Heavy Music News
AC/DC Team Up with DC Shoes for New Footwear and Apparel Line
AC/DC have teamed up with DC Shoes for a new line of footwear and apparel. The merch launches this Saturday (November 7th), just in time for the legendary band’s upcoming album, Power Up, which arrives on November 13th. DC Shoes is known for its skate footwear, so it’s not surprising that the shoes are the highlight of the AC/DC collaboration. A handful of classic DC styles and silhouettes have been adorned with the band’s iconography. One style features the cover of Highway to Hell printed on the canvas area, while others boldly display the band’s logo. The shoes will retail for a suggested price of $55 to $75. In addition to the footwear, the AC/DC x DC Shoes partnership also features beanies, longsleeves, and more as part of the line, ranging from $25 to $75. As AC/DC were a staple musi...
The Offspring Cover “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: Stream
The Offspring have released their first-ever holiday song, a cover of the Darlene Love classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Along with the single, the band has promised new music in early 2021. As frontman Dexter Holland pointed out in a press release, the band felt it was a good time to bring some holiday cheer to their fans. “It just seemed like the world could use a nice holiday song right now,” remarked Holland. “We’ve always been huge fans of Darlene Love, so when the idea came up to do a Christmas song, we jumped at the chance to record that one … and tried not to wreck it!” The punk-rock veterans actually deliver a pretty faithful rendition of tune, with their version produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe). The original 1963 version was famously produced by Phil Spect...
Louisiana Man Who Burned Down Churches to Raise His “Black Metal Profile” Gets 25-Year Prison Sentence
Holden Matthews, who set fire to three churches last year to “raise his profile as a black-metal musician”, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison. The 23-year-old Louisiana man was also ordered to pay $2.6 million in damages to the affected churches. As previously reported, Matthews, who played bass in the band Vodka Vultures, faced between 10 and 70 years in prison for burning three predominantly Black churches in the spring of 2019. According to a statement on the sentencing from U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook, “Matthews admitted to setting the fires because of the religious character of these buildings, in an effort to raise his profile as a ‘Black Metal’ musician by copying similar crimes committed in Norway in the 1990s.” Matthews’ actions came just a few months after the relea...
Percussionist Chris Fehn Drops Lawsuit Against Slipknot
Chris Fehn has dropped his lawsuit against Slipknot more than a year the longtime percussionist was ousted from the band. According to Rock Feed, Fehn’s attorneys filed a Notice of Voluntary Discontinuance with the New York Supreme Court last week, effectively ending Fehn’s case against his former band and other parties. He had claimed they withheld money and funneled it through Slipknot affiliated businesses setup by band members in different states. Fehn sued his bandmates over money matters when he was technically still in Slipknot, although he was dismissed from the group shortly thereafter. He wore the long-nosed mask in the band since 1998 and was one of its earliest members, vital to the band’s signature multi-percussionist format. “Chris knows why he is no longer a part of Slipknot...
Moog Brings Back Budget-Friendly Werkstatt-01 Modular Synthesizer
Moog is bringing back its “most affordable” modular synthesizer, the Werkstatt-01, just in time for the holidays with a new low price. If you plan on spending less money and more time making music, it’s the perfect way to begin dabbling in Moog’s ever-growing world of modular synths. The Werkstatt-01 now goes for $199 (versus its original price of $379), and its simplicity and customization make it entry-level accessible for those who’ve never owned such an instrument. As Moog states in the press release, the Werkstatt can be used for “musical exploration and experimental education” as a standalone instrument or a workshop for patching and interconnectivity with other gear. It was designed specifically for the curious owner to open it up and tweak away, all while literally learning the ins...
Alter Bridge Unleash Hard-Hitting New Song “Last Rites”: Stream
Alter Bridge have unleashed a new song called “Last Rites”, which serves as the latest preview of their upcoming Walk the Sky 2.0 EP. The lyric video features a smoky, dimly lit aesthetic with a crystal ball making a prediction based on the song’s foreboding lyrics: “I’ve seen the future/ Yeah the writing’s on the wall/ And it don’t look that good to me,” Myles Kennedy sings in the opening verse The idea for “Last Rites” began during the recording sessions for Alter Bridge’s 2019 album Walk the Sky, but the band finished writing and recording the song during the pandemic. “We just felt like it wasn’t going to be something that fit the overall vibe of Walk the Sky, as far as what we were trying to attempt to do with that record,” Kennedy told Heavy Consequence of the song. “So, when al...
