Sweden’s Liv Jagrell has proven she is a fitting heavy metal ambassador for this or any time, honoring both the rich history of the genre, or more modern styles with her raspy, enthusiastic ease. Be it Sister Sin‘s perfectly delivered heavy gutter glam n’ roll or the cruncified blend of styles in the Liv Sin band, she fully commits to the belief that metal is a valid way of life and the really silly ones are those who doubt and thus miss out.
System Of A Down, Incubus, Korn, Evanescence and Deftones will headline Sick New World Festival, a new music festival in 2023 featuring some of the biggest names in nu-metal. Among the dozens of bands on the bill, it will mark the reunions of both Flyleaf with lacey Sturm and Coal Chamber. The event will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the site of the recent When We Were Young Festival, that was forced to cancel one day of the fest due to high winds.
My Saturday at Download began over at the main stage where I caught the retro new wave of classic rock act Those Damn Crows, a band who have amassed a significant following in Wales thanks to appearances at the likes of Steelhouse Festival and other rock-oriented affairs. Possibly one of the smallest acts to perform on the main stage this year, the band spared no expense offering a fantastic wake-up call with some unremarkable if solid hard rock tunes. The day’s proceedings then continued firmly in the rocky territory with a southern, slightly heavier twang with Black Label Society, in their first festival appearance on UK soil since 2015, and with less of Zakk Wylde’s expectedly lengthy and tiresome soloing. Don’t get me wrong, Zakk was still doing his usual thing, but with a much-needed addition of percussion, making the moments of instrumental wankery much more palatable than usual.
After a prolonged absence from the British metal scene courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic (save for a scaled-back pilot event in 2021), Leicestershire’s iconic summer rock, punk, and metal weekender, Download Festival returned to Castle Donnington in a maximalist blaze of glory, packing in a full-scale 5-day experience with some familiar favorites, hotly tipped up-and-comers and some of the best international acts that rock and metal scene has to offer.
Detroit’s Midtown is buzzing with culture and is home to some of the best music venues in the city. At the heart of this exciting district rests the prestigious Majestic Theatre. The building is over one hundred years old and carries a lot of music history in its walls. Last Thursday the venue’s marquee lit up with the name Apocalyptica. The Finnish act brought their Cell-0 Tour to Motor City, and they picked the perfect place to promote their latest record. Along with Italy’s Lacuna Coil, the night was set up for an enchanting experience filled with glamor, energy, and theatrics. The brisk April night started off with a queue of symphonic metal enthusiasts lining up around the building. Soon the large and ornate theatre room was filled with eager devotees ready for the music to begin.
Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast free-to-play mobile game is excited to announce a major in-game collaboration, this time with Disturbed! Following successful collaborations last year with Amon Amarth, Lacuna Coil, and Ghost, Iron Maiden’s Legacy of the Beast has teamed up with Disturbed to bring the iconic cloaked mascot “The Guy” to life in the mobile game. Kicking off Wednesday, February 16th, 2022 PST, you can play a limited-time, in-game event called, Disturbing Sciences featuring a limited-time character, The Guy. The game’s Disturbing Sciences event is an ode to both bands’ lore taking its broad themes from the cover of Iron Maiden’s 1986 album Somewhere in Time and Disturbed: Dark Messiah, a five-part comic book series where The Guy makes his comic book debut. Over the years, The Guy has been depicted as an antihero, saving people from corporate corruption, often through violent means. Watch a trailer now featuring David Draiman sharing his thoughts on the game.
Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival has announced most of their 2022 lineup! Headlined by Korn, Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin and Evanescence and also featuring Lamb Of God, Papa Roach, Seether, Falling In Reverse, Three Days Grace, I Prevail, Black Label Society, Theory Of A Deadman, Black Veil Brides, Jelly Roll and more! Taking place July 15th – 17th, music fans will converge for three days of nonstop music, tattooing, haunted attractions, and more, all held on the historic grounds of the Ohio State Reformatory (made famous by the movie “The Shawshank Redemption”) located in Mansfield, Ohio.
Finnish Symphonic Metal band Apocalyptica has launched a Tik Tok and already have put out some great content! Check out their posts and follow them today. The band has a string of tour dates next month, kicking off in Russia and trekking through Europe. The band has postponed other tours with Evanescene and another with Lacuna Coil. They continue to support their album Cell-0, and have put out a string of new singles and collabs with other artists, including their latest single – “Venomous Moon” – featuring The Rasmus.
Download Festival 2021 is postponed to summer 2022, but the fest has wasted little time stacking the bill. Already headlined by Iron Maiden, KISS, and Biffy Clyro, seventy new bands have been added including Deftones, Korn, Megadeth, Steel Panther, The Ghost Inside, Funeral For A Friend, Descendents, Electric Wizard, and Sepultura. Watch a video teaser with the updated poster and buy your tickets now!
