Category: news

They've confirmed shows through July, with a kickoff later this month. Continue reading…

The world of heavy music is doing extremely well these days. But it’d be doing a little better if any of these bands would come back.

The post 15 Metal Bands That Need To Reunite appeared first on Metal Injection.

Foo Fighters unveil “Your Favorite Toy,: the title track to their 12th album, arriving April 24 via Roswell/RCA.

The post FOO FIGHTERS Stream New Single "Your Favorite Toy," Announce 12th Studio Album appeared first on Metal Injection.

CJ Hooper. That just sounds like the name of a country musician. Or maybe a high school football star being recruited by every school in the SEC. I don’t know if Hooper played football in high school, but he was Texas-raised before moving to his now-home in Washington state. More to the point, he just […]

Straddling the yawning divide between Black Sabbath, Bad Brains, the Lunachicks, Public Image Limited, Minor Threat and Babes in Toyland comes Maryland-based spasmodic punkers Pearl. Featuring current and ex-members of Celebration, Wet Brain, Hormone, Alone Time and Mallwalker, as well as the prolific Sienna Cureton-Mahoney — as in, she was (or is) in most of the aforementioned bands — Pearl offers short, aggressive shots of guitar wash hardcore, bass heavy angularity, urbanite rage and the uncomfortable feeling you get when you leave a house show covered in the singer’s dried sweat and spittle.

The Baltimore band have a new album coming down the pipe on 20/20 Records entitled Love & Grief. In the lead up to its April 20th release, they’ve been hitting the promotional circuit with song and video premieres, including Decibel’s airing of the video for “Act Like Sisters” today. When asked about the song and accompanying video, Cureton-Mahoney replied with: “‘Act Like Sisters’ is the epitome of any horror movie in which the lead actress is pushed to her limits, combusting into a Carrie-like fury after being manipulated one too many times. I channeled these women as I wrote the song, reflecting on the few times when I’ve been confronted with the knowledge of someone I respect fully lying to my face. Should I take the high road or should I burn everything to the ground? This song is about the latter. It’s the metaphorical slap of having trust broken and the violent gut reaction that follows. Each song on the album Love & Grief is a different facet on the emotional scale and ‘Act Like Sisters’ is steeped in rage.”

Check out/preorder/further investigate Love & Grief at the band’s Bandcamp or 20/20 Records.

And here’s the Alexa Bristol-directed video for lead off single “Party” because why not…?

The post Video/Track Premiere: Screaming At All the Walls With Baltimore Punks PEARL appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Power metal outfit Vicious Rumors experienced a major shakeup in their lineup with the ousting of their longtime drummer Larry Howe. It was a major shift that wasn’t brought about because of misconduct, poor play, or internal strife within the band, but rather for his “extreme” political views that the band says has led to shows being cancelled.

The move to get rid of Howe was announced via social media yesterday, with the band offering the following explanation:

“After years of disagreement on the issue, Vicious Rumors will no longer be touring with longtime drummer Larry Howe.

“As a band, we have never agreed with Larry’s personal political ambitions. As hard as it is to let an original member go, VR can no longer tolerate being punished by association for Larry’s personal opinions. They do not reflect the opinion of Vicious Rumors. Our message is simple and clear: Unity! and celebrating heavy metal together!”

The band said their overarching mission statement of uniting people through metal hasn’t changed since their inception back in 1979. In addition, they announced that Howe agreed to remain on the band’s touring roster throughout the remainder of their U.S. leg of the ‘Devil’s Asylum Tour’, before announcing their new touring drummer.

Shortly after posting that initial statement, the band issued a second clarification of what went down and why the decision was made to let Howe go. In it, they said the band was “about the music” and not politics.

“VR is about the music! Not politics! Due to Larrys extreme views that have nothing to do with VR – four shows have been canceled / so far because of this. It’s not about choosing sides in VR it’s about entertainment for all.

“When the band is penalized this severly and our live events are being canceled, for one outspoken belief a change has to be made.”

In the wake of the band’s decision, Howe offered his own personal statement to what went down. Needless to say, the “rock n’ roll patriot” subscribes to a certain side of the political spectrum and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess what his views are.

