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Finnish black metal entity PAARA have unveiled “Kylmään kylään”, a new track from their forthcoming third full-length, Laulut tulen ja jään. Due on 30 October via DUSKTONE, the album marks the band’s return after several years away from the spotlight. Beillesztett markdown Watch “Kylmään kylään” via No Clean Singing Sung entirely in Finnish, Laulut tulen […]

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These days, the Flaming Lips are a band in some disarray, and it’s nice to be reminded of a time what that wasn’t the case. Anniversary reissues are good for that. When they released their 2006 album At War With The Mystics, the Lips were already a psych-rock institution who’d become an unlikely touring sensation. Their previous album, 2002’s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, was the biggest thing they’d ever made, and it might still be their defining record. Naturally, they responded to that success by getting weirder.

The post The Flaming Lips Announce <em>At War With The Mystics</em> 20th Anniversary Edition With Previously Unreleased Tracks appeared first on Stereogum.

Filmed at the Sydney Opera House last year.

The post Parkway Drive Reveal Premiere Date & Trailer For Their New Orchestral Live Concert Film ‘HOME’ appeared first on Theprp.com.

In June, Kalia Vandever released their new album Mana. Now, the trombonist and composer is teaming up with Darkside’s Dave Harrington for a joint LP called Evergreen, arriving this fall.

The post Kalia Vandever & Dave Harrington Announce New Album <em>Evergreen</em>: Hear “The Chase” appeared first on Stereogum.

Today, The L.I.F.E. Project, the dynamic collaboration between guitarist and songwriter Josh Rand (Stone Sour) and powerhouse vocalist Casandra Carson (Paralandra, Casandra’s Crossing), are thrilled to reveal their latest reimagining, a hard-hitting take on Led Zeppelin’s iconic “Immigrant Song,” out now via Frontiers Music Srl.

Josh Rand comments: “Like ‘Call Me,’ we never planned to release ‘Immigrant Song.’ In 2019, we moved into a new house, with a new home studio. Really, the music was all put together with me just messing around with the vintage gear I had. Once I started working with Casandra, I asked her if she wanted to take a shot at this for the fun of it.”

Casandra Carson also states: “Ironically, the first time I remember hearing ‘Immigrant Song’ was in Shrek the Third, haha!! The second I heard Snow White sing that Viking war cry, my soul and my senses lit up like I’d been struck by lightning. My dad told me it was a song by Led Zeppelin, and I became as obsessed as a kid who just tried chocolate for the first time. I couldn’t get enough. Years later, when I started performing in bands, ‘Immigrant Song’ remained at the top of my list of songs I wanted to cover. It was only fitting that I would suggest it to Josh, as well, when we first began working together. I guess now I’ll have to watch Shrek the Third again to celebrate our new release.”

Born from a shared musical vision and an undeniable creative chemistry, The L.I.F.E. Project represents a fresh and compelling artistic union. While Rand had long envisioned launching a female-fronted project, it wasn’t until 2020 – when a mutual connection introduced him to Carson – that the idea truly began to take shape. What started as an exploratory collaboration quickly evolved into something far more meaningful, laying the groundwork for a project driven by purpose and artistic synergy.

Musically, The L.I.F.E. Project fuses Rand’s signature heavy riffs and affinity for strong melodic hooks with Carson’s commanding and versatile vocal delivery. Drawing inspiration from classic metal, thrash, and progressive influences, the project channels the raw energy and spirit that first inspired Rand to pick up the guitar, while offering Carson the opportunity to explore new sonic and emotional territories.

Over time, the band has crafted a distinct sound that balances intensity with accessibility, underpinned by a natural creative partnership. Their material reflects a thoughtful and organic development process, allowing ideas to evolve freely and cohesively.

Lyrically, The L.I.F.E. Project sets itself apart by venturing beyond traditional rock themes, embracing broader narratives and concepts. Their songs often draw from history, social issues, and real-world tensions, exploring themes such as empowerment, resistance, and societal challenges. This approach adds depth and substance to their music, complementing its powerful sonic foundation.

The post THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT, Featuring STONE SOUR’s JOSH RAND, Unveils Cover of LED ZEPPELIN’s “Immigrant Song” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

As well as a full backing band.

The post Watch: Tom Morello Performs “Soldier In The Army Of Love” On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ With His Son Roman appeared first on Theprp.com.

And announced a series of 2027 stadium shows supporting Slipknot

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Their debut album is due out at the end of October.

The post Rev3rent Premiere “Lacerations And The Feeling Of Dying” Lyric Video appeared first on Theprp.com.

Nicko McBrain became a Christian in 1999, seventeen years after The Number Of The Beast made Iron Maiden the band American preachers burned in car parks, and the first thing he did was ask his pastor whether a man of faith could keep the job. The Nicko McBrain Christian question, the one fans have asked since he first mentioned his faith, was settled in that one conversation.

