Category: news

Caryn Ganz, a pop music journalist, talks about Olivia Rodrigo’s approach to music with Wesley Morris on “Cannonball.”

On “Cannonball,” Caryn Ganz, a pop music journalist, talks about “Expectations,” her favorite song on Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love.”

Their new album “The Standard” will be out at the end of the month.

The post Southpaw FLHC’s “Nail In The Coffin” Music Video Debuts appeared first on Theprp.com.

Bill Ward has disclosed that he now travels primarily by wheelchair in airports and public venues, sharing a candid health update with fans nearly one year after the death of his longtime Black Sabbath bandmate Ozzy Osbourne.

The 78-year-old Black Sabbath drummer shared a photo of himself seated in a wheelchair and addressed the subject directly in a social media statement: “Dear Friends, Fans, Families, and people I’ve not met yet, I’m announcing today somewhat sadly but nonetheless truthfully, that I’ve reached a place where publicly more and more I need to use a wheelchair, mostly in airports, or public events. I can still walk, let there be no doubt, but I can’t walk very far without needing to rest, meaning I need to sit down. We started using the wheelchair about 18 months ago, mostly in airports.”

“I became 78 years old on May 5th 2026. I was a long distance walker, I’ve walked in many different parts of the world, and I’m still a drummer. I can still play pretty good for 78 years old. My talents and ambitions, and my unyielding need to be artful, and to play drums, is still as strong as it was so many years ago now. I’m just saying if you see me in a wheelchair, I’m just catching a ride, I’m not in retirement or ill or giving up, or any of those thoughts that ignite when we see people in wheelchairs.”

“I’m making myself public and transparent about my new transport, and letting you know I’m OK. If you see me in the airports or visiting friends in the music arenas or theatres say hi, I don’t bite, I’ll just look different, as pictured here.”

“Much love to you all and I’ll keep rocking until I’m dead. Rock forever and ever. And the secrets we hide, can be dangerous to our health, I’m letting transparency prevail, with love and progression.”

The original lineup of Black Sabbath — Ward, Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler — played its final concert last summer. Dubbed “Back to the Beginning,” the charity show was held at Villa Park in Birmingham, United Kingdom on July 5, 2025. After Osbourne’s death, Ward shared an emotional tribute in which he said the legendary heavy metal singer is “forever in my heart.” “Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart,” Ward wrote. “Deepest condolences to Sharon and all family members. RIP. Sincere regrets to all the fans. Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”

Accountable Beasts, Ward’s first solo album in 18 years, was released in 2015 via iTunes. The record featured Ward’s drumming on seven of its nine tracks, alongside contributions from longtime collaborators Keith Lynch (guitar, keyboards), Paul Ill (bass) and Ronnie Ciago (drums), plus drummer Walter Earl and an array of session singers, including Ward’s daughter Emily.

In May 2012, Ward announced he was declining to join his former Sabbath bandmates for scheduled recording and touring commitments, citing a contractual dispute. Producer Rick Rubin suggested Ginger Baker (Cream) as a replacement for the LP recording sessions — a suggestion Iommi shot down immediately — before ultimately enlisting Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine. Ozzy later said Ward “needed to own up” that he did not have the physical capacity to pull off the tour, adding that the band had explored the option of bringing a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward — a scenario Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a question-and-answer session about the band’s Ten Year War box set.

The post BLACK SABBATH’s BILL WARD, 78, Addresses Fans About Increased Wheelchair Use appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

On “Cannonball,” Wesley Morris and the pop music journalist Caryn Ganz find the right metaphor to describe Olivia Rodrigo’s place in pop music.

Written by Kep

I remember when No Cure entered my sphere of awareness. It was back in 2023 and people started posting about “No Cure Straight Edge Die Slow Fuck You” and I had no idea what that was but it sounded pretty cool. I’m not straight edge but I respect the commitment to an ideal, and with a title like that I figured the song had to go hard and it sure fucking did. The EP that featured it, The Commitment to Permanence, quickly became one of my favorites of the year and I’ve been pumped for every release since. Between the ragers they’ve put out and their relentless touring schedule (seriously, if you live in the US and haven’t seen them live yet don’t worry, feels like a 95% chance they’ll be back though your area within the year), No Cure’s popularity has risen faster than the thermostat this summer. It all culminates this Friday with the release of their first LP It Is Going to Get Dark, but can it live up to the expectations they’ve deservedly set?

