They’re no longer playing around.
The post Foo Fighters Have Unveiled Their New Album “Your Favorite Toy” And Its Title Track appeared first on Theprp.com.
Blog
-
Album Review: Phasma – Purgatory
Album Review: Phasma – Purgatory
Reviewed by Eric Clifford
If I thought January was a bit sluggish with quality new releases, February has stepped up to haul taut the slack. In Aeternum and Fossilization both sprang forth with daggers drawn, but I’ve lavished praise enough upon them – now comes the turn of Phasma to do their worst. They’re on Transcending Obscurity records, which is up there with mood lighting, rose petals and smooth jazz so far as good signs are concerned. But proof is, as they say, in the pudding – and label affiliation alone does not a good album make, specially when there’s only six tracks for a twenty six minute runtime; at that sort of brevity each wasted second counts, so this absolutely has to be all killer no filler. I’m hopeful, if trepidatious. Will Phasma uphold the reliably stellar reputation of their label?
Before us is a crepuscular account of deeds best left unwitnessed, mouths smothered that their screeches go unheard, winding shadowed alleys never quite illuminated by day. It aims to unsettle, to bask in the tension of the overhanging blade. There’s nervous energy to it, a restlessness, as though fits of rocketing adrenaline and naked terror push it through endless nights bereft of sleep. The scourging bluster of Terrorizer grind riffs meets interlocking disso-black chords on “ii”, as though atrocious yet clandestine acts lie furtive and concealed in the shadows. Mood and implied threat are punctuated with outbursts of strife and viciousness (and vice versa) in this toxin-slathered lotus bloom of styles and genre conventions. It leans a gnarled vestigial protrusion on the crutch of black metal’s inflammatory arsenal, while other of its unspooling tentacles – most notably the vocal performance – seem expatriates from the fell reaches of deathcore. At times, the thudding NYHC metronome of a truncheon cracking off ribs prevails with the crude irrefutability of physical force, while elsewhere “iv” sets chromosome-shattering slams like dirty bombs throughout its midsection. You should have taken heed of the warning the preceding melodeath section gave you with its stabbing minor harmonies; the album will not spare the lash if you didn’t learn the first time.
But there’s more to it than a caveman affection for punishment, and the writing holds subtleties that shouldn’t be disregarded for the sledgehammer application much of the album opts for. It keeps you on your toes, the edge of your seat warm. “vi” drapes a noose of frayed nerves about your throat with portentous ambience, anxious clean chords strung through it as breathy drums like the tread of spectres step nearer from just outside your eye line. It’s almost like something a cultured clique of Satanic sophisticates like Akercocke might consider doing, but the boot stamps down at 2.25 when the album flings a mace of a haymaker into your skull with all it’s ill-born might. A thunderous trample of blastbeats and tremolo follows, a literal kicking while you’re down that you’ll flinch in memory of long years hence. It has solos too, tasteful and effective ones. “iii” crescendos a passage of ugly, disfigured downtuned thrash with a malcontented showing of complex but melodic and scathing lead guitar.
I was mightily impressed by Phasma, and still more relieved that February maintains a lengthening mean streak. The band feel as though they’ve considered every step they’ve taken, doing their utmost to be thoroughly unwelcoming yet somehow compulsively engaging, disorientingly heavy without losing a legible through-line. It’s short, yes, but packs in as many ideas as do far longer releases without collapsing into a disjointed spasm of mindless entropy. It’s not as though many of us will lack for reasons to feel a certain antipathy towards the world we live in, but there’s always room for more. I hadn’t heard of Phasma before, and given the current climate of the music business it’s vanishingly unlikely that they’ll ever be as big as their talent warrants, so let me do what little I can and plead with you to support this band and buy this album. It’s deep, immaculately composed and performed, grotesque in all the right ways, and deserves a necrotic spot in your heart much like the one it’s bored into mine.
The post Album Review: Phasma – Purgatory appeared first on The Razor's Edge.
-
Alex Van Halen Reveals How Close Ozzy Osbourne Came To Making A Record With The Van Halen Brothers
Did Ozzy Osbourne Almost Join Forces With Eddie And Alex Van Halen?
