music
Spirit Adrift Show the Joy of Classic Metal on “Screaming From Beyond”: Video Premiere + Interview
“I don’t remember pain,” Nate Garrett sings over the stomping guitar riff that opens “Screaming from Beyond,” the newest song from the upcoming Spirit Adrift upcoming album, Enlightened in Eternity. It’s a somewhat ironic lyric, considering that the band’s new LP often reflects on the pain of mortal existence. The song and its accompanying video are premiering right here at Heavy Consequence. “Screaming from Beyond” features an anthemic chorus and pristine melodic vocals, evoking the supernatural and stadium-ready sounds of perennial metal gods like Mercyful Fate, Dio, and Ozzy Osbourne. Close your eyes and it almost sounds like a band that could have opened one of the “Clash of the Titans” tours. But its contemplative and esoteric lyrical approach is modern, and 100-percent indicative of ...
Van Morrison Releases Anti-Lockdown Song “Born to Be Free”
There’s something in the UK’s water that has prominent musicians from Oasis’ Noel Gallagher to The Stone Roses’ Ian Brown spouting nonsensical conspiracy theories about the pandemic — or, as Brown calls it, “the plandemic”. Veteran troubadour Van Morrison, who previously likened the concept of socially-distanced concerts as “pseudo-science” stemming from “fascist” government overreach, is now taking matters into his own hands with a series of newly written anti-lockdown songs. On the not-so-subtly titled “Born To Be Free”, Morrison laments about how the government is “cramping my my style.” He goes on to sing, “The new normal is not normal/ It’s no kind of normal at all/ Everyone seemed to have amnesia just trying to remember the Berlin Wall.” Morrison has two more protest songs on the way...
Blood Orange Remixes Tame Impala’s “Borderline”: Stream
Earlier this week, a pared-down Tame Impala lineup performed a club-ified version of “Borderline” on Fallon. Today, we get yet another iteration of the single off The Slow Rush, as Blood Orange has shared a “remix” of the song that’s more like an entire reimagining. Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes has slowed everything down, creating a mellow oscillation between a warm, tropical vibe and a hypnotic, psychedelic spiral. More than a true remix, this rendition of “Borderline” stretches over seven minutes long and features completely new instrumentation. Hynes adds his own original compositions, while additional drumming comes from Aaron Maine of Porches. Take a listen to Blood Orange’s “Borderline” remix below. Editors’ Picks This is but the latest remix from Tame Impala this year. There was t...
Polo G Reveals New Single “Epidemic”: Stream
Earlier this week, Polo G made his TV debut on The Tonight Show. Now, he’s returned with “Epidemic”, his first single since dropping The GOAT back in May. Despite its suggestive title, today’s offering is not about the coronavirus outbreak. Instead, the Chicago rapper focuses on another widespread occurrence that continues to take lives, especially within his own community: gun violence on the streets. “Every day a gamble with your life, all we know is risk,” Polo G rap-sings on the track, which is produced by Tahj Money, DMAC, Londn Blu, and Karltin Bankz. Later, he vows to be more careful for the sake of his family. “Promise to my son that the streets won’t get no more of me/ Remember every line from that obituary poetry.” Editors’ Picks Frequent collaborator Ryan Lynch d...
Queen’s Brian May Reveals He Nearly Died From “Stomach Explosion”
Queen guitarist Brian May is lucky to be alive following a series of harrowing medical episodes. Back in the Spring, May, 73, tore the gluteus maximus muscle in his buttocks during what he described as a “moment of over-enthusiastic gardening.” While “Brian May Tears His Ass Muscle While Gardening” makes for a funny headline, the incident ultimately spurred on much more serious ailments that nearly cost May his life. While getting an MRI for his gluteus maximus tear, doctors discovered that May was also suffering from a severely compressed sciatic nerve, which made it feel like “someone was putting a screwdriver in my back.” A short time later, he suffered a heart attack. His issues didn’t end there, though. In a new interview with The London Times, May revealed that he underwent ...
Ranking: Every Sufjan Stevens Album from Worst to Best
Sufjan Stevens has come to be one of the quintessential voices in contemporary indie rock, but it’s not a title he earned overnight. The songwriter is known for being prolific, having written eight solo studio albums, several collaborative albums, original material for Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 film Call Me by Your Name, and even multiple Christmas albums. He writes, performs, and records most of the music himself, sometimes playing more than 10 instruments on a single record. He even once vowed to make an album for each of the 50 US states (though, we all know how that turned out). Throughout each of his records, he’s explored banjo-led folk, electro-pop, grandiose indie rock, glitchy experimentalism, and instrumental new-age music. Stevens is the epitome of a musical polymath. What’s impres...
