Heavy Music News
Singer of Punk Band Bayside Helps Detectives Nab Florida Man Accused of Sexual Battery
Bayside singer Anthony Raneri aided authorities in apprehending a Florida man accused of sexual battery. Detectives arrest the suspect after a three-month investigation, which began after an Instagram post by Raneri in April. In the post, the punk-rock frontman explained that a Jacksonville tattoo artist named James Ranieri was apparently posing as his cousin to gain favor with women. “It has come to my attention that a tattooer named from Solid State Tattoo in Jacksonville, FL is telling women on social media that he is my cousin,” wrote Anthony Raneri. “This isn’t true, and I don’t know this person.” Advertisement Related Video After making the post, Raneri was flooded with messages by women who claimed they had been assaulted or contacted by James Ranieri. Taking matters into his own ha...
Iron Maiden Singer Bruce Dickinson Tests Positive for COVID-19
A few days after halting his spoken-word tour due to a positive COVID-19 case within his “immediate household,” Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson has revealed that he has tested positive himself. The metal legend was infected despite being vaccinated, and affirms he would be in “serious trouble” had he not gotten his shots. The 63-year-old vocalist, who battled tongue cancer in 2015, told Rolling Stone that he took a COVID test earlier this week after feeling like he was getting a cold, and that it came back positive. “I thought, ‘Oh well, shit,’” he said. “I was kind of sneezing a bit. For a couple of days, I felt a bit groggy, kind of like the flu, and that was it. And I’m 63 years old. I’ve pretty much got no doubt that had I not had the vaccine, I could be in serious trouble.” H...
Chris Stapleton Covers Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”: Stream
Chris Stapleton has covered Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” as part of The Metallica Blacklist charity covers compilation. The song is available now ahead of the collection’s September 10th release date. The “Black Album” ballad is prime material for Stapleton, who renders the song in a compelling Americana style. Stapleton’s soulful croon works perfectly atop the sparse country-rock instrumentation and the cover’s eight-minute arrangement. Once again, the upcoming Blacklist comp has served up a high-profile cover that lives up to its billing. We just heard Phoebe Bridgers’ “baroque” take on the same track, which followed the widely heard Miley Cyrus-Elton John version (also included on the Blacklist). Advertisement Related Video Meanwhile, Weezer took on “Enter Sandman,” and St. Vincen...
Trivium Announce New Album In the Court of the Dragon, Share “Feast of Fire”: Stream
Trivium have announced their new album, In the Court of the Dragon, which arrives October 8th. The band has also unveiled the video for sophomore single “Feast of Fire.” The new song is a technical gem, seamlessly blending elements of thrash and melodic metalcore as only Trivium can. Hooky vocals give way to heavy breakdowns and shred soloing, as the band cover all its extreme-metal bases. According to bassist Paolo Gregoletto, the song actually originated from the bridge of an existing composition. Apparently, the bridge section was just too good, so the band made an entirely separate song around it, which became “Feast of Fire.” Advertisement Related Video “There’s always that one song you aren’t expecting when you begin writing a new album,” Gregoletto said via a press release. “It coul...
Primus Kick Off Rush Tribute Tour in Nampa, Idaho: Video + Setlist
Primus have officially kicked off their Rush tribute tour, playing the opening date of the outing on Tuesday night (August 10th) in Nampa, Idaho. Over the weekend, Primus’ Les Claypool revealed he was “learning from the master” and practicing Rush songs with singer-bassist Geddy Lee himself in preparation for the outing. Based on fan footage from the Idaho concert, it sounds like the hands-on training paid off. Claypool and company covered Rush’s 1977 masterpiece A Farewell to Kings in its entirety, nailing versions of “Closer to the Heart” and prog epics such as “Cygnus X-1” — the latter being the lone song from the album that had been previously covered by Primus. Advertisement Related Video The Rush set was preceded by a set of Primus songs, and then followed by an an encore of “Wynona’...
GWAR Announce Premiere of Feature-Length Documentary This Is GWAR
GWAR have announced a new feature-length documentary called This Is GWAR, which will premiere at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The film festival takes takes place September 23rd through 30th. The documentary is a behind-the-scenes glimpse at “the humans who’ve fought to keep [GWAR] alive for over 30 years.” It features interviews with past and present band members — including unseen footage of late GWAR founder Dave Brockie (aka Oderus Urungus) — as well as other artists such a Weird Al Yankovic, Thomas Lennon, Bam Margera, Alex Winter, and more. Bob Gorman, a longtime GWAR performer/associate and the author of the 2015 biography Let There Be GWAR, said of the new documentary: “The story that emerges shows the trials and tribulations of GWAR. The founders of this band deserve credit...
Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst Was Outbid for a Bootleg “Dad” Action Figure of Himself
Despite Limp Bizkit canceling the remainder of their summer tour, Fred Durst’s new “dad” look is taking the internet by storm. So much so, that someone created a Fred Durst “dad” action figure that garnered a losing eBay bid from the nu-metal singer himself. Durst first debuted his new look on Instagram, sporting a gray wig, horseshoe mustache, and an outfit that looks like it came straight off the racks of Sears. He then rocked the same look at Lollapalooza, and the band’s next couple of shows, until the tour came to a halt just a few gigs into the planned itinerary. On his Instagram Story, Durst shared an image of the crude looking action figure presented in an official-looking box, writing, “I lost the auction on this illegal toy. Things are good.” The image also showed that the “Nookie...
Fred Durst Explain Limp Bizkit’s Tour Cancellation: “The System Is Still Very Flawed”
Over the weekend, Limp Bizkit canceled the remainder of their summer US tour, citing “an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans.” Now, Fred Durst has further expanded on the reason for the cancellation, citing the COVID-19 pandemic while still not going into specific details. Following their initial statement, both Durst and guitarist Wes Borland took to their Instagram Stories to announce that Borland did not test positive for COVID-19, as some reports had suggested. In a new statement issued today (August 10th) to Billboard, Durst explained, “In short, the system is still very flawed. Even if the performers, crews, staff, and promoters do their best to ensure safety on and behind the stage, that doesn’t ensure the safety of the audience...
System of a Down Announce Additional 2021 Shows with Faith No More and Russian Circles
System of a Down have announced three new US shows with Faith No More and Russian Circles. The new gigs come in addition to a previously scheduled two-night stand in Los Angeles, also featuring the three bands. The newly announced concerts take place October 15th in Las Vegas; October 16th in Fresno, California; and October 18th in Oakland, California. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (August 13th) via Ticketmaster, with a pre-sale beginning Wednesday (August 11th) at 10 a.m. PT. The shows will lead up to the aforementioned concerts on October 22nd and 23rd at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Those gigs were originally set to take place in May of 2020, but were initially rescheduled for May 2021 and then postponed again until October 2021 due to the pandemic. ...
Slipknot’s Clown: “I’m Not Ever Going to Stop Wearing a Mask, COVID or Not”
Slipknot percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan says he will continue wearing protective face masks, even when COVID (hopefully) goes away someday. The metal musician notes that “people are filthy all over the world” as one of the reasons he will never stop masking up. Clown, of course, has been wearing a stage mask as a member of Slipknot for the past 25 years or so, but as he tells Forbes in a new interview, he’ll continue sporting a protective face mask off the stage for the rest of his life. “I’m not ever going to stop wearing a mask, COVID or not,” said Crahan. “I’ve been in this business 25 years, and people are filthy all over the world. So when I had to be in the studio and I was asked to put on a mask, it didn’t bother me, it was business as usual.” He added, “I mean I’m glad at least...
Coheed and Cambria Unveil Video for New Song “Shoulders”: Watch
Coheed and Cambria have unveiled a music video for their new single “Shoulders.” Upon its premiere on YouTube earlier today (August 9th), the band members participated in an online Q&A with fans, answering a number of questions covering various topics. “Shoulders” was released a couple weeks ago as Coheed’s first proper single in nearly three years, save for last year’s surprise song “Jessie’s Girl 2” featuring Rick Springfield. The new tune has already surpassed 1 million collective streams and has cracked the Top 40 of the Active Rock radio chart, the band’s first single ever to do so. The video mostly shows the band delivering a high-energy performance in an industrial space, but also contains a narrative featuring masked characters who unveil themselves toward the end of the clip. ...
Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson Halts Spoken-Word Tour After Household Member Tests Positive for COVID
Bruce Dickinson has postponed the final two dates of his UK spoken-word tour after a member of the Iron Maiden singer’s household tested positive for COVID-19. The news broke via Iron Maiden’s social media accounts, which stated that a member of Dickinson’s “immediate household” had contracted the virus. Dickinson himself tested negative, but under UK government rules, he must isolate for the next 10 days. The scheduled shows tonight (August 9th) at the Birmingham Alexandra and tomorrow (August 10th) at Shepherd’s Bush Empire will be rescheduled, according to the official statement: “Due to a member of Bruce’s immediate household having tested positive for COVID-19, it is with great regret that the final two shows of his ‘Evening With’ tour cannot go ahead as planned tonight at the Birming...