King Crimson’s Robert Fripp Performs Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” as Wife Toyah Sings and Dances Behind Bars: Watch
This year has seen its fair share of unexpected and bizarre phenomena, and King Crimson founder Robert Fripp and his singer wife Toyah Willcox have come to embrace it. The musical duo have spent quarantine making performance art videos, but their latest idea for Halloween might be their most absurd yet. Donned in henna-like tattoos that cover his face and arms, Fripp starts playing Black Sabbath’s iconic song “Paranoid” on his Les Paul. Behind him, Willcox is locked behind bars — in what’s either an old prison cell or an underground bank vault — and starts dancing when the songs begins. When it comes time for the verses, she starts singing the metal classic The effect of the video is pretty uncomfortable but morbidly entertaining. Perhaps the use of “Paranoid” and dancing in a cage is...
GWAR’s Livestream Concert Turns Scumdogs of the Universe into a Virtual Bloodbath: Review
Setting the Stage: Not even a global pandemic can stop the band, the myth, the legend that is GWAR. The intergalactic barbarians just released a remastered 30th anniversary edition of their seminal Scumdogs of the Universe album, and what better way to commemorate this momentous event than a streaming concert on Halloween eve? For those not keeping up with the GWAR universe, following the tragic death of Oderus Urungus (Dave Brockie) in 2014, Blöthar the Berserker (Michael Bishop) took over lead vocals. Many fans originally know Bishop as the man behind bassist Beefcake the Mighty from 1988-1994 but this time around he returned from Scumdoggia as Blöthar to keep the GWAR machine ticking. While there’s no denying Oderus’ iconic status as GWAR’s frontman, the metal act has always had a rotat...
Maynard James Keenan on “Arrogant” Pandemic Behavior: “There’s Logic Attached to Just Looking Out for Each Other”
Maynard James Keenan recently revealed that he battled COVID-19 earlier this year and is still feeling the residual effects months later. Unfortunately, the singer of Tool, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle fears any serious warning that he or others give about coronavirus is “just going to fall on deaf ears.” In interviews with Arizona Republic and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Keenan disclosed that he contracted COVID when Tool were on tour in Australia and New Zealand in late February. Eight months later, he still has lung damage, leading to daily coughing fits. Tragically, the United States is currently experiencing its worst single-day infection numbers yet, with roughly 100,000 people testing positive for COVID-19 every 24 hours. To this day, there’s a large contingent of the popula...
Puscifer Unveil New Album Existential Reckoning: Stream
Puscifer are back with their fourth album, Existential Reckoning, which comes five years to the day that their previous LP, Money Shot, was released. The new album is available to stream via Apple Music or Spotify below. The experimental rockers are led by singer Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle), along with fellow core members Carina Round and Mat Mitchell. The first taste of Existential Reckoning came in form of lead single “Apocalyptical”, which was accompanied by a music video featuring a dancing Keenan. Elsewhere on Existential Reckoning, leadoff track “Bread and Circus” serves as a grand and atmospheric opener, while “Fake Affront” features Keenan at his angriest on the album. Throughout the LP, Keenan and Round share vocal duties, leading to some gorgeous harmonies. Musi...
Tom Morello Releases Comandante EP Featuring Eddie Van Halen Tribute and Slash Collaboration: Stream
Tom Morello has just dropped a new EP dubbed Comandante. The five-song effort features a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, a collaboration with Slash, and a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist calls the song “Secretariat” an Eddie Van Halen tribute, and it’s easy to hear why. The guitar track features some intricate scaling reminiscent of Van Halen’s instrumental classic “Eruption”. Morello does battle with Slash on the song “Interstate 80”, and even promoted the track on Twitter with a side-by-side video of the two guitar greats performing the song next to their Guitar Hero avatars. The EP leads off with Morello’s take on the Hendrix classic “Voodoo Child”, while the tracks “Suburban Guerrilla” and “Cato Stedman & Neptune Frost” close out ...
Stabbing Westward Release Surprise Hallowed Hymns Covers EP: Stream
Industrial rock vets Stabbing Westward have surprise released a new four-song covers EP, Hallowed Hymns. The band also confirmed that its anticipated fifth full-length album, Wasteland, has been pushed to 2021. The new EP arrives just in time for Halloween and takes on a gothy set of tracks including two mixes of The Cure’s “Burn” (made famous in The Crow); Ministry’s anthem to the goth-industrial lifestyle, “(Every Day Is) Halloween”; and Echo & the Bunnymen’s classic “The Killing Moon”. “We picked these three tracks because, for us, they represent the feeling of Halloween and they were very important songs during our early musical stages,” Stabbing Westward singer Christopher Hall said in a press release. “If there were ever two bands that I would say most influenced Walter [Flakus] ...
