Thrash Metal
Exodus Drummer Tom Hunting Reveals Battle with Gastric Cancer
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-13T15:43:32+00:00“>April 13, 2021 | 11:43am ET Tom Hunting, the founding and longtime drummer of thrash legends Exodus, has revealed that he is battling the form of cancer known as squamous cell carcinoma. The veteran metal musician insists he’s “gonna beat this like a f**king snare drum that owes me money.” While squamous cell carcinoma is most closely associated with the skin, Hunting is fighting a gastric form of the cancer, which is very rare. The drummer was diagnosed with the disease in February, but has a positive outlook as he begins his treatment. In a press release, Hunting delivered the following message to Exodus fans about his diagnosis and his mission to help raise ...
Anthrax’s 2021 Record Store Day Release Includes a Functional Custom Mini Turntable
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-08T18:17:04+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 2:17pm ET Anthrax have teamed up with Record Store Day for a bundle of four 3-inch vinyl singles to go along with a custom miniature turntable. Both will be released as part of the second RSD drop, with the vinyl bundle out July 9th and the turntable arriving July 17th. Drummer Charlie Benante oversaw the creation of the custom turntable, working with popular turntable brand Crosley on the limited run of 1,000 units. Inspired by the 3-inch vinyl releases of Japan, Benante even designed the artwork for the singles, basing the sleeves on his old Japanese KISS and Iron Maiden 7-inch collection. The turntables will be sold separately from the vinyl ...
Power Trip Members and Obituary Honor Riley Gale with “Executioner’s Tax” Performance: Watch
Obituary have paid tribute to late Power Trip singer Riley Gale, who tragically passed away last summer. The death metal pioneers invited members of Power Trip onto a recent livestream for a cover of the latter’s staple song, “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)”. Power Trip guitarists Blake Ibanez and Nick Stewart made a surprise guest appearance for the cover, which was dedicated to Gale. It’s likely the first public performance by members of Power Trip since Gale’s death. Obituary did the rollicking track justice, and the unmistakeable riffage of Ibanez and Stewart sounded nothing short of triumphant given all that’s happened. We previously reported on the first interview with the members of Power Trip since their August 25th statement confirming the death of their singer. While speaki...
Grammys 2021: Body Count Win Best Metal Performance, Earning Ice-T His First Grammy in 30 Years
Body Count won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance on Sunday, earning frontman Ice-T his first award at the ceremony in 30 years. The band won the award for “Bum Rush”, from their 2020 album, Carnivore. The veteran metal act beat out fellow nominees Code Orange, In This Moment, Poppy, and Power Trip for the award. Power Trip were nominated following the tragic death of lead singer Riley Gale this past summer, and Ice-T would have been just as happy if they had won. As he told Heavy Consequence last year, he was equally rooting for Power Trip, telling us, “It would be just like I won the Grammy ’cause [Riley Gale] was my guy.” Prior to Gale’s passing, the Power Trip vocalist guested on Body Count’s song “Point the Finger”. The Grammy win for Body Count is their first as a band, and the fi...
Dave Lombardo and Scott Ian Record Score for Melissa McCarthy’s Netflix Film Thunder Force
Thrash metal legends Dave Lombardo and Scott Ian contributed to the score of the upcoming Netflix film Thunder Force, starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. Lombardo (founding drummer for Slayer and current member of Dead Cross, Suicidal Tendencies, and the Original Misfits) and Ian (founding Anthrax guitarist) recently collaborated together as part of the reunited Mr. Bungle, recording 2020’s The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo. Composer Fil Eisler brought the metal icons in on the movie project, sharing the news in a tweet with a picture of the trio together: “I have the pleasure of not only scoring the movie but having two of my childhood heroes @Scott_Ian and @TheDaveLombardo play on the score.” In a retweet, Lombardo added, “April 9th!! Save the date comedy loving d...
Metallica Celebrate Master of Puppets Anniversary by Crushing “Battery” on Colbert: Watch
With Wednesday (March 3rd) marking the 35th anniversary of their landmark album Master of Puppets, Metallica returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to celebrate the iconic LP. The metal masters performed one of the thrash masterpiece’s standout tracks, “Battery”. Metallica really couldn’t have gone wrong with any song off the 1986 album. As we pointed out in our new retrospective piece on Master of Puppets, the band’s third LP is all killer, no filler from front to back. In fact, it’s arguably the greatest thrash metal album ever made. Positioned next to a graphic of the Master of Puppets album cover, Stephen Colbert introduced the performance by saying, “Their album Master of Puppets was released 35 years ago today, and had such an impact that it was added to the National Recordin...
