Heavy Music News
Skillet Frontman John Cooper Attempts to Clarify Comments About Cardi B, The Grammys, and Hitler
Skillet frontman John Cooper has attempted to clarify his recent remarks comparing Cardi B’s “WAP” performance at the 2021 Grammys to speeches by Adolf Hitler. Cooper said his initial comments were “misrepresented” during a follow-up episode of his “Cooper Talk” video podcast, denying he compared Cardi B or the Grammys to any dictators. The Christian rock singer and self-described conservative sparked controversy when he tried to explain that a positive reception of Cardi B’s sexually charged Grammy performance with Megan Thee Stallion was an example of the “woke” public mistaking evil for good. He then used Hitler’s propaganda speeches as a historical example, saying that “every dictator in history says that what they were doing was good,” and that people are “forced to applaud” the “sexu...
Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Ordered Jailed Without Bond Until His Trial for Storming the Capitol Begins
Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer will remain jailed until his trial begins for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol building. A federal judge ruled that the metal musician must be held behind bars without bond during a bail hearing on Friday (March 19th). According to Indiana TV station WUSA-9, Schaffer appeared for the Washington, D.C. hearing via a video link. The veteran rocker was one of the many people arrested for the riot that broke out on January 6th. He faces six charges, including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building. He allegedly used bear spray on Capitol police during the insurrection. The guitarist’s attorney read a statement on his behalf, saying that Schaffer admits he “used bad judgement” and wishes he had a “do-over.” The lawyer also argued that...
Serj Tankian on His New Elasticity EP: “I Definitely Thought These Songs Would Have Worked Out for System”
Serj Tankian has just released his new solo EP, Elasticity. The title is inspired, in part, by System of a Down’s landmark 2001 album,Toxicity, and the singer has made no secret about the songs being originally intended for his acclaimed metal band. The collection features five new songs, including the recent singles “Elasticity” and “Electric Yerevan”. One listen to the EP, and it’s not difficult to see how these tracks would have fit nicely into the System of a Down canon. Tankian approached System with these songs a few years back, and as he explained to Heavy Consequence, the band members even worked on a few of them. However, ultimately creative differences led to any recording plans coming to a standstill. We asked Tankian what he felt more: regret about not recording the songs with ...
R.I.P. Corey Steger, Founding Underoath Guitarist Dies in Car Accident
Guitarist Corey Steger, one of the original members of Florida metalcore act Underoath, has died in a car accident. The tragic news was reported by Dallas Taylor, another founding member of band. Steger joined singer Taylor, guitarist Luke Morton, bassist Rey Anasco, and drummer Aaron Gillespie in Underoath’s original lineup in 1998, remaining with the band through 2001. He appeared on their first two albums, 1999’s Act of Depression and 2000’s Cries of the Past. Taylor, who parted ways with Underoath in 2003, shared the devastating news of Steger’s death on Instagram, writing the following: “I don’t know how to type this. I’m without words. Yesterday 3/17/2021 at around 6:00 p.m. Corey Steger one of the original founding members of Underoath was rear ended in a car wreck, and went home to...
Serj Tankian Releases New Solo EP Elasticity: Stream
Serj Tankian has unveiled his new solo EP, Elasticity, featuring five new songs he had originally hoped to record with his multiplatinum band System of a Down. The EP Is available to stream in its entirety below. “When I conceived possibly doing another record with the guys from System of a Down a few years back, I started working on a set of songs that I arranged in rock format for that purpose,” Tankian explained in a press release. “As we weren’t able to see eye to eye on the vision going forward with an SOAD album, I decided to release these songs under my moniker.” It’s easy to see how these songs would have fit within the System of a Down mold, as they have a quirky metal vibe reminiscent of the band’s acclaimed musical output. The track “Your Mom” is especially in the System vein, a...
Alice Cooper: David Bowie Saw My Stage Show and Said This Is What He “Should Be Doing”
Legendary rockers Alice Cooper and David Bowie each broke new ground as theatrical stage performers. While the two pioneers of glam rock were contemporaries, Cooper says it was his stage show that influenced Bowie. In a new feature for Metal Hammer, Cooper answered a number of fan questions. One reader named Debbie asked, “Did you ever cross paths with your theatrical comrade, David Bowie?” “David used to come to the show when he was a mime artist, he was Davy Jones back then,” responded Cooper. “I remember at one of our ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ shows, he brought his band the Spiders From Mars and he was saying, ‘This is what we should be doing.’ But he never did it the way we did it.” He added, “When we started doing theatrics and still had hit records, that opened up a huge door for Bow...