Either way, here’s his statement:

“The skull. A depiction often used in vicious rumors merchandise and logos as in numerous other heavy metal bands. The reason being that it is the denomination of the collective gathering of a particular type of music enthusiast, the heavy metal fan.

“The main reason for this is that it is the one characteristic that we all share. It does not matter what color skin lies on top of the skull, what color the hair -or if there is any, and also for what goes on inside between the ears. All these things can be different, the one thing that we all have in common is the skull. Nothing can change this. Those differences are the things we should all look beyond as we listen to the music we love, and attend live shows playing the music, taking us away from a judgmental world if only just for a few hours at a show.

“So when I see junk journalism in what amounts to a grocery store gossip rag disguising itself as a heavy metal magazine, chastising band members such as myself and other musicians for their proclivities and beliefs, I see it as a crack in the system. These types of divide and conquer tactics are usually embraced by controlling authoritarian oligarchs, or corrupt career politicians, or DIGITAL DICTATORS. This cannot stand.

“The heavy metal industry as a whole is one of the smallest markets in the entire music industry, and we shouldn’t allow it to disintegrate through infighting like children yelling on a playground in a ‘cancel culture’. Yes, I am guilty of reposting some memes that have upset some people. It was not my intention and I humbly apologize.

“But we cannot afford to let this bastardization of opinion splinter the very foundation of the heavy metal scene around the planet. We need to embrace our differences to be stronger than ever, and remain vigilant and yearn for the freedom to express our opinions and thoughts without such a destructive result. United we stand divided we fall . Remember, in the state run entity, there is no music or freedom of speech, and this is something that we simply cannot ever allow to happen.

“Musicians and fans alike look forward to these gatherings as a way to escape the banalities of life. Work related problems, stress , loss of relationships, marriage, divorces, foreclosure, bankruptcy… etc. etc. These are the things we ALL need to leave behind as we attend live music events.

“If you feel the need to attack any musician over something they have randomly said or posted, you have that right. That is the double edged sword of freedom of speech. But please don’t seek to destroy the heavy metal scene we’ve all been building for decades. It is like one big family and we need for it to remain so. Whatever our differences may be.

“So now I will politely walk away from the European tour since the German promoters felt the need to cancel the shows Geoff had worked so hard to arrange for our fans. This is an unfortunate result. Please continue to support the band that has been such a big part of my life for so long. FYI, I’m still doing all of the American shows.! It really should be an interesting tour!! don’t miss it!”

Yeahhh, I think we can all guess who Howe voted for…

Either way, if you still want to support Vicious Rumors — and you absolutely should if you’re a fan — be sure to catch them while they’re on tour at the following dates.

2/25 Orlando, FL West End Trading Co.
2/26 Tampa, FL The Brass Mug
3/1 Atlanta, GA 529
3/10 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
3/12 San Francisco, CA DNA Lounge
3/13 Reno, NV Alturas Center Stage
3/14 Salt Lake City, UT Aces High Saloon
3/15 Colorado Springs, CO Lulu’s Downtown
3/17 Lincoln, NE 1867 Bar
3/18 Iowa City, IA Wildwood
3/19 Chicago, IL Reggie’s
3/21 Kent, OH The Outpost
3/23 Earleville, MD Club RYD
3/24 Providence, RI Alchemy
3/25 Rochester, NY Photo City
3/26 Catonsville, MD Morseburgers Tavern
3/27 Newark, DE Halftime Sports Bar
3/28 Bristol, CT Bleachers
3/29 Harrisburg, PA HMAC
3/3 Wichita, KS John Barleycorn’s
3/4 Oklahoma City, OK 89th Street
3/5 Dallas, TX Haltom Theater
3/6 Austin, TX Kickbutt Coffee
3/7 San Antonio, TX Fitzgerald’s
3/9 Albuquerque, NM El Rey Theater
5/10 Zagreb, HR Hardplace
5/10 Zagreb, HR Hardplace
5/11 Belgrade, RS Klub Fest
5/11 Belgrade, RS Klub Fest
5/13 Selb, DE Rock Club Nordbayern
5/14 Essen, DE Don’t Panic
5/15 Lichtenfels, DE Paunchy Cats
5/16 Brno, CZ Kabinet Mus
5/17 Kosice, SK Colosseum
5/18 Zilina, SK Smer Club 77
5/20 Munich, DE Backstage
5/22 Plozevet, FR Courts Of Chaos Festival
5/28 Portugalete, ES Groove Room
5/29 Madrid, ES Sala Silikona
5/30 Barcelona, ES Lennon’s Club
5/31 Valencia, ES Sala Zulu
5/8 Freiburg, DE Skullcrusher Fest
5/9 Cham, DE LA
6/10 Hamburg, DE Logo
6/11 Kassel, DE Goldgrube
6/12 Den Haag, NL Musicon
6/13 Breda, NL Sound Dog
6/14 Oldenburg, DE MTS
6/17 Dortmund, DE Cafe Banana (Exclusive Acoustic Show)
6/17 Dortmund, DE Cafe Banana (Exclusive Acoustic Show)
6/18 Osnabrück, DE Bastard Club
6/19 Düsseldorf, DE The Pitcher
6/20 Graspop, BE Graspop Metal Meeting
6/3 Velden, AT Bluesiana
6/5 Modena, IT Vibra Club
6/6 Vicenza, IT Super Metalfest VIII
6/7 Milano, IT RHO Rock n Roll
6/7 Milano, IT RHO Rock n Roll
6/9 Stuttgart, DE Der Schwarze Keiler
9/12 Brooklyn, NY Rage Of Armageddon Festival
9/18 Madison, WI Blades Of Steel Festival

