Pulse – Rock Music News

Killswitch Engage lead singer Jesse Leach agrees that the subgenre of metalcore became "oversaturated," but he gives props to one band that was influenced by the sound but found a way to make it their own, namely Architects. He told Metal Hammer, "They came up around that time and they've turned into an incredible band. The ones that had nothing else have been forgotten. It's the difference between starting a band because you're passionate and starting one because you want to look cool and get chicks."

Leach said, "The good ones found their sound over time, but there was an oversaturation of bands who were churning out this big riff, heavy verse, melodic chorus thing. It felt tired, like labels were looking for those bands because they sounded like a band who were becoming successful."

Megadeth's Dave Mustaine made the day of some young fans in the crowd at a recent stop on the Metal Tour of the Year, which also features Lamb of God, Trivium and In Flames. Mustaine, dressed in a hoodie with the hood up, sat in an empty row behind some concertgoers and seemed to be recognized by a couple of young boys. Mustaine quietly handed them guitar picks and then held up his finger over his mouth, stood up and waved goodbye. The boys were sitting with adults who weren't paying too much attention and missed their chance to engage with the musician.

The Metal Tour of the Year rolls on to Cedar Rapids, IA tonight (Wednesday, April 27th).

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett credits the band's personal growth for his debut solo release of Portals. While chatting with Kerrang, Hammett explained how the new EP came to be through his own sobriety and the band's maturity. He touched upon how former-bassist Jason Newsted's 2001 exit came about, in part, to his wanting to pursue a solo project away from the band.

Hammett compared the difference between Newsted wanting to stretch his wings and him doing so today: "It is 20 years later and Metallica have gotten even bigger since then. So trying to divert any kind of focus at this point, it would take an army to do that. And it's just good ol' me. And also we've all grown. We've all grown from our experiences and we've certainly grown from (Jason Newsted's departure). It's a recognition that we're all musicians, we're all artists. Who's to say to someone else, 'Don't put your art out there, I don't want you to'? We've all grown up, basically."

He went on to say, "So the question is, were we not grown up back then? Of course not. We'll be the first ones -- or at least I will -- to put my hands up and say I only feel like I've reached maturity in the last 10 f***ing years. Also I have to say I've been sober for seven-and-a-half years now and my mind is in a different place, I'm better focused. I got my brain back, I've gotten my memory back so nowadays I'm in a better place. I record music and my focus is that much better."

Hammett spoke about being able to tap into a different mindset when writing and playing the material he creates apart from Metallica: "It was a very conscious effort to write things for Portals that did not sound like they could be on the next Metallica album. And that's very easy because I play all different kinds of music. I play jazz, bossa nova, rock, all sorts of stuff. It's very easy for me to know what a Metallica formula is because I helped f***ing formulate it. So it was very easy for me to not write stuff that sounded like Metallica and vice-versa -- it's very easy for me to slip into Metallica mode and write heavy, aggressive music. I've been doing it for so long I can literally put myself in that mode in 10 seconds."

During the pandemic, recording has proved to be a big hurdle for Metallica -- but the band has been busy culling ideas for its next studio project. Kirk Hammett told us a while back that coming up with material is never a problem for Metallica: "We're a band that never has a shortage of ideas. Y'know, you hear about these bands that are like, oh, they're sitting in the studio and they don't have any songs, what are they gonna do? That's not Metallica. Metallica's problem is the total opposite: we have too many ideas, which ones are we gonna use. And so that's pretty much how it stands with us."

Metallica performs tonight (April 27th) in Santiago, Chile at Club Hípico.

Yungblud and Willow took to Instagram to tease what seems to be an upcoming collaboration. Yungblud shared a video on his IG featuring Willow lighting his cigarette, along with the caption, "somethins comin may 6th … u ready?". Meanwhile, Willow posted a photo of the pair colored in blue and yellow.

Late last year, Yungblood was photographed in the studio with Willow.

The B-52's have just announced their farewell tour. The band, who'll be joined at various stops by either the Tubes or KC & The Sunshine Band, launch their final trek on August 22nd at Seattle's McCaw Hall and wrap things up over two nights for hometown gigs on November 11th and 12th at Atlanta's Fox Theatre.

The group is currently working with director Craig Johnson on the definitive documentary of their career, which is expected to see release next year.

The group addressed their final dates in a press release:

Kate Pierson: "Who knew what started as a way to have some fun and play music for our friends' at house parties in Athens in 1977 would evolve into over 45 years of making music and touring the world. It's been cosmic."

