Heavy Music News
Thou Unleash Crushing Cover of Alice in Chains’ “Them Bones”: Stream
Alice in Chains classic 1992 album Dirt is the latest entry in Magnetic Eye Records’ ongoing Redux series, which re-imagines classic heavy album with cover versions by underground bands. With the September 18th release of Dirt [Redux] approaching, Louisiana doom outfit Thou have shared their cover of the iconic opening track, “Them Bones”. The original song’s verses are built around Jerry Cantrell’s chugging riff — one of his best. That central riff is well suited for Thou, whose southern sludge transforms the song into a crushing piece of extreme doom. “It seemed inevitable that we’d do another Alice in Chains song since their music was such a big part of [guitarist] Matthew [Thudium]’s and my formative years,” singer Bryan Funck said in a press release. “We had covered ‘No Exc...
Marilyn Manson on Ozzy Osbourne: “He Had This Strange Mystique That He’s Never Really Escaped From”
Marilyn Manson was set to support Ozzy Osbourne on tour this year, but those dates were canceled as Ozzy sought treatment for various health issues. Just as fans were excited to see the Antichrist Superstar and the Prince of Darkness on tour together, Manson himself was looking forward to hitting the road with Ozzy again. This past Friday (September 11th), Manson unleashed his 11th album, WE ARE CHAOS, but it was originally set to be released in time for his planned spring/summer tour with Ozzy. As Manson told us, not only was he concerned for Ozzy’s health, he had to rethink his own plans for 2020. “It was very upsetting when I found out that Ozzy couldn’t do the tour and that he [had health issues], and that was before the pandemic hit,” Manson remarked. “At the time for me, it complicat...
Ozzy Osbourne Announces 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy Osbourne is celebrating the 40th anniversary of his legendary debut album, Blizzard of Ozz, with a new expanded edition of his legendary solo debut. Osbourne’s also dusting off two live concert videos, 1993’s Live & Loud and 2002’s Live at Budokan, which are both receiving new digital releases. The expanded Blizzard of Ozz arrives this Friday (September 18th) on digital platforms. In addition to the original album and previously available bonus tracks (1980 B-side “You Looking at Me, Looking at You”, the 2010 guitar/vocal mix of “Goodbye to Romance”, and Randy Rhoads instrumental outtake “RR”), the expanded edition includes seven live tracks from the Blizzard of Ozz tour that were previously unavailable digitally. Six of the live cuts hail from the scarce Ozzy Live vinyl release f...
Rammstein Are in Studio Recording New Music: Report
With their tour plans on hold for 2020, Rammstein are reportedly back in the studio recording new music. While drummer Christoph Schneider reported back in June that the band had been working on material during the lockdown, it now appears Rammstein have returned to La Fabrique in France to begin tracking new music. The band previously recorded its 2019 untitled effort at the French studio. According to the reputable fan site Rammstein World, members of Rammstein and their recording engineers have been spotted in the Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where La Fabrique is located. Moreover, members of the band’s crew have posted about their trip to France on social media. As the fan site states, “There’s no longer any doubt: Rammstein are back at La Fabrique studios, where they recorded their latest ...
Dave Grohl Writes Theme Song for 10-Year-Old Drummer Nandi Bushell: Watch
The year’s best rock and roll story just keeps getting better. Following an epic virtual drum duel, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has written a theme song for his worthy challenger, 10-year-old wunderkind Nandi Bushell. Bushell and Grohl first crossed paths when the former called for a drum battle with a video of her jamming to Foo Fighters’ “Everlong”. Grohl responded with a clip of him rocking Them Crooked Vultures’ “Dead End Friends”, which Bushell then matched beat for beat. The more seasoned rocker admitted defeat, but promised round two would be “something special.” Now, Grohl has shared a video of a new theme song for Bushell that he wrote “off the top of my head.” With his daughters (The Grohlettes) providing backing vocals, Grohl delivers a signature tune fit for a true rock su...
Staind and Godsmack Singers Team Up for US Drive-In Tour
Staind frontman Aaron Lewis and Godsmack singer Sully Erna are joining forces for a tour of drive-in venues across the United States. “The American Drive-In Tour”, as it is dubbed, will be one of the first rock excursions of its kind during the pandemic. The intimate outing will see Lewis and Erna performing side-by-side acoustically, playing their hits and cover songs, while also engaging in conversations. The tour is being produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, known for putting on some of the biggest U.S. rock festivals, including Sonic Temple, Louder Than Life, and Aftershock, among others. The month-long tour kicks off October 1st in Wichita, Kansas, and runs through a November 1st show in Del Mar, California. Certain venues will have concertgoers remain in their cars; others will set up ...
