Heavy Music News
Willow Smith Unleashes Heavy New Single “Purge” Featuring Siiickbrain: Stream
Willow Smith has released a heavy new single titled “Purge,” featuring Siiickbrain, along with an accompanying music video. The daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith released her fourth album, Lately I Feel Everything, in July, but is already putting out new songs that weren’t included on the LP. The singer, who just goes by the artist name WILLOW, appeared on Machine Gun Kelly’s single “emo girl” in February. Now, she’s unleashed “Purge,” which builds up to an intense chorus that finds both WILLOW and Siiickbrain singing at the top of their lungs, with the latter even delivering some powerful metalcore screams. The eye-catching video matches the intensity of the song, with WILLOW and Siiickbrain both wearing striking outfits as they bash a car with baseball bats and engage in othe...
Yikes! Machine Gun Kelly Unwisely Covers System of a Down’s “Aerials”: Watch
Either Machine Gun Kelly is trying desperately to alienate himself from metalheads, or is just trolling all of us. First, he insulted Slipknot, and now he’s butchered a cover of System of a Down’s “Aerials.” The rapper turned pop-punk singer was a guest on The Howard Stern Show this week. For some odd reason, MGK thought it would be a good idea for him and his band to perform the System of a Down track as part of his visit. It’s no easy task for any singer to match Serj Tankian’s soaring operatic vocals, let alone one who’s range is limited like MGK. While his backing band did an admirable job on the instrumentation of the Toxicity song, MGK’s singing was rough right from the first note, and sounded like one continuous vocal strain throughout the entire performance. Seriously, if you can v...
Dave Mustaine Finally Reveals Who Played Bass on the Upcoming Megadeth Album
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has finally revealed who played bass on the band’s upcoming album, The Sick, The Dying and The Dead. In a new interview, the frontman disclosed that it was Steve Di Giorgio of fellow veteran thrash act Testament. Last year, longtime Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was ousted from the band after a compromising video surfaced of him engaging in an “embarrassing” online sexual encounter with a young woman. Mustaine promptly fired Ellefson from the group, stating at the time, “While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.” Mustaine also announced that the band would hire a new musician to re-record all the bass parts on the new a...
Pantera’s New “Vulgar Display of Lager” Beer Packs a Wallop
A new Pantera beer boasts the clever name Vulgar Display of Lager, and like the album that inspired its name, it packs a punch in both its design and its 5.9% alcohol by volume (ABV). The new brew, which starts shipping on April 5th, takes the iconic artwork of the dude getting punched in the face from Pantera’s classic 1992 album Vulgar Display of Power, and displays it on the can, making it an instant collectible. In fact, it’s being released in partnership with Knucklebonz, a company known for its collectible statues of rock bands. As for what’s inside the can, an official description describes the beer as having a “complex flavor profile that is cold fermented for the crisp and refreshing experience you’d expect from a world class German Lager.” Advertisement Related Video “We’ve been ...
Thoughtcrimes (Ex-Dillinger Escape Plan) Unleash New Song “The Drowning Man”: Stream
Long Island-based hardcore act Thoughtcrimes, which features former Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Billy Rymer, have shared new song “The Drowning Man.” Clocking in at under two minutes, the new single is an absolute ripper. Technical riffs are stacked amongst a rhythmic barrage that borders on sludge metal. It makes for one of the heaviest and most uncompromising hardcore tracks we’ve heard so far in 2022. “My intention was to create a song with no boundaries of influence,” explained guitarist Russ Savarese in the song’s press release. Advertisement Related Video Added vocalist Rick Pepa: “In a series of unfortunate events, personal and otherwise, ‘The Drowning Man’ is a tongue-in-cheek reflection. An ode to back luck.” Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long for more material from Thoughtc...
Contestant on The Voice France Performs Obnoxious Rendition of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are”: Watch
A contestant on a recent episode of France’s edition of The Voice performed an obnoxious rendition of the Nirvana classic “Come As You Are” for his blind audition, but somehow got two of the judges to turn their chairs around. First off, unless there’s something lost in translation, we’re pretty sure that Stephen Di Tordo starts the performance by saying “Let’s f**k” into the microphone — leaving a confused look on the judges’ faces. From there, the opening verse sounds a little rough as Di Tordo delivers Kurt Cobain’s lyrics in a low tone. However, when he kicks into his upper register around 45 seconds into the performance, it impresses two of the judges, who promptly hit their buttons to turn their chairs around. Advertisement Related Video Then it gets really awkward, as Di Tordo gyrat...
