Heavy Music News
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] ...
David Lee Roth Dedicates Previously Unreleased Song to Eddie Van Halen: Stream
David Lee Roth has unveiled a previously unreleased song called “Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bar and Grill” in dedication to his late bandmate Eddie Van Halen. The track was recorded several years ago with guitarist John 5 as part of a full album’s worth of material that was shelved. The song features John 5 on acoustic guitar as DLR reflects on his pre-fame days on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. A still graphic accompanying the YouTube clip contains the words “Hey Ed, I’m gonna miss ya … See you on the other side.” Previously, Roth shared a photo of himself with Eddie Van Halen on Twitter, along with the caption, ‘What a long great trip it’s been.” Around six years ago, Roth and John 5 co-wrote and recorded an entire album, but it never saw the light of day. Last year, Roth pro...
Mike Patton: John Carpenter’s Halloween “Made Me Not Want to Trick or Treat When I Was a Kid”
Mike Patton is a man of many musical hats. He’s the celebrated singer of Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, and Dead Cross, just to name a few, as well as the co-owner of the acclaimed independent record label Ipecac Recordings. He also knows a good scary movie when he sees one. We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Patton, who told us all about Mr. Bungle’s new album, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo, and how he was navigating the pandemic both professionally and personally. During our conversation, he also took time to remember the late Eddie Van Halen, telling us the guitarist’s “level of musicianship was off the chart.” Knowing Patton was a bit of a film buff, we couldn’t let him go without asking him to recommend a few movies for Halloween night, especially consider...
Concert Review: Puscifer’s Streaming Show Features Eye-Popping Visuals and Crystal-Clear Sound
Setting the Stage: Under normal circumstances, fans would quite possibly be enjoying seeing Puscifer performing tunes off their latest album, Existential Reckoning, at a packed venue. But, of course, 2020 has thrown us countless curveballs — tops being the COVID-19 pandemic canceling all extensive tours and most in-person performances. Fortunately, some bands have become creative and found other ways to perform – whether it be drive-in outdoor concerts (where fans can watch from afar while in or around their car), or via professionally filmed livestreams. On October 30th (the same date that Existential Reckoning was released), Puscifer opted for the latter, offering a show from the middle of the Arizona desert for fans to view on their most convenient electronic device with the purcha...
Ministry Unveil (Everyday Is) Halloween – The Lost Mixes EP: Stream
Ministry have unearthed two unheard mixes of their goth classic “(Everyday Is) Halloween” and two previously unreleased early tracks just in time for October 31st. The (Everyday Is) Halloween – The Lost Mixes EP is available now on digital platforms with a 12″ vinyl release slated for November 20th. The titular “(Everyday Is) Halloween” is perhaps Ministry’s most beloved song from their early, pre-heavy era. The band’s output on Wax Trax Records skewed more toward gothic dance rock, and “Halloween” served as the ultimate anthem for that scene with its proud declaration of self-acceptance. Ministry didn’t perform the song for more than 30 years, until they were joined onstage in Los Angeles by Dave Navarro for an acoustic version in December 2018. They’ve since played the tune a handful of ...
Gone Is Gone Announce New Album, Share New Song “Breaks”: Stream
Supergroup Gone Is Gone have announced their sophomore album, If Everything Happens for a Reason…Then Nothing Really Matters at All. To tide us over until the December 4th release date, the band’s shared the video for new song “Breaks”, which follows two previous singles that will also be included on the new album. Gone Is Gone features Mastodon singer-bassist Troy Sanders, Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, At the Drive-In drummer Tony Hajjar, and composer Mike Zarin. Together, the group of heavy music vets create an accessible amalgamation of stoner and alternative rock. As “Breaks” illustrates, the band has found the elusive threshold between metal and melody. The new album follows the 2017 full-length debut Echolocation and a 2016 debut self-titled EP. While both ...
Rob Zombie Announces New Album The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy, Unveils “King Freak”: Stream
Rob Zombie has announced his long-awaited new album, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy. The veteran rocker’s seventh solo LP won’t be released until March 12th, but the first single, “The Triumph of King Freak (A Crypt of Preservation and Superstition)”, is available now. The 17-song album will arrive nearly five years after Rob Zombie’s previous LP, 2016’s The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser. The single, shortened as “King Freak”, marks his first new song and music video in more than four years. The track is heavy on the riffs, thanks to guitarist John 5, with a thunderous rhythm section powered by bassist Piggy D and drummer Ginger Fish. The song is accompanied by a music video that combines newly shot footage with concert scenes, presented in...
Deftones Announce White Pony Reissue Featuring New Black Stallion Remix Album
Deftones have announced a 20th anniversary deluxe edition of their landmark 2000 album, White Pony, featuring a bonus LP of brand-new remixes dubbed Black Stallion. The extra disc features reworkings of each song on White Pony by the likes of DJ Shadow, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda, and more. In advance of its December 11th release, Deftones have unveiled Purity Ring’s remix of “Knife Prty”. The official announcement comes after Deftones revealed their intention to release Black Stallion during a virtual press conference back in June, at which time they discussed the 20th anniversary of White Pony. At the time, singer Chino Moreno said, “We’re going to be releasing later in the year a reissue of [White Pony] and we’re going to do sort of a split side of the record, a...
Mining Metal: Wytch Hazel (Premiere), Convulsif, Cryptae, Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou, Gorpehilia, Henrik Palm, Lamp of Murmuur
“Mining Metal” is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence writers Joseph Schafer and Langdon Hickman. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. Normally, the autumnal months mark a high point in the year for metal fans. This year, of course, is no average year, and the looming economic uncertainty and a persistent global health crisis are enough to sap the pumpkin spice right out of my latte and lend a bitter hit to the smell of bonfire smoke. But some joys, thankfully, cannot be snuffed out. They include: the equinox, 31 days of scary movies and, of course, boatloads of metal. As the designated “Scary month” in the commercial calendar, October usually del...
