Heavy Music News
Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, 311, Filter, The Used, Veruca Salt Members Cover Jane’s Addiction’s “Mountain Song”: Watch
The Kings of Quarantine — a collective spearheaded by Slaves on Dope members Jason Rockman and Kevin Jardine along with Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher — are back with an all-star cover of the Jane’s Addiction classic “Mountain Song”. This time around, they’re joined by members of Limp Bizkit, 311, Filter, Veruca Salt, The Used, and In Flames. Kelliher and Jardine are joined on guitar by Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland, while vocals are handled by Rockman, Veruca Salt’s Louise Post, Filter’s Richard Patrick, and The Used’s Bert McCracken. The rhythm section is made up of 311’s P-Nut on bass and In Flames’ Tanner Wayne on drums. The singers all do an admirable job on the challenging tune, as “Mountain Song” is one of Perry Farrell’s finest vocal moments in Jane’s Addiction. McCracken’s turn is e...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp and Wife Toyah Gift Us with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” on an Exercise Bike: Watch
King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah owned the pandemic in 2020 with a “Sunday Lunch” quarantine series featuring a number of memorable performances. Thankfully, for those of us still wanting eccentric covers of our favorite rock songs, the couple have continued the series into 2021. Their latest effort is a rendition of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” featuring Toyah riding an exercise bike. As Fripp plays the iconic “Enter Sandman” riff on guitar, Toyah rides the bike, writhing around as she sings and acts out the song’s lyrics. This time around, it’s not so much the performance as it is Toyah’s revealing choice of apparel that has garnered the most comments on YouTube. In just one day, the clip has more than a half million views. “Enter Sandman” isn’t Robert and Toyah...
EVH Unveils New 2021 Guitar Models in Eddie Van Halen’s Honor
EVH has unveiled a new series of colorful guitar models for 2021, honoring the company’s founder and namesake, the late Eddie Van Halen. All in all, there are nine new EVH guitars coming in early 2021. New models for the 5150 Series will include the 5150 Series Deluxe Poplar Burl featuring ebony fingerboard ($999.99 MSRP), the 5150 Series Standard with ebony fingerboard ($899.99), and the neon pink finished 5150 Series Standard with maple fingerboard ($899.99). The standard guitar will be available in February while the Poplur Burl arrives in April. The reimagined 5150 series guitars are engineered for “speed” and “comfort” — no surprise given Eddie’s lightning fast playing technique. The guitars’ Stratocaster-style basswood body has a deeper upper body curve, bold-on quarter-sawn maple ne...
R.I.P. Marsha Zazula, Megaforce Records Co-Founder Who Helped Launch Metallica’s Career Dies at 68
Marsha Zazula, who co-founded Megaforce Records with her husband Jon Zazula (aka Jonny Z), has sadly passed away at the age of 68. The couple were instrumental in launching the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, and other metal bands. Marsha’s passing was confirmed by her daughter Rikki Zazula, who wrote, “RIP Mom April 21, 1952 – January 10, 2021. Your love, Your strength, Your memory and Your music has changed lives and will continue to FOREVER.” Along with Jonny, Marsha helped open the door for thrash metal on the East Coast. Jonny quit a Wall Street job and the pair began selling records at a flea market under the name Rock N’ Roll Heaven. Eventually, they established a New Jersey store that became an influential metal destination. Upon hearing Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo, Jonny ...
Iced Earth Bandmates Address Jon Schaffer Storming the Capitol: We Do Not Support Riots or Acts of Violence
Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer was among the hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday, and is currently being sought by the FBI and Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police. On Saturday (January 9th), his bandmates addressed the situation, stating, “We absolutely do not condone nor do we support riots or acts of violence.” Schaffer was photographed at the head of a mob that broke into the Capitol building in an effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. The riot occurred shortly after Donald Trump held a rally nearby and urged his supporters to march to the Capitol, at one point saying, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” The guitarist’s face was plastered all over m...
Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” Gets New Remix by 100 gecs: Stream
Linkin Park’s mega-selling debut album Hybrid Theory continues to be celebrated after marking its 20th anniversary in October. A new officially sanctioned remix of “One Step Closer” by the innovative hyper-pop duo 100 gecs is the latest musical tribute to Linkin Park and their landmark LP. 100 gecs were personally recruited by Linkin Park to remix “One Step Closer” in any way they saw fit. The duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les not only offer a new spin on Linkin Park’s breakout hit, but also add their own vocals to the mix, dubbed “One Step Closer (100 gecs Reanimation)”. Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda referenced his band’s 2002 remix album, Reanimation, when praising the 100 gecs version of “One Step Closer” in a press release. “Part of the spirit of Reanimation was to take the&...
