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All Within My Hands (AWMH), the charitable foundation established by the members and management of Metallica, has announced the eighth year of its Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI), committing its biggest investment so far with more than $3.3 million in funding.

This year’s expansion brings 18 additional schools in the United States into the program. Fifteen institutions will each receive $75,000 to strengthen their career and technical education programs, while three schools will receive $50,000 grants for new equipment. Beyond the U.S., AWMH is also taking the initiative overseas for the first time, awarding $250,000 (£186,000) to launch the Metallica Scholars Initiative in the United Kingdom through a partnership with Capital City College Group.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield reflected on how far the program has come: “This thing started as a dream. Now our program is changing lives. To expand our impact on a global scale and support even more students is so rewarding. We’re so proud of all the Metallica Scholars who have come through it and all the ones who will participate in it. It’s humbling to know we’ve been part of the journey of thousands of trade professionals doing good, hard work in the world.”

Since launching in 2019, the Metallica Scholars Initiative has partnered with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to help students enter skilled trades. While the program initially focused on careers such as welding, plumbing, and electrical work, it has steadily broadened its reach to include industries facing growing workforce demand.

The eighth year of the initiative supports students training in nursing and healthcare, optical systems technology, automotive repair, maritime manufacturing, firefighting and EMT programs, pipefitting and agricultural careers, among other vocational fields.

Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard, president and CEO of AACC, highlighted the program’s continued growth: “The continued growth of the Metallica Scholars Initiative is a powerful testament to what’s possible when visionary philanthropy and community colleges come together around a shared mission. Through this partnership, 13,000 community college students have already been supported across the country, earning the skills needed for in-demand careers with family-sustaining wages. This latest, generous investment by Metallica‘s foundation will reach more learners while strengthening the workforce pipelines that power local economies. We are proud to partner with All Within My Hands to scale this impact, ensuring even more students have access to life-changing opportunities in the skilled trades and beyond.”

With demand for skilled trades extending well beyond the United States and Metallica‘s worldwide audience, the foundation has worked toward bringing the initiative to other countries. The first international program will launch this fall in partnership with Capital City College Group, a London-based institution with roots dating back to 1828 and more than 30,000 students across 12 campuses. The program will support students preparing for careers through vocational education.

Peter Delgrosso, executive director of AWMH, said the expansion marks a major step forward: “Metallica Scholars Year 8 will see our largest-scale growth yet, as we anticipate supporting close to 4,000 new students in the United States and more than 1,000 learners in the U.K. for a total of 5,000 across the program! This represents an approximate 40% increase in our student body, something we are incredibly excited about. Supporting people of all ages entering and ascending through trades is the right thing to do, not just domestically, but also abroad. Our Metallica Scholars have demonstrated resilience and a strong determination to succeed, which in turn motivates us to match their ambition.”

Year eight also renews partnerships with Carhartt, Wolverine, CNH Construction and Upstaging, Inc., while welcoming ServiceTitan as a new corporate partner. Together with AWMH’s leadership and the extended Metallica family, these organizations continue to support the foundation’s workforce education efforts.

Founded in 2017, All Within My Hands focuses on workforce education, hunger relief and community support. Because Metallica covers all of the foundation’s operating expenses, every donation goes directly toward supported programs. To date, AWMH has distributed $19 million through the Metallica Scholars Initiative, $8.8 million to fight food insecurity, and $6.2 million for disaster relief and other community services around the world.

The American Association of Community Colleges, based in Washington, D.C., represents community colleges serving more than 10 million students. The organization works to expand educational opportunities, strengthen career pathways and advocate for the resources needed to help students build long-term careers.

Newly added Metallica Scholar colleges:

Barton Community College – Great Bend, KS
Berkshire Community College – Pittsfield, MA
Central Maine Community College – Auburn, ME
Delaware County Community College – Media, PA
Dutchess Community College – Poughkeepsie, NY
Fletcher Technical Community College – Schriever, LA
Lake Region State College – Devils Lake, ND
Metropolitan Community College – Kansas City, MO
Monroe Community College – Rochester, NY
Moraine Valley Community College – Palos Hills, IL
North Central State College – Mansfield, OH
Northeast State Community College – Blountville, TN
Northwest Mississippi Community College – Senatobia, MS
Raritan Valley Community College – Branchburg, NJ
Riverside City College – Riverside, CA
South Texas College – McAllen, TX
Trident Technical College – North Charleston, SC
William Rainey Harper College – Palatine, IL

For a complete list of all 93 colleges currently supported by AWMH, visit here.

The post METALLICA’s “All Within My Hands” Expands “Metallica Scholars Initiative” With $3.3 Million Investment appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

They’ve also been booked for a 2027 European festival.

The post Have Heart Announce Fall “The Things We Carry” 20th Anniversary Tour appeared first on Theprp.com.

