Rock

Metallica is explaining the meaning behind its new song “Screaming Suicide.”

On Friday (Jan. 20), the legendary heavy metal band unveiled the second single from its upcoming 11th studio album, 72 Seasons, which is scheduled for release on April 14 through Blackened Recordings. “Screaming Suicide” addresses the “taboo word of suicide,” Metallica frontman James Hetfield writes in a statement.

“The intention is to communicate about the darkness we feel inside,” the singer and guitarist says. “It’s ridiculous to think we should deny that we have these thoughts. At one point or another I believe most people have thought about it. To face it is to speak the unspoken. If it’s a human experience, we should be able to talk about it. You are not alone.”

The release of “Screaming Suicide” was accompanied by black-and-white music video directed by Tim Saccenti. The clip’s YouTube caption links to numerous suicide prevention agencies across the world.

72 Reasons is Metallica’s first studio album since Hardwired…to Self-Destruct, which debuted as the band’s sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2016. The rock group previewed its upcoming album in November with first single “Lux Æterna,” which launched at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and topped Mainstream Rock Airplay.

Metallica will launch a world tour in support of 72 Reasons in late April.

See the band’s explanation of “Screaming Suicide” on Instagram below.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 1-800-273-8255.

As Fall Out Boy gear up to promote their upcoming eighth studio album, So Much (For) Stardust (March 24), the veteran emo rockers are down one crucial member. Following this week’s announcement that co-founding guitarist Joe Trohman is taking an indefinite hiatus due to mental health issues, the group performed as a power trio.

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During Wednesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance to play the album’s first single, the supercharged “Love From the Other Side,” singer Patrick Stump played electric guitar alongside bassist Pete Wentz and drummer Andy Hurley, with Trohman’s bouncy, high-energy presence noticeably missing; the band has played without Trohman on stage before when the guitarist suffered a back injury. Though no tour dates have been announced yet for the band’s Stardust era, a source close to FOB tells Billboard that there is tentative plan in place to deal with Trohman’s absence.

As of now, the source says that Trohman’s longtime guitar tech will be “filling in and providing support” for any promotional appearances and any yet-to-be-determined future tour dates. In fact, the tech has already appeared with FOB whether you realized it or not, playing some of Trohman’s parts offstage during recent promo gigs.

Trohman plays on the new album but will not participate in promotion around the project. The guitarist has been with the band since its early 2000s formation in the suburbs of Chicago, alongside singer Stump, Wentz and Hurley. In an Instagram post on Wednesday he said, “Without divulging all the details, I must disclose that my mental health has rapidly deteriorated over the past several years. So, to avoid fading away and never returning, I will be taking a break from work which regrettably includes stepping away from Fall Out Boy for a spell.” 

As for whether he plans to return, the 38-year-old guitarist said, “Absolutely, one-hundred percent. In the meantime, I must recover which means putting myself and my mental health first.”

Through their ups-and-downs, good times, bad times and long bouts of silence, the thing that connected Neil Young and David Crosby was music. In a loving tribute to his old friend and bandmate in CSN&Y, Neil Young noted that while Crosby, who died at 81 on Thursday, “is gone… his music lives on.”
In a personal note posted on his Neil Young Archives site on Friday morning (Jan. 20), the fourth member of what is widely considered to be rock’s first true supergroup weighed in on the loss of his friend and musical partner, calling Crosby, “the soul of CSNY.”

Young wrote that Crosby’s voice and energy were “at the heart of our band. His great songs stood for what we believed in and it was always fun and exciting when we got to play together.” Citing such indelible folk-rock standouts as Crosby’s anguished hippie anthem “Almost Cut My Hair” and the twisty, harmony-drenched title track “Deja Vu,” from the quartet’s 1970 debut album, Young said those songs and many others that Crosby wrote were, “wonderful to jam on and [Stephen] Stills and I had a blast as he kept us going on and on. His singing with Graham [Nash] was so memorable, their duo spot a highlight of so many of our shows.”

Two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Crosby died on Thursday of unknown causes. Crosby was a seminal, pioneering figure in the folk-rock scene for more than six decades as a member of The Byrds; Crosby, Stills & Nash and then Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He also had a prolific solo career, especially in recent years, releasing new music at an almost frenetic pace as he battled a series of health issues. 

Though the two were estranged at times, Young recalled the good years with the singer known as “Croz” to his friends, saying, “We had so many great times, especially in the early years,” adding, “Crosby was a very supportive friend in my early life, as we bit off big pieces of our experience together. David was the catalyst of many things.” Young sent his love to Crosby’s wife, Jan, and son, Django, as well.

“Lots of love to you,” he signed off. “Thanks David for your spirit and songs, Love you man. I remember the best times!”

Nash and Stills earlier weighed in on Crosby’s death, with Nash writing, “It is with a deep and profound sadness that I learned that my friend David Crosby has passed. I know people tend to focus on how volatile our relationship has been at times, but what has always mattered to David and me more than anything was the pure joy of the music we created together, the sound we discovered with one another, and the deep friendship we shared over all these many long years. David was fearless in life and in music. He leaves behind a tremendous void as far as sheer personality and talent in this world. He spoke his mind, his heart, and his passion through his beautiful music and leaves an incredible legacy. These are the things that matter most. My heart is truly with his wife, Jan, his son, Django, and all of the people he has touched in this world.”

In a statement, Stills said, “I read a quote in this morning’s paper attributed to composer Gustav Mahler that stopped me for a moment: ‘Death has, on placid cat’s paws, entered the room.’ I shoulda known something was up. David and I butted heads a lot over time, but they were mostly glancing blows, yet still left us numb skulls. I was happy to be at peace with him. He was without question a giant of a musician, and his harmonic sensibilities were nothing short of genius. The glue that held us together as our vocals soared, like Icarus, towards the sun. I am deeply saddened at his passing and shall miss him beyond measure.”

In a testament to the wide-ranging influence Crosby had to generations of singers and songwriters, his death was mourned by everyone from Melissa Etheridge — who asked Croz to be the biological father of her children in the 1990s — to the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Jason Isbell, Hanson, Chuck D, Sebastian Bach, Rosanne Cash, the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan and many, many more.