I listened to this for the first time without having read any of the promo material and was immediately struck by the feeling that it was different in mood and perspective from I Hope I Die Here, their most recent EP, which came out in December of 2024. That one was absolutely seething, frothing at the mouth with the sort of incandescent rage that stems from someone who was persistently wronged, deep wounds made by an upbringing that did more harm than good; a blistering ode to Christianity and hate in the American south. It Is Going to Get Dark is angry, sure—No Cure wouldn’t do it any other way—but the anger feels like it’s sprayed more widely now, and doesn’t have that tangible personal pain. A read through the promo materials confirms it: the world is going to shit, and this album is the band’s way of blasting out all sorts of dark thoughts before it gets really *really* bad. 

To that end, the Alabama quartet has packaged up 12 tracks of pure dynamite metallic hardcore, laced it with bits of extreme metal, lit the fuse, and tossed it into our laps. These songs go fucking hard as nails in a barbed wire-wrapped baseball bat and do every bit as much damage when they hit you. Lacerating riffs, skull bludgeoning breakdowns, thumping rhythms, throaty gang vocals, blasting fury: the record is pumped full to bursting with destructive, massively catchy shit. It’s apparent from the opener, as frontman Blaythe Steuer screams “How did we get here?” and “When the Spasms Cease” kicks into the first monster two-step of the record. The dumb heavy chunk of “Oblivion Crusade” follows, replete with nasty pinch harmonics and bullheaded, elbow-swinging aggression. 

“Brain Matter Displacement” is a classic “I’ll kill you, you piece of shit” song with an pitiless homicidal beatdown that pummels hard enough to accomplish what Steuer and his backing gang promise they’ll do: “Gonna fucking smash your skull”. Add in a smooth verse from rapper Jayway and it’s perhaps the most memorable song on an album full of memorable songs. Speaking of guest spots, this is a true hardcore album so of course there are a number of them: in addition to Jayway, there’s Tyler Short of straight edgers Inclination on straight ahead rager “Ironclad”, Skyler Conder of Varials on “Sharpen the Blade”, and the almighty Vincent Bennett (of The Acacia Strain, but you already knew that) on the chaotic and crushing “Purity Spiral”. 

The titanic breakdown in the middle of “Starved in Sanctuary (My Hands are in Your Chest Cavity)” broke my neck. “Slowly Turning Blue” has one of those brilliant riffs where a series of pinches answers a bunch of chugs, and the gang vocal calls against Steuer’s answers in the chorus are tailor-made for live show mayhem. “My World in Flames” provides one of the reflective moments in its opening before throwing auditory haymakers and daring you not to two-step. Rowdy 50-second banger “I Am Still Fucking Straight Edge” does exactly what you expect it to before the record closes with “Everything I Love is Dead or Dying”, a hard-hitting metalcore-forward track with harmonized guitar licks that feels like a fitting end emotionally to this record about anger and frustration at an unfair world in decline. 

Look, my perspective on hardcore is admittedly narrow, as I’m far from an expert in the style. What I do know, though, is when a band has riffs and can write a good song, and No Cure can do that shit in their sleep, clearly. Producer/engineer Kevin Langley has the band sounding killer, too: Aesop Mongo and Kyle Ray’s guitar tone is tasty  with crunch and heft and pinches that go fucking filthy, Steuer’s dynamic vocals are mixed to perfection, overdriven bass lines bang around beneath, and Duncan Newey’s kit pops without overriding the rest. The whole shebang is just a damn good time, yes because the riffs and vocals are top notch, but the songwriting is legitimately great too. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

As far as expectations in hardcore go, mine don’t get much higher than they were for this record, and No Cure have met them. It may not feel quite as personal as I Hope I Die Here, but that’s okay because it’s still bombastic, violent, and catchy as all hell. Don’t get it twisted: No Cure are still very much a band with the sky as their limit.  

The post Album Review: No Cure – “It Is Going to Get Dark” (Metallic Hardcore) appeared first on Noob Heavy.

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