Heavy Music News
Baby Dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” Will Lift Your Spirits During These Dark Times: Watch
Dancing Tool Baby (via YouTube), Tool’s Maynard James Keenan (photo by Kevin RC Wilson) With a pandemic still plaguing the world and insurrectionists storming the U.S. Capitol, we need a bit of levity in these dark times. That’s where a new video of a baby dancing to Tool’s “Invincible” comes in, brightening our spirits with every one of his little stomps. We stumbled on this video in its infancy, and we’re not just talking about the baby’s age. Criminally, it only had 20 views since being uploaded just before Christmas by YouTube user Mom of Five. With the Fear Inoculum track “Invincible” playing on the family’s television, complete with a graphic of the album cover, the little Batman-pajama-wearing toddler seems to be drawn to the music. As he makes his way to the TV with his sippy...
Trailer Unveiled for Upcoming Serj Tankian Documentary Truth to Power: Watch
System of a Down singer Serj Tankian is the subject of a recently announced documentary film titled Truth to Power, which premieres on February 19th. The trailer and poster for the movie have now been unveiled. The new trailer offers a glimpse at what viewers can expect from the intimate documentary, which follows Tankian’s journey as a musician and longtime activist. The singer and his band continue to raise awareness for the crisis in Artsakh, an Armenian-adjacent state that was recently under siege by Azerbaijan and Turkey. In the past, they called for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. “[It’s] looking through my eyes at how message becomes reality through the arts,” Tankian said of Truth to Power in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone. “Instead of focusing on me as an ar...
Rage Against the Machine Release Killing in Thy Name Documentary About Race: Watch
The socio-political events of the past five years have been a too-fitting backdrop for Rage Against The Machine’s music. The legendary rock group weren’t able to tour the country last year as planned, but today they’re giving their artistic response to the reignited racial justice movement with a new documentary called Killing in Thy Name. The project is a collaboration with a collective of international artists called The Ummah Chroma (which translates to “communities of color”), and it seeks to be “a fire escape from the fiction known as whiteness and a spring for discovery.” The bulk of the 15-minute endeavor features footage of a teacher and some schoolchildren learning about the west’s dark history of slavery, manifest destiny, and the very concept of “whiteness” within the conte...
Eyehategod Unleash New Song “Fake What’s Yours” Ahead of Upcoming Album: Stream
Sludge metal vets Eyehategod have offered up “Fake What’s Yours”, the second single from the band’s forthcoming album, A History of Nomadic Behavior (out March 12th). The song proceeds lead single “High Risk Trigger”, following a similar thread of swinging doom riffs and the inimitable snarls of vocalist Mike IX Williams. Frankly, Williams described it best in his own words: “It’s a pure uncut chunk of anti-authoritarian preach-speak set to a condescending guitar riff that could only be born from the dirty streets of New Orleans,” Williams remarked in a press release. “We can’t wait for everyone to hear the full record, but for now, put on your gas masks, lock your doors, stay home and LISTEN!” As the singer revealed when the album was announced, given the current state of affairs, there’s...
AFI Return with New Songs “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles”: Stream
AFI have unleashed two new songs — “Twisted Tongues” and “Escape From Los Angeles” — ahead of a new album planned for 2021. Both tracks can be heard in the visualizers below. The two new songs mark the veteran California rock act’s first new music since they dropped the five song EP The Missing Man in December 2018. When a new LP arrives, it will be the band’s first since 2017’s AFI (The Blood Album). “Twisted Tongues” explores AFI’s goth-rock side, while “Escape From Los Angeles” gives off more of a punk vibe — both highlighted by singer Davey Havok’s signature haunting vocals. “As I recall, ‘Twisted Tongues’ came of the Blood era and was the first piece of music we explored on the new album,” Havok explained of “Twisted Tongues” in a press release. “The dreaminess of the music lyrically ...
Serj Tankian on System of a Down: “As Long As We’re on the Same Page, We Can Continue Doing Stuff”
System of a Down surprised fans in November when they released their first new songs in 15 years. The band had been stagnated by creative differences, but singer Serj Tankian offers hope that more new music could be on the way, as long as the members are “on the same page.” For a while it appeared that System of a Down’s recording days may have been over. While the band continued to tour occasionally, the members just couldn’t see eye to eye when it came to creating a follow-up to their last album, 2005’s Hypnotize. Tankian and guitarist-singer Daron Malakian made headlines in 2018 when they publicly aired their grievances about their creative differences, with Tankian accepting responsibility for spearheading a band hiatus that lasted from 2006 to 2011. A further divide seemed to happen t...
