Heavy Metal
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Ozzy Osbourne will not go gentle into that good night. Why start now? The metal legend who has been sidelined for much of this year due to ongoing issued tied to a neck injury told Metal Hammer in a new interview that he is working on another album. And, despite canceling his oft-delayed No More […]
Machine Gun Kelly swung back into rock mode last week when he hopped on stage with Mötley Crüe for a live rendition of “The Dirt (Est. 1981),” their 2019 collaboration for the soundtrack to the film adaptation of the band’s biography of the same name. The rapper joined the metal legends during their set at […]
On the eve of the kick-off of their summer tour, Slipknot drummer Shawn “Clown” Crahan announced that he will not be joining the band for the time being in order to spend time with his wife as she deals with an undisclosed health issue. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts […]
In the midst of a week off from Metallica‘s recently launched European leg of their M72 world tour, singer/guitarist James Hetfield took some time to visit an injured Ukrainian soldier who is receiving treatment at Vail Health Hospital in the singer’s Colorado hometown. As reported by the Vail Daily, Ukrainian serviceman Roman Denysiuk was brought […]
Ozzy Osbourne had to make the heartbreaking decision to retire from touring early this year due to a series of health issues, effectively ending a half century of road dog raging. But in a new interview in Metal Hammer magazine conducted by two of his biggest fans — Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D — Ozzy revealed that he’s determined to keep rocking, even if it’s on four wheels.
“I mean, doing a live show is what I live for. I’ve had to cancel my [2023] European tour but I’m determined,” Ozzy told the pair. “I’ve gotta do more gigs if I have to get someone to wheel me out there. I mean, you can’t retire from this game. It’s not a job, it’s a f–king passion. I don’t know how to do anything else. The thought of sitting in my house all day… I’m a road dog, you know? I’ve been doing it f–king 55 years. It’s the best thing to have ever happened to me.”
In February, Osbourne posted a note to fans on social media, saying, “This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans…” In it, he announced that his touring days have come to an end and that his rescheduled European/UK tour dates have been canceled. “Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really f—s me up, more than you will ever know. My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city or country to country.”
Ozzy previously revealed that though his voice is “fine,” after three major operations, stem cell surgeries and other procedures to deal with a spinal injury he suffered four years ago he can no longer deal with life on the road.
It didn’t take long for his team to figure out a way for the 74-year-old metal icon to get back at it, though. His name was at the top of the list in March when the lineup for the inaugural three-night Power Trip metal festival was announced. The Goldenvoice-promoted event will take place in the Coachella Valley in Indio, CA and feature three nights of killer double bills, including Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden, AC/DC sharing the stage with Ozzy on night two and Metallica and Tool closing things out on Oct. 8.
On Instagram, the D revealed that when the magazine asked them to pick their dream interview for a special edition they of course said it had to be Ozzy. “Ozzy was my introduction to heavy metal music,” singer/guitarist Jack Black said. “I bought Blizzard of Ozz back in the early 80’s and it changed my life… once I had the flavour, once I got the taste of Ozzy, it was like getting the taste of blood on your tongue. I couldn’t shake it. Then I went back to his roots and checked out Black Sabbath… Black Sabbath invented metal.”
Check out the Metal Hammer cover below.
Corey Taylor, the frontman of Grammy Award-winning and multiplatinum-selling metal band Slipknot, has signed a “global recordings agreement” with BMG to release his second solo album, Billboard has exclusively learned. The project, called CMF2, will arrive later in 2023.
“I wanted to work with BMG because they came in super hot wanting to work with me, and they’ve been keeping the fires burning for rock, punk and metal over the last few years,” Taylor tells Billboard.
CMF2 will be released on Taylor’s label imprint, Decibel Cooper/BMG, and apparently, he has an eye on helping other talent as well. He explains, “Decibel Cooper will not only allow me to release my own music and art worldwide, but it also gives me a solid way to help bolster any rad new acts I want to put on the roster. BMG is going to help me put my money where my mouth is — giving a boost to the next generation.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Corey Taylor to the BMG family,” executive vp of New York/senior vp of international marketing Jason Hradil said in a statement. “His new album is an extension of the incredible body of work he’s assembled over his career, and we can’t wait for fans around the world to hear it later this year.”
