Thrash Metal
GWAR Kick Off “Death Rager” Tour, Unveil New Sour Delta-8 GWARtridge
Ahead of their upcoming album, The New Dark Ages, the mighty GWAR kicked off the spring US leg of their 2022 “Black Death Rager World Tour” at Piere’s Entertainment Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Thursday night (May 19th). Per usual, the intergalactic barbarians laid waste to the venue and the audience. GWAR’s US outing, which features support from Crowbar (joining the tour beginning May 23rd), Necrogoblikon, and The Native Howl, runs through a June 17th show in Reading, Pennsylvania — with tickets available here. At last night’s show, GWAR gave the New Dark Ages song “Mother F**king Liar” its live debut, performing it alongside favorites from such albums as Scumdogs of the Universe, Ragnarök, and more. Advertisement Prior to taking the stage, GWAR warned fans of what was to come via Tw...
Municipal Waste Unveil New Song “High Speed Steel”: Stream
Municipal Waste are set to unleash their new album Electrified Brain on July 1st, and now they’ve shared the album’s second single, “High Speed Steel.” With a song title that could’ve been pulled from the sleeve of a classic ’80s metal LP, “High Speed Steel” lives up to is name. Bulldozing riffs and high octane leads are the name of the game as Municipal Waste proudly pay homage to the thrash greats that came before them. “’High Speed Steel’ is our ode to an era when heavy metal was transitioning into a faster form,” commented guitarist Ryan Waste. “We pushed the limits of our sound to channel that classic dynamic and keep the intensity high. It’s about overcoming the pressure and slicing down the odds when everything is stacked against you.” Advertisement Related Video Electrified Brain&n...
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and Gibson Unveil Signature Songwriter Acoustic Guitar
Megadeth founder Dave Mustaine and Gibson have teamed up for another signature model: the Gibson Songwriter acoustic guitar in ebony. The latest model in the Dave Mustaine Collection is the first Gibson acoustic guitar to be fitted with a 24-fret neck, which features mother of pearl teeth inlays. Touting a slightly thinner walnut body, the Songwriter also has a cutaway for easy access to the upper frets — essential for Megadeth-style shredding. Additional appointments include Grover Rotomatic tuners, a TUSQ nut, saddle, bridge pins, and a higher output LR Baggs VTC under-saddle pickup with soundhole mounted volume and tone controls. Vic Rattlehead artwork adorns the pickguard. Advertisement Related Video The guitar comes in a standard model and a limited-edition signed model, both with a c...
Anthrax and Black Label Society Announce Co-Headlining 2022 North American Tour
Metal veterans Anthrax and Black Label Society are teaming up for a co-headlining North American tour this Summer. Rounding out the bill are hardcore metallers Hatebreed. The outing kicks off July 26th in Phoenix, and runs through an August 28th show in Philadelphia. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 22nd) at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster, but a series of pre-sales begin before then, including a Citi pre-sale on Monday (April 18th) at noon ET and a Live Nation pre-sale tomorrow (April 19th) at 10 a.m. local time (use code ROADIE). Anthrax, who formed in 1981, will finally be able to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band in person with their fans, after a series of virtual events last year. The trek will also offer a chance for the thrash masters to hit ...
Metallica’s Kirk Hammett Shares New Song “High Plains Drifter” from Upcoming Solo EP: Stream
Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has unveiled the new song “High Plains Drifter” from his upcoming instrumental solo EP, Portals, out April 23rd. The song offers the first taste of music from the EP, and sees Hammett embracing his fondness for cinema and epic musical composition. The guitarist enlisted the help of Edwin Outwater (Metallica’s S&M2), Jon Theodore of Queens of the Stone Age (and a member of Kirk’s covers act The Wedding Band), and members of the LA Philharmonic orchestra to achieve the grandeur heard on “High Plains Drifter.” As Hammett explained in a press release, the track shares an inspirational relationship with the 1973 film of the same name. Advertisement Related Video “[The song] was not meant to be specifically music for that film, but … once it was written, I im...
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Once Purposely Peed on a Bathroom Floor in The White House
Megadeth kicked off the second leg of their “Metal Tour of the Year” with co-headliners Lamb of God over the weekend, and on the second night of the outing (April 10th) in Tucson, Arizona, frontman Dave Mustaine shared some inside information from The White House. Actually, he confessed that he once purposely pissed on a bathroom floor in the president’s residence. Mustaine visited The White House back in 1992 as part of the “Rock the Vote” campaign. It was then that he left his mark on The White House. As seen in the footage from Sunday night’s concert below (and transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine began, “I want you guys to know that I’ve lived through a lot of different eras in the United States and seen different things, and one thing that makes me the most proud of everything here ...
