Heavy Music News
Ministry Reschedule US Summer Tour for Spring 2021 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Ministry have postponed their summer “Industrial Strength Tour” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have already rescheduled the shows for spring 2021. Original support acts KMFDM and Front Line Assembly will remain on the bill for the revised dates of the monthlong U.S. outing. The tour, in which Ministry still plan to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1989 album The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, will now kick off March 31st in Seattle and run through a May 1st show in San Francisco. The trek hits all the same cities and venues that were planned for this summer, and also adds an additional April 3rd date in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tickets for the summer tour, which would have launched on July 1st, will be honored for the rescheduled dates. Exceptions are the Dallas show, for which ...
Deftones Postpone Summer Tour with Gojira and Poppy Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Fans holding out hope that Deftones might still tour North America in 2020 will have to wait until next year to see the alt-metal veterans. The band has officially postponed its summer tour with Gojira and Poppy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but plans to announce rescheduled dates for 2021. The news of the postponement comes as no surprise, as singer Chino Moreno recently told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that “it’s not looking like we’re going to be able to get out there this summer.” In that same interview, Moreno revealed that Deftones had originally planned to deliver a new album to their fans this summer, but now the release date is “something that we’re going to have to figure out.” The tour was slated to run from July 27th in Portland, Oregon, through September 5th in Denver, Colorado. T...
Dee Snider Announces Live Release, Unveils New Song “Prove Me Wrong”: Stream
Twisted Sister singer Dee Snider will release a new live album and home video, For the Love of Metal Live, on July 31st. The package also includes one studio recording, “Prove Me Wrong”, which Snider is sharing ahead of the album’s release. The track is a fun sing-along stomper that is fairly thrashy for Snider. Like with Twisted Sister’s classics “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock”, Snider takes a stance against his naysayers and uses the chorus to emphasize his point. “‘Prove Me Wrong’ are words that I’ve thought in my head since the day I began rocking,” Snider reflected in a press release. “I had a monster chip on my shoulder and dared the world to knock it off… nobody ever could. At this point in my career I thought I’d let everybody in on what has kept be going all these man...
Cherie Currie on Blvds of Splendor, Working with Billy Corgan, and the Elusive Runaways Reunion
Cherie Currie is a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, having fronted the groundbreaking band The Runaways in the ’70s. Over the past 40-plus years, she has had a fascinating career that has run the gamut from musician to actor to author to professional chainsaw-carving sculptor. In April, Currie released her latest solo album, Blvds of Splendor, for the first time digitally, following a limited vinyl run last year. The album, which in large part is a collaboration with former Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum, features guest appearances by such rock luminaries as Slash, Duff McKagan, and Billy Corgan. The expanded digital LP also sees Currie offering a new take on The Runaways’ “Queens of Noise” with The Distillers’ Brody Dalle, Juliette Lewis, and The Veronicas. We recently caught up with Cherie by ph...
Thin “Lzzy”: Halestorm, Judas Priest, and Alice in Chains Members Rock Thin Lizzy’s “Bad Reputation”: Watch
An all-star group of musicians has come together for a quarantine version of the Thin Lizzy classic “Bad Reputation”. Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale is joined by current and former members of Judas Priest, Alice in Chains, and Machine Head for the socially distant performance. Along with Lzzy’s vocals, the rousing rendition of the title track from Thin Lizzy’s 1977 Bad Reputation album features Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez, and former Machine Head members Phil Demmel (guitar) and Dave McClain (drums). Demmel posted the performance on his YouTube channel, writing, “I invited my buds Dave McClain (Sacred Reich/Machine Head), Richie Faulkner (Judas Preist), Mike Inez (Alice in Chains, Ozzy, BLS, pretty much every band) and resident Bad-Ass Lzzy Ha...
Body Count Unleash Socially Distant Video for “Point the Finger” Featuring Power Trip’s Riley Gale: Stream
Body Count’s Ice-T, photo by Matt Akana / Power Trip’s Riley Gale, photo by Jon Hadusek Thrash veterans Body Count released their new album, Carnivore, in early March, as the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding. The band couldn’t gather to shoot a video for the album’s latest single, “Point the Finger”, so they all filmed themselves on cell phones while in quarantine. The track and video feature appearances by Power Trip’s Riley Gale, who has become one of the most distinct voices in modern thrash, particularly crossover thrash — of which Power Trip and Body Count are mutual practitioners. The video was produced and edited by Jay Rodriguez and begins with a monologue from Ice-T, who pulls down a bandana face covering and addresses the camera: “What’s up everybody? You’re not bei...