Yes. Alex Van Halen has now confirmed that serious discussions took place — and the project was close enough to move beyond fantasy into planning.
TL;DR:
Alex Van Halen confirms talks with Ozzy Osbourne happened
Meeting with Sharon Osbourne nearly led to a joint record
Collaboration fell apart at the last stage
Ozzy previously recalled Eddie’s late-night call
One of rock’s greatest “what if” moments resurfacesSome stories feel too surreal to be true.
This is not one of them.
Alex Van Halen has confirmed that Ozzy Osbourne was once in talks to make an album with Eddie and Alex Van Halen — a revelation that instantly ranks among rock’s most jaw-dropping near-misses.
And according to Alex, this wasn’t casual speculation.
It was close.
The Meeting That Almost Changed Everything
Speaking with Gastão Moreira, Alex reflected on a pivotal moment around the year 2000, when he and Eddie Van Halen found themselves searching for direction.
Instead of chasing trends or settling into safe territory, the brothers aimed straight at a seismic possibility:
Ozzy Osbourne.
Alex revealed that he and Eddie met with Sharon Osbourne to explore the idea of making a record together.
What followed was not dismissal.
Not hesitation.
But momentum.
Sharon’s response, as Alex recalls, was essentially:
“It sounds like a good idea. Let’s do that. Let’s make a record together.”
Then came the sentence that unknowingly sealed its fate:
A meeting tomorrow about a television show.
The show, of course, became “The Osbournes.”
And the rest became rock mythology.
Loaded Radio Recommends – The Ultimate Ranking: The Top 13 Jake E. Lee Era Ozzy Osbourne Songs
“That’s How Close It Got”
Alex’s phrasing is what makes the revelation land so hard:
“That’s how close it got.”
Not early conversations.
Not vague interest.
Not industry gossip.A near green light.
For fans, it unlocks an alternate timeline:
Ozzy’s voice
Eddie’s guitar
Alex’s thunderous drummingAn entirely different chapter of rock history that never materialized.
Ozzy’s Side Of The Story
Ozzy Osbourne himself had hinted at this years earlier.
In a 2020 interview, Ozzy recalled Eddie Van Halen calling him and asking if he wanted to sing in Van Halen.
Ozzy’s memory carried humor:
“I think he was a bit drunk.”
Yet beneath the laugh sat something real — confirmation that Eddie had indeed reached out.
Ozzy On Eddie Van Halen: Pure Reverence
Ozzy never hid his admiration for Eddie.
He described watching Eddie play as witnessing something almost supernatural:
“His hands would turn into a spider.”
Ozzy credited Eddie with revolutionizing guitar playing and acknowledged the tidal wave of imitators that followed.
But his conclusion was absolute:
“There is only one Eddie Van Halen.”
Why This Revelation Hits So Hard Now
Rock history is filled with unrealized collaborations.
But few carry this level of weight.
Because this pairing wasn’t random.
Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen shared stages, tours, and mutual respect. Their worlds overlapped naturally.
This wasn’t fantasy booking.
It was plausible.
Which makes the loss feel even larger.
Check This Out – Six Months After the Silence: Ranking the 13 Ozzy Osbourne Solo Songs That Built a Throne
The Legacy Context
By 2000:
Van Halen were navigating transitions
Ozzy remained a metal icon
Both camps were evaluating their next movesTiming — that cruel architect of music history — intervened.
Instead of a record, the Osbourne empire pivoted into reality television.
Instead of Ozzy fronting Van Halen, the bands continued on separate trajectories.
Eddie’s Absence Makes The “What If” Eternal
Eddie Van Halen’s passing in 2020 transformed near-misses into permanent mysteries.
There will be no revisiting this possibility.
No reunion conversation.
No second chance.
Only the lingering question:
What would that album have sounded like?
One Of Rock’s Greatest Roads Not Taken
Alex Van Halen’s confirmation does more than satisfy curiosity.
It reframes an entire era of speculation.
This wasn’t rumor.
It was real.
And it was close enough to hurt.
FAQ
Did Ozzy Osbourne almost join Van Halen?
Alex Van Halen confirms serious discussions took place about making a record together.When did this happen?
Around 2000, shortly before “The Osbournes” TV show launched.Why didn’t it happen?