Thomas Scherer, BMG president of repertoire and marketing, Los Angeles and New York, added, “We were completely blown away after hearing Corey’s new album. His music is absolutely brilliant with the marketing skills to match. It is an honor to be the partner for such an inspiring artist and entrepreneur like Corey Taylor and amplify his vision globally.”
Taylor delivered his first solo album, CMFT, in 2020 through Roadrunner Records. It debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200, No. 6 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums, and No. 3 on the Top Hard Rock Albums charts. To date, it has earned 52,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Lead single “Black Eyes Blue” earned him his first No. 1 as a solo artist on Mainstream Rock Songs.
When asked how CMF2 will differ from its predecessor, he described it as “bigger, better and harder than CMFT in almost every way: The songs are sick, the music is gigantic, and the risks were off the charts. CMFT was where I came from; CMF2 is where I’m going.”
Taylor, one of metal’s best-known personalities, has a multifaceted career within and beyond the music industry. Six of Slipknot’s studio albums have reached the top three of the Billboard 200, with three of those titles debuting at the peak. The group has earned 12.1 million equivalent album units and has also logged 4.7 billion official on-demand U.S. streams and 8.3 million downloads. The nine-piece band, whose sinister, evolving masks have become one of the genre’s most identifying symbols, will tour Europe throughout June.
Taylor also fronts multiplatinum hard-rock band Stone Sour, which has been on hiatus after releasing six studio albums between 2002-2017. He penned a four-issue companion comic book to Stone Sour’s House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 and 2 projects and is a New York Times bestselling author of four nonfiction books, the latest being 2017’s America 51. He has several acting credits, including roles in the horror films Rucker and Bad Candy.
For the next entries on his résumé, “I’ve always got a ton of things going on,” says Taylor. Having acquired the Famous Monsters horror brand in late 2022, he says the enterprise is “firing up, on print and digitally,” for he is relaunching its namesake zine and intends to create toys, films and festivals under the banner. “Still in [pre-production] for Zombie Vs. Ninja, the first of the movies I’ve written; still toying with the ideas for my fifth book. You know me — can’t get rid of me!”
On April 18, BMG announced it would combine its new-release and catalog recordings businesses, in recognition of how streaming is blurring the line between catalog and front-line music. In March, the company reported that, in 2022, it enjoyed its best year in its 15-year history, with revenue up over 30% due to strong growth in publishing and recorded music, as well as its $500 million-plus investment in music catalogs and artist signings.
Are you ready for some… emo?! The NFL announced on Wednesday (April 19) that Fall Out Boy will join metal legends Mötley Crüe and bass thumper Thundercat at next week’s NFL Draft Concert Series. The series of shows will take place next week at the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City from April 27-29.
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See latest videos, charts and news
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FOB will be first on the field, hitting the stage after the conclusion of the opening round of the draft on April 27, followed by the Crüe, who will headline after round 3 on April 28. Day three will feature bassist/singer Thundercat, during which the NFL said he will curate a special performance that will “pay tribute to the rich music history and the legacy of jazz in Kansas City.”
All the performances will take place at the Draft Theater in front of the city’s iconic Union Station. General admission fan viewing will be on a standing-room-only, first-come, first-served basis on the North Lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial; the lawn will stay open during the draft and for general fan viewing of the Draft Concert Series, which is free with registration.
The performances will be streamed in full here and live on the NFL Facebook and YouTube pages each night. Parts of the performances will also be televised on the NFL Network and ESPN.
Grammy-nominated singer and KC native Oleta Adams will perform the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and country singer Brittney Spencer will sing the National Anthem live from downtown during the opening festivities. KC-based party band Lost Wax will be the house and at the Draft Theater and perform between draft selections each day.
