Heavy Music News
Slash: New Guns N’ Roses Pinball Machines Are “Way Beyond My Expectations”
A couple of months ago, Guns N’ Roses announced a series of “Not in This Lifetime” pinball machines, modeled after the band’s mega-successful reunion tour of the same name. The arcade games were co-designed by Slash, who caught up with us to discuss all things pinball and his involvement in the creation of the machines. The “Not in This Lifetime” machines are manufactured by Jersey Jack Pinball, and are available in three editions — Standard, Limited, and Collectors — each with a different design on its body. The machines feature a 21-song soundtrack that closely mirrors the setlists that Guns N’ Roses played on their “Not in This Lifetime” tour, which saw the return of classic members Slash and Duff McKagan. As we learned from Slash while speaking with him about the machines, his love of ...
Trapt’s Twitter Suspended After Rant Seemingly Defending Statutory Rape
MAGA proud boys Trapt are at it again. If the racist and xenophobic ravings of frontman Chris Taylor Brown weren’t bad enough, the band’s toxic Twitter feed has finally been suspended after a rant seemingly defending underage student-teacher relationships and statutory rape. This after Trapt’s Facebook was suspended for “violating community standards” following a pro-Proud Boys post. The latest debacle appears to have started when someone trudged up a screenshot of one of the band’s old Twitter replies, no doubt scavenged from a pile of similarly tasteless remarks made throughout the years. This one defended underage student-teacher relationships, and the screenshot reignited the argument between Trapt (likely Brown) and an angry mob of angry commenters. Trapt doubled down on their old rep...
Every Time I Die Share New Songs “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures”: Stream
Every Time I Die have returned with the double single, “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures”. They’ve also announced a livestream event for December 19th. The songs mark the first new music from the Buffalo, New York hardcore act since 2016. In the interim, the band’s lost none of their mathematic prowess and virtuosic precision. If the rest of Every Time I Die’s forthcoming ninth studio album lives up to these tracks, fans are in for another excellent slice of passionate metal. As the titles “A Colossal Wreck” and “Desperate Pleasures” imply, there’s more than a little of 2020 that’s seeped into the new material. Vocalist Keith Buckley stated in a press release that the songs are “two sides of the same reactionary coin.” “While ‘A Colossal Wreck’ looks around at the current state o...
Suspect208 (Sons of Weiland, Slash, Trujillo) Unveil Video for Second Single “All Black”: Watch
Suspect208, the new band featuring the sons of Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, and late Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, have just unveiled their second single. The track, “All Black”, is accompanied by a music video that offers the first look at the young musicians performing onstage. The band — consisting of 20-year-old singer Noah Weiland, 16-year-old bassist Tye Trujillo, 18-year-old drummer London Hudson (Slash’s son), and 18-year-old guitarist Niko Tsangaris — went viral with their debut single, “Long Awaited”, which arrived last month. That track is already approaching a million hits on YouTube. While “Long Awaited” drew comparisons to Velvet Revolver, a band that featured both Slash and Scott Weiland, “All Black” has more of a rock-pop vib...
Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020
Our Annual Report looks back upon the strange year that was 2020 and the music, film, and television that came with it. Here, we present our Top 30 Metal + Hard Rock Albums of 2020. In a year we’d mostly like to forget, the world of heavy music brought us many memorable releases. While we wait for concerts to return, we have a treasure trove of new metal and hard rock albums that amplify the anticipation of seeing our favorite bands return to stages. 2020 has been dominated by a worldwide pandemic, and if anything can provide us with a daily distraction from the suffering and uncertainty, it’s good music. Thankfully, dozens of bands decided to release new albums this year, despite not being able to tour in support of their latest studio efforts. As a reminder that life is filled with comeb...
North Kingsley (Shavo Odadjian) Unleash “False Idols” Featuring Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA: Stream
North Kingsley, the side-project of System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, have released a new three-song EP, Vol. 2, their second of 2020. The group has also shared a music video for politically charged lead single “False Idols”, which features RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. The track epitomizes North Kingsley’s groove-laden take on alternative hip-hop and the strong political views that seem to accompany Odadjian’s projects. North Kingsley vocalist/lyricist Ray Hawthorne takes centerstage on the song, with the video featuring the band’s members wearing masks of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton. “We, as individuals, empower and idolize people who care for their own interests above ours,” vocalist/lyricist Hawthorne said in the press release. “We need to recognize that. We need to ...
