Heavy Music News
Lars Ulrich Helps Settle Best All-Time Drummer Debate on Howard Stern Show
Neil Peart (via YouTube), Lars Ulrich (via Howard Stern), John Bonham (publicity) Howard Stern stirred up a debate on his SiriusXM show this week when he sought to determine the greatest drummer of all time. To settle the argument, he and his co-hosts called upon Metallica stickman Lars Ulrich to cast the deciding vote. Prior to Ulrich’s involvement, the Howard Stern Show personalities seemed to narrow it down to Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Rush’s Neil Peart. Stern himself appeared to settle on Bonham, but the most qualified person on the staff, Richard Christy, made a strong case for Peart. In addition to being a longtime writer and personality on The Howard Stern Show, Christy is a gifted drummer himself, having played in the bands Death, Iced Earth, and his current supergroup Charred...
50 Years Ago, Black Sabbath Deliver the Magnificent Paranoid
The “sophomore slump” has spelt the beginning of the end for quite a few rock acts over the years. But looking back, one of the cases in which the exact opposite occurred was when Black Sabbath delivered one of the greatest metal albums of all time, Paranoid. The Birmingham, UK-based band – singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward – had already caught the attention of rock fans with their detuned and doomy self-titled debut (released in February 1970 in the UK, and June in the United States). And they wasted no time capitalizing on the buzz – issuing Paranoid in the UK on September of that year. (It would arrive in the States in January 1971.) While Sabbath amazingly knocked out the recording of their debut album in a single day, they would t...
R.I.P. Lee Kerslake, Drummer for Ozzy Osbourne and Uriah Heep Dies at 73
Lee Kerslake, drummer on Ozzy Osbourne’s classic solo albums and longtime member of Uriah Heep, passed away Saturday (September 19th) at the age of 73. The veteran musician died after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. The drummer’s death was reported by Ken Hensley, a fellow former member of Uriah Heep. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I share with you that Lee Kerslake, my friend of 55 years and the best drummer I ever played with, lost his battle with cancer at 03:30 this morning,” wrote Hensley. “He died peacefully, praise The Lord, but he will be terribly missed.” He continued, “I know many of you were praying for him not to suffer and I thank you for that and, now that Lee is at peace, our thoughts and prayers should turn to his wife Sue who will need all the support she ca...
Ozzy Osbourne Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Blizzard of Ozz with Animated “Crazy Train” Video and More
Ozzy Osbourne is commemorating the 40th anniversary of his legendary solo debut, Blizzard of Ozz, with a wealth of experiences and goodies. In addition to the previously announced expanded digital edition of Blizzard of Ozz, Osbourne is re-releasing the 2010 documentary 30 Years After the Blizzard in HD while also sharing a newly created animated music video for “Crazy Train” — arguably Ozzy’s most well-known solo recording and perennial sports arena anthem. The festivities don’t stop there: SiriusXM Radio will air a one-hour special on Osbourne’s station, “Ozzy’s Boneyard”, on Friday (September 18th) at 5 p.m. ET. And if that’s not enough, Osbourne himself is hosting a Twitter listening party on Sunday (September 20th) at 7 p.m. ET, discussing songs from the album. Tons of new Blizzard-th...
Transgender Metalhead Satanist Wins Republican Nomination for County Sheriff
Wait until Fox News gets a load of this: A transgender metalhead satanist has won the Republican nomination for Cheshire County Sheriff in Keene, New Hampshire. Aria DiMezzo earned 4,211 votes from registered Republicans in a primary held Tuesday. Granted, DiMezzo ran unopposed and still has to compete in the general election against popular incumbent Eli Rivera, a Democrat seeking his fifth term. But DiMezzo was still amazed that so many registered Republicans voted for her. “I went into it expecting that I would lose the primary to a write-in candidate, because I didn’t think that so many voters were just… completely and totally oblivious about who they are voting for,” she wrote in a blog post. She continued, “Because the fact is that you didn’t bother. You trusted the system. You trust...
Pallbearer Share New Song “The Quicksand of Existing”: Stream
With Pallbearer gearing up to release their fourth album, Forgotten Days, the band has today offered up the LP’s third single, “The Quicksand of Existing”. The track continues a string of strong singles for the album, including “Rite of Passage” and the title track. Again, it’s Pallbearer in full doom mode. Chugging riffs make way for Brett Campbell’s vocals, delivered in a theatrical style that invokes the genre’s great singers like Ozzy Osbourne and Scott Weinrich. Director Ben Meredith’s narrative video for the song parallels the band’s own concept — the song being a “reflection on family and loss,” according to the band. “As we strive to be, the forces of entropy perpetually pull us down into a state of being unmade,” bassist/songwriter Joseph D. Rowland said in a press release. “The b...