Puscifer to Perform Money Shot in Its Entirety for Upcoming Livestream Concert
Puscifer have announced their second livestream event, dubbed “Billy D and the Hall of Feathered Serpents Featuring Money Shot by Puscifer”. The virtual concert goes live on April 17th at 5 p.m. ET and will be available for on-demand viewing. As the name implies, Puscifer will be performing 2015’s Money Shot in its entirety, reviving the Lucha Libre wrestling themed performances of that album cycle. And like the band’s previous cinematic livestream, the upcoming show promises eye-popping costumes and set pieces, with Puscifer performing at the historic Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. “In this prequel to his alleged abduction during Existential Reckoning, we find Billy D trudging through what has been referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of the Southwest,” singer Maynard James Keenan explained...
Tom DeLonge Is Selling Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves Gear on Reverb
Tom DeLonge has partnered with Reverb to sell his Blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves gear. The Official Tom DeLonge Reverb Shop goes live on March 24th. Over 100 items used in the studio and on tour will be up for grabs, including synthesizers, keyboards, amps, pedals, road cases, and more. For fans of Blink-182, there’s a few priceless artifacts, like the Marshall JMP-1 and Mesa Boogie Triaxis amps the band toured with beginning in 2000. “A lot of these still have the original settings for the songs they were used on,” DeLonge said in a press release. The veteran musician simply has too much stuff, and it’s time to make space. Reverb hosted a similar sale with Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, who sold much of his stock within the first days of launching. DeLonge is the latest major artist to sell...
Emily Wolfe Unveils Epiphone Sheraton Stealth Guitar and “No Man” Performance: Interview + Giveaway
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Emily Wolfe has been rising up the music ranks over the past few years, and now she has her own signature Epiphone Sheraton Stealth guitar. She puts the instrument on display in a new performance of her song “No Man” at the Gibson Showroom in Austin, Texas, exclusively premiering at Consequence of Sound along with a giveaway contest for the new guitar. As an up-and-coming musician, Wolfe makes history with her own signature Epiphone guitar, which she helped develop. The Sheraton Stealth offers thinline, double-cutaway, semi-hollowbody design similar to the Gibson ES-335. Wolfe’s model comes in a Black Aged Gloss finish, boasting an Indian Laurel fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and mother-of-pearl block inlays with abalone lightning bolts. The headst...
Sharon Osbourne Allegedly Used Offensive Asian and Homophobic Slurs in the Past: Report
Sharon Osbourne’s daytime TV show The Talk is currently under internal review by CBS due to a heated conversation she had with co-host Sheryl Underwood. Now, new allegations against Osbourne have emerged in a report from investigative journalist Yashar Ali, who cites former Talk co-host Leah Remini among his sources. Last week, Osbourne defended UK TV host Piers Morgan, who said he didn’t believe Meghan Markle after her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Markle said she experienced racism with the royal family and even contemplated suicide. Some had suggested that Morgan’s comments were racist, but Osbourne tweeted, “@piersmorgan, I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you’re paid for your opinion and that you’re just speaking your truth.” That led to an emotional e...
Bill Ward Would Love to Record a New Black Sabbath Album with the Original Lineup
Founding Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has said he would “love to” record one more studio album with his former band. Ward parted ways with the group in 2012, prior to Sabbath recording their most recent album, 13, and embarking on their farewell tour. Ward was originally supposed to be aboard for the tour and the album but he departed citing contractual issues. Ozzy Osbourne later alleged that Ward was physically unfit for the tour. Rage Against the Machine’s Brad Wilk performed drums on the album, while Tommy Clufetos played drums on the final tour. It’s been nearly 10 years since Ward’s exit, and now the drummer has floated the idea about making another record with his old band. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Ward — who turns 73 in May — said he definitely wouldn’t be able to e...
Eddie Van Halen’s Son Wolfgang Declined Invite to Perform Tribute at Grammys
Many viewers came away from Sunday’s Grammy Awards disappointed with the very brief tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. On Monday, his son Wolfgang revealed that he was invited to perform Van Halen’s “Eruption” but declined. Even so, he was one of the ones who was underwhelmed by the salute to his father. While such artists as John Prine, Little Richard, and Kenny Rogers were toasted with full musical performances, Eddie Van Halen’s legacy was observed with one of his guitars sitting on a stage for 15 seconds during the “In Memoriam” segment, as a few videos played behind it. In a tweet, Wolfgang explained that he didn’t want play his father’s iconic Van Halen instrumental track “Eruption” because he felt he wouldn’t do it justice. That said, he was hoping the Grammys would do a little mo...
