Frontiers [Release date: 21.08.26] Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship’s history is well documented online. Mickey Thomas was Starship’s vocalist through the eighties. By 1989, the band’s output had dropped to zero, and Thomas hadn’t released any solo material since … Continue reading
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After two and a half weeks of reports, pushback, a deleted band statement and a round of public walk-backs, Sid Wilson has confirmed he is out of Slipknot. He didn’t post about it. He didn’t record a video. He quietly updated his Instagram bio to read “@slipknot 1997-2026” — past tense, with an end date attached. It’s the most definitive thing anyone involved has said since this started, and it took three characters to say it. It also puts a start date on his tenure that doesn’t match the official record.
STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:Scott Penfold closes the loop on the Sid Wilson saga on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily — the bio edit, the date discrepancy nobody else has flagged, and why this ending fits the man perfectly. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.
There’s something almost perfect about this.
For eighteen days, everybody talked. TMZ reported. The band posted and deleted. Jim Root told fans not to believe what they read, then walked it back. A bandmate’s spouse posted a Ferris Bueller quote. Fan communities dissected every syllable.
And the one person at the centre of it said nothing the entire time — until he changed a line on a profile page.
“@slipknot 1997-2026.” That’s it. No explanation, no bitterness, no thank-you-to-the-fans essay. Just a start date, a dash, and an end date.
If you’ve followed Sid Wilson for any length of time, that lands exactly right. This is the guy who spent twenty-nine years communicating through a gas mask and a turntable. Of course he ended it with punctuation.
LIVE & LOUD: Stream the World’s Hardest Radio Station 24/7Here’s the detail everyone else has skipped past, and it’s genuinely interesting.
The record says Wilson joined Slipknot in 1998, shortly before the self-titled debut. That’s the date in every band biography, every discography, and in our own coverage of his departure last week, which described a 28-year run.
His bio says 1997.
That’s a full year earlier — which would place him in the fold during the Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. era, before the Roadrunner deal, when the band were still a Des Moines operation figuring out what they were. Twenty-nine years, by his count, not twenty-eight.
There are two readings. Either he’s dating it from when he first started hanging around and working with the band rather than from a formal joining date — which is extremely common in bands that formed out of a local scene — or the accepted record has been slightly off this whole time and nobody noticed because nobody had a reason to check.
Either way, it’s his tenure and that’s his number. Worth noting that when a man writes his own epitaph for a 29-year job, he probably gets to pick the start date.
The full timeline, because it’s been chaotic enough that people have lost the thread.
July 31 — TMZ reports Wilson has been permanently removed from Slipknot. Per that report, the band had intended to announce it themselves in early August and lost control of the rollout.
July 31 — Jim Root posts to Instagram Stories, soundtracked by “‘Til We Die,” telling people not to believe everything they read and to wait for more information. Widely read as a denial.
August 3 — TMZ follows up, reporting the decision followed the band having had enough of Wilson’s behaviour toward his bandmates. That characterisation is TMZ’s; Slipknot have never said anything of the kind.
August 12 — Wilson co-hosts the World Scratch Invitational and introduces himself as Sid, DJ Starscream, number zero, from the world famous Slipknot. Present tense.
August 14 — Slipknot post a one-sentence statement confirming they are no longer associated with Wilson, effective immediately, wishing him the best. They delete it the same day.
August 15 — A comment attributed to Root circulates in which he concedes he didn’t know what to believe when he made the original post and that it didn’t age well. Stacy Thomson, wife of guitarist Mick Thomson, says the report wasn’t true at the time it was published.
August 16 — Wilson updates his bio. Done.
Eighteen days, and the only unambiguous statement in the entire sequence came from the man who never spoke.
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That remains true, and it’s worth stating plainly rather than filling the gap with theories.
Slipknot’s statement gave no reason. Wilson’s bio gives no reason. The only stated explanation anywhere is TMZ’s, and it’s a characterisation from an outlet the band never confirmed to.
