Heavy Music News
Watain Drop Off Co-Headlining North American Tour with Mayhem Due to Visa Issues
Mayhem and Watain’s North American co-headlining tour was set to be one of the year’s strongest exhibitions of infernal black metal. Unfortunately, Watain won’t be making the trip due to visa issues. Watain are known for their occult, ritualistic live shows, which are thus treated with a near-religious reverence by their dedicated fanbase. The Swedish band only make it stateside ever so often, and to make matters worse, the tour was meant to support a new album, The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain, out April 29th. File this one under agony. The band shared a lengthy statement explaining the situation via Facebook: “We regret to inform you all that, due to reasons entirely beyond our control, we’re forced to cancel our participation in the upcoming US Tour with Mayhem and Midnight, for which ...
Meshuggah Unveil New Song “Light the Shortening Fuse”: Stream
Meshuggah have unleashed “Light the Shortening Fuse,” the second single from their upcoming album Immutable (out April 1st). Following the powerful lead single “The Abysmal Eye,” Meshuggah deliver another crushing piece of progressive metal mastery. The compact and syncopated riffs of “Light the Shortening Fuse” have a heavier emphasis on groove, making the song a bit more accessible. But the Swedish band sacrifices none of its trademark brutality or songwriting complexities in the process. Thankfully we won’t have to wait much longer to hear the rest of Immutable, which drops in less than a month. The LP was recorded at Sweetspot Studios in Halmstad, Sweden, and mixed by Rickard Bengtsson and Staffan Karlsson. Vlado Meller (Rage Against the Machine, System of a Down) handled the mast...
Soul Glo Unleash “Driponomics” Ahead of Upcoming Album: Stream
Philadelphia hardcore band Soul Glo have shared the new song “Driponomics” from their upcoming album Diaspora Problems, arriving March 25th. Soul Glo blew us away with the album’s excellent lead single “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future))” and its invigorating music video. New song “Driponomics” takes a more experimental approach to the band’s fusion of punk, hip-hop, and industrial. Featuring a guest verse by Philly rapper Mother Maryrose, the track is an uncompromising sonic commentary “on capitalism and economic disparity.” “’Driponomics’ is for everyone doing what they have to do to get by and to get fly,” the band commented via a press release. “Oftentimes lower-income and working class people are criticized for how they survive out here, especially in times of crisis. People a...
Black Label Society Announce Spring 2022 US Tour
Black Label Society have announced a Spring 2022 headlining tour with support from Nita Strauss and Jared James Nichols. The outing kicks off April 30th in San Diego and runs through a May 21st date in Indwood, West Virginia, with Zakk Wylde and company hitting smaller markets across the Midwest and South. Strauss and Nichols will open most dates, with Black Stone Cherry playing in place of Strauss at the final two shows. Buy tickets via Ticketmaster. Commented Strauss, who also plays lead guitar in Alice Cooper’s band: “We will be hitting the road at the end of April in support of the almighty BLACK LABEL SOCIETY!!!! Can’t wait to share the stage with these titans of guitar Zakk Wylde and Jared James Nichols… the blonde guitar brigade is coming!” Advertisement The trek will lead up to Bla...
Ghost Unleash New Song “Twenties” Ahead of Upcoming Album Impera: Stream
Ghost have shared “Twenties,” the latest single from their forthcoming album, Impera, arriving March 11th. “Twenties” delivers a heavier and more propulsive sound than previous single “Call Me Little Sunshine.” It also boasts ominous lyrics that ring poignant given the “historical events unfolding on the world stage (however incidental),” as the press release put it. The opening stanza is chilling: “Listen up, hatchet man,” sings Papa Emeritus IV (aka Tobias Forge). “Send controls for the heart of the land / Kill ’em all / It is time / You’re the next in the chain of command.” The song drops a day before Ghost wrap up their co-headlining US tour with Volbeat. The final concert is tomorrow (March 3rd) in Anaheim, California, and concludes a thrilling run of shows that saw the live premiere ...
Marilyn Manson Sues Evan Rachel Wood for Defamation, Calls Abuse Allegations a “Malicious Falsehood”
Marilyn Manson has filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, claiming that her abuse allegations amount to a “malicious falsehood.” Within the suit, the rocker insists that Wood and her “romantic partner” Ashley Gore (aka Illma Gore) forged an FBI letter to make it seem like there was a federal investigation of Manson and that his “alleged victims” were in danger. The singer’s lawsuit comes just over a year after Wood named Manson as her abuser, setting off a series of further assault claims by several other women. In the weeks that followed, Manson was dropped from his record label, eliminated from movie roles, and lambasted by former collaborators like Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland. Per the lawsuit, which was obtained by Consequence...