Municipal Waste Announce New Album Electrified Brain, Unleash “Grave Dive”: Stream
Municipal Waste have announced their seventh studio album, Electrified Brain, arriving July 1st. As a preview, they’ve shared the single, “Grave Dive.” The band’s upbeat brand of crossover thrash metal is always a joy to hear, and the Virginia-based act keep the foot firmly on the gas on “Grave Dive.” Hooky riffs push the song forward while energetic frontman Tony Foresta is backed by a healthy dose of gang-vocal shouts. “It’s in the vein of songs like ‘Headbanger Face Rip’ and ‘Wave of Death’,” Foresta said in a press release. “It’s an inspirational song for our fans to cause bodily harm to themselves, but in a loud and healthy way, of course.” Advertisement Related Video Electrified Brain marks Municipal Waste’s first album in five years, following 2017’s Slime and Punishment. The band r...
Dave Mustaine Finally Reveals Who Played Bass on the Upcoming Megadeth Album
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine has finally revealed who played bass on the band’s upcoming album, The Sick, The Dying and The Dead. In a new interview, the frontman disclosed that it was Steve Di Giorgio of fellow veteran thrash act Testament. Last year, longtime Megadeth bassist David Ellefson was ousted from the band after a compromising video surfaced of him engaging in an “embarrassing” online sexual encounter with a young woman. Mustaine promptly fired Ellefson from the group, stating at the time, “While we do not know every detail of what occurred, with an already strained relationship, what has already been revealed now is enough to make working together impossible moving forward.” Mustaine also announced that the band would hire a new musician to re-record all the bass parts on the new a...
Creepy Lars Ulrich Metallica Toilet Acquired by a Museum in Denmark
The creepy toilet in the likeness of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich is making its way to the drummer’s birth country of Denmark, where it has been acquired by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Copenhagen. A cursed piece of art if there ever was one, the toilet finding its home at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum only makes sense. We previously reported on the functioning crapper when it made the viral rounds online last year. Even weirder, it was created by the same Florida-based metalhead who claimed to have forged a guitar out of his dead uncle’s skeleton. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the artist, who goes by Prince Midnight, donated the toilet to Ripley Entertainmentin Orlando, where it currently resides in the a warehouse before shipping off to Denmark. Before that, it enjoyed...
Max and Iggor Cavalera to Celebrate Classic Sepultura Albums with 2022 “Return Beneath Arise” US Tour
Max and Iggor Cavalera are celebrating the classic Sepultura albums Beneath the Remains and Arise with a 2022 US tour. Billed as the “Return Beneath Arise” tour, the outing will see the founding Sepultura members playing a hybrid setlist of tracks from their iconic 1989 and 1991 LPs. The tour kicks off May 22nd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and runs through a June 25th show in Tempe, Arizona. Highlights include an appearance at Maryland Deathfest and a date at the Gramercy Theater in New York City. Get tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video “After Covid-19 us Metal Heads need to release our aggression with some Beneath the Remains and Arise!” stated Max Cavalera in a press release. Iggor Cavalera added: “Can’t wait to perform our “Return Beneath Arise” tour for our North Ameri...
Dave Lombardo Joins Testament as Band’s New Drummer
When Testament announced that they had parted ways with legendary drummer Gene Hoglan last month, it left a gaping hole in the band’s lineup. But the veterans of thrash metal just revealed that they’ve landed perhaps the genre’s greatest drummer, the iconic Dave Lombardo, as their newest member. That’s right, the Dave Lombardo, founding member of Slayer and undisputed champion of the double bass drums, is Testament’s new stickman. Frontman Chuck Billy exclaimed, “I’ll state the obvious: We are more than overwhelmed to welcome back Dave Lombardo to play drums with Testament. We are so excited to share the stage again with Lombardo. Dave added immense power when he joined the band for The Gathering (release), and we are ecstatic to see what new flavor he will bring back to Testament.” Advert...
Spirit Adrift Share Cover of Pantera’s “Hollow”: Stream
Spirit Adrift have covered Pantera‘s “Hollow” to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the latter’s iconic Vulgar Display of Power album. The cover sees the Austin-based Spirit Adrift faithfully paying homage to their Texas metal forebearers. As one of Pantera’s more mid-tempo, melodic songs, “Hollow” works well within Spirit Adrift’s traditional heavy metal framework. It’s no surprise that the song and Vulgar Display of Power were a major influence on singer-guitarist Nate Garrett. “Vulgar Display of Power was a massive influence on my understanding of powerful songwriting, memorable arrangements, riffing, drumming, singing, and heavy metal in general”, Garrett said in a press release. “I studied the entire album from an early age, and the standout track to me has always been ‘Hollow.’ I...