Blue Stahli Premieres New Single “Catastrophe”: Stream
Blue Stahli, the one-man electro-industrial act masterminded by Bret Autrey, returns with the new album Obsidian this Friday (January 15th). In advance of its release, Heavy Consequence is presenting the exclusive premiere of the track ‘Catastrophe”. Under various names, Autrey has been releasing music since the late ’90s, recording under the Blue Stahli name beginning in 2006. Obsidian marks the the third in his new “deadchannel_Trilogy” of albums, preceded by Quartz in October and Copper in November. The themes of the albums revolve around Autrey’s own tragic loss of his mother to brain cancer in 2018. Regarding the song “Catastrophe”, Autrey tells us, “My songs range from being purely electronic to having more of an electronic rock feel, and ‘Catastrophe’ is a track that will hopef...
Black Sabbath Dio-Era Albums Heaven and Hell, Mob Rules Getting Deluxe Reissues
The first two Ronnie James Dio-fronted Black Sabbath albums, 1980’s Heaven and Hell and 1981’s Mob Rules, are receiving deluxe reissues via Rhino Records. The expanded editions arrive March 5th, and to tide us over, live cuts of each title track are now available to stream. Both albums will be available on CD and vinyl, featuring a 2021 remaster of the original LPs, along with B-sides, alternate versions, and rare live recordings. Do to space constraints, the vinyl versions will feature a selection of the bonus tracks available on the CDs. 1980’s Heaven and Hell marked Dio’s debut with Black Sabbath. It proved to be one of the heavy metal’s greatest comeback albums following the ousting of original singer Ozzy Osbourne. The expanded edition includes live versions of “Children of the Sea” a...
Jeopardy! Celebrated Rob Zombie’s Birthday with a Clue About the Rocker-Director: Watch
Rob Zombie turned 56 years old on Tuesday (January 12th), and he received the ultimate television honor — a mention on Jeopardy! The rocker-director was the correct response to a clue about his movie House of 1000 Corpses. With previous champion Ken Jennings guest hosting in the wake of the legendary Alex Trebek’s tragic passing in November, last night’s new airing of Jeopardy! featured a category titled “Insane Clown Posse”. No, the category wasn’t about the face-painted rap duo or their Juggalo fans. Instead, it focused on famous clowns from horror movies and TV. The clue was, “Hooray for Captain Spaulding, the murderous clown in House of 1000 Corpses, directed by this White Zombie frontman.” The correct $1,200 question, of course, was, “Who is Rob Zombie?”, as answered by contestant Dus...
ERRA Announce New Self-Titled Album, Share Music Video for “Divisionary”: Stream
Metalcore act ERRA have announced their self-titled fifth studio album, which arrives March 19th. The band has also shared the music video for the lead single, “Divisionary”. ERRA’s dynamic take on progressive metal shines through on the new song. Complex riffs mingle with upfront melodies to create an immersive soundscape. It’s a fitting single for the new album, which aims for an atmospheric, escapist listening experience, even if the songs like “Divisionary” are rooted in a very real dystopian fear. “It’s a song about our relationship to technology,” vocalist/guitarist Jesse Cash said in a press announcement. “The song is pretty on the nose and intentionally a bit tongue-in-cheek. It creates a sort of campy parallel between our phones and religion. In the song, technology is God and we ...
Corey Taylor Recruits Reality Star, Movie Actors, and Steel Panther for “Samantha’s Gone” Video: Watch
Corey Taylor’s new music video for his solo single “Samantha’s Gone” is a star-studded affair. The Slipknot frontman recruited the likes of Vanderpump Rules reality star Tom Sandoval, actor Dean Cameron (Summer School, Straight Outta Compton), and hair-metal parody band Steel Panther for the humorous clip. The backdrop is the set of the video shoot for the song, a track on Taylor’s recent debut solo album, CMFT. Sandoval appears as a mulleted frontman of an overzealous indie-rock band that also features Greg Grunberg (Star Wars movies), Latin musician Travis Miguel, guitarist Ace Von Johnson (Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns), and musician Jonah Nimroy. As they deliver a ridiculous performance of “Samantha’s Gone”, the director (played by Cameron) screams in disgust. When he begs them to stop, T...
Bassist Marko Hietala Quits Nightwish, Condemns Music Industry on the Way Out
Former Nightwish bassist Marko Hietala, second from right, courtesy of Nuclear Blast Longtime Nightwish bassist Marko Hietala has quit the symphonic metal band after joining the Finnish group in 2001. Hietala issued a highly personal statement regarding his departure, condemning the music industry in the process. Among his grievances, Hietala cited “streaming company big guns demanding 9-to-5 work from artists of inspiration while unfairly sharing the profits.” Nightwish have long been a leading artist in the world of symphonic metal, and their 2004 opus, Once, remains one of Nuclear Blast Records’ most successful releases after topping the charts in multiple countries. The bassist didn’t expressly call out his record label, specific promoters, or any of his bandmates, but said that a pers...