The project stalled as Sharon Osbourne shifted focus to the television series.Did Ozzy confirm Eddie contacted him?
Yes. Ozzy previously recalled Eddie calling and asking about singing in the band.Was a vocalist chosen for the recordings Alex is currently working on?
No — Alex has stated they are still searching for the right voice for the Lukather-assisted project.Van Halen Bio
Formed in Pasadena, California, Van Halen became one of the most influential rock bands of all time, driven by Eddie Van Halen’s revolutionary guitar techniques, Alex Van Halen’s explosive drumming, and a catalog that reshaped hard rock. From Van Halen (1978) through 1984 and beyond, the band defined generations of musicians and fans alike. Inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007, Van Halen’s impact remains foundational to modern rock and metal.
The post Alex Van Halen Reveals How Close Ozzy Osbourne Came To Making A Record With The Van Halen Brothers appeared first on Loaded Radio.
-
Sony Develops Tool To Identify Copyrighted Music In AI Songs But Hasn’t Solved Its Toilet Paper Problem
The term “generative AI music” is a bit of a misnomer, since AI doesn’t actually generate any music. Instead, these programs “train” themselves by scraping information from all the actual, human-created music that exists out in the world and spitting out some approximation of whatever sounds the prompters want. Plenty of times, these AI programs will straight-up plagiarize existing songs, as those Czech Olympic ice dancers learned when their AI-generated skating soundtrack ripped off the New Radicals. But now, Sony has developed a new tool that will theoretically identify that copyrighted music that’s being ripped off in these AI-generated tracks.
The post Sony Develops Tool To Identify Copyrighted Music In AI Songs But Hasn’t Solved Its Toilet Paper Problem appeared first on Stereogum.
-
Arch Enemy Release New Song ‘To the Last Breath’ With New Singer
Whoever is behind the mic, they sound good! Continue reading… -
SUNN O))) Brings The Sonic Destruction With New Single “Butch’s Guns”
Today we’ve got the stop-and-go antics of Sunn O)))’s new single “Butch’s Guns”, which will perplex you as it also decimates everything.
The post SUNN O))) Brings The Sonic Destruction With New Single "Butch's Guns" appeared first on Metal Injection.
-
WILLIAM SHATNER Announces New Heavy Metal Album Feat. BLACK SABBATH & JUDAS PRIEST Covers
William Shatner unveils his new metal album featuring elite players and covers of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden.
The post WILLIAM SHATNER Announces New Heavy Metal Album Feat. BLACK SABBATH & JUDAS PRIEST Covers appeared first on Metal Injection.
-
ERRA Drop Crushing New Single “i. the many names of god”
Erra unleash “i. the many names of god”, the first chapter in a dark closing trilogy from silence outlives the earth.
The post ERRA Drop Crushing New Single "i. the many names of god" appeared first on Metal Injection.
-
Ando San Shares Thrilling New Track ‘iLL’
Ando San has shared a new track that showcases his knack for crafting a catchy hook, both on guitar and with his voice.
Titled ‘iLL’, it’s a song that stems from a personal pursuit that Ando is going through right here and right now. The ebbs and flows that come with deciding to pursue a life as an independent artist, especially one with as unique a sound as this, and the effect that has on the mind and body.
And that unique sound is at the height of its powers here. From the fast and furious fret-tapping to jumping between a liquid flow and guttural belch on the vocal front, it’s an impressive blending of all his talents in one thoughtful, thrilling and technically incredible package.
Ando had this to say about the piece.
“iLL is a song that highlights how trying to build a career as an independent artist requires so much work and so many decisions to be made all the time, that it can physically make you unwell. Musically, this song is a culmination of my metal and hip hop roots. I’ve never really had harsh vocals in my music, and I’ve always been able to do it since I was a teenager – I actually started out as a metal vocalist before I was a rapper.”
The song follows ‘Thick Neck’, another example of how Ando seamlessly blends his passions and influences, from both sides of the coin.The post Ando San Shares Thrilling New Track ‘iLL’ appeared first on Rock Sound.
-
What to Expect From the ‘Queen II Collector’s Edition’ Box Set
"Queen II," remixed, remastered and expanded to five CDs. Continue reading…