Thrash Metal
Heavy Culture: Alien Weaponry on Māori Ideology, New Album Tangaroa, and Touring with Gojira
Heavy Culture is a monthly column from journalist Liz Ramanand, focusing on artists of different cultural backgrounds in heavy music, as they offer their perspectives on race, society, and more as it intersects with and affects their craft. The latest installment of this column features Lewis and Henry de Jong of Alien Weaponry. New Zealand metal act Alien Weaponry have recently released their latest album, Tangaroa, and they also wrapped up a tour supporting supporting Gojira and Knocked Loose. The band’s music is written and sung in both Māori and English, with themes that center around the ideologies and history of the culture. Heavy Consequence caught up with brothers Lewis de Jong (vocals, guitar) and Henry de Jong (drums) while they were on the road with Gojira. They spoke about tour...
In Photos: Testament, Exodus and Death Angel Play Only “Bay Strikes Back” Show of 2021
Although the official “Bay Strikes Back Tour” has been postponed until 2022, Testament, Exodus, and Death Angel brought the joint bill to the Fox Theater in Oakland on Saturday (November 27th) for a sold-out one-night gig this past weekend — giving their hometown fans a chance to celebrate the legacy of not only the music, but also the rich history of all three bands. Together, the three legendary acts combined to write yet another chapter in the ongoing story of Bay Area thrash metal. Hitting the stage with the intro to “The Ultra-Violence,” Death Angel were in top form from the word “go,” and kicked off the evening with a blistering eight song set, wasting no time pumping up the already voracious crowd. Vocalist Mark Osegueda had every person in the already packed venue in the palm of hi...
Master of Flushes: Toilet in the Likeness of Metallica’s Lars Ulrich Is Creepy as Hell
We shit you not — someone made a toilet bowl in the likeness of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, and it’s freaking us out. The man behind the creepy creation is none other than the same dude who may or may not have made a guitar out of his dead uncle’s bones. Prince Midnight, as he is known, made headlines at the beginning of this year when he seemingly created a guitar out of his dead uncle’s skeleton. He had claimed that the skeleton had been donated to a local college in Greece, where it was used for educational purposes, but was no longer needed by the institution. When a proper burial would have incurred some major expenses, he decided to turn the bones into a functional guitar. However, later reports suggested the whole thing may have been an elaborate hoax. This time there’s no denyin...
Metallica Announce San Francisco Takeover Coinciding with 40th Anniversary Shows
Metallica are turning their 40th anniversary into a complete takeover of San Francisco, unveiling a series of events coinciding with their previously announced December arena shows at the city’s Chase Center. A number of club gigs featuring bands related to Metallica (in some cases, literally related), as well as gallery shows, book signings, film screenings, and more will take place over the course of a few days next month. Of course, the main events are Metallica’s two shows at the Chase Center on December 17th and 19th. Ten years ago, the band commemorated their 30th anniversary with a series of shows at the Fillmore that featured past members of the group (including Dave Mustaine and Jason Newsted), as well as a number of metal luminaries. Hopefully, there will be lots of surprises in ...
Metallica Announce Mysterious “Black Box” Time Capsule Vault
Metallica have announced a mysterious time capsule vault dubbed the “Black Box.” The band revealed the new venture in a press release. It appears the “Black Box” will be a Metallica museum of sorts, featuring historical content from the band’s career ranging from the “virtual to the physical.” “James, Lars, Kirk and Robert will ‘unbox’ their collections, pulling their favorite, most significant, and personally meaningful artifacts out of careful storage,” the press release states. “Much more than a ‘gateway’ to all things Metallica, The Metallica Black Box, in collaboration with Inveniem and Definitive Authentic, will provide access to the memories and experiences of the band members themselves, as it transports those who enter to lvirtually every imaginable time and place along the Metall...
Testament’s Alex Skolnick Shares Video for New Song “Florida Man Blues” feat. Brian Posehn: Stream
Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick has shared the video for his new song with the Alex Skolnick Trio, “Florida Man Blues.” The clip features cameos by heavy metal comedians Brian Posehn and Dave Hill. Skolnick wrote and recorded the track with his band back in 2019. After sitting on the song for nearly two years, the guitarist finally shared the blues-based romp, which is clearly inspired by the “Florida Man” meme headlines coming out of the Sunshine State. A comedic song needed a comedic clip, so Skolnick tapped Adam Dubin for “Florida Man Blues.” Dubin co-directed the Beastie Boys’ legendary “Fight for Your Right” video, and Skolnick even smashes a TV with a sledgehammer in homage to Adam Yauch. Posehn and Hill make humorous appearances, the latter as an alligator-carrying booze enthusias...
