Heavy Music News
Judas Priest Welcome Andy Sneap Back Five Days After Dropping Him from Touring Lineup
Judas Priest have reversed course on their recent decision to drop guitarist and producer Andy Sneap from their touring lineup. The legendary metal act announced Saturday (January 15th) that Sneap will indeed be with the band when it launches its North American tour in March (tickets available here). Sneap joined the Priest live lineup when longtime guitarist Glenn Tipton stepped away from regular touring after revealing in 2018 that he is battling Parkinson’s disease. On Monday (January 10th), Judas Priest announced that they would be proceeding without Sneap as part of their live band, but that he would still stay on to produce the group’s upcoming album. The band stated at the time, “Hello maniacs! We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring… celebrating 50 years...
Meshuggah Announce New Album Immutable, Share Teaser Video: Watch
Meshuggah have announced their ninth studio album, Immutable, arriving April 1st. They also shared a short video teaser featuring a snippet of new music. While a Meshuggah album was expected this year, no formal details were available until now. The teaser clip posted on the Swedish extreme-metal band’s social media touts fiery artwork by Luminokaya and powerful chugging guitar grooves — a taste of what’s to come. “The title [Immutable] fits perfectly for where we are as a band,” guitarist Mårten Hagström remarked in the band’s Facebook post. “We’re older now. Most of us are in our 50s now, and we’ve settled into who we are. Even though we’ve been experimenting all along, I also think we’ve been the same since day one.” Advertisement Related Video He continued: “The way we approach things ...
Mind-Blowing Mashup Combines Slayer and Prince for “Crazy Black Magic”: Stream
YouTube mashup master Bill McClintock has struck gold once again, combining Slayer and Prince for the mind-blowing “Crazy Black Magic.” Slayer and Prince both rose to prominence in the 1980s, but one would think the musical similarities end there. Somehow, McClintock found a way to perfectly sync Slayer’s proto-blackened thrash anthem “Black Magic” to Prince’s legendary party-starter “Let’s Go Crazy.” Enter “Sprayer,” as McClintock has dubbed this thrash-pop Frankenstein. The Prince backing track plays as usual, but Slayer frontman Tom Araya becomes an exuberant hype man as his screams line up with the chord structure and tempo of “Let’s Go Crazy.” If that’s not enough, there’s even a little Led Zeppelin sprinkled in toward the end. It must be heard to be believed. Advertisement Related Vi...
Sevendust Announce 21st Anniversary Animosity Tour Dates with Tetrarch and Dead Poet Society
Sevendust are celebrating their 2001 album Animosity with a 21st anniversary US tour, featuring support from Tetrarch and Dead Poet Society. The tour will kick off March 4th in Oklahoma City, and run through a March 27th date in Nashville. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (January 14) via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning tomorrow (January 13th). As the tour poster suggests, Sevendust didn’t get a chance to fully commemorate the 20th anniversary of the album in 2021, and thus have moved ahead with a 21st anniversary celebration. Advertisement Related Video Animosity arrived on November 13th, 2001, and features two of the group’s most popular singles: “Angel’s Son” and “Praise.” The LP peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 chart and remained on the chat for 13 we...
Soul Glo Announce New Album, Share “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future))”: Stream
Soul Glo have announced a new album, Diaspora Problems, arriving March 25th via Epitaph. The Philly hardcore outfit also shared the video for lead single “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future)).” The new album will be Soul Glo’s second full-length LP — following an EP released in 2020 — and the band’s first for esteemed punk label Epitaph. Soul Glo’s impactful brand of hardcore also garnered our attention when we picked them as one of our Top 5 emerging punk bands last year. They deliver on the hype with “Jump!! (Or Get Jumped!!!)((by the future)).” The rhythmically dynamic rager is dense with spitfire lyrics that tackle “the disposability of Black art and its creators” and the uncertainty of making plans with an uncertain future. Advertisement Related Video “Many artists feel as thoug...
Suffocation Announce 2022 North American Tour with Atheist
Suffocation will return to the road on their 2022 North American “Forces of Hostility” tour with direct support from fellow death metal pioneers Atheist. The extensive itinerary kicks off May 26th in Brooklyn, New York, and runs through a June 25th date in Clifton, New Jersey. Soreption and Contrarian will open most shows. Tickets go on sale Friday (January 14th) at noon ET for most dates and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. “We are beyond stoked to return to the road with the ‘Forces of Hostility North American Tour 2022’! exclaimed Suffocation guitarist Terrance Hobbs in a press release. “We’ll be joined by our good friends and brothers in metal Atheist as well as the technical metal powerhouse Soreption and death metallers Contrarian! This will be our first tour back in almost three y...