Elder to Embark on Summer 2022 North American Tour
Elder have announced a summer North American tour, marking the heavy prog-psych rockers’ first extensive outing on the continent in roughly three years. They’ll be joined by Ruby the Hatchet, Belzebong, and Dreadnought on select dates. The trek kicks off August 3rd in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through September 10th in Boston (Ruby the Hatchet and Dreadnought will open the first leg, with Belzebong replacing the former for the second leg). An appearance at the Psycho Las Vegas Thursday pool party on August 18th highlights the run for Elder. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Related Video “For a band like Elder that normally spends about half of every year on the road, the past few years have been hard on us — but have far from broken our spirit,” commen...
Mac Sabbath Announce Fall 2022 US Tour
The McDonald’s-themed Black Sabbath cover band Mac Sabbath are heading out on a Fall 2022 US tour with support from Speedealer and Lung. The “Pop-Up-Drive-Thru Tour” launches on September 27th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and runs through a November 19th date in Grand Junction, Colorado. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster. “Mac Sabbath will be popping up all over the States — just like in our debut release,” said the band’s frontman, Ronald Osbourne, referencing Mac Sabbath’s 2021 Drive-Thru Metal pop-up book. “Confusing the USA one more time!” Advertisement Related Video Drive-Thru Metal features illustrations by Gris Grimly, known for his work on children’s books and his darkly whimsical version of Pinocchio. Mac Sabbath burst on the scene a few years ago, cove...
Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH Perform Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” in Honor of Taylor Hawkins: Watch
Wolfgang Van Halen’s band Mammoth WVH paid tribute to Taylor Hawkins on Saturday night (March 26th) in Boston, performing the Foo Fighters classic “My Hero” in honor of the late drummer. Mammoth WVH are currently on a co-headlining tour with Dirty Honey. During the gig at Boston’s Big Night Live, Wolfgang took time out toward the end of the set to address Hawkins’ tragic passing, which occurred a day earlier in Bogotá, Colombia. “We lost somebody really important yesterday,” Wolfgang said from the stage. “And he was a hero to me, and a hero to all of us [pointing to his band], and a hero to countless people out there. So, we feel this is necessary. We worked this out this morning, so please excuse any rough edges, but we just had to f**kin’ do this.” Advertisement Related Video From there,...
Rush Pay Tribute to Close Friend Taylor Hawkins: “He Was Such an Incredibly Positive Source of Music”
Rush members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson have honored Taylor Hawkins following Friday’s tragic passing of the Foo Fighters drummer. Hawkins had a close bond with the legendary prog-rock band over the years, as he, Dave Grohl and producer Nick Raskulinecz even dressed up as ’70s-era Rush to perform “2112” at the latter’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2013. Late Rush drummer Neil Peart was one of Hawkins’ musical heroes. In a 2020 interview with radio station 94.9 The Rock Toronto, Hawkins said, “There can never be another Neil Peart. No way. He had the craziest hands, and he just had such a unique thing. … I hope that Geddy and Al play together, and I hope they can find someone to do something with them. But no one will ever be Neil Peart; it’s just impossible.” Sadly, Lee and Li...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Shares New Ibaraki Song “Rōnin” Featuring My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way: Stream
Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy has unveiled the new song “Rōnin” from his solo black metal project Ibaraki, and it features guest vocals from My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. It’s the third single from Ibaraki’s debut album Rashomon, arriving May 6th. Produced by Ihsahn, the album and song see Heafy melding a black metal sound with the melodic sensibilities of his past metal output. “Rōnin” exemplifies the double-edged blade of melody and harshness that has defined the Ibaraki singles so far. Interestingly, it’s Heafy providing the clean vocals, while Way delivers the screams. Advertisement Related Video “‘A rōnin is a masterless warrior,” said Heafy via a press release. “The final two full compositions on Rashōmon see a significant shift musically. The album as a whole — with...
Furnace Fest 2022 Lineup: Mastodon, Thrice, Descendents, Alexisonfire, Manchester Orchestra, and More
Furnace Fest has revealed its complete 2022 lineup. Mastodon, Thrice (performing The Illusion of Safety), and Descendents are among the headliners of the three-day festival, which is set for the weekend of September 23rd at the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama. The lineup is rife with influential post-hardcore, metalcore, and screamo acts. Other notable artists include New Found Glory, Alexisonfire, Manchester Orchestra, The Ghost Inside, The Story So Far, In Flames, Midtown, Shadows Fall, Quicksand, Anti-Flag, and more. Deeper down the lineup poster are newer acts such as Angel Du$t, Nothing, and Soul Glo, among others. Last year Furnace Fest came back after a 17-year gap following its initial four-year run in the early 2000s. It was only meant to be a “one-time reunion” acc...