Vin Diesel Goes EDM on Debut Single “Feel Like I Do”: Stream
With quarantine still in full swing and Fast & Furious 9 delayed until next year, what’s Vin Diesel to do with his spare time? Apparently get really into EDM. Today, the 53-year-old actor has released his debut single, a clubby track titled “Feel Like I Do”. Though it may be amusing to think about Groot hitting the dance floor, Diesel’s new song is more in line with Kygo and Flume — it’s a forever summer tune for the celebrity Coachella crowd. And it makes perfect sense given the personnel working behind the scenes; “Feel Like I Do” was written by Kygo collaborator Petey Martin and released via the Kygo co-founded Palm Tree Records. “For so long, I have been promising to release music… encouraged by you, to step out of my comfort zone,” Diesel wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for believi...
Zayn Unveils New Single “Better”: Stream
Zayn has returned with his first solo single in two years, “Better”. This is the first preview of his forthcoming third album, the follow-up to 2018’s Icarus Falls. “Better” is a velvety R&B love jam about the sexiest thing there is: open communication. Zayn asks his lover to express her negative emotions now, rather than waiting for the problem to get worse. “Why? Why wait to fight?” he croons, later wondering, “Can we save tears in your eyes?” The music video was directed by Ryan Hope and the concept seems simple enough: Zayn starts out shirtless, and then he gets dressed in slow motion. But there are also brief cutaways to people watching him through binoculars or listening to tape recordings, which suggest that the pop star might be under surveillance. Paparazzi? Foreign ...
Song of the Week: Travis Scott Flaunts His Business Acumen on “FRANCHISE”
Young Thug and Travis Scott (photos by Philip Cosores), M.I.A. (photo by Ben Kaye) Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. Sometimes a rapper becomes bigger than the game. Travis Scott got there before he turned 30. Let’s do the rundown: owns his own record label, Cactus Jack Records; founded his own annual music festival, Astroworld; collabs on sneakers with Nike that are so popular that some stores won’t carry them for fear of being bombarded by Scott’s fans; and has his own meal featured at participating McDonald’s restaurants. That’s without mentioning the 45 million in album sales, six Grammys, and a Billboard Music Award. A lot of rappers have gold grills and drop ...
US Republican senators confront Netflix over Chinese sci-fi show
Five Republican US senators have confronted Netflix over the streaming giant’s plan to adapt a Chinese sci-fi book trilogy, expressing concern over the original author’s comments about claims of forced labor in Xinjiang. Liu Cixin’s bestselling “The Three-Body Problem,” which tells the story of humanity’s first contact with aliens, is set to become a major Netflix series co-written by the creators of “Game of Thrones.” In a letter to content boss Ted Sarandos, the senators accused Liu of “parroting dangerous [Communist Party] propaganda” and suggested Netflix was “providing a platform to Mr Liu in producing this project.” They highlighted a New Yorker article from last year in which Liu is quoted defending mass internment in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, where activists say more th...
Deftones Embrace Their Heavy Roots on the Commanding Ohms: Review
The Lowdown: Sacramento alt-metallers Deftones tend to transform at the turns of decades. In 2000, they released their conceptual high-water mark White Pony, while 2010’s Diamond Eyes is a stellar collection of catchy-but-clever skate rock tracks. On the other hand, 2020’s Ohms isn’t a radical reinvention, but it’s a solid addition to their legacy — a surprisingly heavy one, at that. The Good: Deftones’ albums exist along a delicate axis: At the one end, singer Chino Moreno’s romantic and crooning atmospheres, and on the other, guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s sludgy, metallic slug-fests. The band is at its best when these elements are in balance, and the tension between these poles is the core of their identity. 2016’s Gore seemed like a Moreno-heavy album, focused on dreamy landscapes. In c...
Dream Theater Announce Live Release Distant Memories, Share “Pale Blue Dot”: Stream
Dream Theater have announced Distant Memories, a new live album and concert film recorded in London back in February 2020. It’s due for release on November 27th, and the progressive-metal legends have shared a clip of “Pale Blue Dot” from the video. The album captures the band on tour in support of 2019’s Distance Over Time and the 20th anniversary of Metropolis Part 2 – Scenes From a Memory. The title Distant Memories can refer both to the album’s content and the fact that it seems so very long ago, despite the performances at the Apollo in London taking place right before the pandemic hit. “Whether you had a chance to see this tour in person and want to relive what was hopefully an awesome concert experience or enjoying the performance on video for the first time, Distant Memories –...
