The Metalhead thread

[8MileBU]

Brian Johnson meets Dave Grohl is on Sky Arts tonight at 9pm.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Brian Johnson meets Dave Grohl is on Sky Arts tonight at 9pm.

That must have been one of the strangest rain delays in the history of Test match special

Oh hang on

[Dunning1874]

Korn or Deftones are only going to headline Download if they end up desperate after a cancellation.

As Download headliners and potentials go you can roughly split them into the following groups:

Previous headliners still going: Iron Maiden, Metallica, AC/DC, Rammstein, Guns N' Roses, Slipknot, Tool, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Rage Against The Machine, My Chemical Romance, Biffy Clyro, Muse (discounting KISS as 2021 will be their last, along with Faith No More and Offspring who have long since fallen below headline status)

Big enough bands who've never played: Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Van Halen, possibly Nine Inch Nails?

Considering that other than Slipknot, A7X, SOAD and Biffy you're only getting one more appearance from those bands, most of them it'll be none and even SOAD getting more nostalgia headline appearances is a stretch when they clearly aren't ever making a new album, they really do need to push new bands to headline level. Deciding to ditch Biffy as a headliner would be fucking themselves over when their pool of established bands is dwindling rapidly. They're comfortably big enough to do it, they're clearly a bigger band than anyone in the established sub/up and coming young bands group and they should be in the Slipknot/A7X bracket of a credible repeat headliner for years.

With that in mind you then get the following groups to draw your other future headliners from:

Established sub/second stage headline bands who are at a stage in their career where they won't get any bigger: QOTSA Korn, Deftones, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Faith No More, Offspring, Limp Bizkit, Judas Priest

Bands who have already played those slots but have potential to grow further: Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Five Finger Death Punch, A Day To Remember, Parkway Drive (Trivium & Architects also fit this description but are much further from being headliners)

Bands who haven't played those slots yet but have done arena tours or headlined European fests: Ghost, Volbeat

Bands who are big enough but have moved away from fitting Download's audience or were only ever borderline to begin with: Bring Me The Horizon, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Royal Blood

In that context of really needing to make new headliners - they should now be pushing at least one new band into the headline slots every year for the next 5 festivals - punting Korn or Deftones up would be daft, for all that I like them more than most bands here.

With the exception of QOTSA who last played in 2013 and would likely headline now, those bands have all levelled out at the size they are for years and will never get bigger. Once the likes of Maiden and Metallica are gone there's obviously going to be a need to downsize the headliners because no rock/metal band is ever going to be that big again sadly, but it would make no sense to go for bands of an age where you'll only get one headline appearance out of them anyway. To safeguard the future of the festival they need to take a shot on younger bands who could become an established repeat headliner for another 10 years like Slipknot did after 2009.

I think some of them are utter shite, but the bands in the bottom three categories are all better bets to headline this decade than Korn.

While they're smaller right now, a headline slot for 5FDP or Parkway Drive could propel them to another level in the same way 2009 did for Slipknot. In a year where they have one of Metallica, Maiden, Rammstein or a band of that stature, that band will sell the tickets by themselves. Having Deftones instead of Ghost as another headliner in that year would make little difference to ticket sales, it would do nothing to change Deftones' stature at this stage in their career whereas it could give Ghost a platform to grow and become a credible headline band.

If you just jump to another group of bands in their 50s already once the old guard retire, you're denying younger bands the chance to ever reach that level and guaranteeing that the festival will die off as that era of bands do. If we want a major rock/metal festival to exist in the UK in 10 years time then taking risks is the only way it can happen.

[parsforlife]

Deftones/Korn would work as a Duel headline effort(though i'm not sure if download has ever went down that path)  I do agree though,  the only long term success here is going to be to try and push younger bands.  BMTH i thought about mentioning but as you say they have a bit too far gone to be accepted(and they were never popular in that scene even when they were making heavier albums) The tracks they've released  in 2020 have come back towards being guitar driven but its still going to be a massive call putting them in.  Probably as big of call as when MCR were given a headline spot.   

IMO the festival scene is going towards smaller more specialized efforts, the rock scene is becoming more splintered and with streaming more popular the bands that can sell tickets across a broad spectrum of fans are going to struggle to reach the size of what went before.

[Ira Gaines]

If you can headline Reading twice, you can headline DL so QOTSA should be in that bracket.

[GNU_Linux]

Some album called Paranoid turned 50 today

 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7gGuGrqwEM8?

 

 

[8MileBU]

On 17/09/2020 at 08:46, Andre Drazen said:

Korn would have been perfect to move up I reckon.

EDIT: Deftones still play arenas and could easily have taken the spot.

I think Korn could headline in terms of having the career and back catalogue which includes a few big hits, but their days of headlining the main stage at metal festivals probably should’ve been about 2000 after they peaked with Follow The Leader, during that awful time when nu-metal pretty much WAS was  the metal scene. 