Slayer’s 10 Best Songs
Few bands epitomize heavy metal better than Slayer. From their Satanic speed metal beginnings to the their legendary thrash masterpieces recorded with producer Rick Rubin, Slayer would come to define metal in iconography, aesthetics, and sound. For many, Slayer have proven to be a gateway band to extreme metal. More brutal, aggressive, and blasphemous than Metallica, Megadeth, or Anthrax, Slayer represent the left hand path. Adorning their albums with Satanic and darkly Biblical artwork by Larry W. Carroll, the band would influence the burgeoning black metal scene in the ’80s and ’90s, as well as achieving commercial success as part of the aforementioned Big Four of thrash metal. Slayer’s core lineup of guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, singer-bassist Tom Araya, and drummer Dave Lom...
David Ellefson: Megadeth “Kicked” Me to the “Side of the Road”
David Ellefson has continued to open more about his removal from Megadeth. In a new interview with “The Jeremy White Podcast,” the ousted bassist expressed some resent toward the Megadeth camp for the lack of empathy and support they provided in the aftermath of Ellefson’s compromising online sexual encounter. After explaining that he felt it best to address the scandal head-on, Ellefson explained that Megadeth took a different approach, instead issuing a statement that further incited backlash against the bassist. Particularly the statement’s wording: “There are clearly aspects of David’s private life that he has kept to himself.” Advertisement Related Video Ellefson said that the reactionary statement was “based on fear” on the part of Megadeth. “It wasn’t based on reality,” he continued...
R.I.P. Malcolm Dome, Veteran Music Journalist Who Coined the Term “Thrash Metal” Dies at 66
Malcolm Dome, a longtime music journalist who primarily covered metal and hard rock, has died at the age of 66. The veteran writer is credited with coining the term “thrash metal” in an article about Anthrax in 1984. The UK journalist got his start in the 1970s, writing for Record Mirror and Metal Fury magazines, before landing with Kerrang! upon its launch in 1981. His passing was reported by the website Louder, which encompasses the magazines Prog, Classic Rock, and Metal Hammer, all of which Dome contributed to during his lengthy journalism career. In 1981, Dome put out a book called Encyclopedia Metallica, which may have inspired the legendary metal band’s name. More directly, he referred to Anthrax’s music as “thrash metal” while writing about the band’s song “Metal Thrashing Mad” in ...
Don’t Worry, Metallica Are Here to Teach You How to Be a Band
Who better to teach a class on how to be a band than one that’s seen it all? Enter Metallica! The metal legends will be the first band to use the virtual MasterClass teaching platform and will “unpack 40 years of success and share principles of communication, collaboration, creativity, perseverance, and longevity.” The course is now available via MasterClass’ subscription service. According to the description, Metallica walk viewers through the interpersonal dynamics of being in a longstanding band, as well as analyze some of their greatest songs such as “Enter Sandman” and “Master of Puppets.” Advertisement Related Video In addition to learning techniques related to songwriting and arrangement, the masterclass features social topics, such as the audience-performer relationship and ad...
David Ellefson on Megadeth Ousting: I’m “Disappointed” but “Not Bitter”
David Ellefson has directly addressed his firing from Megadeth in a new interview, stating that he is “disappointed” but “not bitter.” Earlier this week, we reported on the bassist giving his first post-Megadeth interview, though he was not directly asked about his firing from Megadeth in that conversation. Now, in a separate interview, Ellefson has discussed his exit from Megadeth. Speaking with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk, Ellefson opened up about the sexually compromising incident with a young woman that led to his ousting, as well as his relationship with Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. Advertisement Related Video For context, Ellefson was initially accused of grooming an underage fan for an online sexual encounter. Videos of the encounter were leaked online by a separate party, leading to...
David Ellefson Gives First Post-Megadeth Interview: “I’m Perfectly Content”
David Ellefson has given his first interview since being ousted from Megadeth earlier this year. Ellefson was fired from the thrash band after an embarrassing sexually compromising online encounter with a young woman went public, but seemed unfazed in the new interview. The bassist is currently promoting his new band, The Lucid, and opened up about his career after Megadeth. “It’s fun to create for creation’s sake and not because it has to be motivated from anything else,” Ellefson told Aftershocks TV (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “So I guess I’m kind of glad to just be right where I’m at. To be honest, I’m perfectly content and happy where I am right now. I’m not gonna lie — it’s perfectly fine. So I’m all good.” Advertisement Related Video Ellefson doesn’t get into specifics regardin...