Three bright lights of the Bandcamp hip-hop underground have joined forces to support one of their own. The new single “Sound Of Horns” finds Nashville-based R.A.P. Ferreira teaming up with Los Angeles voices nahhphet and Rhys Langston over a dreamy boom-bap beat from God.Damn.Chan. It’s a protest song advocating for the safe return of LA rapper, producer, and label head Frankie Jax No Mad, aka Nairobi-born Baraka Njenga, who was detained by ICE last month and is in the process of self-deporting to Kenya. Listen below.

The post R.A.P. Ferreira, nahhphet, & Rhys Langston – “Sound Of Horns” appeared first on Stereogum.

The run begins in October and features support from Uniform and Pure Hex

Source

Suno sucks. Everyone knows this, including SZA, who recently drew attention to the way AI is exploiting Black artists. Now Suno — the $5.4 billion generative AI music creation platform — is launching an incubator program for indie musicians, and it requires them to promote and never criticize the company.

The post $5.4B AI Music Company Suno Announces Indie Incubator – Fine Print Requires Artists To Promote And Never Criticize Suno appeared first on Stereogum.

Chuck Varga, one of the founding members of Gwar and the performer behind The Sexecutioner from 1985 through 2022, is fighting cancer. As he undergoes treatment, Chuck and his wife, Bambi, are dealing with significant medical expenses along with the personal and financial strain that comes with his illness.

To help ease that burden, Gwar has launched a fundraising campaign to assist with the growing costs of Chuck’s care. Donations will go toward cancer treatments, hospice care, specialized medical equipment, and additional nursing support. The fundraiser will also help cover the expenses of keeping the couple’s Brooklyn apartment while Bambi remains away from work to care for Chuck full-time.

According to the band, the campaign is intended to help Chuck receive the care and comfort he needs while also providing financial relief for Bambi as she continues to support him through the challenges ahead.

Supporters can also purchase exclusive Chuck Varga merchandise produced specifically for the fundraiser. Among the items available is a new T-shirt featuring artwork created by Chuck himself, giving fans a chance to own a unique piece connected to his legacy with Gwar while contributing to the campaign.

The fundraiser also includes an auction for The Sexecutioner’s Axe, the signature weapon carried by Chuck’s iconic stage character for nearly 40 years. The one-of-a-kind prop will go to the highest bidder, with all proceeds benefiting Chuck and Bambi.

For more than four decades, Chuck Varga played a major role in shaping Gwar. As a performer, artist, creator and founding member, he helped build the band’s distinctive identity and contributed to its lasting place in heavy music. His artwork, imagination and commitment have influenced generations of fans and artists.

Gwar member Bob Gorman, better known as Bonesnapper, reflected on Chuck’s impact: “Chuck Varga‘s contributions to the Gwar and Slave Pit collective are enormous. The influence of his illustrations, character designs, performances, and artistic vision can still be felt throughout Gwar today. Chuck‘s over-the-top underground art aesthetic helped define an entire universe and inspired generations of artists and fans around the world. His legacy will remain with us forever, and we hope this fundraiser not only helps support Chuck and Bambi during this difficult time but also serves as a celebration of everything Chuck has given to Gwar and its community.”

The news comes more than a decade after Dave Brockie, who fronted Gwar as Oderus Urungus, died at his home in Richmond, Virginia, in March 2014. The Virginia State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the cause of death was acute heroin toxicity and ruled it accidental.

At the time of his passing, Brockie was the last remaining original member of Gwar. He was 50 years old.

Since forming more than four decades ago, Gwar has built a reputation through its outrageous stage productions, grotesque costumes, graphic live performances and satirical approach to heavy metal, performing as alien warriors bent on conquering and destroying humanity.

The post Founding GWAR Member CHUCK VARGA Battling Cancer As Band Launches Fundraiser appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
METAL DEVASTATION PR BACKS “QUIESCENT MANTIS LIVE FROM THE HIVE” FREE ALL-AGES METAL TAKEOVER IN DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE

Knoxville, TN – Saturday, July 18, 2026 | 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM CDT
Downtown Knoxville is about to get loud in the best possible way as the free all-ages event Quiescent Mantis Live From the Hive invades Market Square on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
Presented in part with support from Metal Devastation PR , this stacked summer night brings together a heavy hitting lineup of underground and rising metal acts for a four hour outdoor assault right in the heart of the city.
This one is open to everyone, no ticket required, no excuses needed.
LINEUP



Autumn Lies Buried
Quiescent Mantis Official
Warclown
Do Yourself In
Once More Again
Plus a special secret set still under wraps

EVENT DETAILS

Market Square, Downtown Knoxville
Free show, all ages welcome
Music runs 6 PM to 10 PM
Outdoor stage takeover featuring multiple heavy sets and a surprise moment built for true metalheads
ABOUT THE EVENT

