Heavy Music News
Ghost’s Tobias Forge Promises “Good Change” and More Touring in 2023
A fresh year often brings change, and that appears to be the case with Swedish metallers Ghost. Frontman Tobias Forge (aka Papa Emeritus IV) tells Metal Hammer that “good change” is ahead for the band before hitting the road on additional tours in support of their 2022 studio album, IMPERA. “We’re doing a lot of touring again,” Forge explained in the interview. “On previous album cycles, we’ve done four legs in America and two or three in Europe and repeated. We’re going to go into every territory next year, but there’s going to be one European tour, one American tour. We are going to do a little bit of everywhere.” He added, “There’ll be a little bit of something up in upper Asia, on the far end there – a very well-established country with a lot of pop cultural fascination, and the home o...
Alien Ant Farm Singer Dryden Mitchell Charged with Battery for Touching His Crotch with Fan’s Hand
Alien Ant Farm singer Dryden Mitchell has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly using a fan’s hand to touch his own crotch during a concert in Florida. The incident happened a couple months ago, but charges were just filed on December 30th. According to The Daily Mail, Mitchell grabbed the hand of a 45-year-old male fan and placed it onto his crotch while performing their hit cover of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” in Fort Lauderdale on October 29th. In video posted to YouTube (watch below), it appears that the fan raised his hand in the air toward Mitchell, who then pulled it into his privates for a brief second before the fan pulled his hand away. A police report obtained by Rolling Stone reads, “The lead singer of the Alien Ant Farm band, Dryden Mitchell, was on the s...
Sharon Osbourne Passed Out for 20 Minutes During Recent Medical Emergency
A few weeks ago, Sharon Osbourne was hospitalized after experiencing an undisclosed medical emergency while filming a television show in California. Now, she reveals that she passed out for 20 minutes, but “nobody knows why.” Sharon was making a guest appearance on her son Jack’s show Night of Terror at the time of the medical incident on December 16th, and was rushed to Santa Paula Hospital. The next day, Jack shared on Instagram, “She has been given the all clear from her medical team and is now home. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love and support. As to what happened to my mum — I’m gonna leave it to her to share about when she is ready.” Advertisement Related Video On Tuesday (January 3rd), Sharon spoke of the incident on her UK TV show The Talk (not affiliated with Sh...
Kings of Thrash (David Ellefson) Announce 2023 US Tour Performing Two Megadeth Albums in Full
Kings of Thrash, featuring former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson, have announced an early 2023 US tour on which they’ll perform two Megadeth albums in their entirety. The trek will see the group playing 1985’s Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good and 1988’s So Far, So Good…So What in full. Dates kick off February 16th in Joliet, Illinois, and run through March 15th in Atlanta. Hatriot will provide support. You can pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. Related Video Ellefson formed Kings of Thrash last year alongside guitarist Jeff Young, who played lead guitar in Megadeth in 1987 and 1988 during the So Far, So Good…So What era. Singer-guitarist Chaz Leon and drummer Fred Aching round out the Kings of Thrash lineup. Advertisement The band played its first shows back in October and recor...
Dee Snider: Robert Plant and Ronnie James Dio Not “Great Frontmen” Despite Being “Great Singers”
Dee Snider stirred up an ongoing Twitter debate just before the new year when he claimed that he doesn’t consider Robert Plant and the late Ronnie James Dio to be great frontmen. The Twisted Sister vocalist explained that he admires both rock legends as singers but insisted that they lacked excitement onstage as performers. It all started when Snider praised late drummer Cozy Powell, who was bandmates with Dio in Rainbow and played on select tracks on Plant’s debut solo album, Pictures at Eleven. When a fan tweeted at Snider that Dio was the second best frontman after Freddie Mercury, Snider responded, “You are confusing singing with performing. There is a huge difference between a great frontman & a great singer. Ronnie was one of the greatest singers of all time, but as a frontman, h...
Tony Iommi Is Prepping a New Solo LP and Reissues of the Tony Martin-Era Black Sabbath Albums
The new year is shaping up to be a busy one for Black Sabbath legend Tony Iommi. In a year-end video message to fans, the guitarist revealed that he’s been building a recording studio and plans to write a new solo album. There are also plans for numerous reissues, including a box set of the long-out-of-print Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath LPs. “It’s been a good year for me, 2022, in parts anyway,” Iommi said [as transcribed by Blabbermouth]. “I’ve been writing and recording. I’m having a new studio built, which I’m really pleased about. Well, actually, the studio is built, and it’s almost ready to go … I think I’ll be ready to go in and start work in there, which I’m really looking forward to — writing another album.” Related Video Iommi then discussed the reissue projects lined up for 2023...
