Heavy New Music
Alice Cooper Unveils New Song “Don’t Give Up” to Offer Encouragement During Pandemic: Stream
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to affect communities around the world, Alice Cooper is offering words of encouragement in the form of a new song, “Don’t Give Up”. The rock legend shared the music video for the track, which was recorded remotely during isolation. Cooper recently invited fans to participate in the video, which features his band members performing separately while in quarantine. More than 20,000 fans responded, with many of them seen holding signs of the song’s positive lyrics in the clip. “‘Don’t Give Up’ is out today,” Cooper said in a press release. “It’s a song about what we’ve all been going through right now and about keeping our heads up and fighting back together. And whatever you do — don’t give up!” The song is pure positivity, a mid-tempo rocker that begins ...
Avatar Announce New Album Hunter Gatherer, Unveil Single “Silence in the Age of Apes”: Stream
After teasing new music on the way, Swedish metallers Avatar have announced details of their upcoming album, Hunter Gatherer. In addition, they’ve unveiled a music video for the first single, “Silence in the Age of Apes.” The LP, which marks Avatar’s eighth full-length, hits stores on August 7th. It comes after an extensive touring cycle in support of the band’s 2018 album, Avatar Country. For Hunter Gatherer, Avatar worked with producer Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour) at Sphere Studios in Los Angeles. Each song on the album was recorded with the band members performing together at the same time, which is the way Avatar recorded their 2014 record, Hail the Apocalypse. The dark and aggressive “Silence in the Age of Apes” is streaming now via a music video showing off the group’s new wardro...
Fever 333 Team Up with Run-DMC’s Darryl McDaniels on New Remix of “Animal”: Stream
Fever 333 have joined forces with legendary Run-DMC rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels on a new version of their song “Animal”. The track was remixed by producers J Randy and Nellz. The original version of “Animal” appears on Fever 333’s 2019 debut album Strength in Numb333rs. For the remix, singer Jason Aalon Butler trades verses with DMC in what is a dream come true for the Fever 333 frontman. Butler discussed his reverence for Run-DMC and McDaniels in the following statement: “I learned most of what I know and utilize in my life musically, socially, and intellectually via hip hop music. I was obsessed with the idea of taking the adversity of the culture experienced and turning it into a song that moved to the beat of the human pulse while telling a story in a way that only adversity influenc...
New Band Mrs. Piss (Chelsea Wolfe and Jess Gowrie) Announce Debut Album, Share Two New Songs: Stream
Mrs. Piss, courtesy of Grandstand Media Singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe and multi-instrumentalist Jess Gowrie have formed a new band, the sardonically dubbed Mrs. Piss. The duo’s debut album, Self-Surgery, is out May 29th, and they’ve shared two new songs, “Downer Surrounded by Uppers” and “Knelt”. Mrs. Piss reconciles a long musical relationship between Wolfe and Gowrie, who once played together in a band called Red Host in the early 2000s. The idea to form a new band came when the two were touring together for Wolfe’s 2017 album, Hiss Spun. The two singles showcase the duo’s sonic diversity and are more urgent and abrasive than Wolfe’s folk-tinged output. “Downer Surrounded by Uppers” is a ripping post-punk track while “Knelt” is a droning wall of sludge, slower but no less heavy. For Wo...
Paradise Lost’s Obsidian Finds the Goth Metal Pioneers as Sharp as Ever: Review
The Lowdown: Paradise Lost innovated goth metal in the late ’80s, and while that style remains has remained popular through the years (see: Type O Negative, Lacuna Coil, more), the pioneering UK act still flies under the mainstream radar in the United States. Part of that has to do with the fact that Paradise Lost has scarcely toured the States for most of their career, although two years ago they embarked on a 30th anniversary headlining tour of North America. The next step on Paradise Lost’s journey is Obsidian, their 16th studio album. While it might not be musically groundbreaking for the veteran metallers, the LP showcases their various strengths in a nearly flawless run of songs just as sharp and polished as the igneous stone for which it’s named. The Good: Obsidian caps off a partic...
Inter Arma Cover Neil Young, Prince, Nine Inch Nails, and More on New Album Garbers Days Revisited
Metal band Inter Arma have announced a new covers album, Garbers Days Revisited, featuring renditions of songs by Neil Young, Prince, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, and more. The band has offered a preview of the record with their heavy take on Young’s “Southern Man”. Recorded between tours for their 2019 album, Sulphur English, the covers LP sees Inter Arma lending their crushing amalgamation of doom, death metal, and psych to eight songs that have influenced them. They turn “Southern Man” — already one of Young’s crunchiest and heaviest numbers — into a sonic colossus. “Inter Arma as a whole are massive Neil Young fans,” the band commented in a press release. “‘Southern Man’ has been a staple of our live set for over a decade and we finally got around to putting it to tape. We hope you enjo...