Cindy Wilson: "It has been a wild ride, that's for sure. We feel truly blessed to have had an amazing career encouraging folks to dance, sing along with us and feel they can be whomever they are with our music."

Fred Schneider: "No one likes to throw a party more than we do, but after almost a half-century on the road, it's time for one last blow-out with our friends and family. . . our fans. And with KC & The Sunshine Band and The Tubes on board, it's going to be one hell of a farewell party at these concerts."

We asked singer Kate Pierson how the B-52's have been able to keep the show on the road so smoothly after all these years: "We learned to accept each other with all our, y'know, wonderful things, and flaws, and attributes (laughs). Y'know, we really accept each other; we're still like a family. We still make each other laugh -- that's the key thing. Of course I'm not saying there aren't ups and downs, but I think it's still amazing that we can still make each other laugh, we still hang out after the show. Y'know, we really have fun together."

JUST ANNOUNCED: The B-52's tour dates (subject to change):

August 22 - Seattle, WA - McCaw Hall (with The Tubes)
September 29 - Mashantucket, CT - Foxwoods Casino (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
September. 30 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
October 1 - Washington, DC - The Anthem (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
October 7 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theatre (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
October 13, 14 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
October 15 - Atlantic City, NJ - Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
October 19, 21, 22 - Las Vegas, NV - The Venetian Theatre|
October 28, 29 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic Auditorium (with The Tubes)
November 4 - Los Angeles, CA - YouTube Theater (with KC & The Sunshine Band)
November 11, 12 - Atlanta, GA - The Fox Theatre (with KC & The Sunshine Band)

Nine Inch Nails will kick off their first U.S. tour since 2018 on Thursday (April 28th), and they will be joined by support acts Boy Harsher, 100 Gecs and Yves Tumor on select dates, it was announced yesterday (Monday, April 25th). The lineup was personally curated by Trent Reznor. Thursday's show will take place at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC.

Boy Harsher and 100 Gecs will support on the first leg, while Yves Tumor will play the September dates, which include a two-night-stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado (September 2nd and 3rd).

As previously announced, Ministry and Nitzer Ebb will join Nine Inch Nails for a special show in Cleveland, where Nine Inch Nails was founded in 1988. The September 24th concert, which closes out the tour, will take place at Blossom Music Center.

Nine Inch Nails will also headline numerous festivals over the next few months.

Staind will hit the road on a 12-date trek this fall. The band will kick things off on September 8th in Niagara Falls, New York and wrap up the run on September 24th in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Tickets go on sale on Friday (April 29th) at staindofficial.com.

Blabbermouth.net reports Staind's Mike Mushok told Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio last June that "he and his bandmates were working on their first studio album since 2011's self-titled effort."

Staind served as tour support for Korn last summer.

Arcade Fire has announced a new single entitled "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid." It will be the next single from the upcoming album "WE." The song will arrive later this week. The band posted a clip of the track and tweeted, "Listen in to @zanelowe's @applemusic show on Wednesday 5pm BST / 9am PDT / 12pm EDT to hear the first play."

WE is due out on May 6th.

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott feels the delays caused by the pandemic to the soon-to-be launched "Stadium Tour" ultimately benefitted the band. Leppard will be out on the road all summer with Motley Crue, Poison, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts with opening night set for June 16th at Atlanta's SunTrust Park.

While talking to Heavy Consequence, Joe Elliott explained that having the band's new album, Diamond Star Halos in the can and ready for release upon hitting the road, is a best case scenario: "The advantage as well, now in 2022, over last year, or the year before, is that we can play some new music which we wouldn't have been able to do in 2020. It would have been fine because that's what the tour was set out to be, not a greatest hits tour but a trip down memory lane, your legacy, your back catalog, all the songs that people want to hear in the Stadium."

Elliott touched upon the risks of introducing new material in a mammoth football stadium jam-packed with fans on a summer night: "It's not the environment. If you want to play 12 new songs, you need to be in an open mic night in a basement somewhere. It's not really what (Paul) McCartney, the (Rolling) Stones, or anybody with a brain would do in a stadium, but we can introduce some of the new songs into this tour which we couldn't have done before."

He went on to say, "It's been an advantage for us that this tour got delayed for two years. Obviously, under the backdrop of a terrible situation for the world, people dying all over the place and getting sick, all we could do was write it out. The best thing we could do was to stay as safe as possible, stay as remote as possible, and not waste our time."