Devin Townsend: Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger “Is a Phenomenally Intelligent Human Being”
Prog rocker Devin Townsend has high praise for Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger in a new interview, calling his fellow Canadian “a phenomenally intelligent human being.” Kroeger previously made a surprising guest spot on Townsend’s Empath album in 2019. When asked by Ultimate Guitar about the collaboration, Townsend was quick to speak highly of Kroeger, who has faced an exaggerated amount of criticism over the years for his work in Nickelback (Townsend had previously called Kroeger a “functioning genius” back in 2019). That said, Townsend admitted in the new interview that the two lead a different lifestyle. “Chad’s brilliant,” Townsend said. “Chad is a phenomenally intelligent human being. But he’s a rockstar, too, on levels that you and I will never participate in. And so there’s go...
John Dolmayan: System of a Down “Should Have Moved On” Without Serj Tankian in 2006
It’s now been 17 years since System of a Down released a new studio album, and drummer John Dolmayan thinks they may have been better off moving on without singer Serj Tankian at the time the band went on hiatus in 2006. While System of a Down continue to be an active band, playing sporadic shows and releasing a pair of surprise singles in 2020, the multi-platinum act’s internal conflicts have been well documented. A few years back, Tankian and guitarist-vocalist Daron Malakian each opened up about the creative differences that led to a dearth of new music from the acclaimed metal band. In the summer of 2018, Malakian told Kerrang! magazine, “If everyone got together and was ready to play ball, I have an album ready. If it was up to me, System would have never gone on hiatus. … To be hones...
Billy Idol to Receive First Hollywood Walk of Fame Star of 2023
Billy Idol will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, making him the first honoree of 2023. The ceremony was originally set to take place this Thursday (January 5th), but heavy rain in the forecast has led to it being rescheduled for Friday (January 6th). “There will be lots of rebels yelling for their favorite rock star Billy Idol when he receives his well-deserved Walk of Fame star,” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Since the beginning of his career Billy Idol has held the hearts of many of his fans who finally will be able to visit his star and witness his induction into the Walk of Fame.” The music icon has certainly had a legendary career, first as lead singer of the UK punk band Generation X in the late ’70s and then as a multi-platinum ...
Iggy Pop Was Once Approached About Fronting AC/DC
Iggy Pop has revealed that he was once approached about becoming the frontman of AC/DC. “They had a manager many years ago, when I hadn’t re-formed The Stooges, I hadn’t moved to England,” Iggy told the New York Times. “And this guy said, ‘Are you interested in joining AC/DC?’ They were looking for a singer.” Though it’s not clear exactly when he was asked to join the band, the timeline likely puts the encounter around the time AC/DC formed in 1973 or perhaps when original frontman Dave Evans departed and when Bon Scott took over as lead singer — sometime around 1974. Related Video “I listened to their record. I thought, I can’t fit that bill,” Iggy admitted. “I wasn’t, like, ‘Ugh, I don’t like them.’ It was quite well made. They do careful work, but I’m not what they needed.” Advertisemen...
Sebastian Marino, Former Guitarist for Overkill and Anvil, Dead at 57
Sebastian Marino, who played guitar in the bands Overkill and Anvil, died at the age of 57 in the early morning of January 1st after being rushed to a hospital while working a sound job at a New Year’s Eve event in Florida. Marino was a member of Canadian metal heroes Anvil from 1989 through 1995, appearing on their 1991 album Worth the Weight. Upon learning of Marino’s passing, Anvil singer-guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow wrote, “Condolences to my friend Sebastian Marino’s family and friends. Seby was a dear friend and I will miss him profoundly!! Worth the Weight was an extremely special Anvil album and it will keep Seby alive through our history forever! RIP SEBASTIAN MARINO.” The guitarist joined New Jersey thrash legends Overkill in late 1995, and remained with the band until 1999. He p...
David Lee Roth: Working with Eddie Van Halen Was “Better Than Any Love Affair”
David Lee Roth and the Van Halen camp haven’t always seen eye to eye, but the singer recently offered some touching remarks while reflecting on his longtime bandmate, the late Eddie Van Halen. Roth opened up about his working relationship with the guitar legend on his The Roth Show podcast earlier this week. DLR famously left Van Halen in 1985 to pursue a successful solo career, and multiple failed attempts to patch things up would eventually give way to Roth rejoining the band in 2007. Roth and Eddie Van Halen appeared to be on good terms when Eddie passed away in 2020. “My dear departed Ed,” Roth said on his podcast (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed. Walt Disney once said, ‘You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love aff...
