Heavy Music News
Mike Patton on Reuniting Mr. Bungle, Navigating the Pandemic, and More
Mr. Bungle (Mike Patton center), photo by Eric Larsen Prior to the pandemic, Mike Patton had countless irons in the musical fire. While his touring plans came to a standstill, the singer has soldiered on with his many creative endeavors. One of those projects is the first album in 21 years from his reunited band Mr. Bungle. Mr. Bungle reunited earlier this year for a handful of shows in February, featuring a lineup that included original members Patton, Trey Spruance, and Trevor Dunn, along with thrash titans Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies) and Scott Ian (Anthrax). In addition to the concerts, news came that the same lineup would re-record Mr. Bungle’s 1986 demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. The re-recording, due October 30th, features the songs from original trackli...
Elephant Tree Premiere Cover of “Paranoid” for New Black Sabbath Tribute Compilation: Stream
Over the past couple years, Magnetic Eye Records’ Redux series has spotlighted classic bands with compilations of cover songs by underground metal bands. The next iteration hones in on Black Sabbath, and UK doom metallers Elephant Tree are premiering their cover of the iconic “Paranoid” exclusively via Heavy Consequence. Sabbath’s influence on bands like Elephant Tree is unquestionable, as the band members themselves will admit. Tony Iommi’s chugging downtuned riffs, the pounding boom-bap drums of Bill Ward, Geezer Butler’s expressive bass playing, and Ozzy Osbourne’s melodic vocals are each traits have become defining characteristics of doom and stoner metal. “Sabbath have obviously been on all of our radars throughout our lives, we don’t think it’s possible to not hear them these days, a...
Eddie Van Halen Saluted with Stylophone Cover of “Eruption”: Watch
The passing of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen earlier this month has sparked countless tributes. One of the most unique is a cover of his instrumental classic “Eruption” on a pair of Stylophones. Before getting into the musical tribute, the first question you may have is, “What’s a Stylophone?” And that would be a very good question. A Stylophone is an analog keyboard operated by a stylus. It was invented in the late ’60s, and mostly sold as a children’s toy. However, it did make its way into some notable recordings, including David Bowie’s iconic song “Space Oddity”. The instrument was revived in 2007 by the original inventor Brian Jarvis’ son Ben, and a handful of models have been released since then. That brings us to YouTuber maromaro1337, who posted the unique “Eruption” cover in tribu...
Pallbearer Forge Ahead with Emotionally Charged Doom on Forgotten Days: Review
The Gist: Pallbearer have ascended the arduous music industry ladder like many metal bands before them. They released a strong demo in 2010, got indie label attention, and released a string of successful underground doom albums. Now, the band is freshly signed to storied metal label Nuclear Blast Records for their fourth studio LP, Forgotten Days. The album marks that proverbial turning point in their career. There are expectations from thousands of fans the band has built over a decade of touring and releasing music — much of it among the finest doom metal money can buy. Not to mention Forgotten Days arrives amidst a global pandemic that delayed the album’s release for months and renders it currently un-tourable. As Pallbearer bassist Joseph D. Roland told Heavy Consequence, a world ...
Tool’s Maynard James Keenan to COVID-19 Deniers: “Eat a Dick”
Maynard James Keenan recently revealed that he contracted COVID-19 in February, and that he still has lingering effects months later. Apparently, there are some who’ve questioned the Tool singer’s story, leading him to deliver a blunt message to his doubters. After disclosing his coronavirus battle to the Arizona Republic earlier this month, Keenan offered a more detailed account during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast this week. The singer confirmed that he contracted COVID-19 while on tour of Australia and New Zealand in late February. “I’m in Australia, we went out to dinner… and immediately food didn’t taste right, but this is now, this is all hindsight, right — I didn’t know at the time,” explained Keenan. “We didn’t know that these are the things you’re looking...
Kid Rock Attended the Presidential Debate and Had to Be Told to Wear a Mask
Joe Biden might have the Avengers in his corner, but Trump is fighting back with… Kid Rock. The Detroit rocker has been seen everywhere, from joining Trump on the golf course to playing at his rallies. He was also in attendance at Thursday night’s debate at Nashville’s Belmont University — where he, unsurprisingly, had to be compelled to wear a mask. Rock was seated near eccentric PGA golfer/fellow Trump supporter John Daly, and they both seemed to think they could just plop down without masks. As face covers were required at the indoor event, a member of the Debate Commission eventually confronted the pair and provided them with masks to put on. As shared by Entertainment Weekly, a priceless picture (seen in the tweet below) captures Rock and Daly looking down in bewilderme...