Speaking to Metal Hammer ahead of his autobiography Hello Boys And Girls, out October 22, McBrain says the answer was short: ‘If it’s something God doesn’t want you to do, he’ll let you know.’ He put it in prayer, got the sense God was fine with it, and stayed for another twenty-five years. He says he has never felt a moment of worry about it since.

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What Nicko Said

The quote, in full, from the Metal Hammer interview:

‘When I became a Christian man, I put it in prayer and talked to my pastor about continuing in the band.’ And the pastor’s reply, as Nicko tells it: ‘If it’s something God doesn’t want you to do, he’ll let you know.’

So he prayed on it. And, in his words, he got the sense He was okay with it. He’s never felt any worry about Maiden’s music sitting against his beliefs. Not Number Of The Beast. Not the giant devil-puppet Eddie fights on stage. Not any of it.

I find that a much more interesting answer than the one people expect. The assumption is that a Christian in Iron Maiden must be holding his nose, or quietly reinterpreting the songs, or planning his exit. Nicko’s version is simpler. He asked the man whose job it is to answer that question, was told to listen for a no, and never heard one.

How He Got There

The conversion story isn’t new, but it belongs next to this.

His wife was already a born-again Christian and invited him to church. He told TVMaldita back in 2020 what happened when he went: ‘I felt His presence. And right there and then, I gave my heart to God, and I asked Jesus in my life.’ He described it as God and Jesus pushing him forward, not a decision he reasoned his way into.

That was 1999. Think about the timing. Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith had just rejoined; Brave New World was a year away. Maiden were about to have the second act of their career, and their drummer had just found religion. If the pastor had said the other thing, Iron Maiden might have needed a new drummer at the exact moment they were getting the old singer back.

He didn’t say the other thing. He said seven words, and Nicko played on every Maiden record and tour from then until the mini-stroke in January 2023 started taking the feeling out of his left hand.

Why It Was A Real Question In The First Place

If you’re under forty, the Satanic Panic is a meme. If you were around in 1982, it was a fire.

The Number Of The Beast went to number one in the UK that spring, and in the States, conservative religious groups took one look at the title track and the album cover, with Eddie working the devil like a marionette, and decided Iron Maiden were the enemy. Records got burned. Preachers got airtime. The band got thrown off television: Adrian Smith remembers a presenter looking at the sleeve and, as they watched from the wings, ‘recoiling in horror’, after which the band were chucked out.

Bruce Dickinson’s take on it has always been the honest one: ‘It gave us loads of publicity.’ The kids who did want to buy the records, he said, went: ‘Oh cool! The religious right are burning their records! I better buy half a dozen!’

Maiden never were a Satanic band. Number Of The Beast is a nightmare Steve Harris had after watching a horror film. But the panic didn’t care about the lyric sheet, and by the time Nicko joined for Piece Of Mind in 1983, the reputation was already baked in. That’s the band he sat down in a church about, sixteen years later. Given what the religious right had said about his employer, asking the question was the reasonable thing to do. Getting that answer was the lucky one.

The album is forty-four years old now, and if you’ve argued about where it sits in the Maiden catalogue, you know the debate has moved a long way from whether it’s dangerous.

Where Nicko Is Now

He’s still, officially, Iron Maiden’s drummer. He just doesn’t tour.

The mini-stroke in January 2023 affected his left side, and he’s been open about the Future Past tour that year being played with about seventy percent of the feeling in that hand. He retired from the live lineup in December 2024, with Bruce paying tribute from the stage at the final show, and Simon Dawson has held the drum throne on the road since. Nicko has said he’s open to playing on the next studio record if the material is simpler than the last few, which, given how Maiden write, is a genuine if.

In the meantime he’s touring the US with his covers band Titanium Tart, and the autobiography, Hello Boys And Girls, lands October 22 through Harper NonFiction. The faith chapter, on this evidence, is going to be one of the good ones.

The Bit Worth Sitting With

Nicko’s answer works because it wasn’t an answer at all. His pastor didn’t rule on Iron Maiden. He told a new Christian to keep his ears open and trust that he’d be told if he was in the wrong place. Twenty-five years, a dozen albums and a few thousand shows later, Nicko says he never got that message.

You can read that as faith, or as a drummer who wasn’t about to quit the best gig in metal. I think it’s both, and I don’t think Nicko would argue.

TL;DR

• Nicko McBrain became a Christian in 1999 and asked his pastor whether he should stay in Iron Maiden.
• The pastor’s answer: ‘If it’s something God doesn’t want you to do, he’ll let you know.’ Nicko prayed on it, felt God was fine with it, and has never worried since.
• The question mattered because The Number Of The Beast (1982) made Maiden a target of the Satanic Panic: burned records, TV bans, preachers.
• Nicko retired from touring in December 2024 after a January 2023 mini-stroke; Simon Dawson drums live; Nicko remains the official drummer and is open to studio work.
• His autobiography, Hello Boys And Girls, is out October 22 via Harper NonFiction. The quotes are from a new Metal Hammer interview.

FAQ

Does a Christian drummer in the band that made Number Of The Beast change how you hear the record, or does it prove the panic was nonsense all along? Tell us in the comments. Follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

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