Eyehategod Detail New Album A History of Nomadic Behavior, Share “High Risk Trigger”: Stream
New Orleans sludge metal vets Eyehategod have detailed their previously announced new album, A History of Nomadic Behavior. The 12-song effort arrives March 12th and marks the band’s first new LP in seven years. Eyehategod have also shared the album’s lead single, the politically charged “High Risk Trigger”. While singer Mike IX Williams says the band rarely touches on politics, the song tackles the subject of police brutality. The rest of the album also has overtones of the socio-political disruption prevalent in modern America. “We’re not a political band, but it was hard not to be affected by the news from the past year,” Williams said in a press release. “During this recording, I thought a lot about how stupid humanity has become and how America is now completely divided with these peo...
The HU Unleash Mongolian Cover of Metallica’s “Sad But True”: Stream
Mongolian act The HU have covered the Metallica classic “Sad But True” in their native tongue, employing both traditional Mongolian instruments and throat singing. It’s a passionately detailed twist on the catchy metal song, transforming the song’s hook and bouncy riff into something new altogether. It manages to sound like The HU’s other traditional Mongolian folk rock without losing the song’s inherent Metallica-ness. Don’t worry, you can still effectively headbang to it. “Like millions of people around the world, Metallica has been a huge influence and inspiration for us as music fans and musicians,” The HU’s Galbadrakh “Gala” Tsendbaatar said in a press release. “We admire their 40 years of relentless touring and the timeless, unique music they have created. It is a great honor to show...
Greta Van Fleet Announce New Album The Battle at Garden’s Gate, Unveil “Age of Machine”: Stream
Greta Van Fleet have announced a new album, The Battle at Garden’s Gate. In advance of its April 16th release, the young rockers have unleashed the LP’s latest single, “Age of Machine”. The Battle at Garden’s Gate marks Greta Van Fleet’s sophomore album, following their 2018 debut, Anthem of the Peaceful Army, and a whirlwind of success since exploding onto the scene with the single “Highway Tune” in 2017. The Michigan band’s experiences over the past three years have helped inform the new album, with bassist Sam Kiszka stating, “I suppose that everything has changed except what got us here in the first place. Everything — our perception of the world, perception of life itself, what it means to be an artist, what it means to be part of a beautiful, gorgeous society. We’ve gained a larger u...
Deafheaven Release New Studio-Recorded Live Album 10 Years Gone: Stream
Deafheaven have released their new studio-recorded live album 10 Years Gone, commemorating the illustrious first decade of their career. Initially, Deafheaven were to go on a world tour called “10 Years Gone”, but the pandemic shut that down. Making the most of the situation, the band decided to properly record its planned setlist live in the studio, offering a vivid document of what fans would have witnessed had the tour happened. The only thing missing is the crowd noise as Deafheaven deconstruct arguably the strongest set of songs in their catalog. “Daedalus” and “Glint” were released as singles, teasing the immensity of this psuedo-live document. Tackling each song full bore, it’s Deafheaven at their most intense and direct. “Revisiting the songs in this studio sessions format with Jac...
COVID-Exorcising Televangelist Goes Heavy Metal in Viral Video: Watch
“Judgement on COVID-19 goes HEAVY METAL [Kenneth Copeland Remix] [I Demand]”, via YouTube Fire-and-brimstone televangelist Kenneth Copeland is unlikely to enter the dark embrace of heavy metal anytime soon, but one YouTube guitarist has made a valid argument for the Texas pastor’s prospects as a metal frontman. Andres Antunes took Copeland’s recent COVID-19 “exorcism” and laid down some riffs under it, creating one of the most chilling and absurd mashups since Metal Trump. Titled “Judgement on COVID-19 goes HEAVY METAL [Kenneth Copeland Remix] [I Demand]”, Antunes’ video is going viral, having already approached 500,000 views. Copeland’s commanding sermons are terrifying in their own right — especially the COVID one — making Antunes’ decision to combine them with metal riffs all the ...
Chris Cornell’s Daughter Lily Cornell Silver Covers Alice in Chains for First Public Performance: Watch
Lily Cornell Silver, the eldest daughter of late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, made her first public performance during the MoPOP Founders Award ceremony on Tuesday night. She covered Alice in Chains’ “Black Gives Way to Blue” in tribute to the evening’s honorees. The livestream event saw numerous grunge and alt-rock luminaries covering the songs of Alice in Chains. Members of Soundgarden participated in the festivities, and one of the evening’s major highlights came when Lily — whose mom is Alice in Chains’ longtime manager Susan Silver — played a touching piano version of “Black Gives Way to Blue” with musical accompaniment by Queensrÿche’s Chris DeGarmo. Like her father, Lily has a strong singing voice, elevating the emotional content of an already heart-wrenching song. We can onl...