R.I.P. Burke Shelley, Budgie Singer-Bassist Dies at 71
Burke Shelley, the singer and bassist of the influential Welsh metal band Budgie, has died at the age of 71. Shelley’s daughter, Ela, shared the following post Monday night (January 10th) on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my father, John Burke Shelley. He passed away this evening in his sleep at Heath Hospital in Cardiff, his birth town. He was 71 years old. Please respect the family during this time. With love, His four children: Ela, Osian, Dimitri and Nathaniel.” Although no cause of death was given, Shelley had suffered from health problems over the last few years (a genetic disorder called Stickler syndrome, plus two aortic aneurysms), which kept Budgie off of the road and from issuing new music. Advertisement Related Video Born John Burke Shelley on ...
Vio-Lence Announce EP, Unleash First New Song in 29 Years “Flesh from Bone”: Stream
Vio-Lence have returned with their first new song in 29 years, “Flesh from Bone,” from the upcoming Let the World Burn EP due out March 4th. The Bay Area thrash band previously inked a record deal with Metal Blade after reuniting in 2019. Although Vio-Lence haven’t released new material since 1993, they’ve lost none of their ferociousness. True to its title, “Flesh from Bone” is a ripper. As founding guitarist Phil Demmel explains, the track faithfully carries old-school riffage while incorporating some of the more modern stylings the guitarist employed as a longtime member of Machine Head. Advertisement Related Video “I wanted to keep some of those early Eternal Nightmare qualities intact but infuse a lot of what I’ve culled into my songwriting arsenal over the decades,” Demmel said in a ...
Judas Priest to Perform as Four-Piece, Dropping Andy Sneap from Their Touring Lineup
Judas Priest will play their upcoming tour as a four-piece after dropping guitarist and producer Andy Sneap from their live lineup. The legendary metal act’s rescheduled 2022 North American tour kicks off March 4th in Peoria, Illinois, with tickets available via Ticketmaster. Initially, a statement from the band suggested that the split was amicable, with Sneap leaving to concentrate on production — including work on Judas Priest’s next album. Judas Priest stated, “Hello maniacs! We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring… celebrating 50 years of Judas Priest as an an even more powerful, relentless four piece heavy metal band – with Glenn [Tipton] coming out on stage with us here and there as before. Big thanks to Andy for all you’ve done and continuing to be in th...
Corey Taylor Confirms New Slipknot Album and More for 2022
Corey Taylor has confirmed that Slipknot will release a new album in 2022. The band unleashed a new single, “The Chapeltown Rag,” back in November, and now fans can look forward to the follow-up to 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind sometime this year. The Slipknot singer took to Twitter over the weekend to disclose that the new Slipknot album and a few other projects are on tap for 2022. “Big Shit Coming, 2022 edition: ZvN updates, SK album, secret ‘homecoming’ plans, etc. Stay Tuned! ‘Hold On To Your Butts’ – Franklin D. Roosevelt.” In addition to “SK album” referring to the new Slipknot LP, “ZvN updates” touches on Taylor’s feature film, Zombie vs. Ninja, for which he wrote the script. Several months ago, Taylor had reported that he was looking for a director and that he expected filming to be...
Converge Announce 2022 US Tour with Full of Hell, Uniform, and Thou
Converge have announced a March 2022 US tour, and they’re bringing along heavy-hitting support acts Full of Hell, Uniform, and Thou. As previously reported, Converge were forced to drop off their tour with Meshuggah after the dates were rescheduled. Instead, Converge will headline a stacked bill of underground talent for 10 concerts throughout March. The trek kicks off March 10th in Philadelphia and wraps up on March 20th in Detroit, sticking mostly to the East Coast and Midwest. Get tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video Converge were supposed to be supporting Meshuggah during that span, but we’re certainly not complaining about the contingency plan. Due to the strength of the support acts, the order of the openers will change every night. “Attendees should arrive to the sh...
Bon Jovi Announce Spring 2022 US Tour
Hard rock icons Bon Jovi have announced a Spring 2022 US arena tour that spans 15 dates in April. The trek kicks off April 1st in Omaha, Nebraska, and runs through an April 30th date in Nashville. The route will hit markets in the Midwest, along the East Coast, and throughout the Southeast and Texas. Tickets go on sale to the general public January 14th at 10 a.m. local time in most markets, and can be purchased via Ticketmaster. Pre-sales will begin as early as January 11th. Related Video “We have all missed touring and we know that nothing can replace the energy of a live show for the fans or the band,” Jon Bon Jovi said via a press release. Advertisement The band was forced cancel its last major tour with Bryan Adams in April 2020 after pandemic lockdowns hit. Bon Jovi have played a han...