Marty Friedman and Members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer Deliver Metal Cover of Fleetwood Mac Classic: Watch
The Two Minutes to Late Night YouTube channel continues to churn out impressive all-star quarantine covers each week as part of its “Bedroom Covers” series. The latest is a metal rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “You Make Loving Fun” featuring former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman and members of Mastodon, Baroness, Lucifer, and more. Friedman is one of metal’s premier guitarists, having appeared on Megadeth’s classic Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction albums, among others. For the Fleetwood Mac cover, he is joined by Mastodon’s Bill Kelliher on guitar; Baroness’ Nick Jost on bass; Lucifer’s Johanna Sadonis on lead vocals; Lucifer’s Nicke Anderson on drums; and Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds) on guitar. Emily Panic and Mutoid Man’s Stephen Brodsky provi...
Donald Trump Thinks Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” Is the “Greatest Music Video of All Time”
Donald Trump loves him some Guns N’ Roses. In fact, not only does Trump think “November Rain” is the “greatest music video of all time,” he’s made his staffers watch the video to prove his point. As Newsweek reports, Trump’s love of GNR’s “November Rain” video was revealed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The former White House Press Secretary mentioned the tidbit in her new book, Speaking for Myself, recounting the time Trump made her and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks watch the video in the Oval Office: “The president told Hope and me in the Oval he wanted the classic Guns N’ Roses song ‘November Rain’ added to his rally playlist. He told us it was the ‘greatest music video of all time,’ and made us watch it to prove his point, even though neither of us had disagreed.” Eventual...
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler Talks Coffee, Bill & Ted, and Livestream Shows
Lamb of God’s Willie Adler, photo by Antonio Marino Jr. During a pandemic that’s drastically altered the day-to-day operations of the music industry, Lamb of God have forged ahead. The metal veterans released their new self-titled studio album in June, despite not being able to tour in support of the LP. And the decision brought much-needed joy to metal fans everywhere, as the album ranks among Lamb of God’s finest works. Upon completing the album, the band was then commissioned to write a song for Bill & Ted Face the Music. The film’s music supervisor handpicked the Lamb of God, who delivered “The Death of Us”, a crushing anthem to friendship that cemented 2020 as a veritably productive year artistically for the band. With one full-length and a major soundtrack appearance in the...
War on Women Announce New Album Wonderful Hell, Share Title Track: Stream
Baltimore outfit War on Women have announced their third full-length album, Wonderful Hell, will arrive on October 30th. The politically charged hardcore band have also shared the LP’s ferocious title track. War on Women make no mistake about their views on modern society or the state of politics in the United States. Their songs read like a manifesto, and “Wonderful Hell” is no different. Singer Shawna Potter wrote the song during a period when she felt especially “exhausted and overwhelmed by the Trump era.” “I can’t ignore what’s in front of me/ That fear is real, but not the enemy,” shouts Potter. In the lyric video, there is a notebook emblazoned with the hashtag “#VOTE”. It’s at the core message of the song. “I think it expresses something that a lot of people are feeling,” Potter sa...
Marilyn Manson Releases New Album WE ARE CHAOS: Stream
Marilyn Manson is back with his 11th studio album, WE ARE CHAOS, which is now available to stream in full below. The LP follows 2017’s Heaven Upside Down. The 10-song album was produced by Shooter Jennings, and finds Manson exploring his various influences from ’70s glam rock to ’80s new wave. The LP’s release was preceded by two singles — the title track and “DON’T CHASE THE DEAD”. While the album was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Manson told us in our recent interview that he hopes the themes of WE ARE CHAOS help people cope during these difficult times: “A lot of people interpret some of the themes or particularly [the song] ‘WE ARE CHAOS’ as being related to what we’re going through right now. But I think the song was probably written a year and a half ago or so, lyrically....
Disturbed Cover Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”: Stream
Disturbed have had unquestionable success with cover songs in the past, and now the metal act is trying their hand at the classic Sting song “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You”. While Disturbed were already established as one of heavy music’s biggest bands, their 2015 cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” took them to a new stratosphere. An accompanying video for the song has racked up more than 600 million views on YouTube. On their Sting cover, Disturbed keep things fairly mellow for the first half of the track, with frontman David Draiman delivering clean vocals to start. At the 2:23 mark, Disturbed turn things up, with Draiman switching over to his powerful rasp and the band kicking in with heavy guitars and drums. “We have loved this song for a long time, and even ...
