‘For the Sake of Heaviness: The History of Metal Blade Records’ Hits Shelves

Thirty-five years after its beginnings in a Southern California garage, Metal Blade Records has become an enduring icon in the world of Heavy Rock. Label founder and CEO Brian Slagel’s mission to bring Metal to the masses saw him release his very first compilation, ‘Metal Massacre,’ in 1982; the now-legendary album featured the recording debuts of both Ratt and Metallica among its tracklist. Since then, the acts that have recorded for the venerated label read like a veritable Who’s Who of Hard Rock’s last four decades: Slayer and Armored Saint both released their debuts through Metal Blade, seminal works by Mercyful Fate, King’s X, Voivod, and Flotsam and Jetsam have all been graced by the imprint, and the current roster is one of the industry’s strongest, with acts like Behemoth, GWAR, Byzantine, and Cannibal Corpse currently calling the label home.

 

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METALLICA’s Lars Ulrich To Host Apple Beats1 Radio Show ‘It’s Electric’

Our very own Great Dane, Lars Ulrich from METALLICA has decided to test the waters on hosting an online radio show which is gonna be known as, “It’s Electric“. This is a venture set forth by Apple Music Beats1 which is also going to feature co-host Steffan Chirazi, who happens to be METALLICA‘s ‘So What!’ fan magazine editor.

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Gojira Adds More US Dates w/ Kyng, Deafheaven, and Code Orange

The almighty French metal band Gojira has just added five more shows to their already large US tour. Two of these shows will feature heavy metal trio Kyng while the other three feature shoegaze black metal band, Deafheaven and hardcore punk band, Code Orange. You can find all the ticket links here. You can find the rest of the US dates below. Continue reading

Editor’s 25 Best Albums Of 2016!

It’s an incredibly hard task to narrow down all the amazing albums that released in 2016 to a short list of 25. This year seen the reunion of some amazing acts and we lost several iconic musicians. My personal top 25 albums of the year not only includes veteran acts that you are probably familiar with, but also brand new bands or lesser known bands that blew me away with their sound. There are just some bands that have a way of capturing you moments into the first track. There are several other albums I wish I could have included in this list, but without further ado here is my top 25 albums of 2016:    Continue reading

METALLICA Honors Lemmy Kilmister In “Murder One” Video Premier!

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Up all night with Metallica continues with their 2am release of “Murder One”. This video was directed by Robert Valley. Robert Valley has worked on several projects as both a director and animator. Some of those include the more recent reboot of Wonder Woman, Aeon Flux, and was an animation director and key component for Guitar Hero: The Beatles. Valley is likely best known for the his animation work with Gorillaz. The style in which Gorillaz was animated is his style and can be seen in the majority of his work. His most recent project is Pear Cider and Cigarettes, you can watch the trailer or rent it on Vimeo here. In the video you can see Robert Valley’s style prevalent and of course this pays tribute to the late great Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead. Continue reading

The Metallica Video Saga Journeys On With “Halo On Fire”!

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The 6th video thus far in Metallica’s 24 hour video release saga is “Halo On Fire”. It was Directed by Herring & Herring. This marks the third video they have directed in today’s lineup of video releases. The saga continues as we will release “Murder One” at 2am! Meanwhile enjoy “Halo On Fire”! Continue reading

Metallica Video Binge Continues With “Am I Savage”!

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This 5th installment of National Metallica Video Release day now includes “Am I Savage”. This is the second video today directed by Herring & Herring. The masterminds behind Herring & Herring is Dimitri Scheblanov and Jesper Carlsen. Who are renowned international fashion photographers. The two are the founders of Herring & Herring Magazine. They directed the video released earlier titled “Now That We’re Dead” (6pm). Metallica also gave them the nod on a 3rd video for “Halo On Fire” which will be released at midnight.  Continue reading

METALLICA Releases 4th Video Of The Day “Here Comes Revenge”!

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Today has become almost a national holiday for thrash lovers worldwide as Metallica continues their onslaught of video releases. Today has already seen the release of Confusion” (2pm), “ManUNkind” (4pm), “Now That We’re Dead” (6pm) and now they have released “Here Comes Revenge”. This video was Directed by Jessica Cope. Of course Cope is no stranger to the film or directing world. Her latest project was  ‘The Raven Who Refused To Sing’ – an animated music video for Steven Wilson (Storm Corrosion / Porcupine Tree). She was also an animator and post production assistant for Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. So enjoy the newest video from Metallica and we will have the next one to you in a couple hours.  Continue reading

Metallica Unleashes “Now That We’re Dead” Official Video

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And so we continue with our all day (and likely) all night coverage of Metallica’s unprecedented video drop of every single song on their Hardwired…To Self Destruct album due out in two days. This time around, let us introduce “Now That We’re Dead” to you. This beast is directed by Herring and Herring, which represents the partnership of world renowned fashion photographers, Dimitri Scheblanov and Jesper Carlsen, and caters to celebrities from all walks of fame, including the Osbournes and Metallica’s own, Lars Ulrich. So far, there has not been one, even mediocre song in the bunch. This is the Metallica we all grew to love! Intense and intelligent; with their trademarked and brutally honest in-your-face attitude. Only Metallica can serve up this level of eardrum rupturing madness and have us consistently begging for more. Cannot wait to see what the hours ahead hold for Metalheadz all over the globe. Hold on tight, this regalia of bone crushing Thrash is nowhere near being finished yet!

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METALLICA Releases “ManUNkind” Official Video

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4PM means that we have yet another Metallica video to sink our fangs into in preparation for their much anticipated, November 18th release of Hardwired…To Self Destruct. This one was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and kills, like only Metallica can do! So far, the response from fans has been overwhelmingly positive as the video representations of this release unfolds before our eyes and ears. Being a fan for over thirty years, I could not be more thrilled with everything put forward so far. Stay tuned! There is much more to come as we are given the rare opportunity to hear the new album, in its entirety, before it is released! Loving this marketing strategy! Freakin’ genius!

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