Def Leppard's Diamond Star Halos drops on May 27th. Although Leppard is no doubt proud of their new material, Joe Elliott told us to never expect the band to try out unreleased material during a concert anytime soon: "Nowadays we play one song, it's gonna be on YouTube two minutes later. And it's gonna be. . . Everyone is gonna know it that cares about it, six months before the thing comes out."

He also said that even when the new material has been released, it isn't always familiar enough to put into their set list: "We'd love to play some new songs, but at the same time, we're also aware of the fact that (even) when you play new songs that are actually out and available, they sometimes die on stage. Just not enough people know them yet."

Gene Simmons revealed that in addition to packing it in on the road -- Kiss is done as a recording entity. The band's last album was 2012's Top Three Monster collection.

Simmons was pressed by Classic Rock magazine as to whether he saw Kiss ever recording a followup to its 20th studio set. Simmons said, "I do not. Not to say we don't enjoy the creative process, but Kiss is not a charity. Working your ass off to have somebody download or stream your music for free is not my idea of how things should be. When you don't put a value on music, it doesn't have value."

When asked about his emotions regarding Kiss winding down its touring career, Simmons admitted: "Quite honestly, I don't really think about it much, because we really are having the best time ever. And we're playing better than ever. But I know that at some point there's going to be that last song that Kiss will ever play on stage, and I know I'll be crying like a baby and won't be able to hold back the emotions, because what an amazing journey this has been."

Simmons spoke about his 2006 to 2012 A&E reality show, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, and his decision at the time to expose his family and private life to fans: "I looked at it as a family video album. Also, it was a chance to teach commerce to my kids Nick and Sophie. I never gave them an allowance, so that was when they got their first paychecks."

Gene Simmons is arguably the most unapologetic rock star out there and has always been completely comfortable letting people into his personal life: "From about 20-to-45, you can go through the, 'No, we really did crawl out from under your bed' and 'we really are the boogeyman' and all that stuff. Then, past a certain point, there's nothing left to prove to anyone. When you're filthy rich and you've been around for over three decades, it's okay to say this is who you are on stage, and this is who I am off stage. If I tried to do it other ways, it wouldn't be convincing."

Kiss performs tonight (April 26th) in Porto Alegre, Brazil at Arena do Gremio.

The band kicks off its North American dates on May 11th at Milwaukee's American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

During her headlining performance at the Coachella festival on Saturday (April 23), Billie Eilish slipped and fell, face down on the stage. She got up immediately, laughed it off, and said, "Ouch! You guys, I just ate A** up here…. ok, I'm good."

It happened just as the stage went dark and she was getting ready to sing her hit "Getting Older."

After finishing the song, Billie explained what happened. "It was pitch black and you see that square? This F—king thing? I went de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de-de and fell onto my face."

In response, members of the crowd then chanted, "F—k the square."

Before her set was over, she surprised the audience by bringing out Paramore's Hayley Williams. Alongside her brother, Finneas, they sang an acoustic version of "Misery Business."
TL;DR:

• At Coachella, Billie Eilish slipped and fell, face down on the stage.
• She got up immediately, laughed it off.
• She surprised the audience by bringing out Paramore's Hayley Williams.

In an interview last week with a Swedish radio station, Mick Jagger gave Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud some high praise. When talking about the stance of today's rock music, he mentioned a couple of artist that he liked and added that they both have a lot of energy.

He said: "In rock music you need energy and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few. You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kind of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll."

Jagger took a moment to speak about his future in music, noting that his European Rolling Stones tour wouldn't be his last one. "I love being on tour. I don't think I would do it if I did not enjoy it."

TL;DR:

• Mick Jagger said: "In rock music you need energy and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few. You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kind of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll."

Alter Bridge's next album "should come out in September," according to the band's guitarist Mark Tremonti. He told Niclas Müller-Hansen of RockSverige, "We all went in to do pre-production. Myles (Kennedy) and I write demos and then one by one we'll go through the demos until we're satisfied with the record. We arranged 14 songs and then the producer's, like, 'Hey, here's the moment of truth: we have to cut two of them.' That's the worst thing, so me and Myles were, like, 'We'll both cut one of the songs that we brought.'"

The new album will be the followup to Alter Bridge's 2019 project Walk The Sky.

The band plans to tour Europe in support of the new album in October.

After ending up with egg on his face for revealing tentative plans regarding a Van Halen reunion, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted is choosing to instead blame the reporter for printing his ultra-newsworthy quotes regarding the project.

