Blog

He also explains why the "sun isn't setting" on ZZ Top. Continue reading…

Officer James Niggemeyer reflects on taking down Dimebag Darrell's killer and shares what happened in the aftermath. Continue reading…

John Travolta, once a chart-topping singer in his own right, put in an extremely random appearance on Sunday night, hosting a Hollywood Forever Cemetery celebration for the Ramones’ 50th anniversary and introducing Cretin Famiily, a brand-new punk supergroup that features Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Rancid’s Tim Armstrong (no relation), Blink-182’s Travis Barker, and onetime Ramones member CJ Ramone.

The post John Travolta Presents New Punk Supergroup At Ramones 50th Anniversary Tribute appeared first on Stereogum.

Say Anything’s Max Bemis has canceled a run of upcoming concerts after a teenage girl posted screenshots documenting an alleged months-long interaction with her over texting and social media.

The post Max Bemis Cancels Shows Amid Allegations About Messages To Teen appeared first on Stereogum.

Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson are appearing with drummer Anika Nilles in place of their late bandmate Neil Peart. Continue reading…

Iron Maiden opened the North American leg of the Run For Your Lives tour at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Saturday night, and Bruce Dickinson used his first words to the crowd to make a point. “Hello, Canada. Oh my God. It’s been traumatic. We got here. We crossed the Lake Of Ontario.” Delivered completely deadpan, days after a US executive order directed federal agencies to refer to that body of water as Lake America. The room understood immediately.

STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

Scott Penfold covers the Toronto show on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily — what Bruce actually said, why the delivery makes it, and the detail about his day job that makes the line even better. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.

What he said

Four words did the work: “the Lake Of Ontario.”

Not Lake America. Not a speech, not a lecture, no mention of politics at all. Just a 68-year-old Englishman describing his journey to the venue in the most laboured way possible, and letting a Toronto crowd draw its own conclusion.

The clip was shared by SiriusXM Canada and has been circulating since Saturday night.

It’s a masterclass in how to make a point without making a scene. Say the thing plainly, say it as though it’s unremarkable, and let the room supply the reaction. Anyone who’s watched Dickinson work a stage for four decades will recognise the timing.

The detail nobody’s mentioning

Here’s what makes it funnier if you know it.

Bruce Dickinson is a licensed commercial airline captain. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence, he flew commercially for Astraeus, and on multiple Maiden world tours he has personally piloted Ed Force One — the band’s own customised Boeing — carrying the entire crew, the stage and the production across oceans and international borders.

This is a man who files flight plans across national airspace for a living.

And he walked out in Toronto and described crossing a lake as traumatic.

That’s not an accident. That’s a pilot making a joke about geography, and it’s a considerably sharper piece of writing than it first appears.

The dispute, in plain terms

For anyone who’s missed it, here’s what’s actually happened, without editorial.

The order. President Trump signed an executive order directing that Lake Ontario be referred to as Lake America in United States federal usage. The stated reason given in the order is that the new name honours “the American history of the Great Lakes.” It was issued during an escalating trade dispute that has seen both countries impose reciprocal tariffs on billions of dollars of goods.

What it does and doesn’t cover. The order applies to US federal references only. It does not determine how Canada refers to the lake, and it does not bind US states, which remain free to use Lake Ontario on maps, highway signs and tourism material.

Canada’s response. Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed it on Thursday, noting the name is more than 400 years old — predating both Confederation and the American Declaration of Independence. His line: America is changing, its trading relationships, its foreign policies, its national monuments, its hydronyms. But Canadians know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario — then, now and always.

And this is the part worth noting. The objection isn’t only Canadian. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state will not be calling it Lake America, describing the renaming as deflecting from the real needs of Americans. Rochester’s city council unanimously signed a proclamation on Friday affirming the city will keep the existing name.

So a British singer in a Canadian arena and a city council in upstate New York arrived at the same position within about twenty-four hours of each other.

