metal: Last News

System Of A Down‘s Shavo Odadjian has launched his brand new project Seven Hours After Violet with the gnarly new single ‘Paradise’.The bassist has unveiled the new five-piece band, which consists of Odjajian, Taylor Barber from Left To Suffer on vocals, Alejandro Aranda from Scarypoolparty on guitar/backing vocals, with Morgoth and Josh Johnson from Winds of Plague on guitar/production and drums respectively.Speaking about the new song, Odadjian says ‘Paradise’ “showcases the various dynamics we explore throughout, which makes it the perfect introduction to Seven Hours After Violet.”“I’ve been making music for over 30 years, and I wanted to do something super heavy but melodic and come back to my roots,” he continued. “Until this band, every side project I’ve done has been outside the walls of heavy music.

Deftones are the most popular metal band to listen to during sex, according to a new study.The study was carried out by ZipHealth, which surveyed over 1,000 Americans to find out what listening habits they may have in the bedroom. Overall, it was found that 47 per cent of respondents said that they regularly listen to music during sex, and metal band Deftones were found to be one of the most popular choices.In addition to asking people as part of a survey, ZipHealth also analysed playlists across Spotify which contained the words “sex”, having sex”, “making love”, “freaky”, “BDSM” and “unprotected sex” in the title.While the findings showed that it was largely hip-hop and rap that dominated the most popular choices, the Chino Moreno-led band were placed in the Number Three spot overall, just behind The Weeknd, who topped the list, and Kanye West, who came in at second place.In fact, Deftones were the only band from a hard rock or metal category to be featured in the Top 10 overall acts.

Pantera have announced their first UK and Ireland tour in 20 years – find ticket details below.The heavy metal icons will be headed across the pond in early 2025, and the tour will mark their first time performing headline shows here in two decades.They first announced plans to reunite with a revamped line-up back in July 2022 – this saw Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne) on guitar and Charlie Benante (Anthrax) on drums joining original members, frontman Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown.The news broke following the band signing a deal with Artist Group International for a series of US tour dates.Wylde took on the role from late guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was killed onstage in 2004. Benante, meanwhile, fills the role left by the late Vinnie Paul who died from medical complications in 2018.While the reformed line-up have taken to the stage multiple times across the US since reforming – including acting as support for Metallica on their ‘72 Seasons’ tour – their dates in the UK and Ireland have been limited.

Bring Me The Horizon‘s Oli Sykes has given hints about what fans can expect from their new music in the ‘Post Human’ series.The frontman recently spoke to NME from the band’s HQ in Sheffield fresh off releasing their latest album, ‘Post Human: Nex Gen‘. It marked the second album in their ‘Post Human’ series, the first, ‘Survival Horror‘, was released in 2020, and ‘Nex Gen’ was surprised released last month after multiple delays.The band initially planned to release four ‘Post Human’ EPs in a year, but changed upon lockdown lifting: “We thought we were going to be in lockdown for a lot longer than we were.

System Of A Down‘s Serj Tankian has weighed in on the current situation in Palestine and the movement to boycott companies with ties to Israel.Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 in response to its occupation of Palestinian territories, killing 1,189 people. Israel’s ongoing operations in the interim have killed 37,702 Palestinians [via Al Jazeera].Recently, record labels, promoters and more have called for a cultural boycott of Israel through the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), an offshoot of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) which was behind the huge wave of drop-outs from The Great Escape, Latitude Festival and Download Festival this year.In an interview with NME about his new autobiography Down With The System, Tankian has given his take on current world events and the ongoing boycotts.

Bring Me The Horizon frontman Oli Sykes has opened up about rehab and his recovery after “falling back into drugs and bad habits in lockdown”.The singer spoke about his struggles with substance abuse in 2015, claiming that drug addiction made him want to kill himself. At the time, Sykes revealed that BMTH’s 2013 album ‘Sempiternal’ was written after he recovered from a ketamine addiction.He eventually attended rehab sessions, but stated that he disagreed with many of the things that drug rehabilitation teaches: “They tell you ‘it’s a disease’ – that’s bollocks. It’s not a disease; it’s a self-inflicted problem.

Slipknot have announced their European live shows slated to take place next summer.The masked icons shared that they will be headlining the 2025 editions of the Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park festival. The two German festivals are set to take place in Nürburg and Nuremberg, respectively, between June 6 – 8 2025. No other acts have been announced at the time of writing.Tickets for the festivals are already available for purchase.

Pest Control have pulled out of Download 2024 over its sponsorship with Barclays and the bank’s ties to Israel.The band took to their official Instagram to share a statement explaining why they would be boycotting the annual festival in Donnington. “We have made the decision to pull out of our upcoming shows at Download festival this week (Wednesday 12th June and Sunday 16th June),” began their statement.They explained that they are taking part in the boycott against Barclays bank who are sponsoring the music festival.

Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes has told NME that Jordan Fish’s exit from the band came as they had “got to the point where we weren’t happy as a unit anymore”.The news of keyboardist, producer and percussionist Fish’s departure from the Sheffield band broke in December last year.He had joined in 2012 and was instrumental in shaping the band’s songwriting approach and modern sound by adding more electronic elements – particularly on 2013’s landmark record ‘Sempiternal’. He was also part of the band for 2015’s ‘That’s The Spirit‘, 2019’s ‘amo’ and 2020’s ‘Post Human: Survival Horror’.

Slayer and has said that the band “will never tour again”.King – the band’s guitarist – appeared as a guest in a new interview with Jonathan Clarke, the host of Out Of The Box on Q104.3, New York’s classic rock station. During the chat, King was asked about Slayer’s forthcoming reunion gigs and how they came about.The band’s reunion tour comes five years after Slayer completed their last run of gigs which were billed as their farewell tour at the time. Now, the band will be headlining two festivals this September, namely Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, and Riot Fest in Chicago.The line-up will be the same as it was when the band ended, featuring co-founders King and Tom Araya, guitarist Gary Holt (also of Exodus) and drummer Paul Bostaph.“I’ll put it in the perspective everybody can understand.

Download Festival 2024 is due to kick off next week – check out the latest weather forecast below.This year’s edition of the rock and metal event is set to take place at Donington Park in Leicestershire between June 14-16. Queens Of The Stone Age, Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold will all headline the main stage.Other confirmed acts include Royal Blood, The Offspring, Machine Head, Pantera, Corey Taylor, While She Sleeps, Sum 41, Billy Talent, The Used, Babymetal and Bowling For Soup.

Download Festival attendees have been issued new advice ahead of this year’s event to avoid a repeat of the “unprecedented” congestion that took place last year.There were major delays on the surrounding roads, including the M1, A50 and A453, as festivalgoers descended on Donington Park in Leicestershire last year. Some fans said it took them up to seven hours to get on the site, while according to the leader of Leicestershire County Council, around 600 people missed flights at the nearby East Midlands Airport due to traffic jams.Part of the reason for this may have been that last year’s event took place over four days as opposed to its usual three in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Metallica could be coming to Fortnite, according to a note found in the battle royale’s backend code.According to Fortnite reporter Shiina, one fan found a text file in Fortnite’s backend that read “used in CH5S3 Metallica Concert”, which seemingly confirms a Metallica gig will take place at some point during Fornite’s current Chapter 5 Season 3. The new season kicked off May 24 and is set to run until August 16.Metallica fans have been able to purchase the Master Of Puppets emote since late 2022 and earlier this week, it was confirmed by developers that ‘Master Of Puppets’ was due to be added to Fortnite Festival, making it the longest jam track in the game.UPDATE :This was confirmed to be the full 9 Minutes from a Harmonix DevThanks to @beestinging7 for pointing this out! https://t.co/IRA7ke0PwM pic.twitter.com/SVHwuwBpV6— BeastFNCreative • Fortnite Leaks (@BeastFNCreative) June 4, 2024It’s yet to be confirmed how a “Metallica concert” will be added to Fortnite but many fans are speculating that the band could be the fourth headline act of Fortnite Festival.Fortnite Festival is a dedicated rhythm game that emulates the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band.

Slayer, King Diamond, Slipknot and more, Mayhem Festival will now be showcasing younger acts, led by the likes of Bad Omens, Poppy and more.Headlining Mayhem’s return are Bad Omens, while Parkway Drive, Architects, Jinjer, Poppy and more high up on the bill. Other acts included on the bill are Kittie, August Burns Red, We Came As Romans, Suicide Silence, Hanabie, Mothica and more.Tickets to Mayhem Festival’s return have yet to go on sale, but fans can sign up via the festival’s official website for early access.Bad OmensParkway DriveArchitectsJinjerPoppyKittieAugust Burns RedSeven Hours After VioletWe Came As RomansSuicide SilenceAfter The BurialThrowdownBorn Of OsirisMothicaHanabiePeyton ParrishDarkest HourUnearthBrutusIt Dies TodayEscuelaGrindHoly WarsRoman CandleA post shared by mayhemfest (@mayhemfest) The last edition of Mayhem Festival took place in 2015 and was a touring festival, putting on 26 events in the span of under two months between June and August that year.