Puscifer Announce New Album Existential Reckoning, Unveil “The Underwhelming”: Stream
Puscifer have announced the release of their fourth studio album, Existential Reckoning. In advance of its October 30th arrival, the band has unleashed the album’s second single, “The Underwhelming”. The experimental rock band’s core lineup consists of vocalist Maynard James Keenan (Tool), singer-keyboardist Carina Round, and multi-instrumentalist Mat Mitchell. For this album, they’ve also recruited Greg Edwards (Failure), and drummers Gunnar Olsen and Sarah Jones. Existential Reckoning will arrive five years to the day that Puscifer released their last album, Money Shot. The new song “The Underwhelming” follows first single, “Apocalyptical”, which was unveiled way back in May. Like everything Puscifer have done in the past, there is a certain mystique around Existential Reckoning. Th...
Deftones Unleash New Song “Genesis” from Forthcoming Album Ohms: Stream
With one week to go before the release of the highly anticipated new Deftones album, Ohms, the band has unveiled the LP’s second single, “Genesis”. The latest song from the alt-metal act’s ninth album follows the title track, which arrived last month as the first single. “Genesis” begins with a slow build before kicking in with vicious vocals from Chino Moreno, who alternates between full-on screams and melodic singing throughout the tune. Musically, the song crushes with mighty riffs from guitarist Stephen Carpenter. The two singles — “Genesis” and “Ohms” — bookend the 12-song album as the leadoff and closing tracks, respectively. “Ohms” was the most added single at Mainstream Rock radio upon its release, and currently sits in the Top 15 of that chart. Accompanying the new song “Genesis” ...
The Ghost Inside Now Say Firing Bassist Over Past Racial Insensitivity Was a Mistake
Earlier this year, The Ghost Inside decided to part ways with bassist Jim Riley over his past use of a racial epithet. Now, the metalcore act asserts that firing Riley was a mistake. Riley’s past remarks created a debacle around the release of The Ghost Inside’s latest album, which came out in June. The occasion should have been a celebration for the band after a remarkable comeback from a horrific bus accident that left most of its members seriously injured. When The Ghost Inside began selling a charity t-shirt with proceeds benefitting the NAACP, Bracewar drummer Rashod Jackson called out Riley for using the N-word back in 2015. Riley admitted to the accusation, and was promptly let go from the band. Apparently, the band members have come to regret the hasty decision to fire Riley. At th...
Geezer Butler’s Three Solo Albums to Get First-Ever Vinyl Release
Founding Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has announced the first-ever vinyl pressings of his three solo albums: Plastic Planet (1995), Black Science (1997), and Ohmwork (2005). They will also be reissued on CD and arrive October 30th. Plastic Planet was issued under the artist name g/z/r, while Black Science was originally credited to the single name Geezer. Ohmwork, meanwhile, was released under the moniker GZR. For the 2020 reissues and vinyl pressings, those monikers have been dropped, and each album is credited to Geezer Butler. The timeline of the solo records aligns with Butler’s stints outside Black Sabbath. Plastic Planet came after Butler departed the group following 1994’s Cross Purposes, though he would rejoin the band for various reunions beginning in 1997. In the meantime,...
Nine Inch Nails’ Quake Soundtrack and Trent Reznor’s The Social Network Score Get Vinyl Releases
Nine Inch Nails’ Quake LP and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ The Social Network LP, courtesy of Funhouse Entertainment Nine Inch Nails’ soundtrack for the classic 1996 first-person shooter Quake is now available on vinyl for the first time ever. In addition, a “Definitive Edition” vinyl reissue of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ Oscar-winning score for The Social Network has also been released. The brooding soundtrack for Quake showcased Reznor’s early interest in dark soundscapes and ambient music. He would explore these musical ideas further on future Nine Inch Nails albums, but Quake stands as an early foray into the world of instrumental soundtracks. Of note for vinyl collectors, the Quake score has never been officially released as a stand-alone soundtrack. The music o...
Dee Snider Slams “Moronic” Anti-Maskers Who Shouted Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Dee Snider has blasted a group of anti-maskers who stormed into a Target store in Florida while shouting along to the Twisted Sister classic “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. The band’s legendary frontman dubbed them “selfish assholes”. Snider recently voiced his disdain for Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while speaking with us over Zoom. “The president’s response [and] the White House response has been to politicize [the pandemic] and to separate us more, and make it about politics, instead of joining together and helping each other,” the singer told us. On Tuesday night, Snider shared a video of a bunch of people who marched into a Target and urged shoppers to take off their masks, all while blasting and shouting along to “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” In his Twitter post, Snider ...