7-Year-Old Drummer Caleb Hayes Crushes Slipknot’s “Sulfur” on Ellen: Watch
Ellen DeGeneres apparently has a great eye for young music talent, considering she booked Nandi Bushell on her show a few years ago. Now, the daytime talk-show host is featuring another young UK drumming sensation, 7-year-old Caleb Hayes, who impressively rocks the Slipknot song “Sulfur” on today’s episode (March 2nd) of The Ellen Degeneres Show. A sneak peek of the episode shows Hayes’ full Ellen appearance, in which he masterfully drums along to the Slipknot single from 2008’s All Hope Is Gone. The little metalhead then sits down with DeGeneres, telling her how he has surpassed his dad when it comes to drumming skills, and naming Slipknot as his favorite band. DeGeneres then mentions that she heard that Hayes was saving up for a special snare drum, to which he replies he was eyeing a sig...
Halestorm Announce Spring 2022 US Tour with Stone Temple Pilots, Mammoth WVH, and Black Stone Cherry
Halestorm have announced a headlining Spring 2022 US tour in support of their upcoming album, Back From the Dead. They’ll be joined on the road by Stone Temple Pilots, Wolfgang Van Halen’s Mammoth WVH, and Black Stone Cherry on select dates. The brief outing kicks off May 10th in Billings, Montana, and circles back to Missoula, Montana, for a tour-closing May 30th show. Tickets go on sale beginning Friday (March 4th) via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning as early as today (March 1st). The bill offers further evidence of just how big Halestorm have become, with frontwoman Lzzy Hale and company topping a lineup that includes rock veterans Stone Temple Pilots. Late last year and for a few shows at the beginning of this year, Halestorm co-headlined a US arena tour with Evanescence. Advert...
Dave Lombardo Joins Testament as Band’s New Drummer
When Testament announced that they had parted ways with legendary drummer Gene Hoglan last month, it left a gaping hole in the band’s lineup. But the veterans of thrash metal just revealed that they’ve landed perhaps the genre’s greatest drummer, the iconic Dave Lombardo, as their newest member. That’s right, the Dave Lombardo, founding member of Slayer and undisputed champion of the double bass drums, is Testament’s new stickman. Frontman Chuck Billy exclaimed, “I’ll state the obvious: We are more than overwhelmed to welcome back Dave Lombardo to play drums with Testament. We are so excited to share the stage again with Lombardo. Dave added immense power when he joined the band for The Gathering (release), and we are ecstatic to see what new flavor he will bring back to Testament.” Advert...
Rise Against Announce Summer 2022 North American Tour with The Used and Senses Fail
Rise Against have announced Summer 2022 North American tour dates. To mark the occasion, the Chicago punk band has offered up a new remix by IDLES. We previously reported on Rise Against’s spring North American dates, which precede a slew of European performances and festival appearances. After that, the band will embark on the newly announced summer leg, rounding out a busy 2022 itinerary. The Used and Senses Fail will be along for summer outing, which kicks off July 15th in Las Vegas and runs through an August 18th show in Detroit. Tickets go on sale Friday (March 4th) via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning as early as tomorrow (March 1st). Advertisement Related Video Meanwhile, UK post-punk act IDLES’ reworking of “Talking to Ourselves” adds a synthy pulse to the otherwise guitar-dr...
Danzig Announces Spring 2022 US Tour with Cradle of Filth and Crobot
Danzig has announced a Spring 2022 US tour featuring support from Cradle of Filth and Crobot on all dates. The brief two-week jaunt will include one special show that will find Danzig performing 1990’s Danzig II: Lucifuge in full. The tour kicks off May 5th in Reno, Nevada, and runs through a May 19th show in Austin, Texas. Fans who attend the May 7th show in Ontario, California, will be treated to the full Danzig II: Lucifuge performance, as well as an additional opening set by Tiger Army in the direct support slot. No ticket information has been released yet, but keep checking back here to find out when they’ll become available. Advertisement Related Video While Danzig did play a few one-off shows and festival gigs in 2021, the outing will mark the first proper tour for the band sin...
Robert Fripp and Toyah Are Right on Time with The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy”: Watch
It’s more Sunday fun from King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox, who deliver a very timely rendition of The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy.” Toyah busts out a revealing white bodysuit for the couple’s take on The Black Keys’ chart-topping rock hit, as they play up the whole time aspect of the song’s lyrics. Unlike Black Keys’ singer Dan Auerbach’s complaint that he has a love who keeps him waiting, Robert and Toyah are always right on time with their “Sunday Lunch” performances — hence a giant clock prop, a hand-drawn clock poster, and a large yellow watch. Robert even gets in on the vocal action, singing the last line of the performance — or at least attempting to sing (now we know why he leaves the vocals to others in King Crimson). And for extra fun, the pair th...