Poppy has spoken to NME about her brutal, Madonna-inspired metal track ‘New Way Out’, the ongoing success of hardcore, collaborating with Bad Omens and Knocked Loose, and injecting more whimsy into her music.‘New Way Out’ is the first taste of new music from Poppy since the release of 2023’s ‘Zig’.“The mission for that album was to make a dance-inspired piece, but for this project, the goal is to bring a new level of intensity to my music,” Poppy told NME. “It feels like a good time for it as well, because there’s a lot of tension out there.”Teasing that her fans have “been waiting for this sort of musical foray from me,” Poppy explained her deeper exploration of hard rock, having first dabbled in metal with 2018’s ‘Am I A Girl?’ before really embracing the genre with 2019’s industrial ‘Choke’ EP and 2020’s ‘I Disagree’.“I still think ‘New Way Out’ is uncharted territory for me,” she continued.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield has revealed the odd nightmares he often has before heading out on tour with the band.During a recent appearance on The Metallica Report podcast, Hetfield explained that he can begin to “doubt himself” and feel “insecure” ahead of hitting the road for a run of shows (via Guitar.com).The interview comes as Metallica continue their current ‘M27’ dates across Europe, with the North American leg scheduled to kick off this August in support of the group’s latest album ’72 Seasons’.“Obviously before heading out on tour, sitting there trying to remember the myriad of pretty awesome songs we have and then just trusting that once we get together, it’s like, oh yeah, it’s muscle memory,” Hetfield said. “But yeah, over the last month, I will say that the normal thing happens where I start to doubt myself.”He continued: “I start to feel insecure that, whoa, we’re old, we can’t do this and blah blah blah – all that bullshit that everyone tells themselves before they go into something that they care about and is important.“So having the nightmares of, you know, I’m the only one who cares about what we’re doing here.

Metallica have released pro-shoot footage of their ‘Master of Puppets’ performance in Munich, Germany, which took place on May 24. Watch the clip below.The performance went viral last month due to the weather that took place above the open-air Olympiastadion stadium – amidst heavy rain, as the band ripped into the song’s iconic opening riff, a bolt of lightning appeared in the sky.A fan filmed the incident and tweeted about it: “Went to the Metallica concert in München today, a thunderstorm happened and it made for the coolest fucking intro of all time”.NME spoke with the band last year, where drummer Lars Ulrich opened up about the impact of Stranger Things using ‘Master of Puppets’ during a key scene in the show’s season four finale.“We see a lot of 13 to 14-year-olds coming for the first time,” said Ulrich.

Sebastian Bach has seemingly reignited his feud with pro-wrestler and Fozzy lead singer Chris Jericho.In a recent interview with Metal Hammer featuring fan-sourced questions from social media, former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach took yet another jab at Jericho. When asked if he’d ever have a “sing-off” with Jericho, Bach replied: “The better question would be, will he do a wrestle-off with Sebastian Bach? Because I’m as much of a wrestler as he is a singer.”The question seemed to reference a series of Twitter (now known as X) posts from 2020, in which Bach accused Jericho of lip-syncing during Fozzy shows.He definitely does considering that he mimes to a tape— Sebastian Bach™️ (@sebastianbach) July 16, 2020Bach’s post kicked off a tense series of back-and-forth posts between himself and Jericho, who challenged Bach to a sing-off.

Tool bassist Justin Chancellor has spoken to NME about the pressure from fans to release new music, admitting that “it’s not the easiest thing to do”.The LA band’s fifth and most recent album, ‘Fear Inoculum’, came out in 2019 – marking their first full-length project since 2006’s ‘10,000 Days’.However, Chancellor said earlier this year that there was “no thought of taking 13 years” to drop Tool’s sixth LP, and that they’d be heading back to the studio after their current UK and European tour.He also explained that the group had already reunited for some writing sessions before they embarked on their North American tour in late 2023. “We gave it a stab for a couple of months,” the musician said in February.During a recent interview with NME, Chancellor was asked about the current status of Tool’s new music, and whether he felt any pressure to deliver another album sooner rather than later.“It definitely comes on our own terms,” he responded.

Download Festival booker Andy Copping has revealed that a “big band” will perform a surprise set at this year’s edition of the fest.Copping recently hosted an hour-long show on Planet Rock called Andy Copping’s Secrets of Download during the bank holiday (May 27). While on air, he opened up about the most iconic moments of Download Festival and reflected on Metallica’s surprise set at the first edition of the festival in 2003.“In some years we’ve had some secret sets from different bands – Enter Shikari, Black Stone Cherry, Bullet For My Valentine.

Bring Me The Horizon fans are convinced that they’ve stumbled upon a big secret, which is hidden inside the band’s brand new album.After months of waiting, ‘POST HUMAN: NeX GEn’ – the follow-up to 2020’s ‘POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR’ – arrived last week. It was scheduled to arrive last September after being announced during the band’s headline debut at Download Festival.