Heavy Metal
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 ...
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...