Also Recommended – Iron Maiden Albums Ranked: All 17 Studio Albums, Worst To Best

Why it landed the way it did in this room

We’re based in the Hamilton and Toronto area, so let’s be direct about it: this was the right city and the right night.

Scotiabank Arena holds around nineteen thousand people. It was the opening night of Maiden’s North American run. And the audience had spent a fortnight reading about tariffs, retaliation and a lake most of them can see from the highway.

Dickinson didn’t editorialise, didn’t grandstand, and didn’t spend thirty seconds on it. He said four words and moved on to playing a two-hour set.

Maiden have never been a political band in the party sense, but they’ve always been a band with a strong instinct for a room. They played Sarajevo in 1994, during the siege, when almost nobody else would go. They’ve built a fifty-year career on knowing exactly what a specific crowd in a specific city needs to hear.

Saturday was a very small, very precise version of that same instinct.

Check This Out – Best Iron Maiden 80s Albums: Ranking the Lyrical Storytelling From ‘Iron Maiden’ to ‘Seventh Son’

Where the tour goes from here

Run For Your Lives is Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary tour, and Toronto was the opening night of the 2026 North American leg — the same run we covered when the routing was announced.

Megadeth support on a substantial portion of the North American dates, which for Dave Mustaine is part of a farewell run that will stretch several more years.

For a band who’ve been operating since 1975, playing to a Canadian crowd at the exact moment the country’s relationship with its neighbour is the loudest story in the news, and finding one deadpan line that says everything — that’s a level of stagecraft you don’t get by accident.

Fifty years in, and still one of the most important bands the genre has produced.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SiriusXM Canada (@siriusxmcanada)

TL;DR

• What happened: Bruce Dickinson greeted the Toronto crowd at Scotiabank Arena on August 29, 2026 by saying Iron Maiden had “crossed the Lake Of Ontario” — pointedly using the existing name.
• The context: a US executive order has directed that federal references to Lake Ontario use the name Lake America, stating that it honours “the American history of the Great Lakes.”
• What the order covers: US federal usage only. It does not bind Canada, and US states remain free to use the existing name.
• Canada’s position: Prime Minister Mark Carney said the 400-year-old name predates both Confederation and the Declaration of Independence, and that Canadians will call it Lake Ontario “then, now and always.”
• The US pushback: New York Governor Kathy Hochul said her state won’t use Lake America, and Rochester’s city council unanimously affirmed the existing name on Friday.
• The show: opening night of the 2026 North American leg of Iron Maiden’s Run For Your Lives 50th anniversary tour, with Megadeth supporting on much of the run.

FAQ

Four words, delivered completely straight, from a man who flies planes across borders for a living. What’s the best bit of onstage stagecraft you’ve ever witnessed? Tell us below. And keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson Takes Defiant Stand on Stage Over Contested Lake Ontario Renaming Battle appeared first on Loaded Radio.

David Fair, co-founder of the influential long-running experimental rock band Half Japanese, has died. David co-founded Half Japanese with his brother Jad Fair in the mid-’70s. On Sunday morning, David’s late-’00s label Thick Syrup Records and his longtime friend Jeff Feuerzeig, director of the 1993 documentary Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King, announced his passing on social media. Jad posted a childhood photo of the brothers on Facebook, and friends are sharing condolences in the comments. No cause of death has been reported.

The post Half Japanese’s David Fair Has Died appeared first on Stereogum.

(We begin a new week at NCS with Daniel Barkasi’s review of a new album by the UK black metal band Fen, recently released by Prophecy Productions.) The UK black metal scene is one of vibrance and diversity in approach. Of the long-standing members of that geographical scene, Fen stands alongside Saor and Winterfylleth as […]

The post FEN: “ELEMENTAL (PART 1: MOURNING EARTH)” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Live Review: Accept – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

27th August 2026
Support: Tailgunner
Words & Photos: Tim Finch

Tonight was on for the story books, a night that will go down as an “I was there moment”. Heatwave after heatwave has cooked this country to a crisp, but that all broke tonight as the heavens opened – as the cliche goes – biblically. As a river ran down Frederick Street in Wolverhampton KK’s steel Mill was flooded, under litterally a foot of storm water. Where other venues may have thrown in the towel, the team battled the elements and opened, albeit two hours late. We won’t mention the frustration of the fans who were literally soaked to the skin by that time, but the show went on and all credit to them for that.