So the honest position is: a 29-year member is gone, both sides have acknowledged it, and neither has explained it. Anyone telling you more than that is guessing.
Check Out – The 13 Most Brutal Slipknot Songs Ever Recorded (Ranked)
It’s easy to reduce Wilson to “the DJ.” That badly undersells what he did in that band.
He was #0 — the only member with a zero, sitting at both the bottom and the top of the numbering at once. His work was the connective tissue: the samples, the scratching, the atmosphere and dread underneath the guitars. It’s the layer you don’t consciously register until it’s absent and the songs feel smaller.
Live, he was the most physically reckless member of a band built on physical recklessness. Climbing the rig. Jumping from things nobody should jump from. Catching fire more than once. If you saw Slipknot in the early 2000s, some of your sharpest memories of that night involve Sid doing something genuinely dangerous in a gas mask.
He was also more musically embedded than his role suggested — one quarter of the core behind Look Outside Your Window, the experimental side record with Corey Taylor, Clown and Root that finally saw release this year after more than a decade in limbo.
And he was, right through to the end, one of the band’s great communicators with the fanbase — the one teasing the maggots to say goodbye ahead of the 25th anniversary era, and a constant presence during the new mask rollouts.
His exit is the fourth since 2019, after Chris Fehn, Craig Jones and Jay Weinberg, and it leaves four members of the original numbered lineup still standing: Root, Clown, Mick Thomson and Corey Taylor. Our breakdown of the current Slipknot lineup has been updated, and the full history of every lineup change puts this one in context.
Slipknot haven’t played live since Inkcarceration in July 2025. Whatever comes next, it comes without #0.
Yes. On August 16, 2026, Wilson updated his Instagram bio to read “@slipknot 1997-2026,” acknowledging his departure in the past tense with an end date. He has not issued any formal statement, video or explanation beyond that change.
By his own dating, 29 years — from 1997 to 2026. Most published records, including earlier reporting, place his joining in 1998, shortly before the band’s self-titled debut, which would make it 28 years. The discrepancy may reflect when he began working with the band rather than a formal joining date.
No reason has been given by either party. Slipknot’s statement on August 14 said only that they would no longer be associated with him, effective immediately. TMZ reported that the decision followed the band’s dissatisfaction with how Wilson treated his bandmates, but that is TMZ’s characterisation and has not been confirmed by the band or by Wilson.
On July 31, following TMZ’s initial report, Root told fans not to believe everything they read and to wait for more information. After the band confirmed the departure, a comment attributed to Root circulated in which he said he hadn’t known what to believe when he wrote the original post and acknowledged it hadn’t aged well.
Following Wilson’s departure, the band comprises Corey Taylor, Jim Root, Mick Thomson, Shawn “Clown” Crahan, Alessandro Venturella, Michael Pfaff and the two unnamed members who joined in recent years. Wilson is the fourth member to depart since 2019, after Chris Fehn, Craig Jones and Jay Weinberg.
Twenty-nine years by his own count, ended with a dash and a date. Fitting for #0, or did the maggots deserve more than that? Tell us below, and keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
The post Sid Wilson Confirmed His Slipknot Exit Without Saying A Word appeared first on Loaded Radio.
Chicago’s own Queen of Blues Rock Guitar Joanna Connor returns with a live album titled Live On 11/11. The explosive live set recorded at The Fallout Shelter in Norwood Massachusetts, will be released on August 21 via M.C. Records. This 10-track record captures the raw energy and spontaneity of a live performance, where music is enjoyed in its purest form.
“Cissy Strut” has swagger aplenty, and goes well beyond blues rock, it fuses it with funk and jazz. This jam tune is a true showcase of musicianship within the group and Joanna uses it as a platform to introduce the band. Everybody gets the spotlight: juicy drum fills bouncing off cymbals, tasty keyboard parts, cheeky bass guitar, sizzling guitar solos, you name it. This tune must be a treat to witness live. “Shake Your Moneymaker” turns it up even further with biting guitar tone and Joanna’s signature slide licks. Midway through the track the band brings the dynamic right down. The rushing drum beat turns into a subtle swing accompanied by a walking bass line, and the band starts building once again, slowly, one step at a time into a crazy jam. Just wow!