Ozzy Osbourne: Eddie Van Halen Once Asked Me to Sing in Van Halen
Ozzy Osbourne (photo by David Brendan Hall), Eddie Van Halen (photo by Philip Cosores) In the wake of Eddie Van Halen’s passing earlier this month, some never-before-told stories have come to light about Van Halen’s search for a new singer over the years. Former Journey vocalist Steve Perry recently disclosed that Eddie had informally reached out to him about replacing David Lee Roth in the ’80s. Now, Ozzy Osbourne reveals that the guitarist once asked him to join the band. While Perry’s story had some viability, Ozzy admitted that Eddie was likely drunk when he received a late-night call from the guitar icon. In speaking with guitarist Billy Morrison (The Cult, Billy Idol) on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard channel, Ozzy said, “[Eddie] phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in ...
Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil to Release Score to Jay Baruchel’s Horror Film Random Acts of Violence
Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil teamed up with Andrew Macpherson to create the music for the new Jay Baruchel-directed horror film Random Acts of Violence. Now, the pair are set to release the movie’s score. The album arrives just in time for Halloween on October 30th, and the duo shared the eery “Slasherman Theme Song” to preview the full release. It’s an ominous electronic piece befitting of a slasher movie villain, with some John Carpenter-esque synth spook to boot. “When you’re scoring a film, you are creating a soundtrack for a world that doesn’t exist,” MacNeil said in a press release. “Finding the sounds and melodies for that bleak stretch of rust belt highway in Random Acts was exhilarating. Making music to frighten people is such a unique way to spend your time in a studio. I ...
Des Rocs Premieres New Song “Nothing Personal”: Stream
Rising New York musician Des Rocs is set to unleash a new EP, This Is Our Life, on December 4th. In advance of its release, he’s teaming up with Consequence of Sound to premiere the new single “Nothing Personal”. Des Rocs broke out as part of the duo Secret Weapons, and is now establishing himself as a dynamic solo act. His brand of rock ‘n’ roll features a frenetic and dramatic edge, with “Nothing Personal” offering up slices of post-punk and art rock. “‘Nothing Personal’ is music of the night,” Des Rocs tells us of the song. “It’s about bad people doing bad things and paying the price in this life and the next. It’s a firecracker of a record that I dare you to sit down to while listening.” Lyrically, Des Rocs paints a vivid scene with the opening lines, “I found you sleeping in my coffin...
Bring Me the Horizon Unveil New Song “Teardrops”: Stream
Bring Me the Horizon have unleashed another new song from their upcoming EP, Post Human: Survival Horror. The latest single, “Teardrops”, is accompanied by a music video that finds frontman Oli Sykes in an underwater struggle. “Teardrops” follows recent singles “Parasite Eve” and “Obey”, as well as last year’s “Ludens”, which all appear on the nine-song EP, due October 30th. Sykes has high praise fo “Teardrops”, ranking it among the UK band’s top tracks. “It is my favorite song off the record,” he said in a press release. “I’m so excited to get this single out, it feels like a classic Bring Me the Horizon tune but without it feeling like anything we’ve done before. I feel like ‘Teardrops’ is some of the best work we’ve ever done, musically and lyrically as whole.” Editors’ Picks As p...
Aftershock 2021 Lineup: Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and More
Metallica (photo by Amy Price), My Chemical Romance (photo by David Brendan Hall) Aftershock Festival has unveiled its 2021 lineup, and it’s stacked with metal and punk heavyweights. Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Limp Bizkit, Mastodon, Rancid, Gojira, and more are on the four-day bill. It was previously announced that Metallica and MCR would headline the 2020 edition of Aftershock. When that fest was canceled due to the pandemic, it was revealed that both bands would be back for the 2021 edition. Now, the rest of the lineup has been announced. The festival will take place October 7th through 10th at Discovery Park in Sacramento, California, with metal titans Metallica headlining the Friday and Sunday lineups by playing unique sets on each night. Reunited emo heroes My Chemical Romance wi...
Dale Crover (Melvins) Announces New Solo Album Rat-A-Tat-Tat!, Shares “Tougher”: Stream
Melvins drummer Dale Crover will release his sophomore solo album, Rat-A-Tat-Tat!, on January 15th via Joyful Noise. Along with announcing the new LP, Crover has shared the lead single, “Tougher”, which showcases the stickman’s guitar skills. Crover has often been the background collaborator and drummer for the projects of others, whether it be Kurt Cobain’s earliest home recordings as Fecal Matter, drumming for Mexico stoner band Low Flying Hawks, or his long-held position in the Melvins. That said, Crover has plenty of great musical ideas beyond his fantastic percussion. It’s actually a shame we haven’t heard more from solo Crover. His 1992 EP as part of the Melvins’ KISS-style solo releases might be the strongest of the bunch, but he didn’t follow it up until 2016’s Skins EP and the 201...
