Heavy Music News
Rammstein Announce 25th Anniversary Remastered Edition of Debut Album Herzeleid
Rammstein released their iconic debut album, Herzeleid, 25 years ago today. To commemorate the occasion, the band has announced a remastered anniversary edition, coming to digital platforms, CD, and vinyl on December 4th. The album, released September 25th, 1995, was previously remastered in 2015 and finally issued as a standalone vinyl LP in 2017. The new 180-gram double LP pressing features the 2020 remastered audio, which will be available in hi-fi 24-bit formats for the first time. A single CD version, housed in a lavish cross-shaped digipak with slipcase, will also be available. Original artwork creator Dirk Rudolph handled the anniversary edition, thankfully preserving the provocative band portrait shot by Praler. The new version has a more minimalist design, with the large flower re...
Deftones Unleash New Album Ohms: Stream
Deftones have unleashed their new album Ohms. Stream it below using Apple Music or Spotify. This is the hard rock band’s ninth full-length effort, and their first since 2016’s Gore. The executive producer is Terry Date, who worked with Deftones on their first four albums and the aborted Eros sessions of 2008. Ohms is ten tracks long by design. As vocalist Chino Moreno told Vulture, “We don’t… write 30 songs, then whittle it down into ten songs. We literally write ten songs.” Moreno explained that the recording process for Ohms was significantly different than Gore, in part intentionally, and in part because the pandemic allowed everyone extra time. He said, “We recorded [Gore] in Los Angeles… at the end of the day, it was like, I’m away from home. I’m not...
Metallica Perform National Anthem Remotely at San Francisco Giants Game: Watch
The San Francisco Giants have hosted an annual “Metallica Night” the past several seasons, but with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping MLB stadiums vacant, the event didn’t happen this year. Instead, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and James Hetfield played “The Star-Spangled Banner” remotely prior to the Giants game against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday (September 23rd). As they’ve done in the past, the duo donned Giants jerseys for the performance, but this time they rocked the anthem from their own headquarters. It’s not exactly Jimi Hendrix, but Hammett and Hetfield gave it a faithful go, synchronizing for a loose and joyous take, delivering a shred-tastic rendition. Heavy Consequence documented last year’s “Metallica Night”, a fond memory of what seems like a bygone age for the MLB. Hetfield ...
Marilyn Manson Recruits Norman Reedus for “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD” Video: Watch
Marilyn Manson has unveiled a new music video for “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD” starring The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus. “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD” was recently released as the second single from Manson’s latest album, WE ARE CHAOS, which arrived earlier this month. The LP debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking Manson’s eighth consecutive album to land in the Top 10. Reedus, who has played Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead since the beginning of the popular AMC series, co-stars alongside Manson in the cinematic video for “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD”. The clip depicts a heist gone violently wrong, along with scenes of Manson singing the song. Manson discussed “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD” in our recent interview with the singer. He told us that the track is “a very driving song, but whe...
Filter’s Richard Patrick on Quitting Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor Told Me to Deliver Pizza
In a new interview, Richard Patrick pointed to a couple of conversations with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor that both motivated and angered him into forming his own band, Filter. One of those exchanges included Reznor suggesting that Patrick deliver pizza to earn some extra cash. Patrick was a member of Nine Inch Nails from 1989 to 1993, mostly as part of the band’s touring lineup, as his only recorded contribution to NIN was a drone guitar on Pretty Hate Machine’s “Sanctified”. He reminisced about his decision to part ways with NIN during a recent appearance on the Stop! Drop & Talk podcast, co-hosted by Halestorm’s Arejay Hale. “I started in Nine Inch Nails, but then I quit when I was, like, 26,” recalled Patrick. “Nine Inch Nails was the only time I actually had a boss. … [Trent and...
Dark Tranquillity Announce New Album and 2021 Tour Dates, Share “Phantom Days”: Stream
Melodic death metal pioneers Dark Tranquillity are returning with their first new album in four years, Moment, on November 20th. In anticipation, the Swedish band has shared the lead single, “Phantom Days”, and also announced a North American fall 2021 headlining tour with support from the decidedly obscure pairing of Obscura and Nailed to Obscurity. Dark Tranquillity have been proliferating melodic death metal since 1991 and are masters of the style at this point. “Phantom Days” continues the momentum gathered with 2016’s Atoma, which was heralded as a return to form for the band. Fans of melo-death will soak this one up. New guitarists Christopher Amott (ex-Arch Enemy) and Johan Reinholdz (Nonexist) join the fold, and their contributions are immediately evident, with a strong solo anchor...