Joanna noodles on clean guitar in minor key before starting her own spin on another classic that is “The Sky Is Crying”. The intro is sprinkled with jazzy octaves and that volume-knob-controlled legato effect. Another great, dynamic performance by the whole band throughout the song, but to me, Connor’s soulful vocals in the verse are the highlight of this rendition. This is followed by a laid-back version of “Further On Up The Road” featuring some very Allmanesque solos.
“You’re So Fine” adds that dirty blues vibe to the mix. Amazing piano solo is followed by an absolute blues guitar masterclass from Joanna. The audience reaction before “Are You Going With Me” is evidence that the gig was indeed a good time. This upbeat, funky tune gave even more reason to let go and enjoy the moment. Don’t even get me started on the guitar tone in “I Just Wanna Make Love To You”, so sultry and powerful. The breaks in the bridge catch you off-guard, before Joanna delivers a knock-out solo.
“Magic Sam Boogie” fires up the audience with its relentless shuffling rhythm before giving way to a piano-led rendition of “Can’t Find My Way Home”. This wide-ranging, genre-bending, 10-track set concludes on a high, with a crazy jam on “When The Levee Breaks”. A rendition just shy of 9 minutes evidences the band chemistry and the shared joy of playing music together.
The album has got fire while remaining laid back at the same time. With Live On 11/11, Joanna Connor and the band deliver a truly memorable and blazing performance that has been captured on tape perfectly. To use the artist’s own words: “This album brings to life what I believe needed to be heard, to witness what I’ve been honing and experiencing for decades. The unit here put in miles, both pleasant and tumultuous. The resulting alchemy was worth all of it.”
The Review: 8.5/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– Cissy Strut
– You’re So Fine
– I Just Wanna Make Love To You
The Big Hit
– I Just Wanna Make Love To You
The post Joanna Connor: Live On 11/11 Review appeared first on Blues Rock Review.
Since joining Nightwish full-time in 2013, Floor Jansen has become the face of symphonic metal. She’s not just led the Finnish theatrics for three albums, but launched a solo career in her own right (starting with 2023 album Paragon and continuing with this summer’s single, Run) and collaborated with Ayreon and her ex-bandmate, Marko Hietala. In 2023, Hammer’s sister mag Classic Rock sat the singer down to discover the music which shaped her, from the first album she ever heard to her guilty pleasure and her cult hero.
I’m not one of those people who have a great memory for childhood things, even though I had a great childhood. But the first band that comes to mind is The Beatles; my Dad used to play a lot of The Beatles, especially on the weekends, on a Sunday. I remember the song Honey Pie. I could not understand it as a child. It’s not great, but it’s definitely memorable!
When I was about thirteen or fourteen I joined a high-school musical, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So it wasn’t one song, it was that musical. I shared the role of the narrator with two other girls. After that I was sold – that’s what I wanted to do. I like that [musical], but musicals are often a bit too sweet for my tastes, even back then. The Phantom Of The Opera, Jekyll & Hyde, those are a little darker.
I play in a band with him: that’s Emppu [Vuorinen, Nightwish guitarist]. He is an amazing guitar player, but he doesn’t need to fill every gap in the song with meaningless notes. He really keeps the atmosphere [of the songs]. What he plays in Sleeping Sun is beautiful.
She falls completely out of the spectrum of rock and metal, but if there’s one singer that endlessly amazes me with her sound it’s Celine Dion. I find her music absolutely cheese-bombs, but that’s too bad, because I love her voice. You can feel what she’s singing.
