Heavy Music News
Vocalist Tilian Pearson Steps Away from Dance Gavin Dance Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Tilian Pearson, the clean vocalist for post-hardcore act Dance Gavin Dance, has stepped away from the band after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced this week. The news comes less than two months after the sudden and tragic passing of Dance Gavin Dance bassist Tim Feerick. In April, a woman posted on Reddit that she was assaulted by Pearson around the time of Dance Gavin Dance’s Swanfest. The woman detailed multiple encounters that described an erratic and intoxicated Pearson slapping her across the face and having forcible sex with her. Pearson responded to the allegations on Reddit, saying, in part, “I take the subject of sexual assault seriously, and I want to firmly reiterate that there was no moment of anything happening that was not consensual.” But he also added, “My general s...
Wolfgang Van Halen Blasts Reelz’ Eddie Van Halen Autopsy Episode: “F**k Everyone That Works on This Show”
Wolfgang Van Halen is seething over Reelz’ upcoming episode of its documentary series Autopsy: The Last Hours of …, which focuses on his late father, Eddie Van Halen. The episode is set to premiere this Sunday, June 5th, and Wolfgang is urging people not to watch it while also lambasting those responsible for the show. Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020, after a long bout with cancer. The immediate cause of his passing was listed as cerebrovascular accident, which is the medical term for a stroke. Among the underlying causes were pneumonia; myelodysplastic syndrome (a bone marrow disorder); and lung cancer, which he battled for three years. In a tweet on Wednesday (June 1st), Wolfgang shared a news article about the TV show, and wrote, “F**k @ReelzChannel, f**k everyone that works on thi...
Anthrax Announce Blu-Ray and CD Release of 40th Anniversary Livestream Concert
Anthrax are releasing their 40th anniversary “Anthrax XL” livestream concert on Blu-Ray, CD, and digitally on July 15th via Megaforce Records. Ahead of its arrival, the thrash greats have offered up a clip of their performance of “Aftershock.” In July 2021, Anthrax celebrated four decades of thrash-metal excellence with a virtual concert and retrospective featuring interviews, testimonials, and reflections from the band members and many close associates from the scene. Guitarist Scott Ian even gave a “walking tour” of Anthrax’s stomping ground: New York City. “Forty years doesn’t feel like 40 years,” said drummer Charlie Benante via press release. “Sometimes, I have to remind myself about how long this strange trip has been. I enjoy playing these songs, they’re such a huge part of my life,...
Tool Members Join Brass Against for Performance of “Stinkfist”: Watch
Tool recently wrapped up their European tour, and members of the band celebrated by jamming their classic song “Stinkfist” onstage with support act Brass Against. The performance took place at the outing’s final show on May 24th in Budapest, Hungary. Brass Against are known for their big-band covers of songs by Tool and Rage Against the Machine, among others. In fact, “Stinkfist” was a regular number in their set leading up to the collaborative performance. This time around, Tool’s Adam Jones, Danny Carey, and Justin Chancellor joined them onstage for the high-energy version of the Ænima song. Tool typically play pranks on their opening acts on the final shows of tours, as they recently did with Blonde Redhead, when they sported blonde and red wigs and danced around onstage during the the ...
Porno for Pyros Announce Second 2022 Reunion Show
Following their first full performance in 26 years at the recent Welcome to Rockville festival in Florida, Porno for Pyros will reconvene for another reunion gig in Chicago. The July 30th show at the Metro will be part of the Lollapalooza “Aftershows” series, taking place at local venues around the four-day festival. The Welcome to Rockville show materialized when Jane’s Addiction had to bow out due to guitarist Dave Navarro’s battle with long COVID. Instead of canceling outright, singer Perry Farrell, who fronts both bands, decided to reunite Porno for Pyros to fill the vacant slot. The band played a 13-song set that featured their own songs, including their signature tune “Pets,” as well as four Jane’s Addiction covers. Farrell was joined by guitarist Peter DiStefano and bassist Mike Wat...
Crowbar Announce Summer 2022 US Tour with Spirit Adrift
Crowbar have announced a Summer 2022 US tour with support from Spirit Adrift. The New Orleans sludge-metal vets will play three initial shows starting July 22nd in Austin through July 24th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, before linking up with Spirit Adrift on July 26th in Springfield, Missouri. From there, the tour will wind across the Midwest and East Coast before wrapping up on August 27th in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Tattoo the Earth Fest. Get tickets to the upcoming dates via Ticketmaster. Related Video Crowbar are fresh off the release of their new LP, 22 and Below, which dropped back in March. Meanwhile, Spirit Adrift have kept up a prolific pace. The traditional-metal revivalists dropped the Forge the Future EP in last year and are set to drop their next release, 20 Centuries Gone, on A...