Clutch’s Neil Fallon Crushes AC/DC’s “Riff Raff” with Members of Cave In, Converge, and more: Watch
The folks over at Two Minutes to Late Night have delivered yet another stellar quarantine performance, with Clutch singer Neil Fallon leading a rousing cover of AC/DC’s “Riff Raff”. Like the previous videos in the “Bedroom Covers” series, the AC/DC performance features each musician performing from his own home. Interestingly enough, this series was conceived before the pandemic, and a few of the artists recorded and filmed their contributions as early as January. Two Minutes to Late Night host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds), a constant in all of these videos, sings and performs bass on the AC/DC cover. He’s joined by drummer Ben Koller (Converge, Mutoid Man), and guitarists Stephen Brodsky (Cave In, Mutoid Man), Adam McGrath (Cave In, Wear Your Wounds), and Tom Draper (Carcass). Fa...
Trapt to Release “Probably One of the Top 5 Albums That Will Ever Exist for All of Time,” Says Trapt
Trapt singer Chris Taylor Brown has been making headlines lately for challenging other bands to fights, defending President Trump’s actions on the coronavirus pandemic, and touting his own group’s Pandora streaming numbers. But now he’s ready to let some new music do the talking … well, actually he’s already doing the talking before the music even comes out. The hard-rock band, best known for the 2002 hit “Headstrong”, has announced that its eighth album, Shadow Work, will arrive on June 19th. Furthermore, Trapt planned to release the singles “Make It Out Alive” and “Tell Me How You Really Feel” this Friday, May 15th, followed by another song, “Far Enough Away”, but decided to make them all available as instant grat tracks for those who pre-order the album starting today (May 12th). B...
Puscifer Unveil New Song “Apocalyptical” with Dancing Maynard James Keenan in Video: Stream
Puscifer recently teased new music coming soon, and they’ve delivered with the brand-new song “Apocalyptical”. The track is accompanied by a surreal video featuring singer Maynard James Keenan showing off a few dance moves. While Puscifer had recorded much of their new album last year, the band originally planned to release new music in 2021, to allow Keenan to complete his touring duties with Tool. But with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Tool to postpone their tour, Keenan decided to unveil the first new Puscifer song in nearly five years much earlier than expected. “Apocalyptical” is a groovy mid-tempo tune with a dance-like beat, as Keenan and co-vocalist Carina Round deliver whispery lines like, “Go on, moron/ Ignore the evidence/ Skid in to armageddon/ Tango apocalyptical.” The video f...
Within Temptation Unleash New Song “Entertain You”: Stream
Within Temptation have released the new song “Entertain You”, a stand-alone single that was intended to coincide with the Dutch symphonic metal band’s now-postponed European tour with Evanescence. The song crashes in with heavy, towering riffs, before pulling back for Sharon den Adel’s emotive vocals. According to a press release “Entertain You” is about “the urge for self-gratification at the expense of others.” A statement from the band further explained, “Offenses, victimization, and exploitation. That happens every day and is mainly justified under the name of economic necessity, politics, religion, culture, sex, and race.” Sharon den Adel also issued her own statement, remarking, “We often cannot and do not want to see the consequences of our urge to satisfy our personal needs. T...
Punk Supergroup Fake Names (Refused, Bad Religion) Unveil Self-Titled Debut Album: Stream
Glen E. Friedman, photo by Glen E. Friedman The new punk supergroup Fake Names — featuring singer Dennis Lyxzén (Refused), guitarist Brian Baker (Bad Religion, Minor Threat), and more — have unleashed their self-titled debut album via Epitaph Records, and its available to stream now. The band’s lineup also includes guitarist-singer Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, One Last Wish) and bassist Johnny Temple (Girls Against Boys, Soulside). The genesis of Fake Names began when Hampton and Baker started hashing out new music together back in 2016. With Temple added to the lineup, Hampton and Baker approached Lyxzén at Chicago’s Riot Fest, and he immediately jumped at the chance to join the group. The self-titled debut features the previously released lead single “Brick” along with nine other tr...
Neurosis’ Steve Von Till Announces New Solo Album and Poetry Book, Shares Single “Dreams of Trees”: Stream
Neurosis singer Steve Von Till has announced a new solo album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, as well as book of poetry and lyrics, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics. Both arrive August 7th. Von Till also offered up the album track “Dreams of Trees”. Like much of Von Till’s solo work, the track is rooted in softer aesthetics and electronic instrumentation rather than the atmospheric sludge metal of Neurosis. Here, he explores ambient soundscapes, giving emphasis to the words and poeticism of his lyrics. The spiritual tug and introspection of his prior solo outings remains intact. “It’s about personal longings and loss, and the loves and insecurities we all feel combined with meditations on humanity as a whole,” Von Till said in a press release. “I’m exploring the great disconn...