Tuomas [Holopainen, Nightwish]. I don’t know anybody who can write like him. He has been writing music for twenty-five years, had three different singers in his band, and still Nightwish is one of the biggest bands out there. That says something about how good the songs are. I have a special love for Ghost Love Score which is a super-weird song, it’s ten minutes long, but for some reason, it speaks to so many people.
It’s so coloured in time. I’m 42, so what I thought was the best at 16 [won’t be the same now]. I can never answer that question.
I’ll see if there’s anything I listen to that people might think is weird… One of my band members loves nineties disco, and that is so far away from what we do, but I don’t have [anything like] that. I do like to listen to film music when I read books. Usually instrumental. The music depends on what kind of book it is, because you still connect it together. I was listening to the music from Inception when I read Steven King’s Dark Tower series. There are parts of the book that really connect to parts of the music.
You put so much love and energy into every song, that the moment you release the album, that’s the best thing you’ve ever done. It always feels that way because you put everything you’ve learned, all the skills you have, everything you are into your latest work. So for me that would be Paragon, because it’s the latest thing I did.
Probably the first [Prison Of Desire by After Forever]. I was 18 when I recorded it, so we didn’t know anything about writing, about recording, about singing. But your first is your first. And that also makes it very, very special.
Most music makes me cry! My emotions are very close to the surface. One song is Heartless, from Evergrey. Just some things in his lyrics that are expressed very beautifully.
Anneke van Giersbergen. When I heard [The Gathering’s] Strange Machines on the radio, and then went to see a concert, for me she was like an absolute role model. To sing like that in a metal band, she made me want to do that too. And I loved the way that she did it, her sound and performance and just being this fierce woman among the men.
During the pandemic I started doing cover songs, and some of my favourites I put on YouTube. That was my only connection to the outside world. I have a young daughter, and it’s really hard to get around [the film] Frozen. So I did Let It Go. It’s fun to sing. I wanted to give it a mature sound, a metal twist.
I haven’t thought of it yet, to be honest. I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. I just went through cancer, so I’ve just been thinking more about surviving.
Originally published in 2023. Floor’s new solo single, Run, is now streaming.
Queens Of The Stone Age have announced their ninth studio album. It’s called Perfecth. And rather than issue a press release, the band revealed it over a chaotic game of five-finger fillet — the one where you stab a blade between your spread fingers as fast as you can. A September 30 release date appeared on screen during the clip. Over the course of the game it got scratched out, and the band settled for telling everyone the album is coming soon instead.
STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:Scott Penfold breaks down the Perfecth announcement on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily — the knife game, the complaint hotline, and what “coming soon” actually means when Josh Homme says it. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.
Let’s be precise about what happened, because it’s better than the summary.
The band posted a clip over the weekend. In it, they play five-finger fillet — an old bar game, and a genuinely stupid one, where the point is to drive a knife into the table between your outstretched fingers without hitting any of them. Speed is the whole thrill. Losing has consequences.
On screen was the album title, Perfecth, and a release date: September 30.
By the end of the game, that date had been scratched out. What replaced it was “coming soon.”
So the official position is now: album nine exists, it’s called Perfecth, and its release date was destroyed by a knife on camera. Which is either the most on-brand album announcement of the year or a very elaborate way of admitting the date wasn’t locked. Possibly both.
Nobody should be shocked by any of this. This is a band who once opened an album with a song that’s just a list of drugs.
LIVE & LOUD: Stream the World’s Hardest Radio Station 24/7The knife clip didn’t come out of nowhere.
QOTSA have been ramping up promotional activity all summer. The strangest piece of it was an online complaint line — genuinely, a phone number for grievances, which is the kind of thing that either means something or means Josh Homme thought it was funny. With this band the answer is usually both.
Then in July came “Easy Street,” the first single, featuring country artist Nikki Lane and released with a video. That’s the actual musical evidence of where this record might be heading, and it’s worth revisiting now that we know there’s a full album behind it.
There’s also an Australian and New Zealand tour booked for late 2026 with Primus, which is a routing you don’t announce unless you’ve got something to tour behind.