23 hours ago, parsforlife said:

Deftones/Korn would work as a Duel headline effort(though i'm not sure if download has ever went down that path)  I do agree though,  the only long term success here is going to be to try and push younger bands.  BMTH i thought about mentioning but as you say they have a bit too far gone to be accepted(and they were never popular in that scene even when they were making heavier albums) The tracks they've released  in 2020 have come back towards being guitar driven but its still going to be a massive call putting them in.  Probably as big of call as when MCR were given a headline spot.   

IMO the festival scene is going towards smaller more specialized efforts, the rock scene is becoming more splintered and with streaming more popular the bands that can sell tickets across a broad spectrum of fans are going to struggle to reach the size of what went before.

Korn and Deftones have had a good career and each have a pretty dedicated fan base and still sell out some decent sized arenas. However, that’s their level now and they don’t have the level of commercial appeal currently which would put them in headline status and shift festival numbers of tickets. Also, despite personally being a massive fan of Deftones, more often than not, their unique sound does not transfer well to the big outdoor stage. 

Your last bit is spot on though, and I can see Download soon becoming a thing of the past with metal festivals becoming more scaled down Bloodstock-esque events. 

22 hours ago, Andre Drazen said:

If you can headline Reading twice, you can headline DL so QOTSA should be in that bracket.

Similar to what I said above, QOTSA much like Deftones have a niche appeal where they have a lot of fans outside the metal scene, but their time to headline a festival would’ve been mid 00’s when they peaked off the back of Songs For The Deaf and might’ve pulled it off at the likes of Download, but only at that time because metal was in a bit of a lull. 

Edited September 19, 2020 by 8MileBU

[Ira Gaines]

QOTSA were a weird one for years. Constant sub headlining festivals behind acts they were bigger than at the time.

[Dunning1874]

The point about the early 2000s is a good one. Obviously with the mainstream exposure nu-metal had then you had a far more significant metal presence at a festival like Reading & Leeds as well, but without a dedicated rock/metal festival Korn & Deftones never got a chance to headline.

If Download had started in 1999 rather than 2003 there's little doubt they'd both have been headliners in that time. Deftones were third from top in 2003 with Maiden headlining and Manson second - in June 2000 they had the world at their feet with White Pony about to come out while Maiden were just beginning to rebuild their reputation from failing to sell out Academies with Blaze Bayley on vocals.

If there'd been a UK metal festival to play when touring on the back of Follow The Leader in 2000 Korn would obviously have headlined - come their first Download appearance in 2004 nu-metal was no longer the zeitgeist, they were on Take a Look in the Mirror which was the least well received album of their career and the lineup was starting to fall apart with Head leaving not long after.

Had either had that opportunity maybe they'd have been solidified as a headline stature band forever the way System of a Down were having got that chance in 2005, but the moment is gone.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Blue Öyster Cult are back! 

"The Symbol Remains" is their 15th Studio album

Their 14th was back in 2001 and sold so badly that they got dropped by their record company.

Whether there's more of an audience for them than there were back in the era when Linkin Park stalked the earth is unclear but they've done it anyway

I like it and if you can name more BÖC tracks than just "Don't fear the Reaper" then you should probably check it out. 

It's the kind of thing you'll like, if you like that kind of thing

Edited October 13, 2020 by topcat(The most tip top)

[Comrie]

Damnation plan to be back for 2020 with a solid line up so far- no headliners announcer yet, but I'm as hard as a diamond in an ice storm for Wolves in the Throne Room.

 

https://www.damnationfestival.co.uk/lineup

[GNU_Linux]

Damnation plan to be back for 2020 with a solid line up so far- no headliners announcer yet, but I'm as hard as a diamond in an ice storm for Wolves in the Throne Room.
 
https://www.damnationfestival.co.uk/lineup

WITTR are excellent live. Saw them back in like 2012 or 2013. Blood Incantation is the othet stand out for me from that lineup thus far.

[Comrie]

1 hour ago, GNU_Linux said:

4 hours ago, Comrie said:

Damnation plan to be back for 2020 with a solid line up so far- no headliners announcer yet, but I'm as hard as a diamond in an ice storm for Wolves in the Throne Room.
 
https://www.damnationfestival.co.uk/lineup

WITTR are excellent live. Saw them back in like 2012 or 2013. Blood Incantation is the othet stand out for me from that lineup thus far.

I remember blindly buying a Blood Incantation album and the sound not matching up to the album cover.

Was good, mind.

[NorthernLights]

Bought my ticket for Damnation the other day. Surely gigs will be back to normal by November 2021.  WITTR were enough for me, saw them play St Luke's at the start of the year (feels a lot longer ago then that).

[bennett]

 

On Saturday 14th November 2020 Metallica will perform their first ever worldwide pay-per-view gig, as well as concluding a charity auction in aid of their charity All Within My Hands.

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo will be live streaming a special two hour acoustic show live across the globe from the surroundings of their fabled San Francisco HQ.

 

When is Metallica's Helping Hands concert?

The concert starts at 10pm Saturday 14th November UK time, and will be available for multiple replays for 48 hours after you first press play, in case you can't make the start time.

 

How do I get tickets for the show?

Tickets to watch the live stream are available from Planet Rock Tickets.

How much do tickets cost?

