Thrash Metal
Foo Fighters Go Extreme Metal on New Song “March of the Insane”: Stream
Foo Fighters have unleashed their inner extreme-metal inner selves on the new song “March of the Insane.” Released under the band moniker Dream Widow, the song conjures up early thrash reminiscent of Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, and other likeminded acts. While Foo Fighters’ new horror movie, Studio 666, doesn’t arrive until February 25th, it’s probably safe to assume that Dream Widow are a fictional band referenced in the film. The movie is centered around the Foos’ attempt to record a new album in a haunted mansion. The tune, which according to the YouTube description, is from Dream Widow’s “never-released self-titled album.” It’s thrashy as hell, with some very metal vocals from Dave Grohl and spectacular lyrics like, “Sing in a villainous choir / Join in chorus of pain.” Advertisement ...
Destruction Announce 2022 North American Tour
German thrash veterans Destruction have announced a Spring 2022 North American tour with Nervosa, Sunlord, and VX3. The dates will support the release of Destruction’s forthcoming album, Diabolical, arriving April 8th. The outing kicks off April 28th in Brooklyn, New York, and wraps up on May 28th in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Destruction will then appear at Maryland Deathfest the following day (May 29th) in Baltimore. You can buy tickets to the main tour dates via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video “Yes — we are super thrilled: the first tour of the new record, Diabolical, will kick off in North America!” remarked Destruction’s Schmier in a press release. “We could not tour there on the last album because of the pandemic, so we made it a top priority to return as soon as the circ...
R.I.P. Jon Zazula, Megaforce Records Founder Who Helped Launch Metallica’s Career Dies at 69
Jon Zazula, the legendary founder of Megaforce Records, has died at age 69. Sadly, his passing comes just one year after the death of his wife, Marsha, who co-founded the iconic metal label with her husband. According to Variety, a rep for Megaforce confirmed that Jon Zazula passed away on Tuesday (February 1st) in Florida, where he was surrounded by his brother, daughters, and granddaughters, as well as a number of friends and associates. Known as “Jonny Z,” Zazula was a major force in the metal world, helping to launch the careers of Metallica, Anthrax, and many other bands. He and Marsha essentially founded Megaforce in order to sign Metallica to their first record deal, releasing the band’s groundbreaking 1983 debut album, Kill ‘Em All. The thrash titans stuck with Megaforce for their ...
Testament Part Ways with Drummer Gene Hoglan in Advance of “Bay Strikes Back” Tour
Testament have announced that they’ve parted ways with drummer Gene Hoglan as they prepare to headline the “Bay Strikes Back” tour this spring. The veteran thrash band cited scheduling conflicts involving Hoglan’s other projects as the primary reason for the split. Hoglan, one of heavy metal’s most skilled and respected drummers, has earned the nickname “The Atomic Clock” for his precision playing. He briefly played in Testament from 1996 to 1997, appearing on 1997’s Demonic. He then rejoined the band in 2011 and had been Testament’s drummer for the past 10-plus years, performing on their last three albums, including 2020’s Titans of Creation. A statement from Testament reads as follows: “First off, we are beyond grateful to have had Gene Hoglan behind our drum throne for ten years, severa...
Mind-Blowing Mashup Combines Slayer and Prince for “Crazy Black Magic”: Stream
YouTube mashup master Bill McClintock has struck gold once again, combining Slayer and Prince for the mind-blowing “Crazy Black Magic.” Slayer and Prince both rose to prominence in the 1980s, but one would think the musical similarities end there. Somehow, McClintock found a way to perfectly sync Slayer’s proto-blackened thrash anthem “Black Magic” to Prince’s legendary party-starter “Let’s Go Crazy.” Enter “Sprayer,” as McClintock has dubbed this thrash-pop Frankenstein. The Prince backing track plays as usual, but Slayer frontman Tom Araya becomes an exuberant hype man as his screams line up with the chord structure and tempo of “Let’s Go Crazy.” If that’s not enough, there’s even a little Led Zeppelin sprinkled in toward the end. It must be heard to be believed. Advertisement Related Vi...
Exodus’ Gary Holt Thinks “Shitty Metallica” Mention in New Cobra Kai Season Is “Rad”
Exodus got a big mention in the new season of Netflix’s popular series Cobra Kai, although it had one character referring to the veteran thrash band as “shitty Metallica.” Nonetheless, guitarist Gary Holt is celebrating the “massive Exodus reference.” In the scene (a minor spoiler), the character of Raymond (also known as “Stingray”) — played by Paul Walter Hauser — is confronted by a neighbor, who tells him, “Some freeloader was blaring shitty Metallica all night!” To which Stingray responds, “Yeah, that was actually Exodus’ Bonded by Blood, but it’s not your fault, you don’t know the genre.” Holt, a longtime member of Exodus who also played guitar in Slayer’s final lineup, posted the clip on his Instagram account, writing, “RAD!! One of my favorite shows just threw a massive Exodus refer...