Dave Lombardo Reveals That His Classic Slayer Drum Sets Were Stolen
In a new interview, drummer Dave Lombardo has revealed that all of his classic Slayer drum kits were stolen in various thefts over the years. Lombardo offered up the awful news during a recent appearance on YouTube metal program “Hangin’ and Bangin’”. In addition to having two storage units broken into, a Slayer rehearsal room in Riverside, California, was also pilfered, resulting in the loss of Lombardo’s classic kits from his long stint as a founding member of the legendary thrash band. When asked the standard and typically innocuous question of how many drums he owns, Lombardo took a somber tone, replying, “Unfortunately… I don’t have many. Two storage units, at two different times in periods of my life, were broken into. So, I think, probably five-six drum kits out of the first storage...
Lzzy Hale and Members of Code Orange and Baroness Cover Pantera’s “Mouth for War”: Watch
Two Minutes to Late Night‘s “Bedroom Covers” quarantine series rolls on, and the latest socially distanced collab is an all-star rendition of the Pantera classic “Mouth for War”. Among the participants is Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale, Baroness guitarist Gina Gleason, and Code Orange guitarist/vocalist Reba Meyers. Rounding out the lineup is Year of the Knife’s Madi Watkins, drummer Ben Koller of Mutoid Man, along with “Two Minutes” host Gwarsenio Hall (aka Jordan Olds). Needless to say, it’s a star-studded ensemble, and they rip through the opening track from Pantera’s 1992 thrash masterpiece, Vulgar Display of Power. “Mouth for War” is one of Pantera’s most extreme songs both vocally and guitar-wise. The collection of talented musicians do Philip Anselmo and Dimebag Darrell justice in ...
Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine and Gibson Announce Partnership, New Line of Guitars
Megadeth legend Dave Mustaine is Gibson’s latest brand ambassador. The two announced the mutual partnership today along with a new line of Mustaine signature model electric and acoustic guitars across Gibson’s three brands: Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer. It’s a major announcement for Mustaine and his fans, who’ve probably grown accustomed to seeing the iconic metal frontman shredding on a Dean guitar, his previous brand partner. Gibson’s new Dave Mustaine Collection will see the launch of signature model guitars at various price points, depending on the brand — much like KISS founder Gene Simmons’ recently unveiled line of Gibson brand basses and guitars. In fact, Mustaine vividly recalls a childhood memory of seeing Simmons and KISS wield Gibson guitars on the sleeve of their legendary Ali...
Metallica’s BlizzCon Performance Audio Replaced With Goofy Instrumental Music on Twitch: Watch
Metallica headlined video-game maker Blizzard Entertainment’s virtual BlizzCon 2021 event on Friday (February 19th), but those watching on Twitch were treated to an evening of … elevator music. Due to copyright concerns, Twitch replaced Metallica’s thunderous brand of heavy metal with a generic instrumental that made the legendary band’s performance look downright silly. Things started out okay, with frontman James Hetfield introducing the performance by recalling how Metallica headlined the typically in-person Blizzcon event back in 2014, adding, “We would love to be there this year, but obviously can’t be … so here we are, and this is for you.” Beaming in from their Bay Area band headquarters, Metallica launched into their classic song “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, and everything soun...
Lars Ulrich’s Father Has Released a New Album at Age 92
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich’s father, Torben Ulrich, has released a new album at age 92. The spoken-word collaboration with cellist Lori Goldston is titled Oakland moments: cello, voice, reuniting (rejoicing) and arrived on Bandcamp and limited cassette tape on February 5th. The album features Torben reciting text and poetry over Goldston’s cello. If that triggers a Lulu flashback, don’t worry: Goldston’s playing quite pleasant, and Torben’s narration has a relaxing ASMR vibe to it. Lars took to Instagram to congratulate his father: “92 years old and just getting started…Today, as one does at his age, he’s putting out another record… This one being a collaboration with his dear friend @legoldston.” The fact that Torben is releasing new music at age 92 shouldn’t be too surprising. He’s ma...
Metallica Perform “Enter Sandman” on Super Bowl Edition of Colbert: Watch
Metallica rocked a special Super Bowl edition of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Sunday night. The metal masters offered up a rousing rendition of “Enter Sandman”, set against a special backdrop that paid homage to the band’s recent concert history. Entering their 40th year as a band, Metallica sounded as strong as ever on the late-night performance, with frontman James Hetfield delivering a powerful vocal. The metal icons played in front of a stack of speaker cabinets from various tours and special concerts of the past 20 years, including shows at Yankee Stadium (“Mariano Rivera Day”), Oracle Park (San Francisco Giants “Metallica Night”), and the band’s own 2013 Orion Music + More Festival in Detroit, among others. The pandemic forced Metallica off the road in 2020, but the metal le...
