “Icons” series. One of the stories he told was the time he first met Hetfield and Ulrich. At the time, Hammett was a member of the band Exodus while Metallica were getting buzz as a rising thrash band in the Bay Area. “I remember we were just sitting around one day, and the singer of Exodus, a guy named Paul Baloff, who was an absolute maniac, he walked into the rehearsal and said, ‘Metallica. So heavy. They’re so heavy.’ And I was, like, ‘Metallica.’ And I thought, ‘W...
Mr. Bungle’s Dave Lombardo on the Pandemic: “I Had Been on the Go for Many Years and Life Just Stopped”
Mr. Bungle, photo by Eric Larsen As our Annual Report continues, we’ll be taking several looks at how live music changed in a year where most of the world was in lockdown. Today, we share our conversation with legendary metal drummer Dave Lombardo about his incredible year playing with a reunited Mr. Bungle, his life during the pandemic, and the future of concerts. In a year in which the touring industry came to a standstill, a reunited Mr. Bungle were able to make their mark on the concert stage, both in person and online. The band played their first shows in 20 years just before the pandemic began, completing a brief jaunt of a handful of cities in February. And on Halloween, they treated fans to one of the more memorable livestream concerts of the year. Not only did the reunion mar...
Mining Metal: Top 10 Underground Metal Albums of 2020
“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. The year 2020 is nearly done, and we’re sure most “Mining Metal” readers can join us in wishing it good riddance. The global pandemic left the international metal community, not to mention the entire music world, in a precarious spot: tours and festivals canceled, venues closed, and hard-working metalheads losing jobs. With all that darkness, the resilience of the genre remained a hopeful light. 2020 offered no shortage of excellent albums, some of them recorded during the pandemic itself. Diverse in their aims, st...
Queen’s Brian May Recalls Recording Sci-Fi EP with Eddie Van Halen
Brian May, photo by David Brendan Hall / Eddie Van Halen, photo by Philip Cosores Legendary Queen guitarist Brian May has paid tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen by recalling the time the two recorded the sci-fi themed Star Fleet Project EP in 1983. “A couple of days after I heard the news about Eddie, I went back to Star Fleet,” May told Total Guitar. “I started revisiting all the feelings I had when we were in the studio doing that, and it sort of healed my soul a bit. I thought, ‘Yeah, this is what I should be doing at this time.’” The three-song, 28-minute release was officially released under the “Brian May + Friends” moniker on October 31st, 1983. The EP favored a heavy blues rock sound and also featured REO Speedwagon drummer Alan Gratzer and session musicians Phil Chen and Fr...
Rammstein’s Till Lindemann Sells “Tilldo” Vibrators and “Golden Shower” Wine
Rammstein singer Till Lindemann has opened his own online merch shop, dubbed Doctor Dick, and let’s just say it has a wide variety of handy products. Among the items are a custom “Tilldo” vibrator and a “Golden Shower” wine. Anyone who has seen Rammstein in concert knows that erotica plays a big part in their stage show. What other bands feature a giant dildo that explodes white foam onto the audience? Or have actually had two members (including Till) arrested for simulating sex with each other onstage? Earlier this year, Lindemann’s eponymous side project even unveiled a full-on pornographic music video for the song “Platz Ein”. So, none of the things you see for sale at the singer’s new merch store should come as any shock, but you still may want to think twice about shopping at Doctor D...