Blabbermouth transcribed some of Newsted's interview with West Palm Beach, Florida's 98.7 The Gater, in which he complained that rather than focusing on a benefit show he was playing with the Chophouse Band, The Palm Beach Post ran with his revelation that he was at one time tapped to playing in a revamped version of Van Halen.

Newsted spoke about the item, in which he let it slip that David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, and Joe Satriani were planning some sort of Van Halen outing: "That was bad, dude. I'm not happy about that. I'm really, really not happy about that. I don't do very many interviews anymore, and I agreed to do that to promote the show for the kids. So if I go to talk about that, and I mentioned two little things over here about the calls that I've received in the past 20 years from whoever it is -- Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, whatever; man, whatever -- I was just listing a list of the calls that I received over time that never went anywhere."

He went on to say, "I only said yes to a couple of the 30 that I received, and I mentioned a couple of them that impressed me. People that if I wouldn't have had their records, I wouldn't play the way I do, they called me on my home phone and said, 'You wanna come and jam with us?' Dude, I'm off the ground; I'm levitating. I'm, like, 'Why would Aerosmith call me?' That's a big frickin' deal to a kid. Just a kid from a farm in Michigan, dude, and a guy from Aerosmith calls and asks me to play bass? However many years later when you stole that album from your brother's collection. It's frickin' huge. That's all I was doing. I talked about two seconds about that, and that's what they chose to go for. They didn't talk about the Conservatory, the kids' classes, the things that we're doing, the Chophouse Band, why we do that we do."

Newsted, who disinvited the reporter to the benefit show he was initially being interviewed for, seems to remain unaware that it was he who spilled the beans on the Van Halen reunion plans -- and in no way was tricked into doing so by the reporter -- who actually knew nothing about it -- adding, "That really rubbed me wrong. I don't know what interviews I'll do again. I'm not sure if I'll say yes to anything."

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea admitted he and drummer Chad Smith pretty much only share a musical relationship. MusicRadar.com reported that despite being one of rock's most creative rhythm sections in any era, while chatting on Rick Rubin's Broken Record podcast, Flea shed light on how the two co-exist in the Chili Peppers: "My relationship with Chad is that we don't hang out outside of the band. Never have. I've probably been to his house once, it's like this different thing. It's just this very grounded, rhythmic thing, there's no bulls*** about it. Not that the others (relationships within the band) have bulls*** about it either, but, we get down, we look at each other, and that's how we talk. Very rarely do we speak about emotional things, about spiritual things, even things that trouble us or things we aspire to. It's just, we get down and f***ing hammer out some grooves (laughs)."

He went on to explain, "We talk by playing, we talk by looking at each other and knowing when to lay back into a groove or knowing when to lean forward, and knowing when to sit right in the middle, or knowing when he should lay back and I should lean forward or vice versa. . . That is a beautiful conversation that Chad and I share, and I'm so grateful for that. That's the way that we are, and that's what it is, that's awesome."

Chad Smith told us a while back that it's rare for members of the Chili Peppers to write new music without each other: "We always got ideas bouncing, but until the four of us get in a room together, y'know, that's when we really see how it takes shape. And for the most part when we all get together, that's when it really starts -- get into a groove of jamming and writing."

Mike Shinoda spoke about the future of Linkin Park during a Twitch livestream over the weekend. He said the band talks every few weeks, but they have no plans for new music or live shows in the near future.

He said, "Anytime the band says anything or does anything, everyone tries to start up the hype train. And we're like 'No, no, no, no. Don't start the hype train. You're going to disappoint yourself.'"

The band hasn't performed together since 2017, when the surviving members held a tribute concert for their late singer Chester Bennington. And they haven't released any new music since his death, except for the 20^th anniversary edition of their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory.

.TL;DR:

• Mike Shinoda says Linkin Park have no plans for new music or live shows in the near future.
• The band hasn't performed together since 2017, when the surviving members held a tribute concert for their late singer Chester Bennington.

Avenged Sevenfold have switched up the timeline for the release of their next studio album, and while it won't be ready for a summer release, as the band had previously mentioned, it now looks like late this year or early 2023. During a recent appearance on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, M. Shadows said, "We're going to figure out if it's the first quarter, or fourth quarter, or what we're going to do . . . and then we're going to be booking tours, put the tickets on sale when the record comes out, and the whole nine yards."

You may recall that in July of last year, Shadows said they wouldn't release the new project during the pandemic because they wanted to be able to tour in support of it.