Despite the late doors the support band still took their place on stage with just two songs cut from their set. It was a great opportunity to drop Tailgunner from the show, but sadly it didn’t occur. The band have hit controversy recently with their bassist being accused of sexual assault by the bands former photographer/stand in guitarist. The accusation saw him step back from the band, yet tonight he’s sadly on stage once more. Atop that, the treatment of their former guitarist Rhea Thompson (who left so as to not be associated with those allegations) has been pretty appalling, and the fact the music industry is still dealing with these creting both baffles and disappoints in equal measure.

You can read the victim’s full statement here.

In the UK, 878,000 sexual assaults occurred in the 12 months ending March 2025. Of those, only 15,700 ended up in court, just 1.75%! Some of the reasons why are explained incredibly well in that victim statement. Please do read it and take a step back from that appalling band!

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/sexualoffencesinenglandandwalesoverview/latest

At 10:10, a full hour and twenty five minutes after they were originally due on stage, Accept finally arrive, the fans still moist but eager enough to stay and watch their heroes.

They waste no time reminding Wolverhampton exactly why they have been one of heavy metal’s most enduring forces. ‘Metal Heart’ crashes into life with Wolf Hoffmann’s instantly recognisable guitar work, the band sounding as powerful as ever as Mark Tornillo takes command of the stage. He jokes “this is the first time we’ve delayed an indoor show because of the rain”.

The performance gets an early visual boost too, with a confetti cannon exploding at the end of the opening song before ‘Teutonic Terror’ arrives with a burst of pyro. ‘Restless and Wild’, ‘London Leatherboys’ and ‘Midnight Mover’ keep the momentum high, with the band moving effortlessly between eras while the crowd respond to every familiar riff and chorus. ‘Run If You Can’ and a medley of ‘Monster Man’, ‘Aiming High’ and ‘Wrong Is Right’ demonstrate just how deep Accept’s catalogue runs.

The set continues to lean heavily into Accept’s classic material, with ‘Love Child’, ‘Fight It Back’, ‘Up to the Limit’ and ‘Breaker’ all delivered with the same muscular precision. Hoffmann remains the focal point, his guitar work cutting through the mix while Tornillo brings plenty of energy to the stage. ‘Princess of the Dawn’ proves to be a particularly strong moment, its slower, more dramatic build providing a change of pace before another extended medley brings together ‘Demon’s Night’, ‘Starlight’, ‘Losers and Winners’ and ‘Flash Rockin’ Man’. The lighting and production add plenty to the spectacle, but it is the songs themselves that remain the focus.

As the set heads towards its conclusion, Accept show no signs of easing off. ‘Pandemic’ arrives with another burst of pyro, followed by the blistering speed of ‘Fast as a Shark’, while ‘Son of a Bitch’ generates one of the evening’s biggest responses. The inevitable ‘Balls to the Wall’ is every bit as huge as expected, with the crowd taking over the vocals as the band deliver one of their defining anthems. Another pyro burst punctuates the latter part of the set, adding further impact to an already imposing production that complements rather than distracts from the music.

‘I’m a Rebel’ brings the night to its conclusion, and Accept save one final visual flourish for the closing moments as another confetti cannon erupts across the venue. It is a fitting end to a performance built around the band’s longevity, with five decades of material condensed into a set that never feels like a history lesson.

Photo credits: Tim Finch

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Live Review: Accept – Wolverhampton appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Live Gallery: Accept – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

27th August 2026
Photos: Tim Finch

We look back at the epic Accept show through the eyes of our photographer Tim Finch!

Accept

Photo credits: Tim Finch

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Live Gallery: Accept – Wolverhampton appeared first on The Razor's Edge.