Metallica kicked off their week-long Jimmy Kimmel Live! residency in style on Monday night (April 10), joking that they were the world’s oldest boy band before tearing through their news ingle about eternal light. When Kimmel noted that some of the fans hanging around outside his studio were the same age that the late 50s/early 60s members were when they started, drummer Lars Ulrich asked the audience to keep their real ages a secret.
Part of the youth wave, Kimmel suggested, was the by-now-iconic placement of “Master of Puppets” in a pivotal scene in the most recent season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. “We wrote that song for Stranger Things in, what, 1980-something?,” singer/guitarist James Hetfield joked during their couch time. “We knew it was gonna happen!”
Hetfield said it was a no-brainer to allow the use of the song in the hit show, saying he’s still “blown away” that people are attracted to the relentless speed metal anthem. “It’s like a nine-minute heavy metal song from 1986 that probably predates most of these people by 25 30 years,” Ulrich said. “It’s just insane. Who would have thought?”
Considering bassist Robert Trujillo’s son played the solo on the show — with tutoring from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett — the guitarist suggested that it might not be too soon to consider tutoring some understudies to take their places at some point. And, because all their children are involved in music in some fashion, Kimmel wondered if they were happy that their offspring are in the family business.
“No, my son’s a drummer,” Hetfield said in a bid to poke Ulrich, who put his hand on James’ arm as he smiled at his pal’s gentle ribbing. “I’m not happy about that at all!” Hetfield doubled down. When Kimmel asked if they’d like it if their kids were in a band together, Ulrich said that might be “pushing it a little bit.” The band also discussed their “For Whom the Band Tolls” marching band competition, their new vinyl pressing plant and Ulrich’s obsession with coming up with different set lists for the two-night stands the band is doing on their upcoming tour.
“The challenge is to figure out how to structure the two sets, no songs can be played twice,” Lars explained. “So there’s a completely blank canvas so that’s always fun.” Tweaking his lifelong pal again, Hetfield said that “somebody sitting here is somewhat obsessed with setlists and putting things together… it’s gonna be okay buddy!”
The band then tore through the blazing first single from 72 Seasons, “Lux Æterna,” to cap off the first night of four-night stand. Metallica will be on Kimmel! through Thursday night (April 13) and will perform “Master of Puppets” on Wednesday, which Kimmel noted is the longest song ever performed on the show. Check out Metallica’s performance and couch chat below.
The Coachella Valley in Indio, CA will be the epicenter of metal this fall when some of the greatest hard rock bands of all time converge for the first-ever PowerTrip Festival. The three-night Goldenvoice-promoted event will kick off on Oct. 6 with a double-bill featuring Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden, according to a release announcing the event on Thursday morning (March 30).
Night two will find AC/DC sharing the stage with Ozzy Osbourne, in the metal legend’s first announced show since Ozzy revealed that he will no longer tour due to health concerns. The final night (Oct. 8) pairs Metallica with Tool. In the release, Goldenvoice promised that the nighttime double-headliner shows will have “unmatched concert production [that] will amplify the experience beyond the traditional stadium or parking lot concert norm.”
Goldenvoice, which is also behind the iconic Indio-based Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach country fest, teased the announcement on Wednesday with a cryptic post featuring the show’s metal fingers logo.
Three-day general admission tickets start at $599 (plus fees), with upgrades available to The Pit, reserved floor and grandstand seating options, as well as a number of VIP packages; click here to learn more and register for first access to tickets beginning today at 1 p.m. ET.
In February, Osbourne, 74, posted a note to fans on social media, saying, “This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to share with my loyal fans…” In it, he announced that his touring days have come to an end and that his scheduled 2023 European/UK tour dates have been canceled. “Believe me when I say that the thought of disappointing my fans really f—s me up, more than you will ever know.”
“My team is currently coming up with ideas for where I will be able to perform without having to travel from city to city or country to country,” he continued in the note. “My goal is to get back onstage as soon as possible.” Ozzy previously revealed that though his voice is “fine,” after three operations, stem cell surgeries and other procedures to deal with a spinal injury he suffered four years ago he can no longer deal with the rigors of touring.