Beyond the Boys’ Club: Orianthi
Beyond the Boys’ Club is a monthly column from journalist and radio host Anne Erickson, focusing on women in the heavy music genres, as they offer their perspectives on the music industry and discuss their personal experiences. This month’s piece features an interview with acclaimed guitarist Orianthi. Australian guitarist, singer, and songwriter Orianthi has performed with some of the biggest acts in the world, from Michael Jackson to Alice Cooper. Back in 2009, Orianthi was knee-deep into rehearsals for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” tour, but sadly, Jackson passed away before the tour could come to fruition. That same year, she scored a solo hit with “According to You”, and she went on to join Alice Cooper’s band for two world tours. Now, Orianthi keeps busy with her own solo music and ...
Anthrax Announce “Stop Spreading the Disease” Hand Sanitizer
Anthrax’s 1985 sophomore album, Spreading the Disease, turns 35 on October 30th, but the band is celebrating the anniversary by encouraging the opposite: The thrash legends have announced their own “Stop Spreading the Disease” hand sanitizer. Yes, as revealed by drummer Charlie Benante in an Instagram post (below), Anthrax now have their own line of hand sanitizer. Without the revenue from touring — guitarist Scott Ian thinks he’ll be out of a job as a touring musican until 2022 — metal bands have improvised new ways to shift merch and stay connected with fans. What’s more practical during a pandemic than branded hand sanitizer? Anthrax are here to make the otherwise mundane act of squirting your hands with ethyl alcohol a lot cooler. Besides, the band recently released its own bourbon whi...
Baroness Announce Stunning Picture-Disc Vinyl Editions of Red, Blue, and Yellow & Green
Baroness are releasing picture-disc vinyl editions of their first three full-length LPs, Red Album, Blue Record, and the double album Yellow & Green. They’re currently available for pre-order direct from the band for $29.99 each and arrive October 24th. It marks the first time the albums have seen a picture-disc pressing, having been released on a variety of color variants over the years. Each LP brings frontman John Dyer Baizley’s glorious cover art to wax — the first side of each emblazoned with the album artwork and the reverse side adorned with alternative patterns from the original sleeve designs. Each picture-disc edition is housed in a gatefold sleeve and limited to 4,500 copies. Baroness fans can attest to the collectivity of the band’s many vinyl color variants, so these might...
Nine Inch Nails’ Pandemic Merch Is Both Clever and Grim
Tackling bleak subject matters is nothing new for Nine Inch Nails, but even Trent Reznor hasn’t seen the likes of the COVID-19 pandemic before. Now, some of NIN’s past works have inspired a new line of “Pandemic 2020” merch. For a limited time, Nine Inch Nails are selling five new T-shirts for “modern times” via their official online store. The tees display song titles and lyrics from throughout the band’s career to address the strange world in which we’re currently living. One such design uses the lyrics “New world/ New times/ Mutation feels alright” from the song “Shit Mirror” off the 2018 album Bad Witch. Another repeats the song title “Everyday Is Exactly the Same” from 2005’s With Teeth. Two of the shirts display U.S. maps, with one featuring the line “Used to stand for something” fro...
Prog-Metal Band The Ocean Have Fossil Named After Them, Unveil New Music: Stream
German progressive metal band The Ocean now have a fossil named after them. “Ophiacantha oceani” is a new brittle star fossil discovered by paleontologists at the Natural History Museum of Luxembourg. The nomenclature is especially fitting given the The Ocean’s own use of paleontological themes, like their new concept album, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, arriving this Friday (September 25th). The fossil was discovered by Dr. Lea Numberger and Dr. Ben Thuy, who are either metalheads or simply appreciated The Ocean’s obsession with paleontology. Declared Dr. Thuy: “Musicians who so skillfully combine arts and science, composing albums like Precambrian (with songs named after the periods of the Precambrian), Pelagial (with songs named after the bathymetric subdivisions of the water col...
The Sword Guitarist Says Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Had the Best Weed Ever
The Sword’s Kyle Shutt (photo by Jack Thompson) / Metallica’s Kirk Hammett (photo by Raymond Ahner) Back in 2008, Metallica and The Sword teamed up for the “World Magnetic Tour”. Somewhere along the way, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett offered The Sword’s Kyle Shutt some weed, and according to the guitarist, it’s the best he’s ever had. With Shutt playing guitar in one of the most renowned stoner metal bands, Metal Injection put the question to Shutt: Of the artists who’ve smoked him up, who had the best weed? Shutt answered immediately: “Kirk Hammett. He had this shit called ‘Romulan’ one time, which was, probably, the best weed I ever smoked.” A Leafly search of the Romulan strain, named after the wise and mysterious Star Trek race, reveals that its a “powerful indica revered for it...