There are four different types of ticket for the gig, with all proceeds going direct to the All Within My Hands Foundation.

Standard ticket = $14.99. This gives you the ability to watch the live stream and also replay the event multiple times within a 48hr period after your first play.

Audio ticket bundle = $25. All the features of the standard ticket, plus an mp3 download of the show afterwards.

Audio and t-shirt ticket bundle = $55 (plus shipping). All the features of the Audio ticket bundle, plus an exclusive event t-shirt.

VIP virtual fan ticket bundle = $95. All of the above, but you also get to appear on a 'Virtual Fan Wall' for one song of the gig.

 

[NorthernLights]

Bought my first gig ticket in what feels like forever tonight.  Behemoth/Arch Enemy co-headlining tour at the O2 Academy with Carcass as support next September. 

Edit: Just realised I'd bought my ticket for next years Damnation just last month

Edited December 2, 2020 by NorthernLights

[George Parr]

1 hour ago, NorthernLights said:

Bought my first gig ticket in what feels like forever tonight.  Behemoth/Arch Enemy co-headlining tour at the O2 Academy with Carcass as support next September. 

Edit: Just realised I'd bought my ticket for next years Damnation just last month

That's an extremely tempting lineup.

Behemoth have nailed it every time I've seen them and Arch Enemy have added Jeff Loomis since I last caught them. One to look forward to, all going well.

[GNU_Linux]

Sean Malone, bassist for Cynic passes away aged 50

CYNIC's longtime bassist Sean Malone has passed away. He was 50 years old. No cause of death has yet been revealed.

The news of Malone's passing was broken by his CYNIC bandmate, guitarist/vocalist Paul Masvidal, who took to his social media earlier tonight (Wednesday, December 9) to write: "I learned today that Sean Malone has died. I am numb and grief stricken. He had a brilliant mind, a gracious heart and was one of the greatest musicians I've ever encountered.

"I know that this is a shocking loss for so many fans whose lives he touched with his artistry, as it is for me," Paul added. "Please keep him in your thoughts and listen to his playing to celebrate his life."

Malone joined CYNIC just in time to play on the band's classic debut album, 1993's "Focus". Malone proved to have quite a good musical chemistry with the rest of the band, and ended up hitting the road with CYNIC on the "Focus" tour.

After the band's initial break-up, Malone continued to work as a session bassist, performing on over 50 records. He also authored four books — "Music Theory For Bassists", "Dictionary Of Bass Grooves", "Rock Bass", and "A Portrait of Jaco: The Solos Collection" (a book of transcriptions of Jaco Pastorius's bass solos) for the Hal Leonard Corporation. In the academic field, Malone had papers on theory and music cognition published and gave presentations at conferences such as the Society for Music Theory, The International Conference of Music and Gesture, and The Glenn Gould Conference, and taught at the University of Central Missouri and Carnegie Mellon University as assistant professor of music theory.

Malone made one album under his own name, "Cortlandt", which was released in 1996 and reissued in 2007. He also assembled and recorded GORDIAN KNOT's self-titled debut, released in 1999. He rejoined CYNIC in May 2008 and played with the band for most of the past decade.

Malone is the second member of CYNIC's classic lineup to die in 2020. This past January, the band's founding drummer Sean Reinert was found unresponsive at his California home. He was only 48 years old. At the time, Malone issued a statement praising his former bandmate, saying Reinert "offered his trust during every rehearsal, every recording, and every performance we ever did, and it's likely that I'll never experience the same again. The truth is that we're all lucky — lucky to have been alive while Sean Reinert was making music."

In 1991, Reinert and Masvidal joined the legendary Florida band DEATH to record the "Human" album. After touring with DEATH, they returned to CYNIC.

 

 

 

Totally shocked and sad to hear of Sean Malone’s passing...he was a tremendous bass and stick player that I had the pleasure of working with many times through the years. He was my Geddy in Cygnus & The Sea Monsters, he played on the 1st OSI album w me...(cont.) pic.twitter.com/QKzt8VuhYN

— Mike Portnoy ? (@MikePortnoy) December 10, 2020

 

 

 

 

...and we last toured together in 2014 when he was playing Bass in John Wesley’s band opening for Flying Colors. This is just another shocking loss in 2020...sadly the same year we also lost Sean Reinert, his rhythm section partner in Cynic. #RIPSeanMalone ?

— Mike Portnoy ? (@MikePortnoy) December 10, 2020

 

 

 

 

Sad news, indeed. I’d only met #SeanMalone once or twice but respected him as a serious musician, underrated & with uncommon diversity. It’s unfortunate #Cynic is so overlooked, occupying a space that’s like a subgenre within subgenres (the prog/alt side of 90s death metal) RIP https://t.co/D3W88kyKgY

— Alex Skolnick (@AlexSkolnick) December 10, 2020

Edited December 10, 2020 by GNU_Linux

[NorthernLights]

https://www.facebook.com/napalmrecords/posts/10159251775001052

Edited January 4, 2021 by NorthernLights

[NorthernLights]

So Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth is a pro-Trump lunatic. Probably not a massive surprise tbh.