Check out the event poster below.
Metallica has always had a strong independent streak for a band that spent its formative years on a major label. Now, a decade after getting the rights back to their biggest albums, the band is buying Furnace Record Pressing, a plant in Alexandria, Va., to serve its vinyl business, which has grown by keeping catalog albums in print and releasing ambitious box sets aimed at its legions of hardcore fans.
For a decade, Furnace has pressed records for the band, which has a reputation for releasing high-quality vinyl. At a time of supply-chain issues and manufacturing delays, the plant helped the group keep most of its albums available, plus a growing number of ambitious box sets. (Its most recent “black album” box set includes a double LP of the album, three live LPs, 14 CDs and 6 DVDs.) Last year, the group pressed more than 902,500 pieces of vinyl for more than 620,000 packages, according to management, not all of which are made at Furnace. The band sells roughly half of these in the U.S.
“We couldn’t be more happy to take our partnership with Furnace,” and its founders “to the next level,” said Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich in a statement. James Hetfield, the singer-guitarist who co-founded the band with Ulrich, said that the plant had been “great to Metallica and more importantly to our fans,” and that the purchase would ensure that potential vinyl buyers “will have continued access to high quality records in the future.”
Those fans are already buying a good deal of vinyl. In 2022 and 2021, Metallica rated among the best-selling acts on vinyl in the U.S., according to Luminate – No. 6 in 2022, with 387,000 albums sold and No. 7 in 2021 with 337,000 sold. That’s especially remarkable for a brand that hasn’t released a new album since 2016. (In 2022, the group’s most popular release was Master of Puppets, which sold 91,000, followed by “the black album” and Ride the Lightning.) In most years, the U.S. accounts for roughly half of the group’s vinyl sales worldwide.
“Metallica over-indexes dramatically with physical product,” says Marc Reiter, who helps run Blackened Recordings, the band’s label. “The fans enjoy owning the physical product.”
Although the band hasn’t released a new album since 2016 – the new album, 72 Seasons, comes out April 14 – there’s plenty of product out there. The band regularly releases box sets devoted to their albums, most recently Bob Rock-produced “black album,” and does a good job keeping in print its older releases.
Its relationship with Furnace, which goes back almost a decade, has been part of that. “The catalog is always being pressed,” says Brant Weil, head of marketing at Q Prime, the band’s management company. A couple of years after the band got back the rights to its older albums, its management team realized that it needed a steady supply of vinyl that could live up to the bandmembers’ high standards.
Furnace, which then also brokered vinyl pressing capacity at other plants, arranged a deal with Pallas, a German pressing plant with a reputation for high-quality work, and Q Prime was able to arrange to essentially lease its own presses there. “We never want to be out of stock on Metallica vinyl,” Weil says. “I didn’t want our release plans to be dictated by manufacturing timelines.”
At that point, “any vinyl shortages ceased to be,” Reiter says. Eventually, as Furnace started pressing more records itself, they started pressing more for Metallica as well.
Gradually, the two companies grew close. “We looked at them as more of a partner than a client,” says Furnace found CEO Eric Astor. (As it happens, the first record Furnace worked on was the 2008 re-release of “the black album” as an audiophile edition.) Furnace, like Pallas, has a reputation for doing quality work at a time when some pressing plants have sacrificed quality for output. “We’d rather throw out some bad records than make as many as we can,” says Furnace COO Ali Miller. (Discarding some vinyl is a factor in quality control.) Furnace has been pressing copies of the band’s forthcoming album, 72 Seasons, since January.
Furnace will not change much, Astor says, and plans call for the plant to keep working on other projects, as well as ones for Metallica. “They want to keep the quality and service the whole industry,” Astor says. “It will give us the opportunity to invest more.”
The hope is that Furnace can grow – as both a partner to the band, as well as an investment the group and its team have come to understand well. “They have the same indie spirit we have,” Reiter says, “and they like doing things the right way, which is also the Metallica way.”