Megadeth Name James LoMenzo as New Permanent Bassist
Megadeth have officially named James LoMenzo as their new permanent bassist. The veteran metal musician had already joined the legendary thrash band’s touring lineup as of last year, and now he can call himself a full-fledged member. LoMenzo essentially replaces founding bassist David Ellefson, who was ousted from Megadeth last year after an embarrassing online sexual encounter with a young woman. Testament’s Steve DiGiorgio was called in to re-record bass parts on the band’s upcoming album, The Sick, The Dying and The Dead, but LoMenzo was recruited to join the band on their co-headlining “Metal Tour of the Year” with Lamb of God, which just completed its second leg. This marks LoMenzo’s second stint with Megadeth, after being a member from 2006 through 2010. He played on the albums Unite...
The Used’s Bert McCracken Seeks Mental Health Treatment, Band Cancels Festival Gigs
The Used singer Bert McCracken has announced that he will seek professional treatment for mental health struggles. As a result, the band has canceled its scheduled gigs at the Slam Dunk festival slated for this coming weekend (June 3rd and 4th) in the UK. McCracken revealed his current “struggle with mental health” via the band’s social pages on Tuesday (May 31st), apologizing for skipping the high-profile festival performances while asserting that it’s the best decision for his personal well-being. The singer’s full statement reads as follows: “I have always been open about my struggle with mental health and have recently found myself facing new and overwhelming challenges. For this reason, I won’t be able to play the upcoming shows at Slam Dunk. I am so sorry but needed to make this deci...
Actor Joe Quinn “Listened to a Lot of Heavy Metal” to Prep for Breakout Stranger Things Character Eddie Munson
Those of us who’ve watched all or some of the recently premiered Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 4 have been captivated by the new character Eddie Munson, an ’80s metalhead who is also a Dungeons & Dragons freak. Munson is played by British actor Joe Quinn, who revealed in a new interview that he immersed himself in heavy metal music to prepare for the role. Without revealing any spoilers (except for those who absolutely don’t want to know any details), the character of Eddie leads a Dungeons & Dragons club at Hawkins High School. His appearance screams ’80s metal, with long hair and a denim jacket that has a Dio back patch and various band pins. Quinn, who previously had a small role on Game of Thrones, attempted to immerse himself into the Stranger Things role via Dungeon...
Melvins Announce Fall 2022 “Five Legged Tour”
The Melvins have a heavy year of touring ahead. Just weeks after announcing the summer “Electric Roach Tour,” the sludge veterans have announced an additional 43 dates for Fall 2022, dubbed “The Five Legged Tour.” Beginning September 5th in San Francisco, the US trek makes a point to give fans ample opportunities to see The Melvins. King Buzzo and company have sketched out several shows in multiple states, including a healthy eight stops across California and six stops in Florida. As Osbourne said in a statement, “Nationwide once again! Nothing like touring the USA in the fall. Everyone’s a winner!” “The Five Legged Tour” wraps up October 29th at The Halloween Freakout Festival in Los Angeles. Austin psych rockers We Are the Asteroid lend support on all dates. Tickets to the tour become av...
Metallica Take Over Napa Valley with BottleRock Set and Late-Night Covers Show: Recap, Photos + Video
Napa, California’s BottleRock Festival finally returned after a two-year absence this weekend, and with Metallica headlining day one on Friday (May 27th), it got off to head-banging start. As they usually do, the legendary metal band made the show an event for their fans, making sure that they would have maximum Metallica intake. One of the bands that performed prior to Metallica’s headlining set was Bastardane, a hard-rock trio that includes James Hefield’s son Castor on drums. Although the band has a thrash metal influence, they have their own unique sound that seemed to get a seal of approval from the Metallica fans watching the show. Also approving was James himself, who could be seen behind the wings of the stage watching and nodding along, but soon he would be on a much bigger stage....
KISS’ Gene Simmons: Donald Trump “Allowed” People to Be “Publicly Racist” and “Conspiracy Theorists”
KISS founder Gene Simmons was once a contestant on Donald Trump’s network TV program The Celebrity Apprentice and was friendly with the former president long before he took office. Now, Simmons has come out to blast Trump’s presidency for normalizing racism and conspiracy theories. In a new interview with SPIN, Simmons discussed the cause-and-effect of Trump’s behavior and policies. As is typical with Simmons, there were no minced words. “I know the previous [US] president,” Simmons said. “I knew him before he entered politics. Look what that gentleman did to this country and the polarization — got all the cockroaches to rise to the top. Once upon a time, you were embarrassed to be publicly racist and out there with conspiracy theories. Now it’s all out in the open because he allowed it.” ...