KISS’ Gene Simmons and Gibson Team for New G² Line of Electric Guitars and Basses
Founding KISS bassist Gene Simmons has partnered with Gibson for a new line of electric guitars and basses dubbed G². The new collection will launch with the release of the G² Thunderbird bass later this year. Simmons unveiled the Thunderbird during KISS’ elaborate New Year’s Eve livestream concert in Dubai. The entrepreneurial bassist recently reaffirmed his belief that “rock is dead,” but that’s not stopping him from releasing a new series of rock instruments. “You live and die by the instrument in your hands,” Simmons said in a press announcement. “You can stick your tongue out only so many times, but you have got to deliver the goods.” The new collection of right and left-handed guitars will span Gibson’s numerous brands — Gibson proper, Epiphone, and Kramer — which indicates a variety...
Suspect208 (Weiland, Slash, Trujillo Sons) Already Looking for a New Singer
Suspect208 (clockwise from upper left: Noah Weiland, London Hudson, Tye Trujillo, Niko Tsangaris) The new band Suspect208, featuring the sons of famous rock stars, are already looking for a new singer, just a couple months after making a splash with their debut single. It appears that Noah Weiland, son of late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, is no longer in the band. Suspect208, who also feature drummer London Hudson (son of Slash), bassist Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo), and guitarist Niki Tsangaris, arrived like a house on fire with their first single, the hard-rocking “Long Awaited”. A combination of curiosity and a strong musical debut propelled the track to nearly 1 million listens on YouTube. But now, after releasing another single, the poppier “All Black...
The Pretty Reckless Unveil New Song “And So It Went” Featuring Tom Morello: Stream
The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen (via Fearless Records), Tom Morello (photo by Philip Cosores) The Pretty Reckless have unleashed the latest single from their upcoming album, Death by Rock and Roll. The new track, “And So It Went”, features guest guitar playing from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello. Death by Rock and Roll arrives on February 12th, and has already been preceded by the title track and the recent single “25”. The new song, “And So It Went”, finds Taylor Momsen ascending to a raspy scream over a heavy guitar riff in the verses. Morello’s trademark playing really comes to the forefront at the 2:35 mark with a blistering solo. The track ends with a children’s choir singing along with Momsen on the chorus. “The world has been in such a state of civil unrest,” said M...
Comedian Brian Posehn Trashes Just About Every Pop Act in “New Music Sucks” Video: Watch
Comedian and metalhead Brian Posehn takes aim at a who’s who of pop music acts in his just-released video for “New Music Sucks”. Musically, he gets help from from Patrick Stump and Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy, whom he also humorously trashes in the song. The clip also features cameos from Weird Al Yankovic and Patton Oswalt. The track appears on Posehn’s 2020 album, Grandpa Metal, with Stump singing the hook and Trohman playing guitar. In the song, Posehn names a whole bunch of music stars, with lyrics like, “Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Drake and even Macklemore/ Alan Thicke’s kid, One Direction, Mumford and the Shitty Sons/ Kesha, Biebs, Lorde, Miley, Even Bruno Mars/ I’m sure he’s super talented, but try telling that to my ears.” He gets more vicious with Imagine Dragons, singing, “Imagine Dr...
Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Sought by Police for Storming the U.S. Capitol
Earlier today photos emerged of Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer storming the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. Now, the veteran metal musician is among the persons of interest sought for “unrest-related offenses” by the Metropolitan Police in Washington, D.C. The Metropolitan Police unveiled a Powerpoint presentation of dozens of people who are wanted for unlawful entry of the U.S. Capitol Grounds. A photo of Schaffer, which has already run on several major news outlets, was among the pictures included. Schaffer can be seen at the front of a mob, with an Oath Keepers hat and his finger pointed while yelling at someone out of the frame. The guitarist, who formed Iced Earth in 1984, has been outspoken about his political beliefs in the past. In the past, he questioned whether H...
Metallica’s Music Provides Soundtrack to Student Protests in Istanbul: Watch
Metallica’s James Hetfield (photo by Amy Price), Istanbul Protest (via Twitter: Ahval) University students in Istanbul blasted the Metallica classics “Master of Puppets” and “Sad But True” to protest the appointment of a new rector with ties to Turkey’s conservative ruling party. Interestingly, the new rector himself has claimed to be a Metallica fan. According to The Guardian, Melih Bulu was appointed rector of Boğaziçi University by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 1st. The decision outraged students and professors, who argue that the decision was an affront to their academic freedoms. Bulu was the first official to be appointed outside the university community since a 1980 military coup. Bulu is a self-described fan of heavy metal, exclaiming, “I am a rector who l...