Add it up: a single, a complaint hotline, a tour, and now a title. The record is real and it’s close.
Almost everything else, and it’s worth being honest about that rather than padding the page.
No confirmed release date — September 30 is tentative and the band themselves crossed it out. No tracklist. No artwork. No producer credits. No word on guests.
What we do know is that it’s the follow-up to 2023’s In Times New Roman…, and that it arrives after a genuinely difficult stretch for Homme personally and health-wise. Whatever Perfecth turns out to be, it’s the sound of a band coming out the other side of something.
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Even without a QOTSA record, 2026 has been a busy year for the man.
He turned up on Mastodon’s Marrow Deep, guesting on “Snakes For Dinner” and appearing in its video — his first Mastodon collaboration in nearly twenty years, the last being “Colony Of Birchmen” on 2006’s Blood Mountain. That record, the band’s first since Brent Hinds’ death, lands August 28.
He’s also kept the Kyuss question alive. Last year he said a reunion is possible, with the caveat that it would only happen if they gave the money away and charged five dollars a ticket — because, in his words, it was never about money.
That’s not a man planning a cash-in. It’s a man who built an entire genre out of the California desert and still holds a specific, slightly stubborn set of ideas about how this is supposed to work.
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Twenty-eight years on from forming in Palm Desert, Queens Of The Stone Age occupy a strange and enviable position: gold-certified, festival-headlining, and still genuinely unpredictable.
They came out of Kyuss — the band that took Black Sabbath’s blueprint and dragged it into the desert to bake — and then Homme spent three decades refusing to make the same record twice. Songs For The Deaf is a stone classic. Era Vulgaris confused everyone. …Like Clockwork was a grief record. In Times New Roman… was meaner than anyone expected.
The current lineup — Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore — has been stable for over a decade, which for this band is practically unheard of.
So when they announce album nine by stabbing a table, treat it as the tell. This isn’t a band going through the motions.
Perfecth. It will be the band’s ninth studio album, following 2023’s In Times New Roman…. The title was revealed in a video posted in mid-August 2026 in which the band played five-finger fillet.
No confirmed date. A September 30, 2026 date appeared in the announcement video but was scratched out during the clip, with the band opting to say the album is “coming soon” instead. Treat September 30 as tentative until the band confirms otherwise.
By playing five-finger fillet — the game where a knife is stabbed rapidly between spread fingers — in a video posted to their social channels. The album’s release date was written on screen and got crossed out over the course of the game.
“Easy Street,” released in July 2026 with an accompanying music video featuring country artist Nikki Lane. It arrived amid a broader promotional rollout that also included an online complaint line set up by the band.
Josh Homme on lead vocals, guitar and piano, alongside Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar and lap steel, Michael Shuman on bass, Dean Fertita on keyboards and guitar, and Jon Theodore on drums. The lineup has been stable since Theodore joined in 2013.
A knife game, a complaint hotline, and a release date that didn’t survive its own announcement. Peak QOTSA, or are you just ready to hear the thing? Tell us below, and keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
The post Queens Of The Stone Age Announce New Album In The Most Unique And Dangerous Way Possible appeared first on Loaded Radio.
GHOSTEMANE is back with their first new music in five years, and they are not messing about, to say the least.
They are stepping back into the limelight with ‘ZERO DAY’, a forward-thinking, ferocious and fantastically orchestrated piece of modern nu-metal mastery. Bristling with industrial weight and hardcore intensity, it feels like a tribute to the most chaotic elements of the past, whilst still being quintessentially GHOSTEMANE in size and stature.
It is a boot to the temple of the highest calibre, and feels like the beginning of what is set to be a fascinating chapter in a musical story unlike any other.
Get stuck in.
GHOSTMANE released his last full-length album ‘ANTI-ICON’ back in 2020. You can check it out in full below, just to get reacquainted.
The post GHOSTMANE Shares Bludgeoning New Track ‘ZERO DAY’ appeared first on Rock Sound.