Music Store Customer Anonymously Gifts Pantera-Loving Kid a Dimebag Darrell Guitar
Fallon, a youth impacted by Williams Syndrome, dreamed of owning a Dean Dimebag Darrell ML guitar — the late Pantera guitarist’s signature model. Thanks to one gracious anonymous music store customer, that dream came true. Music store J.B. Hart Music Co., Inc. in Grand Junction, Colorado, shared the touching story on Facebook, offering backstory about Fallon and the guitar, which became inseparable over the past couple years. Fallon would often come into the shop and specifically request to play the “Pantera” guitar, meaning the Dean Dimebag Darrell ML guitar, and proceed to lay down his favorite Pantera riffs. Advertisement Related Video “We were shocked he knew some Dimebag riffs,” the store wrote in its Facebook post. “Fallon is impacted by Williams Syndrome and has an excellent knowled...
Dave Mustaine Teases New Megadeth Song “Life in Hell” from Upcoming Album: Listen
Dave Mustaine has offered up a holiday treat in the form of a snippet of the new song “Life in Hell” from Megadeth’s upcoming album. The frontman shared the brief audio clip in a Cameo video for a fan named Gabe. While Megadeth’s new album still doesn’t have a release date, Mustaine has mentioned that the LP is slated to be titled The Sick, The Dying and The Dead. While Mustaine tells Gabe he’s the first person in the “outside world” to hear music from the new album, the metal legend did share a snippet of the title track in a previous Cameo video for a fan named Joe back in July. In the new Cameo clip, Mustaine wishes Gabe a Merry Christmas before telling him, “I will play you something that’s been recorded already and is special. How would you like to hear a little bit of the new album? ...
Overkill Announce 2022 US Tour with Prong
Thrash metal cult heroes Overkill have announced a March 2022 US tour with support from Prong. The 16-show outing will hit venues across the Midwest and East Coast, kicking off March 3rd in Poughkeepsie, New York, and running through a March 19th date in Stroudsburgh, Pennsylvania. Get tickets via Ticketmaster. The New Jersey-based Overkill are still touring in support of 2019’s The Wings of War, their latest studio album. However, the veteran band is also celebrating the recent release of a 6-LP box set, The Atlantic Years 1986-1996, collecting Overkill’s major-label studio albums from that time. Related Video Overkill are also hard at work on a new album, with bassist D.D. Verni telling Misplaced Straws in September, “We’re recording it right now, a good portion of it’s done. It keeps ge...
Metallica Dig Out More Deep Cuts for Second and Final 40th Anniversary Show: Review
Setting the Stage: The first night of Metallica’s two 40th anniversary shows at in San Francisco’s Chase Center delivered a strong career-spanning set, so expectations ran high for Night 2 a couple of evenings later (Sunday, December 19th). Once more, no special guests were present for this final performance (unlike their 30th anniversary concerts), but quite a few setlist surprises occurred. Similar to the first night, the setlist was constructed in a manner that featured a tune or two from each album chronologically. But, this night, instead of starting from 1983’s Kill ‘Em All and running through 2016’s Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, it was set up in reverse order, starting with the band’s last album and finishing up with selections from their debut. Taking the Stage: As with the fi...
Metallica Rep Every Album At First of Two 40th Anniversary Shows: Concert Review + Photos
Setting the Stage: It’s hard to believe, but it has been 40 years since thrash legends Metallica first formed. And to celebrate this impressive career accomplishment, the band — frontman James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist Robert Trujillo, and drummer Lars Ulrich — booked two arena shows (December 17th and 19th) at San Francisco’s Chase Center. When those concerts quickly sold out, the metal titans announced they were making the shows available to stream for free via Prime Video and Amazon Music. Unlike their livestreams from last year, including the charity show Helping Hands Concert & Auction, Live & Acoustic from HQ, each night of the “40th Anniversary Live” performances is taking place in front of a sold-out arena, with tickets initially being made available exclusi...
Voivod Detail New Album Synchro Anarchy, Share New Song “Planet Eaters”: Stream
Legendary Canadian metal band Voivod have shared the video for “Planet Eaters,” the lead single from their just-announced 15th studio album, Synchro Anarchy, out February 11th. Voivod have kept up a prolific pace of output across nearly four decades and continue to push their brand of technical progressive thrash to the outer limits of experimentation. “Planet Eaters” picks up where the band left off with the excellent 2018 offering, The Wake. The spacey chord voicing, cosmos-obsessed lyrics, and a decidedly ambitious take on the signature Voivod sound make the track a thrilling way to introduce the new record. Advertisement Related Video As drummer Michel “Away” Langevin stated in a press release, the band felt that “Planet Eaters” had a “vintage Nothingface/Hatröss vibe” in reference to ...