Dropkick Murphys to Play Audience-Less Concert From Fenway Park With Bruce Springsteen
In the early days of COVID-19, Dropkick Murphys were one of the first bands to stage a digital concert, as they streamed their annual St. Patrick’s Day concert live online. The webcast drew an audience of more than 13 million viewers and raised over $60,000 for the Boston Resiliency Fund, a nonprofit that provides essential services to Boston residents—including first responders and critical care providers — amid the pandemic. Now, the Boston punks have announced a second livestream performance that should prove even more massive. That’s because not only will they be playing live from Fenway Park, they’ll be joined via video by Bruce Springsteen. The digital concert, aptly called Streaming Outta Fenway, will go down Friday, May 29th at 6:00 p.m. EDT. Dropkick Murphys themselves w...
Clutch to Headline Virtual Show with Support from Crowbar and More
Clutch have announced that they’ll headline a full bill of rock and metal, albeit a streaming-only concert due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The veteran hard rockers will play a virtual show that will feature support from Crowbar, Blacktop Mojo, and Saul. For a ticket price of $9, fans will be able to enjoy four bands from the confines of their own homes. The May 27th concert begins at 4:00 p.m. ET with Saul, followed by Blacktop Mojo at 4:35 p.m., then Crowbar at 5:10 p.m., and finally Clutch at 5:55 p.m. A portion of the ticket proceeds will benefit the nonprofit organization Angel Flight West. The streaming show, dubbed “Live From the Doom Saloon Volume 1”, follows a series of informal mini-concerts that Clutch have been performing from their studio in Maryland. Those shows streamed live fo...
Volbeat Officially Cancel US Tour After Previously Hoping to Reschedule the Outing
Like most bands, Volbeat were recently forced to postpone their spring US tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Danish rockers originally hoped to reschedule the dates for the fall, but have now decided to outright cancel the outing, which was set to feature support from Clutch and The Picturebooks. The tour was slated to run from April 4th in Tempe, Arizona, to May 13th in New York City. Upon announcing its postponement back in March, Volbeat informed fans that they were looking to reschedule the tour for September and October. Now, with a growing consensus that concerts won’t return to the States in earnest until 2021, the band revealed today (May 18th) that the tour is officially canceled. Volbeat issued the following statement explaining the decision: “We hate to be another band start...
Iron Maiden Singer Bruce Dickinson’s Longtime Wife Paddy Bowden Dies in Tragic Accident
Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson’s estranged wife Paddy Bowden died Monday as the result of an unspecified “tragic accident.” Bowden was married to Dickinson for 29 years, but the couple had recently separated. The Independent reports that Bowden’s body was found at the home the couple once shared in the Chiswick district of West London. Together, Dickinson and Bowden had three children: sons Austin and Griffin, and daughter Kia. Austin is the lead singer of the metal band As Lions, while Griffin is the vocalist in the metalcore group SHVPES (pronounced “Shapes”). Bruce Dickinson issued a brief statement, saying, “This is a terrible tragedy which appears to be a tragic accident. Our children Austin, Griffin and Kia and I are devastated. Out of respect for Paddy we won’t be making any fur...
Tool’s Adam Jones Shares Demo of Fear Inoculum Song “Descending”: Stream
Tool guitarist Adam Jones has shared an early demo of the Fear Inoculum song “Descending”. In introducing the one-minute clip on Instagram, Jones gave a peek into the band’s songwriting process. He said that bassist Justin Chancellor initially conceived of a “killer” melody in 7/8 time, which eventually became the main verse. Together they “jammed it a LONG time trying to find other cool working parts,” and Jones eventually came up with the chorus and the 9/8 “turnaround.” Between the written description and the demo itself, it’s a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how the mathy metalheads develop their intricate songs. Jones wrote, “Writing music Justin and I normally bring in potential riffs and demos – then the 3 of us tear them apart like wolves while [Danny Carey] ...
Lzzy Hale: “Most of the Bands You Know and Love Won’t Make It Out of This” Pandemic
Lzzy Hale has painted a bleak present and future for music acts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, remarking that “most of the bands you know and love won’t make it out of this.” The Halestorm singer-guitarist made the comments on Instagram while also warning her supporters that states are reopening prematurely. Even though Halestorm have a strong following and several rock hits to their name, the financial and emotional hit of the pandemic is taking its toll on the band and its crew — as it is for most touring artists. In her Instagram note, Hale pointed out the “audacity of some people to assume that just because I’m someone of note, that I am not suffering because of all this.” As a majority of the United States starts to reopen in varying phases, Lzzy proclaims, “Without a vaccine,...
