Heavy Music News
Adam Jones Unveils Signature Les Paul Guitar and New Music Featuring Tool Bandmates: Stream
Tool’s Adam Jones has been one of rock’s most innovative guitarists for the past 30 years. Now, he finally has his own signature guitar, a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Moreover, he’s celebrating the instrument with brand new music, a score to a short film he created called The Witness. The track is essentially a Tool instrumental, as he’s joined by the band’s rhythm section of drummer Danny Carey and bassist Justin Chancellor. Gibson’s Custom Shop Murphy Lab recreated “Adam’s #1 Guitar”: a Silverburst 1979 Gibson Les Paul. The guitar has become a mainstay in Jones’ arsenal and was prominent on the band’s tour in support of Fear Inoculum last year. From looks down to electronics, it’s a spot-on clone of Jones’ go-to axe. The replica touts a hand-wound Seymour Duncan Distortion bridge pickup...
Puscifer’s Maynard James Keenan and Mat Mitchell on Existential Reckoning, Alien Abduction, and More
In the midst of a pandemic and a truly bizarre year, it somehow feels like an ideal time for Puscifer to release a new album. The experimental rock act is back with a new LP, Existential Reckoning, and it’s a fitting document of the times, even if that wasn’t intentional. Led by a core of Maynard James Keenan (Tool), Mat Mitchell, and Carina Round, Puscifer have often thrown out the rulebook when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll. Each album is surrounded by eccentric characters, while the music is equally unconventional. Existential Reckoning is no exception, picking up on the story of the fictional characters Billy D (apparently now abducted by aliens) and his wife, Hildy Berger, as it had left off with 2015’s Money Shot. The new album is shrouded in a cloud of alien activity, from its init...
David Hasselhoff Teams Up with CueStack for Metal Song “Through the Night”
The Hoff is back, and ready to bring the metal. Television star and singer David Hasselhoff has teamed up with Austrian avant-metal duo CueStack for a new song, “Through the Night”. The collaboration came about after CueStack pursued the idea of incorporating one of their heroes, The Hoff, into a metal song. Naturally, they met with the man himself, and after many discussions and demos, “Through the Night” came about. “Yes, we actually made a metal song with David Hasselhoff,” said CueStack’s Martin Kames, who collaborates with guitarist Bernth Brodträger in the project. The song was recorded by Hasselhoff and CueStack in Vienna in 2019, where they also shot the accompanying music video. With limited budget and props, the band say that they’ll need more money to complete the necessary post...
Guitar Center May File for Bankruptcy After Missing $45 Million Payment: Report
Venerable music gear retailer Guitar Center is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing, according to a new report from The New York Times. The pandemic has been tough on all areas of the music industry, and Guitar Center is no exception. The company missed an interest payment of $45 million earlier this month, setting off a 30-day grace period that ends in default. According to the Times, Guitar Center is in talks with creditors about a plan that would see the company file for bankruptcy, with the hope of balancing its books by early 2021. Guitar Center generated $2.3 billion in sales in its most recent fiscal year but has about $1.3 billion in debt. Guitar Center has faced financial struggles for nearly a decade, as its struggled to build an online shopping experience to riva...
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 ...