The post Vicious Rumors Part Ways with Their Drummer Over Conflicting Political Views appeared first on MetalSucks.

Anyone looking for the match-light moment when they exploded onto the national scene needs to search no further. Continue reading…

The follow-up to 2023’s But Here We Are album is incoming

Last week, Foo Fighters previewed 11 songs from their new album. Now, the band is finally announcing Your Favorite Toy, arriving in April. It’s their 12th studio LP and first with new drummer Ilan Rubin. The second single “Your Favorite Toy” is out today. “‘Your Favorite Toy’ really was the key that unlocked the tone…

The post Foo Fighters Announce New Album <em>Your Favorite Toy</em>: Hear The Title Track appeared first on Stereogum.

Foo Fighters have announced their full return and revealed the details of their first new album in three years.

It’s titled ‘Your Favorite Toy’ and will be released on April 24 via Roswell Records/Columbia Records. Recorded at home and co-produced by the band and Oliver Roman, it comprises 10 songs. That tracklisting looks like this:

1. Caught In The Echo
2. Of All People
3. Window
4. Your Favorite Toy
5. If You Only Knew
6. Spit Shine
7. Unconditional
8. Child Actor
9. Amen, Caveman
10. Asking For A Friend

And the artwork looks like this:

The band have also shared the album’s title track, which is a gritty taste of the direction they’re heading right now. Overflowing with reverb and off-kilter rock and roll disco beats, it’s much more of a raw and ready affair than we are used to hearing from the band these days. Throw in some impassioned yelps from Dave Grohl and a whizz-bang of a guitar solo, and you have a song that is sure to fill up plenty of dancefloors when it gets dropped.

Dave had this to say about the song and the effect it had on the rest of the process, explaining, “‘Your Favorite Toy’ really was the key that unlocked the tone and energetic direction of the new album. We stumbled upon it after experimenting with different sounds and dynamics for over a year, and the day it took shape, I knew that we had to follow its lead. It was the fuse to the powder keg of songs we wound up recording for this record. It feels
new.”

The band also released the album’s closer, ‘Asking For A Friend’, late last year, so you can also listen to that right now.

The band will be hitting the road for a UK and European tour this Summer. Those dates look a lot like this.

JUNE

10 – OSLO Unity Arena
12 – STOCKHOLM Strawberry Arena
15 – WARSAW PGE Narodowy
17 – MUNICH Allianz Arena
19 – PARIS Paris La Défense Arena
25 – LIVERPOOL Anfield Stadium
27 – LIVERPOOL Anfield Stadium

JULY

1 – BERLIN Olympiastadion
3 – VIENNA Ernst-Happel-Stadion
5 – MILAN Ippodromo Snai La Maura (I-Days Milano)
8 – MADRID Mad Cool Festival
10 – LISBON NOS Alive Festival

The post Foo Fighters Announce New Album ‘Your Favorite Toy’, Share Gritty Title Track appeared first on Rock Sound.