Heavy New Music
All Them Witches Announce New Album, Premiere New Song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”: Stream
All Them Witches are offering up a nice respite from all the chaos going on in the world. The Nashville rockers have announced the forthcoming release of a new album, Nothing as the Ideal. Moreover, the band is teaming up with Heavy Consequence to share a taste of what’s to come with opening track “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”. Nothing as the Ideal will arrive on September 4th via via New West Records. The album was recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles famously laid down most of their iconic catalog. Regarding the song “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, guitarist and songwriter Ben McLeod tells us, “We very specifically wanted to lead with this track. I think it’s the most well-rounded track on the record; it’s constantly changing, it has a lot of different vibes to it.” He giv...
Mr. Bungle Unveil Cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, First New Recording Since 1999: Stream
Mr. Bungle have just released their first new recording in more than 20 years. It comes in the form of a cover of The Exploited’s “USA”, with all proceeds going to COVID-19 relief efforts. Mike Patton joined fellow original members Trevor Dunn (bass) and Trey Spruance (guitar) for a series of reunion shows in February of this year, with Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo rounding out the touring lineup. The shows focused on the group’s hardcore roots, as they performed their early 1986 demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, along with a number of cover songs. Then in March, news came that the very same touring lineup had convened in a studio shortly after those shows to re-record the 1986 demo, and lay down studio versions of the cover songs ...
Mining Metal: Ara, Cryptic Shift, Goden, Lascar, Mekong Delta, Oozing Wound, Patrons of the Rotting Gate, Xibalba
“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. This month’s mining metal veers away from the traditional and toward the esoteric. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many labels have postponed hotly awaited releases for months or indefinitely. Because of this, bands not beholden to (or resistant to) commercial scheduling take the lead — Chilean black metal and Irish progressive deathcore, both the passion projects of independent musicians, lead the pack here. Musicians with long histories on the fringes take center stage, such as German neoclassical thrashers...
Behemoth Share New EP A Forest, Unveil Trailer for Nergal Documentary: Stream
Behemoth have just released their new EP, A Forest, which includes two different covers of The Cure’s song by the same name, as well as two new original tracks. Previously, Behemoth shared the studio version of “A Forest”, which puts an extreme-metal spin on the goth classic and features guest vocals from Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth. The EP also boasts a live version of the Cure song that was recorded at a December 2018 gig in Poland. Along with the EP’s release, Behemoth have unveiled a visualizer for the song “Evoe”, one of two previously unreleased original tracks on the EP that were recorded during the sessions for 2018’s I Loved You at Your Darkest album. In other news, a trailer has been revealed for an upcoming documentary about Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski. The film, ...
Lamb of God Unleash New Song “Routes” Featuring Testament’s Chuck Billy: Stream
Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe and Testament’s Chuck Billy (photos by Antonio Marino Jr.) Lamb of God have released a fourth new song from their upcoming self-titled album. The latest single, “Routes”, features guest vocals from Testament singer Chuck Billy. The new song follows previously released tracks “Checkmate”, “Memento Mori”, and “New Colossal Hate”. Originally, the album was set to be released on May 8th, but was pushed back to June 19th due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Routes” was inspired by Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe’s time spent at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota during the #NoDAPL movement, which protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. “I went to Standing Rock because I had heard reports of violence committed on the peaceful protes...
Death’s 1990-1991 Recordings Unearthed for Latest Live Album: Stream
Recordings from Death’s 1990 and 1991 tours have been unearthed for the fourth entry in the legendary metal act’s archival Non:Analog live album series. The latest installment features tracks recorded at various shows while the band was touring in support of 1990’s Spiritual Healing and 1991’s Human. LIVE 1990, 1991 UNKNOWN features staple Death songs such as “Flattening of Emotions”, “Zombie Ritual”, “Living Monstrosity”, and “Denial of Life”, among others. The release revisits a seminal turning point in the career of the iconic death metal band. After the pioneering sonic filth of 1987’s Scream Bloody Gore, the late Chuck Shuldiner and company adopted a leaner, more technical approach. Spiritual Healing is that transitional pivot, touting precise thrashing and a more discernible vocal mi...
Faith No More’s Roddy Bottum Debuts Single “Daddy” from His Man on Man Project: Stream
Faith No More keyboardist/guitarist Roddy Bottum and his boyfriend, Joey Holman, have launched a new project called Man on Man, and they’ve just debuted their first single, “Daddy’”. Bottum and Holman describe the project as “gay lovers making gay music” on their Instagram page, and appear in tighty-whities in both the promotional photos and the music video for “Daddy”. Bottum told Rolling Stone, “There’s enough representation in the gay community of young, hairless pretty men. It feels good to represent a faction of our culture that isn’t squeaky and manicured.” He added, “Based on the ageist and homophobic responses posted in the comments section of a straight publication that ran our photo, I’m happy to be those faces on the queer map.” As for the song itself, the music leans more...
DevilDriver Announce New Double Album, Unleash Single “Keep Away From Me”: Stream
DevilDriver have announced the release of a new album, Dealing With Demons I, due out this fall. The LP will be the first of a two-part double album, with the second one to follow at a later date. In advance of the release, the band has unveiled the single, “Keep Away From Me”. Aptly titled for the current times, “Keep Away from Me” has an anthemic quality as people social distance during the coronavirus pandemic. Serving as the album opener, the song touts a groove-laden, mathematic technicality and a passionate vocal delivery from frontman Dez Fafara. The video is rooted in the pandemic as well, featuring news footage with phrases like “censoring freedoms of speech” and “truth missing” flashing across the screen, a la The X-Files intro sequence. It’s an ominous way to begin the doub...
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...
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...
Virtual Joey Ramone Birthday Bash Features Members of Ramones, Green Day, Sex Pistols, More
The legendary Joey Ramone would have turned 69 today (May 19th), and the occasion is being marked with the annual “Birthday Bash” tribute in his honor. Only this time, due to the pandemic, it will be a virtual celebration, with members of Ramones, Green Day, Sex Pistols, and more performing. The “Joey Ramone Virtual Birthday Bash” kicks off tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET on the official Facebook page of the late punk icon. Among the performers are onetime Ramones members CJ Ramone and Richie Ramone, Sex Pistols bassist Glen Matlock, Dictators guitarist Andy Shernoff, David Bowie guitarist Earl Slick, and more. A late addition just announced this morning is a debut performance from Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, who has reworked the Ramones’ “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” into “Now I Wanna Drink...
The Pretty Reckless Return with Heavy New Song “Death by Rock and Roll”: Stream
The Pretty Reckless are back with the new single, “Death by Rock and Roll”, a guitar-driven anthem highlighted by singer Taylor Momsen’s powerful pipes. The new song comes shortly after it was announced that the band had signed a new deal with Fearless Records. The track kicks off with a heavy guitar riff and features Momsen singing about the deaths of various characters, ending each of their stories with, “But on my tombstone when I go/ Just put ‘Death by Rock and Roll’.” Momsen’s vocals range from silky smooth in the verses to a full-on scream toward the end of the song. “In a lot of ways, this new album feels like a rebirth and our first single, ‘Death by Rock and Roll’, represents that salvation that my favorite music brings me,” said Momsen in a press release. “Rock is freedom and thi...