This will be Avenged Sevenfold's followup to their 2016 album, The Stage.

Limp Bizkit have released what they call the "unofficially official video" for their single "Dad Vibes." They shared the clip on social media on Wednesday (April 20th) writing that the video was directed by "Funky Moses." The "Dad Vibes" video features members of Steel Panther.

The song is featured on the band's 2021 Still Sucks album.

Limp Bizkit will hit the road beginning on April 28th in Tampa, FL.

The Kid Laroi had a good time promoting his new single, "A Thousand Miles."

He posted what looked to be a movie trailer for a romantic comedy gone wrong. The viral video shows him looking for love in several bad situations and is packed with one comedy scene after the other.

The 18-year-old officially released the new song today (4-22).

TL;DR:

Blink-182's Mark Hoppus says he's feeling great and ready to make new music.

In an interview published this week, he said he plans to get back into the studio and back to playing music. He didn't mention a date, but hopes to release new music soon.

He told TMZ, "Life's great! I'm glad to be here." He didn't specify if he would be recording with the band or doing something solo.

Hoppus is 7 months cancer free. When he first went public with his diagnosis he shared that he was undergoing treatment for 4-A diffuse, large B-cell, lymphoma.

TL;DR:

• Blink-182's Mark Hoppus says he's feeling great and ready to make new music.
• He didn't mention a date, but hopes to release new music soon.

Metallica's Kirk Hammett will serve as the moderator at the famed horror festival, Midsummer Scream, on July 30th at Southern California's Long Beach Convention Center. Hammett will head up the panel that features relatives of the horror genre's original stars.

Fangoria.com reported: "The 90-minute 'Original Monster Kids' panel will feature Sara Karloff, daughter of Boris Karloff; Ron Chaney, grandson and great-grandson of Lon Chaney Jr. and Sr.; Lynne Lugosi Sparks, granddaughter of Bela Lugosi; and Victoria Price, daughter of Vincent Price, as they share personal family stories, photos, and 'perhaps a home movie or two,' giving fans a very personal look into the private lives of the actors who brought some of film's most iconic characters to life."

For ticket info, log on to: https://midsummerscream.org/

Kirk Hammett has admitted in the past that he spends vast sums on horror movie memorabilia, guitars and other collectibles, and has even bankrolled his own horror convention in the Bay Area. He told us a while back that he prefers to keep that side of his life separate from his musical career: "I'm really trying to like keep them separate -- my musical career and my horror career. It's really important that one does not bleed into the other, because they're two completely different things. And even though they're two of my main passions, horror movies and music, I still feel the need -- just out of respect for, y'know, my other bandmates -- to keep it separate."

Korn shares music video for the song "Wost Is On Its Way." The video was directed by Craig Bernard and Culley Bunker. The single is from the group's latest album Requiem, which was released back in February.

Korn singer Jonathan Davis told Metal Hammer magazine about the song, "Right now everything is going good, but always in the back of my head I'm just waiting for that next bad thing to happen. I thought it was an amazing way to end the record because it's all about me battling the darkness and coming out on top, but life is a never-ending loop and there's always more bullsh&t ahead."

Lorde paid tribute to New York City band, The Strokes while in their hometown.

During her final night at Radio City Music Hall, she covered their 2003 track "The End Has No End," a song from their Room on Fire album.

While delivering a slower take on the song and turning it into a ballad, she sat on a huge staircase that looked to lead to the moon.

Lorde just resumed her tour after having to cancel shows last week due to laryngitis.

TL;DR:

• During her final night at Radio City Music Hall, she covered their 2003 track "The End Has No End,"
• She turned it into a ballad.
• Lorde just resumed her tour after having to cancel shows last week due to laryngitis.

Black Stone Cherry will release Live From The Royal Albert Hall… Y'All on June 24 on CD + Blu-Ray. The band played at the legendary venue on September 29, 2021. The Blu-Ray contains "behind-the-scenes interviews, fly on the wall footage and archival insights into the band as kids first starting out, snippets of their first ever U.K. tour and heartfelt moments of reflection," according to blabbermouth.net.

Drummer John-Fred Young said of playing Royal Albert Hall, "To be honest, I was terrified. It was heavy walking in there. You think about how many great acts have played this place. The prestige behind it. We've wanted to play the Royal Albert Hall since the first U.K. tour in 2007 . . . Walking in that place, it's just breath-taking. You walk on that stage, and you say, we did it, and it's a feeling that I will cherish for the rest of my life."