“Live From the Hive” brings the underground spirit right into the city center, turning Knoxville’s historic square into a full scale metal gathering. Expect crushing sets, community chaos in the best way, and that raw DIY energy that keeps this scene alive.
With Metal Devastation PR backing the event, the goal is simple: amplify the underground, pack the square, and give the scene a night to remember without barriers or gatekeeping.
FINAL WORD

This is not a background music situation. This is a full volume, boots on the ground, shake-the-pavement kind of night. Show up early, bring the crew, and let Knoxville feel it.
Let’s make Market Square shake.
Go here for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1210834637623626

Last year’s epic Lux earned Rosalía attention from all sorts of listeners, including Mick Jagger, who recently told GQ that he’s a fan: “That was something really conceptual, really interesting. And she really pulled it off, and I really admire her for doing it.” She also earned attention from Ween fans for posting a vinyl copy of 1994’s Chocolate And Cheese on her Instagram story. Is she a fan of the brown sound, or does she merely like the cover art? Hopefully the next person who interviews her will get the scoop.

The post Rosalía Shares Tour Essay, Delights Ween Fans, Gets Shoutout From Mick Jagger appeared first on Stereogum.

“It’s funny how so many B- and C-level bands seem to spend more time talking about us than writing songs people actually remember.”

The post Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx Fires Back At Ex-Godsmack Drummer Shannon Larkin Over Backing Track Claims appeared first on Theprp.com.

Moonspell have made a career out of defying the trajectory most gothic metal bands end up on. Where others either calcify into self-parody or drift toward industrial textures and cleaner production in search of a broader audience, the Portuguese quintet has kept moving on their own terms: sometimes frustrating, sometimes revelatory, always distinctly themselves. Far From God, their fourteenth studio album, feels like the record they have been building toward for the better part of a decade, even if it takes the form of a deliberate step backward.

The Irreligious comparison is going to follow this album everywhere, and it is not wrong. Far From God shares the same DNA: dense gothic atmosphere, Fernando Ribeiro‘s baritone commanding the center, vampiric imagery treated with the kind of sincerity that lesser bands use as a punchline. But calling it a nostalgia exercise misses the point. Moonspell are not trying to recreate 1996; instead, they are applying what they learned from it.

The title track makes that clear from the opening minute. The riff is heavy and deliberate, the keyboards expand the space around it without swallowing it, and Ribeiro sounds like a man who has been saving something for exactly this moment. The vampire at the heart of the song is not a horror prop: it is the same figure that runs through the best of Moonspell‘s catalog, a symbol of desire that destroys, beauty that cannot survive contact with the ordinary world. It lands because they believe it, and because Jaime Gomez Arellano‘s production gives it the density it needs without flattening the atmosphere.

“Cross Your Heart” is quieter and, in some ways, more affecting. Built around brooding mid-tempo riffing and a melody that takes its time arriving, it deals with roadside shrines, premature death, and the particular loneliness of a life lived in motion. It is the kind of song that sneaks up on you; maybe not immediately striking, but hard to shake afterward.

“The Great Wolf in the Sky” brings in strings courtesy of Alicia Nuhro and functions as the album’s emotional peak. It carries the weight of tribute and collective mourning in a way that gives the record a scope beyond its own runtime, tying Moonspell‘s mythology to the people and losses that helped build it. It is the song that earns the album’s more ambitious claims.

The thematic territory across Far From God — vampires, werewolves, sacred imagery, guilt, faith, desire, mortality — is well-worn ground for Moonspell, and that familiarity is both the album’s strength and its only real limitation. There are moments where the record settles into a groove that feels slightly too comfortable, where you wish it would push harder or take a sharper turn. But those moments are few, and they are outweighed by how consistently the band delivers on what they set out to do.

Arellano‘s production deserves particular credit. He gives the guitars enough weight to carry the darker material without turning the album into a slog, and he keeps Ribeiro‘s voice where it belongs: out front, dramatic, never buried. The keyboards fill space rather than dominate it, which is a balance Moonspell have not always managed on previous records.

Far From God will not convert anyone who has never understood what Moonspell are doing, and it is probably not the entry point for the uninitiated. But for listeners who have followed this band through their more experimental phases and wanted them to find their footing again, this is the record that delivers. It is focused, heavy where it needs to be, atmospheric without being indulgent, and emotionally direct in a way that gothic metal rarely allows itself to be.

Moonspell have been here before. The difference is they sound like they mean it again.

Release Date: July 3rd, 2026
Record Label: Napalm Records
Genre: Gothic Metal

Musicians:

• Fernando Ribeiro / Vocals
• Ricardo Amorim / Guitars
• Aires Pereira / Bass
• Pedro Paixão / Keyboards, guitars
• Hugo Ribeiro / Drums

Far From God Track-list:

1. Cross Your Heart
2. Far From God
3. The Great Wolf in the Sky
4. Biblical
5. Your Promise of Light
6. For the Love of Mortals
7. Our Freedom to Fall
8. Reconquista

Order the album here.

The post MOONSPELL – Far From God (Album Review) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.